The Fractal Design Node 202 Case Review: Mini-ITX Gaming For the Living Room
by E. Fylladitakis on June 6, 2016 9:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- HTPC
- Fractal Design
- ITX
Conclusion
Fractal Design created the Node 202 for use into modern living rooms, yet unlike some of the other living room-centric designs we've seen in the past, for the Node 202 they did not have an HTPC in mind. The case lacks the capability to support optical and 3.5” drives, essentially preventing the use of optical media and limiting the storage capacity of the system, features that are of primary importance to a HTPC. Instead this is a case intended to accommodate a modern Mini ITX gaming system within minimal proportions, all while maintaining an elegant external appearance. It would be no exaggeration to say that Fractal Design created the Node 202 envisioning the replacement of a gaming console from a gaming PC.
Recapping the design of the case, like some other living room-centric cases, the Node 202 can be placed either horizontally or vertically. However vertical placement will degrade the aesthetics of the case, as the company logo will be sideward and the bottom of the Node 202 is not flat and clean like the top. When placed vertically, depending on the system and setup, it is wise to place the Node 202 with its left side down, as the right side offers some ventilation to the CPU/Motherboard area.
The size of the Node 202 introduces a number of limitations and the case is not very comfortable to work with. A lot of attention is needed when selecting the hardware, especially the length of the PSU’s cables, the size of the GPU card and the height of the CPU cooler. Cleaning the filters is a tedious, time consuming process, as both panels of the case need to come off. In terms of quality however the Node 202 does not disappoint, as the chassis is very strong and Fractal Design is using high quality materials.
Ultimately I can't help but to reiterate that this is a case designed for a very specific niche. It doesn’t have an optical drive bay for true HTPC usage, and it doesn't have 3.5" drive bays for use as a small file server. This is a case designed specifically to accommodate a full sized video card (or some other dual-slot PCIe card), and this is what it does well.
For its intended purpose, serving as a living room gaming machine, the Node 202 does not disappoint. With an energy efficient CPU and video card installed, the Node 202 can host a relatively powerful gaming PC. The tight space does pose some restrictions - you're going to want to stick to reference-style blower cards - but otherwise you shouldn't have any trouble getting a latest generation high-end card in the Node 202, a testament to both its design and the relatively low power consumption of the latest generation of cards.
In conclusion, the Node 202 is a case designed solely to introduce a gaming PC into a living room while maintaining a low volume and elegant form. Due to the very limited cooling options and the limiting SFX PSU, very powerful hardware will either cause issues or not fit at all. Still, the Node 202 can accommodate a potent gaming PC that will satisfy most users who want to do some casual gaming into the living room.
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JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
External USB Bluray drive?Scootiep7 - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
If you're adding peripherals all you're doing is defeating the purpose of a small, elegant, stand alone box which is what an HTPC should be. One of the main function is to be completely self contained and maintain a look as though it belongs with other media centric items such as an amplifier, AV receiver, etc.AbRASiON - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Silverstone SUGO08 - beautiful piece of kit, love mine, very nice looking in the HTPC arena too. I'd say it would classify as "wife proof"Scootiep7 - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Definitely a nice and very functional case. But I've never been fond of the "box" style. They don't fit well with some of my other slim AV equipment.Scootiep7 - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Oddly enough, I ended up going with an In Win BP671 mini ITX case back in 2012. Took the PSU out and installed a PICO PSU in an enclosure I made from the supplied PSU. Only fan running in the entire case is the PSU heatsink so for all intents and purposes it's silent. Works wonderfully for my kids games and plays all videos (disc or stream) flawlessly. Cheap little thing, but it looks like it belongs with the rest of our AV equipment.YukaKun - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
I actually love the concept, but it's a rough execution still. Too bad is miniITX only. I would have loved some mATX support.It needs more front USB ports and there is wasted space next to the GPU. I know there's not much room still, but you can fit some cases and all shifting everything a few millimeters.
Cheers!
zunido - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
Can you make a comparison with the silverstone ftz01?Good quality mini itx cases that have an understated (non juvenile) look are a rare breed. I would like to see how they stack up.
My setup: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/b/RLQV3C
Madpacket - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
Spend the extra on a Silverstone FTZ-01. It's aluminium and radiates heat better than the cheaper Raven models. Plus the FTZ-01 accomdates 2.5" wide cards with no problems. The fractal is limited to 2 slot cards only. I currently have a 4790K + MSI 390 and Raid Strip dual 480GB drives with an SFX-L power supply. A 256GB M.2 SSD fits underneath the AsRock Z97 board. It's a beautiful, functional and sturdy case and the aluminium really separates it from these cheaper designs. Plus you can jam a small CLC water cooler in it if careful. It also supports a slim drive bluray if that's on your list. All dust filters are external and removable for easy cleaning. I stack mine vertically to save desk space.santiagodraco - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
This is a perfect HTPC case, not sure why this article would suggest otherwise. I've had a half-height case with an optical drive for a couple of years and have not used the drive a single time. Most HTPCs will (or should!) stream media from a media server or DAS/NAS. I can understand that there may be some wanting to play their DVD/Blu-ray discs but I'd be surprised if they aren't already using a separate player for that. Worst case you can use an external drive.The big win for this case is being able to use a full height graphics card... makes me consider switching from my Moncaso to this at some point.
RodIT - Tuesday, June 14, 2016 - link
Looks like a great case for a Steam box.