Fractal Node 304 Mini ITX Review

[vanwazltoff]

From the outside of the case it is very Fractal esque with a black body and white highlightes from the fans, to PCI slot covers and hard drive cages. I fell in love with Fractal Designs' aesthetics with the Define R3 Pearl Black, that case had its short comings, most of which were addressed in the R4 revision, but I loved that case even with the less than stellar thermal performance and I kept it around for the family computer. The Node 304 does not disappoint, I was able to make a pretty high end system and I know I could have even stepped it up more if my budget had allowed for it. Out of the box things were pretty easy, I was able to get all of the external thumb screws out with a slight bit of force, but I didn't have to use a screw driver, most of the interior thumb screws and hard drive cage screws did need a screw driver however. The case is very solidly built and the powder coating is noticeable stronger than the R3. Fractal has done away with the fake aluminum front that they typically use and has opted for a metal front panel cover instead. There is a very small amount of plastic in the entire case, half of the front panel and the front and bottom fan filters consist of 90% of the plastic that is used, the rest is all metal, and very solid feeling metal at that. The hard drive cages are very solidly built, but they are by no means tool-less, you may have to keep a screw driver handy if you swap a lot of hard drives. Fractal REALLY needs to work on tool-less systems, they have been working on this for fans but never on hard drive cages/trays. The case has some cable management punch outs that are located above and below were a PCI card would be, you would have to stuff a lot of things under the graphics card if you were to use these.

The build was pretty easy, the only thing I had to redo was the cable management as that's a premium in a case of this size and typically takes a few tries, but Fractal does provide some cable management, not much but adequate and its all around were the GPU is located. The motherboard stand offs were not pre-installed which was a bit surprising and disappointing but all were easy to get in besides one that was in a rather awkward position, after that my motherboard was able to get in fairly easily. Note that I was using an all-in-one water cooler, a larger heat sink will most likely lead to issues. An all-in-one will have to be mounted sideways but they can be easily installed. I had an Antec Kuhler 620 with one pull fan and a homemade radiator shroud. A push-pull configuration would fit with room to spare. I would personally recommend an NZXT Kraken X40 for CPU cooling in this case. I did a fare amount of motherboard stuffing [stuffing front i/o under the motherboard], rerouted some unused SATA power cables behind the front cover, overall I was able to get things looking a lot cleaner than I had originally anticipated after seeing other ITX builds on the web. With a few small modifications and a Molex extension, I could fit almost everything behind the front cover of the case and have a really clean cable management job. I was able to get my Asus GTX 670 in rather easily and you could easily put a much longer card in than that.

The only caveat I have with Fractal about the 304 is power supply unit length. They could have easily moved it forward another centimeter so most non-modular PSUs would fit in it no problem. The power supply length is the only restriction I found as it's a make it or break it for installing a graphics card, too long and you won't be able to install a GPU at all.

Its hard to say anything about my CPU temps as its all new hardware, but I will say that my temps seem better coming from a Define R3 to the 304. I probably did an overclock wrong on i5-2500k in my R3, but I noticed a sizable decrease in thermal performance coming from a Cooler Master HAF 912 in both my CPU and GPU when compared to the R3. That being said I was able to get my i5-3570k up to 4.6Ghz stably with an Asus P8Z77-i Deluxe/WD motherboard, though my temps were in the 70's after running Prime95 maximum heat tests. For 99% of what I do on a daily basis I will never see temperatures past 60C. These temperatures are based off of an Antec Kuhler 620 with a Cooler Master 120mm fan and the 2 stock 92mm Fractal fans running at 12v using the stock fan controller and fan shroud. Running at 7V for all fans I saw a temperature increase of around 5C under full prime load. I did not use 5V as I think that's a rather pointless voltage to run fans that low as they are already inaudible at 7V from a foot away. My idle temperatures for everything but my CPU were in the 20's, my CPU with that overclock typically idles in the low 30's. My GTX 670 runs noticeably cooler in this case than any mid tower I have owned because the graphic card gets air directly from the side panel and takes care of its self instead of relying on the air flow of the case to keep it cool. If you have a loud graphics card this could be problem because of direct cooling through the side panel means a shorter sound travel to escape the case, though you would not have to have the fans blowing as hard in this configuration. This case is ideal for blower style and dual fan style cards though I would recommend twin fans after owning a card with DirectCU2 cooling and the audible differences between blower and thin fan.

The area behind the front panel has so much potential for mods, you could easily make that into a hot swap bay or cut some slots and install a card reader or use it for cable management, bravo on Fractal for providing this space. What this case needs is just a bit a more ventilation if you plan on really overclocking your CPU, but I found it to be more than adequate for most users. One mod I would like to see is white accent lighting on the grills, another would obviously be some sort of hot swap bay, lastly would be cable management is that front area. Im sure someone will figure out how to put an optical drive in this case, but honestly I think Fractal made the right call about ditching the optical drive all together. One last mode I would like to see is the power supply bracket moved back a good centimeter to house longer power supplies. I would also like to see someone attempt a tool-less hard drive solution for this case, but I wont get worked up over it.

For sound testing I was rather pleased, I seem to be getting cooler temps for all of my components in the Node than I did with a Define R3 with 5 fans and I didn't observe any noise unless I was running my fans at 12V, keep in mind that my Cooler Master fan was most likely to blame for any noise. Running at 7V, I honestly cannot hear the system without putting my ear up to the case. My hearing might be to blame for any inconsistencies though as a don't have sound testing equipment.

My finals thoughts about this case are very positive, I have had it for a week and it's already my favorite case. I reality its only competition at this time is the Bitfenix Prodigy, I have seen Prodigy builds and they can get quite ugly just like any other Mini ITX case. Both cases have trade offs, the Prodigy has more cooling options but as soon at you use those cooling options you lose your optical drive, as soon as you put in a graphics card you lose the larger section of the hard drive tray. The Node 304 has less trade offs and its more optimized for a real world scenario. For a gaming machine this can pack quite a punch in a smaller case than most with better cooling and a truly silent but beastly system can lie within, for a server this can house 6 hard drives and it can keep them all running at under 30C. With the NZXT Kraken X40 the Node 304 puts up a strong fight compared to the Prodigy, the Prodigy is a case of too many fan options with low returns, you simply do NOT need that many fans and fan options in an ITX case. The downsides with this case are the length of the power supply and finding something that is compatible, also something that is a fault with ITX cases in general rather than a fault of the actual case which is cable management, though I must say its a step above most in this regard. If I had to choose between the Node 304 and the Bitfenix Prodigy again there is no doubt in my mind that I would get the cleverly made, elegant, practically, king of small, Fractal Node 304. If i were to rate it I would give it a 9/10, tool-less hard drive cages and support for a longer PSU would give it a solid 10/10

This is my first in-depth review besides Newegg and Amazon quick reviews, tell me what you think. I will post pictures of my build at a later date, my cell phone does not take very good pictures but a family member has a Nikon D60, hopefully I can get those up at a later date.

Here is a complete list of my build for any that are interested.

Fractal Node 304 [obviously]

i5-3570k @ 4.6Ghz

Asus P8Z77-i Deluxe/WD

Asus GTX 670 DirectCU2

GSkill Sniper 8Gb 2133Mhz [overkill clock speed, but I got a good deal]

Antec Kuhler 620 [hopefully upgrading to a Kraken X40 in the near future]

Sandisk Extreme 120Gb SSD

WD Caviar Black 2Tb

Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste

Raidmax RX-500AF 80+ Bronze power supply [only one I could find for my budget, I have an 80+ gold 850w modular PSU that was too big to fit and had to buy another hence the budget DX]

[crispy345]

Very good review, very in depth, and covers everything from faults and good things they've done. 10/10 on the review of the review :)

[w_km]

First thing's first: anyone who appreciates this review (like me), please acknowledge vanwazItoff's efforts and hit the Like button!

Great in-depth review! I am currently looking at s similar build in an mATX/HTCP case...not sure yet though. Next time could you have prices and/or total investment to give a general idea of the build. Also, please upload pics if you can. Thanks!

[vanwazltoff]

If you would like to read more reviews I wouldn't mind doing one for a few of my other components, they most likely won't be as long because there isn't as much to cover and there are not as many aspects. Here are a few things I wouldn't mind reviewing:

Asus P8Z77-i Deluxe/WD ITX Motherboard

Grado SR-80i Head Phones

My old Fractal Define R3 Case and how it compares to the R4 revision

Logitech K400 Wireless Keyboard

Asus X401A 14" Laptop

Asus GTX 670 though this has probably been done to death on the interwebs

Also I have a written a few How-To articles on Instructables that I would like to do a refresh on. Maybe Ill do a quick How-To for Overclocking an i5-3570k on an Asus Motherboard. Also maybe an article about how to make Youtube 10 times better on Google Chrome.

[vanwazltoff]

First thing's first: anyone who appreciates this review (like me)' date=' please acknowledge vanwazItoff's efforts and hit the Like button! Great in-depth review! I am currently looking at s similar build in an mATX/HTCP case...not sure yet though. Next time could you have prices and/or total investment to give a general idea of the build. Also, please upload pics if you can. Thanks![/quote']

I believe its about a $1500 build in just the tower without tax and shipping

[Rhizo]

7/10, pictures would make it more interesting, blocks of text arn't my cup of tea. Well written though.

[vanwazltoff]

i keep seeing more and more modding potential! i can put a 240mm or 280mm rad in it if i move my hard drives elsewhere and cut into the top

[vanwazltoff]

7/10, pictures would make it more interesting, blocks of text arn't my cup of tea. Well written though.

i wish i had a descent camera and a place to stage the shots, i.e. a white back ground and sufficient lighting but i dont. i tried to group the blocks of text well by separating aspects, its my first attempt at a long review give me a break DX i am working on blue prints for mods to get a 240mm rad in it and find another place to mount hard drives

[amas]

My main issue with this case (probably won't even be solved with any other ITX) is that I have practically nowhere to put my PSU cables. I just jumbled them all under the front fan and next to the GFX card. Probably wouldn't have fit if I had anything beefier than a 460. Should've went modular =\.

I also wish the feet raised the case higher from the ground but that can easily be fixed. Other than that, your review is pretty spot-on with my own views. Good job!

[vanwazltoff]

My main issue with this case (probably won't even be solved with any other ITX) is that I have practically nowhere to put my PSU cables. I just jumbled them all under the front fan and next to the GFX card. Probably wouldn't have fit if I had anything beefier than a 460. Should've went modular =\.

I also wish the feet raised the case higher from the ground but that can easily be fixed. Other than that, your review is pretty spot-on with my own views. Good job!

i am working on an email for fractal on what they can improve on, they really need to hire me, half of what makes the r4 so much better than the r3 came from me. i was able to get anything i didnt physically need behind the front cover and i got a SATA to molex power adapter so i dont have to route a molex for fans. with an area under neither the mobo tray which would add maybe 20mm to the height but would improve cable management and everything else for that matter significantly

[vanwazltoff]

Though I would elaborate a bit more on power supply lengths. When it says 165mm [6.5 inches] that is the power supply practically touching the graphics card its so close. For a rather comfortable fit with a bit of flexibility and cable management I would go with a power supply that is 140mm [5.5inches] in length that is not modular. If you want a modular power supply your max length is about 140mm [5.5 inches] and thats almost pushing it, for a more comfortable length I would recommend 130-135mm [5.125-5.25 inches].

With a slight bit of modding you can remove the power supply mounting bracket and drill 4 holes, cut off the bottom right hand front plate clip [i am fairly confident is can get by with 3] and remount it 13mm [0.5 inches] back to accommodate a power supply that is 13mm [0.5 inches] longer for modular and non modular power supplies. My estimate is that it would take 15-25 minutes to drill the holes and remount. The power supply max length for both modular and non modular would be around 150mm [5.9 inches]. Thats a lot more ground especially when considering that most power supplies are 150mm [6 inches] or more.

If you have a graphics card that is shorter than 280mm [11 inches] you can put a non modular power supply in up to the max length of 165mm [6.5 inches] although I would NOT recommend this because it would take away from valuable cable management and everything would have to positioned above or below the graphics card and above the power supply. If you have a graphics card of that and below with a non modular power supply of 150mm [6 inches] you will have a little breathing room between the GPU and PSU to route cables that are not that thick but PCI 8pin power and a 24pin ATX will still have to be routed in a slightly less than pleasing way but it would certainly be manageable. After the mod I described above with the same GPU length the PSU length can be 13mm [0.5 inches] longer.

Hope this sheds some light on power supply lengths that are capable in this case.

Here are some power supplies that will fit no problem and are pretty descent:

FSP 600W 80+ Gold, lenth is 140mm [5.5 inches]

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=2222110780&vpn=AURUM%20GOLD%20600&manufacture=FSP%20Group

Corsair Builder Series CX600 600W 80+ Bronze, length is 140mm [5.5 inches] pardon the Newegg link, the NCIX link gives it a bad rap with one rating that is low

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

Seasonic 520W 80+ Bronze, 140mm [5.5 inches]

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=52173&vpn=S12II%20520&manufacture=Seasonic%20Electronics

FSP 700W 80+ Gold, 140mm [5.5 inches]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104099

If you want to keep it all Fractal

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817580002

[yurihellsing]

I love the look of the 304 and i plan my next PC to be in one but im waiting on the iTX MoBo's with thunderbolt ports.

[vanwazltoff]

I love the look of the 304 and i plan my next PC to be in one but im waiting on the iTX MoBo's with thunderbolt ports.

im not sold on thunderbolt, every accessory on the market besides video adaptors i.e. thunderbolt to hdmi/dvi/vgas etc are waaaay to expensive. esata and usb 3.0 are good for now until thunderbolt can actually take off and be useful. besides an external hard drive or capture card that cost more than a motherboard, what is there that supports it?

i have to admit if external graphics solutions worked flawless, my next laptop would have thunderbolt, but drivers dont support that right now

it has potential but prices are flat out ridiculous. here is a good thunderbolt article, not sure if you have come across this

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thunderbolt-performance-z77a-gd80,3205.html

[vanwazltoff]

some pictures

[vanwazltoff]

tried to upload more, got nothing but errors

[WR10]

I would like to say good review overall but too much words for me :P Nonetheless , great effort . 

[vanwazltoff]

I would like to say good review overall but too much words for me :P Nonetheless , great effort . 

it was early in the forum when there were a lot of problems posting pictures and you couldnt edit without losing everything so I had to make up with words instead and got pictures when if would finally let me upload

[WR10]

it was early in the forum when there were a lot of problems posting pictures and you couldnt edit without losing everything so I had to make up with words instead and got pictures when if would finally let me upload

GOSH. I did not even realize the date . Lol , haha 

[vanwazltoff]

GOSH. I did not even realize the date . Lol , haha 

yeah, it was in the first 5 reviews on the site

[tbc]

was there a reason paragraphs were not used?

[vanwazltoff]

was there a reason paragraphs were not used?

Paragraphs were used, this was one of the first reviews on the site over a year ago when the website was unstable, I am assuming that after the transition to from vBulletin to vBulletin upgrades to the new format that is currently being used, paragraph separation was lost somewhere. I was not able to add pictures because of how unstable the website used to be. I will not edit it as I no longer own this case, moderators feel free to delete this post at will.

 

This used to be the most in depth review on the site, oh well....