Fractal Design Node 304 itx case

this design looks really good I want one!

only downsides I can see are, zero form's of any cable management possibility's, not even a 'L' shaped piece of metal to tuck them away, I'm guessing it's another "stuff behind the PSU scenario" :D
 
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Looks more like a competitor to the SG08 than the SG05. Looks more flexible in its options than the SG08 and should have better airflow and cooler options. As far as PSUs are concerned, you want to be right-sizing. A 750W PSU in a system that is usually drawing less than 200W is a bad choice because the efficiency is piss poor down there. You want to choose a PSU that is about twice as powerful as your typical usage but still greater than your peak. For today's ITX gamer (670/680 + i5/i7 30% OC), 450W is just about perfect.
 
I wanna use this case in a passive set up, what are good cpu tower coolers that don't block the pci slot?
 
Looks really nice, but echoing others, it's massive! I for one am glad that they got rid of optical media. Even for most HTPCs, people rarely use optical media. I doubt that at this size it's aimed for the HTPC market anyway.
 
Gab said:
The Thermalright macho would fit, turned 90°.
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hmmm, shame I can't find the original 'HR-02' for sale :(

I'll have to measure up when I get the case and see if any other thermalright might fit :D
 
Does anyone know when this case is going to be released? I want to build a SFF machine for work and I think this case would be my best option.
 
I don't get it, yes, it's not as small as a SG05/08 but it's pretty compact considering what can be squeezed in it, I still want to see one put together with some nice gear and see what it looks like.
 
I think they should have gone with an either / or approach when it came to Gaming / NAS.

First off, I love the case, there are very few things I would change from the stock layout (but it's huge... i'll get to that in a sec). Just about the only thing I would do with this particular layout (other than the previously suggested reversal of airflow) would be to rotate the PSU 90 degrees. With 375mm in length, there is plenty of space to front exhaust the PSU (into the behind front panel space) and then you won't have issues with GPUs / modular plugs as the ATX PSU width standard is less than 160mm (in this change you would still have the PSU inlet coming through the floor). There would have to be some limits to prevent running your modular plugs into the motherboard (but I don't have an actual case on hand to test this idea out). This would also reduce manufacturing costs since you wouldn't have to make that extra bracket, just waterjet/punch some mounting holes / vent square into the front (interior) panel.

Now, my either/or comment. I think that Fractal is trying to do too much with this case. The primary reason for itx cases is portability or looking small. This case isn't small, so scratch that idea. So, portability: 3.5" hard drives are HEAVY, especially when you have six of them! I tend to keep my NAS boxen in a closet somewhere and only physically move them when something breaks. This case is a piece of art... it is beautiful, so I wouldn't want to put it in a closet, but you get what I'm saying here. NAS Storage and Mobile (SFF) gaming are mutually exclusive activities.

I think that Fractal could have gotten away with a height of around 140-150mm for this case, just drop everything down. You get either an ATX PSU for gaming with a big vid card, or you get 6x 3.5" drives and a pico psu/SFX psu over the motherboard. It wouldn't cost too much to provide either option (hell, the one extra part (the 6x 3.5" rack) could be sold as a different SKU or an add-on piece, or included as an accessory). That would put this into the 13L realm, much more in line with a proper SFF case. Shave a little on the width to slim down clearances around the mobo, shave a little on length due to the overly bulgy front and you're flirting with 10-11L (SG05/SG06 territory).

I guess my biggest rant with the current state of the SFF market is the height of the cases. You don't need 180-200mm to make ITX gaming work (and you need more than 120mm, Apexi/Thermaltake clones). If you're going to make a SFF case (one that utilizes a mITX motherboard), try to actually make the case in a small form factor philosophy!
 
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flopticalcube said:
You want to choose a PSU that is about twice as powerful as your typical usage but still greater than your peak. For today's ITX gamer (670/680 + i5/i7 30% OC), 450W is just about perfect.
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I find this hard to believe.

My asus z77 mini-itx should be here in a couple days. i have it paired with a 3570K and i know those two alone with an overclock to 4.5ghz is almost 200watts when running P95 or similar right?

if you add in a gtx 680 that is another 200 watts under furmark or similar and that is without overclock.

if you ran both P95 and furmark at sametime i do not know how a 450watt PSU could stand up to it

SG05-450 must be better then a 450 (it is under rated i bet)

i dont think i would trust my 3570K @ 4.5GHz with a gtx 680 with an overclock going balls out with that 450 PSU....

just my 2 cents
 
A complete system with the i7-3770K consumes just under 120W @ stock speed under full load (no GPU). Let's give her a 30% power boost for 30% OC so about 160W. The 680 will probably run 220-230W with some overclock. So 390W peak. This is not typical usage however. Games rarely stress both GPU and CPU to the max at the same time, well, certainly not the CPU. If the CPU runs at half load (say 100W system) and the GPU runs full the total is about 300-330W so a little high but fairly close to the mid-range efficiency. Spot on pretty much if you have a non-OC'd 670. The ST450SF will get 84% or better efficiency from 150W-350W .
 
flopticalcube said:
A complete system with the i7-3770K consumes just under 120W @ stock speed under full load (no GPU). Let's give her a 30% power boost for 30% OC so about 160W. The 680 will probably run 220-230W with some overclock. So 390W peak. This is not typical usage however. Games rarely stress both GPU and CPU to the max at the same time, well, certainly not the CPU. If the CPU runs at half load (say 100W system) and the GPU runs full the total is about 300-330W so a little high but fairly close to the mid-range efficiency. Spot on pretty much if you have a non-OC'd 670. The ST450SF will get 84% or better efficiency from 150W-350W .
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if you dont figure for the worse case scenario (linpak and furmark) for your watts you use for cpu and gpu (combined) then you should kiss your system good-bye if you happen to run something that uses both to the full extent
have you ever done any folding where they use both cpu + gpu?

more and more apps use open cl and cuda on a regular bases
transcoding anyone?

anyhow if you are going to be a gtx 680 and a 3770K in a system together with a good overclock in one of these sg05 systems with the 450 watt psu then you should ADD the following:

dont run linpak and furmark at the same time.
dont do any transcoding that also uses your gpu with cpu.
dont do any file compression while your gaming.

you get my point
DONT MAX OUT YOUR CPU AND GPU at the same time!
BOOM!
 
Looks like the 14" by 8.75" by 5.5" cardboard box is coming out for demoing :p

<edit>Screw cardboard, just found a place that is making a box out of 3003 Aluminum (.080) for me :D
 
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tdbone1 said:
if you dont figure for the worse case scenario (linpak and furmark) for your watts you use for cpu and gpu (combined) then you should kiss your system good-bye if you happen to run something that uses both to the full extent
have you ever done any folding where they use both cpu + gpu?

more and more apps use open cl and cuda on a regular bases
transcoding anyone?

anyhow if you are going to be a gtx 680 and a 3770K in a system together with a good overclock in one of these sg05 systems with the 450 watt psu then you should ADD the following:

dont run linpak and furmark at the same time.
dont do any transcoding that also uses your gpu with cpu.
dont do any file compression while your gaming.

you get my point
DONT MAX OUT YOUR CPU AND GPU at the same time!
BOOM!
Click to expand...

If you see my calculations, the ST450SF will support an OC'd 680 and an OC'd 3770K both going at full tilt. If anything, my estimate for full CPU power draw was about 15W too high.

None of this is typical to a gamer however as not many would want to run linpack and furmark at the same time. But if you are worried about power draw, simply lower the OC on either or both components and you would easily achieve full mid-band efficiency at full draw.
 
its all about the numbers :)

i want to know 100% for sure the watts it draws from the wall while under full load and overclocked :)
 
tdbone1 said:
its all about the numbers :)

i want to know 100% for sure the watts it draws from the wall while under full load and overclocked :)
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Look at the reviews I linked to. Get yourself a kill-a-watt meter to measure consumption. Keep in mind that a 450W power supply running at minimum 80% efficiency can pull in 450/0.80 = 562 watts from the wall. Like I said before, get a power supply that runs at peak efficiency (usually somewhere around 50% of rated power) for typical usage but make sure it is capable of supplying maximum power as well, just in case.
 
FYI -- Johnny Guru's PSU reviews come with efficiency graphs over the whole range. That's why I picked my X750 ;)
 
do FD provide those rubber fan screws with there cases? because in the pics there just using normal screws.
 
Has anyone actually found one of these in the wild? August release supposedly, but we've only a few days left.

Friend is doing a build in a few months, probably ITX or mATX. This case is a strong contender.
 
Here was what I got from them a month ago.

Hi Jason,

The Node 304 should be available in the US at the end of September (MSRP $89.99) and the Node 605 will be available in October (MSRP $159.99). Both will be found at Newegg, NCIX.us, and Micro Center. I don’t have the exact data for the CFM of the fans installed in the Node cases but they do get sufficient intake to cool the system. Should you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call or email.

Best Regards,
Ryan
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esseun said:
Here was what I got from them a month ago.
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Great, thanks. That's within the timeline of the build, so I'll leave it in the ring!

I'm also looking forward to seeing how well the 92mm fans perform. My plan is to use an H60 on the back, if the "client" likes the case and the ITX format.
 
I hope no optical drive becomes a trend, really all they have to do is put SATA data/power ports on the front/rear of cases and we can hook up hard drives and optical drives as needed without having to mess with eSATA or USB.
 
*foot tapping impatiently*

Any updates?
(yes, I saw the recent Bit-tech review -- I'm talking about general availability... unless fractal wants to send me an advance copy to mess with :D)
 
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As you may have noticed from the German review, the case is out in europe and should be available very soon in the US :D
 
NCIX has it up now at a premium, and I'd guess it will hit elsewhere at MSRP or less this week.
 
great case. my next build will be with an ITX mobo and case and hopefully a non-ATX PSU.
here is a video
 
Awesome case.... I think I might get this when its released for my new HTPC build.
 
Why isn't there any love for the CoolerMaster Elite 120 Advance? I mean yes, the case does get toasty, but if you just put a god damn fan to the side of the exhaust or intake, the case is just fine.
 
TheMusketeer said:
Why isn't there any love for the CoolerMaster Elite 120 Advance? I mean yes, the case does get toasty, but if you just put a god damn fan to the side of the exhaust or intake, the case is just fine.
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Woah dood, I love my CM Elite 120 but I don't think crapping on this thread is appropriate - this isn't even a mITX generic thread or whatever.

You don't see people going to the CM Elite 120 thread and pooping all over it saying things like "Why isn't there any love for the Fractal Design Node 304?"

To answer your question... most people seem rather ill in taste towards the front face of the CM Elite 120 - I personally like it and even added some snazzy to mine.

To each their own I suppose.
 
I don't know if anybody has had any experience with this case yet since it doesn't appear to be super available yet, but it does say on the fractal website that this case will take PSUs up to 160mm in length. However it also says that modular PSUs will "typically need to be shorter than 160 mm". I took a quick look at newegg and it seems like most of the modular PSUs in the 500w -600w range I saw were already 160mm if not longer. Does anybody have any experience on what modular PSUs will fit? I have a personal bias towards Seasonic products because they tend to be very quiet and I've had good experiences with them, but that's just me...

edit: nevermind I found a few that are 150mm in length
 
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Picked up the Silverstone ST65F-G and it's perfect for these pint sized powerhouse builds IMO.
140mm, 650W, Modular, 80+ Gold, etc
 
Talz said:
Picked up the Silverstone ST65F-G and it's perfect for these pint sized powerhouse builds IMO.
140mm, 650W, Modular, 80+ Gold, etc
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Is it pretty quiet ?

Got a build thread ?

Im starting to put together a list for my Node Build
 
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