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Fractal Design NODE 202

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,115 (0.42/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Name Corsair 2000D Silent Gaming Rig
Processor Intel Core i5-14600K
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z790-i Gaming Wifi
Cooling Corsair iCUE H150i Black
Memory Corsair 64 GB 6000 MHz DDR5
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phoenix GS
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Gigabyte 32" M32U
Case Corsair 2000D
Power Supply Corsair 850 W SFX
Mouse Logitech MX
Keyboard Sharkoon PureWriter TKL
The Fractal Design NODE 202 can be purchased bare or with a 450W SFX PSU. Its aim is to deliver all the space you need for a compact but potent gaming rig, while also sporting the looks to go right next to your TV or even gaming console. We fill the chassis and fire it up to see if it can hold its ground in both usage scenarios.

Show full review
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Where I live its actually way cheaper to buy the combo. The case with a comparable SFX PSU costs around 180 Eur. The bundle costs ~150 Eur, slightly less.

This will probably end up as the case of choice for my dedicated LAN-computer

Edit: Is that the Thermalright AXP-100R in the case? Its 58 mm high according to spec, how much space is there for cooling? (56mm seems to not be correct?)

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/NODE_202/images/instmb.jpg
 
Tests of small cases are pretty useless without temperature and noise measurements.
 
I need this right now. No really I needs it
 
Tests of small cases are pretty useless without temperature and noise measurements.
This is from Silent PC Review:

System Configuration:
  • Intel Core i5-4690K processor
  • ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 980 graphics card
Screen Shot 2015-09-01 at 11.35.09 PM.png

I like Fractal Design. I built a system recently in a Fractal Node 304 (20L) and it performs very well, but it looks like the Node 202 is inferior to the SilverStone FTZ01 in this even more compact (10-15L) form factor.

That being said, if you prefer the Node 202 aesthetic over the FTZ01, then a GTX 750 or GTX 950 will be a much better option over a GTX 980 regarding heat and noise, without some very creative watercooling mods being applied.

Links to reviews on SPCR:
Fractal Design Node 202 Compact Gaming Case
SilverStone FTZ01: Mini-ITX Fortress
 
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This is from Silent PC Review:

System Configuration:
  • Intel Core i5-4690K processor
  • ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 980 graphics card
View attachment 67729
I like Fractal Design. I built a system recently in a Fractal Node 304 (20L) and it performs very well, but it looks like the Node 202 is inferior to the SilverStone FTZ01 in this even more compact (10-15L) form factor.

That being said, if you prefer the Node 202 aesthetic over the FTZ01, then a GTX 750 or GTX 950 will be a much better option over a GTX 980 regarding heat and noise, without some very creative watercooling mods being applied.
I think the lack of system fans contribute to that problem.
 
This is from Silent PC Review:

System Configuration:
  • Intel Core i5-4690K processor
  • ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 980 graphics card
View attachment 67729
I like Fractal Design. I built a system recently in a Fractal Node 304 (20L) and it performs very well, but it looks like the Node 202 is inferior to the SilverStone FTZ01 in this even more compact (10-15L) form factor.

That being said, if you prefer the Node 202 aesthetic over the FTZ01, then a GTX 750 or GTX 950 will be a much better option over a GTX 980 regarding heat and noise, without some very creative watercooling mods being applied.

Links to reviews on SPCR:
Fractal Design Node 202 Compact Gaming Case
SilverStone FTZ01: Mini-ITX Fortress

That's exactly the info that this review should have conveyed, but didn't. Many thanks.

I like Fractal's cases too but it looks like the 202 is a swing and a miss. Those temperatures are frightening.
 
That's exactly the info that this review should have conveyed, but didn't. Many thanks.

I like Fractal's cases too but it looks like the 202 is a swing and a miss. Those temperatures are frightening.
Don't you think the two fans contribute to that? Which is non-existent in the Node 202.
 
great case, would be even better if you could buy one.
 
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