Over the years I have done several computer builds in both the Obsidian 800D and 900D full tower cases. I absolutely love the Corsair Obsidian design line in that they provide plenty of room for water cooling components and an almost limitless modding potential. The only downside to these cases would have to be their sheer size! These full-size cases easily weighed over 60 pounds when fully loaded.
 
When I saw the announcement for the new Corsair Obsidian 500D mid-tower case, I knew that I wanted to get one for the upcoming QuakeCon 2018 LAN event.
 
Here are the components for this build...
 
Main Components:
CSE: Corsair Obsidian 500D ATX Mid-Tower
MBD: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 ATX
CPU: Intel i7-8700K Coffee Lake
AIO: Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO RGB
MEM: Corsair Vengeance Blue LED DDR4 3000MHz 32GB (4x8GB)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2
PSU: Corsair AX1200i Platinum Modular
M.2: Samsung 960 EVO 500GB (Windows 10 Pro)
M.2: Samsung 960 EVO 1TB (Games)
SSD: Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SATA III (2)
HDD: Western Digital Black 2TB
FAN: Corsair LL120 RGB LED High Performance 120mm PWM (4)
FAN: Corsair LL140 RGB LED High Performance 140mm PWM (2)
RGB: Corsair Commander PRO
RGB: Corsair Lighting Node PRO
 
Peripherals:
MON: ASUS ROG PG279Q 27" 165 Hz WQHD IPS, NVIDIA G-Sync Gaming Monitor
KBD: Corsair K95 RGB PLATINUM Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - CHERRY MX Speed
MSE: Corsair GLAIVE RGB Gaming Mouse - Aluminum
MPD: Corsair MM800 RGB POLARIS Gaming Mouse Pad
HST: Corsair VOID Wireless Dolby 7.1 RGB Gaming Headset
HST: Corsair ST100 RGB Premium Headset Stand with 7.1 Surround Sound
 
I will keep this build log updated as the assembly commences and it starts to take shape.

I have all the 500D case components disassembled. All of the SSD and HDD trays have been removed. The top and front panel radiator/fan mounts have been removed also. The two tempered glass panels have been removed. The case is bare and ready for components.
 

 
Here is a photo of the three SSD mounts, two HDD mounts and the back panel channel used to hide cabling.
 

 
These are the two stock 120mm fans that are included with the unit. One is factory mounted at the front and the other at the rear.
 

 
The instruction manual for the 500D is fairly straightforward. Ignore the HDD LED cable that is pictured on page 15 of this manual, the unit does not have this cable.
 

For the top exhaust, I decided to go with two Corsair LL140 RGB 140mm fans. The 120mm fans would have been sufficient but I wanted something that would fill the top panel more fully and evenly.
 

 
Here is a shot of the two LL140 fans mounted on the top radiator shelf and placed into the case. These beefy fans fill the space nicely and will exhaust plenty of air from the case.
 

For the main drive I went with a 500GB Samsung 960 EVO M.2. This drive will hold the Windows 10 Pro operating system as well as all the other non-gaming programs that I will be using.
 

 
Here is the 500GB M.2 installed on the motherboard in the upper M.2 position. This slot has a removable heatshield to provide thermal protection for this M.2.
 

 
This 1TB Samsung 960 EVO M.2 will serve as my gaming drive. The large storage capacity should easily hold all of my Steam, Origin, Blizzard, Uplay and Epic games.
 

 
I used a black EKWB M.2 NVMe Heatsink to provide thermal protection for the gaming M.2. Very easy to install and looks outstanding! They also offer this heatsink in nickel, gold, green, red and purple.
 

 
Here it is mounted in the second M.2 position. You can see the removable thermal shield for the upper M.2 covering the 500GB M.2 unit.
 

 
Once all the M.2 drives have been mounted, I can now install the motherboard into the 500D chassis. This case provides plenty of internal room for all types of components. The black and silver motherboard color scheme matches perfectly with the 500D case colors.
 

For the front and rear fans I went with the Corsair LL120 RGB 120mm fans. I purchased a triple pack since it also comes with the Lighting Node Pro unit that will control all of the RGB lighting for this case.
 

 
Here are all four 120mm fans with the included Lighting Node Pro and fan hub devices.
 

 
I purchased the Corsair Commander Pro to control all of the fans and RGB lighting.
 

 
This unit replaces the Lighting Node Pro and has connections for two USB 2.0 connections, 6 PWM fans, 4 temperature probes and 2 LED connections. I will be using one of the USB 2.0 ports for the AIO unit. All 6 fans will be connected to this device for power. The LED strip and RGB LED fan hub will be connected also.
 

 
The Corsair RGB LED Pro Expansion Kit provides 4 LED strips. Each strip contains magnets for mounting, as well as an adhesive tape if the case is not metal.
 

This is the rear of the case with all the cabling connected and secured. You must remember that this area will be slightly visible through the smoked tempered glass right side panel. The numerous cable tie-downs and the metal cable channel cover are invaluable for providing clean cable management. You can see that the HDD has been mounted so that the label is facing outwards. The Commander Pro is mounted in the upper HDD area since I will only be using a single HDD. The fan RGB hub is mounted in the left-most SSD caddy position. This keeps it more to the center of the case since all the fan RGB wires must be connected here.
 

 
The interior of the case with everything connected. All wires have been routed so as to provide a clean appearance.
 

 
I love the clean all-black appearance of this case. The side tempered glass panels are deeply tinted to keep with the all-black color scheme.
 

 
This is with the side panel partly open. The camera flash partly drowns out the blue lighting of the components.
 

 
With the camera flash turned off, you can more readily see how the blue lighting compliments the black case.
 

 
Here is a shot of my setup with all my Corsair peripherals.
 

Nice job on your rig.  I like the blue lighting with black combo...

Nicely done!

Outstanding work

Looks good for sure. Solid choice on parts.