Fractal Design NODE 304 Review 13

Fractal Design NODE 304 Review

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Value and Conclusion

  • The Fractal Design Node 304 sells for around 90 - 100 € in various eShops.
  • Great use of space for such a small chassis
  • Excellent build quality
  • Three fans are included
  • Fan controller switch for all three fans
  • Space for up to six hard drives
  • Full ATX PSU will fit - just watch the length
  • USB 3.0 Cable comes with additional USB 2.0 header
  • Plenty of possibilities to tie down cables on the floor of the case
  • Dust filters on all intake areas
  • Quiet on low fan setting
  • Can fit fairly large CPU cooler
  • Can easily fit a large graphics card
  • Cool white LED in front
  • Clean design
  • A tad more expensive than other mini-ITX cases out there
  • No reset button
  • Modular PSUs won't work in combination with a long GPU
  • Watch the length of the PSU, especially if you want to install a long GPU
  • No external drive bay
The Fractal Design Node 304 does not only look good on the outside, but it also makes great use of its space within. It is clearly the evolution of the Array case: it still offers the ability to install loads of hard drives while also giving the user the ability to go for a big, high-performance GPU. This means that the Node 304 can house a great gaming system, especially as you may also install a fairly large CPU cooler. That said, it still has that storage-unit feel and functionally, which may put a few gamers off. Missing an external drive bay and a reset button put a slight dampener on the Node 304 as a real LAN-party chassis, but it should feel right at home as a storage/media center/gaming unit next to your TV by, for example, allowing you to combine all three aspects with a high-end graphics card, operating system SSD, and three large spinning-drives in Raid 5. Overall, the Node 304 makes a cool and useful impression with a surprising amount of space and flexible usability. Now, just slap a slimline drive-bay in to make it the perfect all-rounder chassis, Fractal Design!
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Jun 7th, 2024 08:10 EDT change timezone

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