Fractal Design Array

Darksaber · May 14, 2010

The Fractal Design Array manages to swallow a whole six 3.5 inch drives and a single 2.5 inch one without the usual dimensions of a mid or full tower case. This makes the ITX chassis a great DIY NAS or server chassis. We dive into the Array to see how they manage to stuff so much hardware into a chassis of this size.

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Pete1989 · Jul 8, 2010

I've been told by Fractal that there is a R2 version coming out. I'm surprised that they didnt send you one of them. The main difference being that it has 2x expansion slots.

Can you get any more info out of your sources than i can just asking them? All that they have said so far is that its due for release in the coming weeks.

Darksaber · Jul 8, 2010

Pete1989 said:
I've been told by Fractal that there is a R2 version coming out. I'm surprised that they didnt send you one of them. The main difference being that it has 2x expansion slots.

Can you get any more info out of your sources than i can just asking them? All that they have said so far is that its due for release in the coming weeks.

I heard about that as well from my source. So that will be great to see. Maybe we get a chance to review that as well.

newtekie1 · Jul 8, 2010

I think I would just cut to the chase and get the Lian-Li PC-Q08B for $130.

Two Expansion Slots
Front USB and Audio(and is USB3.0 too!)
Reset Button
Optical Drive
Takes a Standard ATX PSU, none of that SFX crap

Initialised · Jul 9, 2010

I prefer the SG07 - it takes a full length 5970 and has a PSU that can cope with it.

HillBeast · Jul 11, 2010

Hmm. It looks nice, but without a DVD Drive it kind of makes it pointless. I can see myself using it as a NAS, but I'd get annoyed at it whenever you need to install an OS you need to crack it open and plug in a SATA drive or use an external USB drive (which I hate using). Also the lack of an HDD light is annoying.

I'd rather get a Shuttle case or something like the above post (even though I'd never put a 5970 in a NAS

)

Frick · Jul 11, 2010

How is a lack of the HDD led bad? If you're using it as a NAS, you probably will not stare at it all day. Hide and and use it, that's pretty much the point of it imo.

No optical bay I can survive actually. THe price is pretty bad though.

I do love the design of the thing.

HillBeast · Jul 11, 2010

Frick said:
How is a lack of the HDD led bad? If you're using it as a NAS, you probably will not stare at it all day. Hide and and use it, that's pretty much the point of it imo.

No optical bay I can survive actually. THe price is pretty bad though.

I do love the design of the thing.

It's a diagnosis thing. That's my opinion and one of the key things I hate about a Mac. If it's just sitting there not responding, it's nice to see if it's doing something or just being stupid.

The design is very nice, I agree. It is a nice clean look.

mudkip · Jul 12, 2010

Even though Fractal Design advertises the PSU as "efficient", there is no 80Plus logo to be found anywhere. In times where PSU manufacturers are managing to push out 80Plus Gold units, there are simply no excuses for not having even the most basic 80Plus Bronze certification.

Having your PSU tested by the 80Plus organisation costs money. Also using their logo/qualification costs money. So for a simple PSU there's no need for alll this.
Nexus also has some high efficiency PSU's but aren't labelled as 80Plus Silver/Gold. Only to bring the price of the unit down.

http://www.nexustek.nl/Nexus_RX-1K_Modular_Quiet_Power_Supply_1000W.htm

System Name	Meshlicious Monster
Processor	Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard	MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling	NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory	ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s)	Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case	ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse	Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard	Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Home

System Name	Meshlicious Monster
Processor	Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard	MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling	NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory	ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s)	Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case	ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse	Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard	Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Home

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Roxy
Processor	i7 5930K @ 4.5GHz (167x27 1.35V)
Motherboard	X99-A/USB3.1
Cooling	Barrow Infinity Mirror, EK 45x420mm, EK X-Res w 10W DDC
Memory	2x16GB Patriot Viper 3600 @3333 16-20-20-38
Video Card(s)	XFX 5700 XT Thicc III Ultra
Storage	Sabrent Rocket 2TB, 4TB WD Mechanical
Display(s)	Acer XZ321Q (144Mhz Freesync Curved 32" 1080p)
Case	Modded Cosmos-S Red, Tempered Glass Window, Full Frontal Mesh, Black interior
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Corsair RM 850x White
Mouse	Logitech G403
Keyboard	CM Storm QuickFire TK
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://valid.x86.fr/e5uz5f

System Name	Kuja
Processor	Intel Core i7 930
Motherboard	Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
Cooling	Corsair H50 HB.o Special Edition with Koolance CHC-122 NB Block
Memory	OCZ Extreme Edition 4GB Dual Channel
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Radeon 5870 Vapor-X Rev. 2
Storage	2x 1TB WD Green in RAID
Display(s)	BenQ V2400W
Case	Lian Li PC-A17 HB.o Special Edition
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek 889A
Power Supply	Gigabyte Odin Pro 800W
Software	Windows 7 Professional
Benchmark Scores	93632 sysPoints in sysTest '09 47 FPS in Star Tales Benchmark

Fractal Design Array

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

Pete1989

New Member

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Initialised

HillBeast

New Member

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop

HillBeast

New Member

mudkip

System Name	Black MC in Tokyo
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600
Motherboard	Asrock B450M-HDV
Cooling	Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory	2 x 16GB Kingston Fury 3400mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage	Kingston A400 240GB \| WD Black SN750 2TB \|WD Blue 1TB x 2 \| Toshiba P300 2TB \| Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s)	Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case	Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s)	Line6 UX1 + some headphones, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Cherry MX Board 1.0 TKL Brown
VR HMD	Acer Mixed Reality Headset
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	Rimworld 4K ready!

System Name	Silent allround
Processor	i5 750 @ 3,0Ghz 1.04v / 3.4Ghz 1.11v/ 3,6Ghz 1.15v
Motherboard	Gigabyte P55-USB3
Cooling	Thermalright IFX-14 + Scythe Slip Stream 140mm @ 600RPM
Memory	2 x 4GB Samsung M378B5273DH0-CH9 @ 2000 MHz 9-10-10-27 T1
Video Card(s)	Sapphire HD 5870 Vapor-X @ 940/1270
Storage	Intel Postville 80GB SSD & Western Digital Green 2TB
Display(s)	Dell Ultrasharp U2412M
Case	Bitfenix Merc Alpha
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar D2 with Unified Drivers
Power Supply	Nexus NX-5000 R3 530W
Software	Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Benchmark Scores	Super pi 1M : 8,549s @ 4,7Ghz (Core i7 920)