Inside the Smith Tower: A Review of the 2014 Release

One thing that stands out as a concern with the Smith Tower is how thin and flimsy the side panels are. While it shouldn't cause any significant issues with structural integrity, it can make placing the panel's back difficult due to one side being flush against the case while the other isn't. Additionally, the front element of the case is made of plastic instead of steel, which suggests that some compromises have been made to hit a lower price point.

Internally, the Smith Tower looks very open, which is something we've come to expect from coarser chassis designs. An additional 120-140mm air intake fan can be installed beside the drive cage at the bottom, providing direct airflow and allowing for longer GPU compatibility. The drive cage supports three drives with standard caddies, but note that you'll need to remove one of the metal pegs on the side to accommodate centered SSD mounting holes.

Noticing how high the base is for the drive cage can be a drawback, as it means the cage is on the same level as the bottom three PCI slots. Given that we have over 11 inches of GPU clearance, this internal spacing may not favor dual graphics card configurations or even some PCI lanes on the motherboard. However, it's worth noting that the drive cage is modular, so you can relocate it to a position above the base, which opens up an additional fan spot at the bottom. This allows for a 240mm radiator without sacrificing dry storage space.

Unfortunately, there are some major compromises with the Smith Tower's design. The chassis isn't very long, making it practically impossible to fit a power supply with a radiator installed. This limits maximum power supply compatibility to just 150mm with a fan, which is a significant oversight from Corsair. A simple power supply bracket extender at the back would have allowed for compatibility with longer units without sacrificing potential for additional radiators.

On the other hand, the front of the Smith Tower does support 240-280mm radiators with proper spacing, but this means getting rid of the entire drive cage completely. However, the Corsair 450D is equipped with a couple of too-less SSD brackets at the back, so you're not totally left without storage. Removing the bracket is very simple, with just a single screw holding it in place.

Despite the compromises, the Smith Tower does excel in one area: cable management. With large rubber grommets, many cable tie mounts, and an inch of clearance for all your cable routing needs, it's a breeze to keep everything organized. Corsair is also one of the few companies that pre-installs motherboard standoffs, which simplifies the assembly process and is greatly appreciated.

The finished build looks outstanding in Corsair fashion, with cables completely flushed to the case and an oversized CPU cutout allowing for seamless cooler swaps. However, there's no additional cutouts underneath the motherboard for clean cable routing, which may be a drawback for some users. The Smith Tower can accommodate top radiators with three inches of space.

In terms of memory modules, we've got to say that the Smith Tower is not the best in this regard. While it's true that Corsair has made improvements here, there are still some compromises that need to be addressed. As it stands now, the build quality just isn't on par with what we've come to expect from the Obsidian line.

When comparing the Smith Tower to other cases in the same price range, such as the 440DX from Cooler Master or the mid-range model from Fractal Design, it's clear that Corsair still has a lot of work to do. The added improvements, however, are certainly welcome. Ultimately, we think that with some tweaks and fixes, the Smith Tower could be a top-level contender in its class. For now, at $120, it falls short of expectations.

The verdict is up to you: do you love the new Obsidian tower despite its compromises? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Like if this review has helped you decide whether or not the 450D is right for you, and be sure to subscribe for more content like this. We'll see you in the next one!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone this is Dimitri with her work NOx and it's always exciting when Corsa releases a new Obsidian I mean this was a series that started off for them and they are really populating the line so I guess we can never complain about having too much choice right so this is the courser obsidians 450d a second mid tower in the line and brings a few needed improvements with a very attractive price of $120 now one thing I'm very happy about is the new protective plastic that no longer takes ages to remove and it doesn't leave any gunk on the front aluminum plates proving to us that they are listening to users feedback and that is exactly what is needed the Obsidian line has always carried that elegant and square design I think that's gonna carry forward as the 450d looks the part of the Obsidian with a large square window cutout and now a perforated front panel so this case is designed with airflow in mind the panel is easily removable has a built-in dust filter and an aluminum plate installed for that elegant aesthetic for the main intake we have 2 140 millimeter fans with a nice open frame internally for resistance free air flow and do 120mm fans are supported as well there are two optical drives at the front and like with every other obsidian there's no clean implementation of optical installation as the frame is wider and stealth covers are not included so it won't look uniform furthermore they're only 2 USB 3 ports I think for a case of this caliber at least four should be included as that's very common to see in mid towers but perhaps on the next step City and aeration then we have the standard audio jacks and PR buttons up top you get a large magnetic dust filter covering the entire area so I'm very happy to see triple 120 or dual 140 millimeter fan support so radiator options up top should complement coursers all-in-one Hydra series very well plus the rubber grommets to absorb faint vibrations so that's considered nothing unusual at the back a 120 millimeter high airflow exhaust fan is included there's a 7 PCI slot so ATX is the maximum compatibility for your motherboard then there's the bottom mounted power supply with the large magnetic dust filter also covering the entire bottom so I'm very happy to see full dust proof with the 450d now let's get inside the Smith Tower to see how the latest obsidian stacks up as a 2014 release now one thing I want to point out are how thin and flimsy the side panels are it shouldn't cause any concern over structural integrity but it becomes difficult placing the panel's back as one side is flush against the case while the other isn't also the front element of the case is plastic and it's not steel so it seems like the compromising quality has been made to hit that price point internals look very open and that's something we've come to expect with every coarser chassis an additional 120 or 140 mm air intake fan can be installed beside the drive cage at the bottom there's a large gap to allow direct airflow and also longer GPU compatibility the drive cage supports three drives with standard caddies so regular tool is three and a half inch mounting and this is these as well you'll just have to remove one the metal pegs on the side and that's why I prefer centered SSD mounting holes now notice how high the base is for the drive cage this means the cage is on the level with the bottom three PCI slots and given we just have over 11 inches of GPU clearance this internal spacing may not favor dual graphics card configurations or even some PCI lanes on the motherboard I think the base should have been shorter or at least accommodate an additional drive caddy luckily the drive cage is modular so you can relocate it to the above position that opens up an additional fan spot at the bottom so a 240 Miller radiator is an option without sacrificing on dry storage but because the chassis isn't very long there's practically no room for your power supply with the radiator installed limiting maximum power supply compatibility to 150 millimeters and a little extra with just a fan I think this is a huge oversight from courser I definitely was not expecting such a major compromise for the bottom mounting options and a simple power supply bracket extender at the back would have allowed compatibility for longer units without compromising on potential for that additional pond radiator however the front does support 240 and 280 million radiators with appropriate spacing but this means getting rid of the entire drive cage completely Howard the 450 D is equipped with a couple of tooless SSD brackets at the back so not totally left without storage so you just like the SSD in and in case you're using very slim drive removing the bracket is very simple with just a single screw and the appropriate carrots are available on the SSD bracket to secure the actual SSD now of course coursers major strengths has always been cable management and the 450 d doesn't disappoint with large rubber grommets many cable tie mounts and just turned there an inch of clearance for all you cable routing and starting with the assembly courser is one of the few companies that pre installs the motherboard standoffs that simplify your process so that's very appreciated and the finished build looks outstanding in corsair fashion cable management was so simple that i didn't even use any cable ties yet all the cables are completely flushed to the case the CPU cut out is also oversized that would allow seamless cooler swaps now I would have appreciated a few cutouts right underneath the motherboard for clean and routing but this also does the job and the 450 D will accommodate really well for top radiators with three inches of space till our memory modules now to the most part the latest obsidian has been successful with its underrated obsidian good looks full dust proof with easy removable filters and non-restrictive front intake with great airflow extremely simple to work in thanks to an effective layout and the additional SSD brackets are sort of expected and very appreciated however the build quality is just not on par to what we've come to expect from the Obsidian line comparing to other cases in the same price range like the aged 440 693 from cooler master the mid er - from fractal design and the 450 D just doesn't feel as robust bottom radiator support is not optimal as it limits your power supply length there's no style cover included for the optical drive and only 11 inches for the bottom three PCI brackets due to hi to drive gauge that is limiting for this form factor I do love all the improvements however that Corsair has added but it seems that some compromises have been added as well that I'm hoping would be fixed in the next generation and the simple solution to make this a top-level contender is basically an extended power supply bracket that would allow at least 160 memory units supported with a 240 millimeter bottom radiator but what do you guys think of this new obsidian at the hundred twenty dollars when you look past the compromises or with the 4/5 D not hit the right spot for you let us know in the comments below make sure to like if you enjoyed this review subscribe for more similar content and we'll see you in the next onehello everyone this is Dimitri with her work NOx and it's always exciting when Corsa releases a new Obsidian I mean this was a series that started off for them and they are really populating the line so I guess we can never complain about having too much choice right so this is the courser obsidians 450d a second mid tower in the line and brings a few needed improvements with a very attractive price of $120 now one thing I'm very happy about is the new protective plastic that no longer takes ages to remove and it doesn't leave any gunk on the front aluminum plates proving to us that they are listening to users feedback and that is exactly what is needed the Obsidian line has always carried that elegant and square design I think that's gonna carry forward as the 450d looks the part of the Obsidian with a large square window cutout and now a perforated front panel so this case is designed with airflow in mind the panel is easily removable has a built-in dust filter and an aluminum plate installed for that elegant aesthetic for the main intake we have 2 140 millimeter fans with a nice open frame internally for resistance free air flow and do 120mm fans are supported as well there are two optical drives at the front and like with every other obsidian there's no clean implementation of optical installation as the frame is wider and stealth covers are not included so it won't look uniform furthermore they're only 2 USB 3 ports I think for a case of this caliber at least four should be included as that's very common to see in mid towers but perhaps on the next step City and aeration then we have the standard audio jacks and PR buttons up top you get a large magnetic dust filter covering the entire area so I'm very happy to see triple 120 or dual 140 millimeter fan support so radiator options up top should complement coursers all-in-one Hydra series very well plus the rubber grommets to absorb faint vibrations so that's considered nothing unusual at the back a 120 millimeter high airflow exhaust fan is included there's a 7 PCI slot so ATX is the maximum compatibility for your motherboard then there's the bottom mounted power supply with the large magnetic dust filter also covering the entire bottom so I'm very happy to see full dust proof with the 450d now let's get inside the Smith Tower to see how the latest obsidian stacks up as a 2014 release now one thing I want to point out are how thin and flimsy the side panels are it shouldn't cause any concern over structural integrity but it becomes difficult placing the panel's back as one side is flush against the case while the other isn't also the front element of the case is plastic and it's not steel so it seems like the compromising quality has been made to hit that price point internals look very open and that's something we've come to expect with every coarser chassis an additional 120 or 140 mm air intake fan can be installed beside the drive cage at the bottom there's a large gap to allow direct airflow and also longer GPU compatibility the drive cage supports three drives with standard caddies so regular tool is three and a half inch mounting and this is these as well you'll just have to remove one the metal pegs on the side and that's why I prefer centered SSD mounting holes now notice how high the base is for the drive cage this means the cage is on the level with the bottom three PCI slots and given we just have over 11 inches of GPU clearance this internal spacing may not favor dual graphics card configurations or even some PCI lanes on the motherboard I think the base should have been shorter or at least accommodate an additional drive caddy luckily the drive cage is modular so you can relocate it to the above position that opens up an additional fan spot at the bottom so a 240 Miller radiator is an option without sacrificing on dry storage but because the chassis isn't very long there's practically no room for your power supply with the radiator installed limiting maximum power supply compatibility to 150 millimeters and a little extra with just a fan I think this is a huge oversight from courser I definitely was not expecting such a major compromise for the bottom mounting options and a simple power supply bracket extender at the back would have allowed compatibility for longer units without compromising on potential for that additional pond radiator however the front does support 240 and 280 million radiators with appropriate spacing but this means getting rid of the entire drive cage completely Howard the 450 D is equipped with a couple of tooless SSD brackets at the back so not totally left without storage so you just like the SSD in and in case you're using very slim drive removing the bracket is very simple with just a single screw and the appropriate carrots are available on the SSD bracket to secure the actual SSD now of course coursers major strengths has always been cable management and the 450 d doesn't disappoint with large rubber grommets many cable tie mounts and just turned there an inch of clearance for all you cable routing and starting with the assembly courser is one of the few companies that pre installs the motherboard standoffs that simplify your process so that's very appreciated and the finished build looks outstanding in corsair fashion cable management was so simple that i didn't even use any cable ties yet all the cables are completely flushed to the case the CPU cut out is also oversized that would allow seamless cooler swaps now I would have appreciated a few cutouts right underneath the motherboard for clean and routing but this also does the job and the 450 D will accommodate really well for top radiators with three inches of space till our memory modules now to the most part the latest obsidian has been successful with its underrated obsidian good looks full dust proof with easy removable filters and non-restrictive front intake with great airflow extremely simple to work in thanks to an effective layout and the additional SSD brackets are sort of expected and very appreciated however the build quality is just not on par to what we've come to expect from the Obsidian line comparing to other cases in the same price range like the aged 440 693 from cooler master the mid er - from fractal design and the 450 D just doesn't feel as robust bottom radiator support is not optimal as it limits your power supply length there's no style cover included for the optical drive and only 11 inches for the bottom three PCI brackets due to hi to drive gauge that is limiting for this form factor I do love all the improvements however that Corsair has added but it seems that some compromises have been added as well that I'm hoping would be fixed in the next generation and the simple solution to make this a top-level contender is basically an extended power supply bracket that would allow at least 160 memory units supported with a 240 millimeter bottom radiator but what do you guys think of this new obsidian at the hundred twenty dollars when you look past the compromises or with the 4/5 D not hit the right spot for you let us know in the comments below make sure to like if you enjoyed this review subscribe for more similar content and we'll see you in the next one\n"