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Overall we are very impressed with what the Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 has to offer. Despite not being the main focus of the case, acoustic performance is impressive and is capable enough to rival competing cases. Obviously, it's not quite up to the same standard as cases from the Fractal Design Define range which feature thick sound proofing.
The aesthetic design of the Arc Midi R2 is sleek and attractive, incorporating large areas of steel mesh and brushed aluminium effect plastic. We would like to see Fractal Design using real brushed aluminium in the future as it would give their cases a more exclusive look and feel. We believe this would definitely be worth the slightly increased cost associated with the use of aluminium.
As we've experienced with Fractal Design cases in the past, build quality is excellent and the steel chassis feels very sturdy and robust. The improvements over the previous version are also welcomed, especially the new fan controller and the side panel window replacing the original mesh.
At a price of around £72 from Ebuyer, we feel that the Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 offers great value for money and should be at the top of your list if you are looking for a decent mid-tower case which is cool, quiet and stylish.
Pros:
- Stylish design.
- Solid build quality.
- Quiet fans.
- Built in fan controller.
- Extensive water cooling support.
Cons:
- Real brushed aluminium would be nicer than plastic.
KitGuru says: Another impressive case from Fractal Design which improves upon the original model in a number of areas.
Their cases are always very quiet which I rate highly. I would love them to make a £200 aluminum high end case though.
The only problem with high end aluminum cases is that Lian Li do them so well already and the market is small at that price. I think they deliver good cases at tight prices.
I’d rather se brushed steel. Many of Lian Li’s Al cases are so flimsy, and the metal itself has poor noise absobing properties. Anyway I hope Fractal Design sticks to the Arc series as far as designing for big water cooling applications. The Define series doesn’t need that imho.
Super content .
It does look quite similar to my Xigmatek Asgard Pro case.Atleast to me.Does anyone agree?
I’ve had this case for a couple of weeks. It’s great although fractal really need to improve their quality control. The box was sealed but the plastic covering the case and styrofoam were really dirty. Also a couple of other QC issues such as firment of fans (one not screwed in properly) and 5.25″ bay covers not lining up flush with the front bezel.
The stock fans are also pretty bad quality and have really bad ticking at any voltage, definitely not ‘near inaudible’ I replaced them right away.