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Today we are going to look at the Fractal Design Node 304, one of the companies first attempts at a small-form factor case. It boasts an impressive feature set which includes support for six hard drives and an ATX power supply There is also a fair amount of headroom for CPU coolers, making the Node 304 an ideal candidate for those looking to build a compact gaming system or powerful home-theatre PC.
Fractal Design have become well established in the case market over the past few years, after releasing a series of critically-acclaimed products including the impressive Define R4. They are renowned for producing quiet running cases that also offer good cooling performance and excellent build quality.
Features
- Compact, modular interior.
- Minimalistic design with an elegant aluminum front panel.
- Unique new modular mounting system that accommodates up to 6 hard drives.
- Accommodates tower CPU coolers and single-fan water cooling systems.
- Filtered air intakes ensure a dust-free environment for internal components.
- Three Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fans included.
- Excellent cooling for all components.
- Accommodates ATX power supplies.
- Fan controller for all fans included.
- USB 3.0 for fast file transfers.
Specifications
- Mini ITX, DTX motherboard compatibility.
- 2 expansion slots.
- 6 – supports either 3.5″ or 2.5″ HDD / SSD.
- ATX PSUs, up to 160mm in length (To fit in combination with a long graphics card, PSUs with modular connectors on the back typically need to be shorter than 160 mm).
- Graphics cards, up to 310mm in length, when 2 HDD brackets are removed (Graphics cards longer than 170 mm will conflict with PSUs longer than 160mm).
- Tower CPU coolers, up to 165 mm tall.
- Case dimensions (W x H x D): 250 x 210 x 374 mm.
- Case volume: 19,5 Liters.
- Net weight: 4,9 kg.
Looks like quite a nice case, fair review.
I was hoping to get one since it was released last year, but they are near impossible to find.
I think it’s good to see more micro cases supporting your standard ATX PSU – I have yet to see a PC which has actually had more than 3 HDDs at a time.
I bought one of these and have a couple notes to make: I put in a GS600 and it has to be fitted upside-down, there is virtually no room for the cables, screws on the back are not the same as screws for the HDD trays, the big fan at the back makes more noise than my laptop, and it looks extremely awesome next to my subwoofer!
It is one headache to put together.