Fractal Design Arc Midi: The Mid Tower You've Been Waiting For?
by Dustin Sklavos on October 7, 2011 12:45 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Fractal Design
Conclusion: Almost There
In a way, reviewing the Fractal Design Arc Midi feels like I'm reviewing two different cases: the one that ships, and the one enthusiasts will tinker with. One of these is good but not great, while the other has the potential to be a stellar investment. Break it down into two parts and you can see where Fractal Design went right and where they went wrong.
The case design itself is stellar and leaves little to be desired. It's a little cramped, sure, but that's the price you pay for getting a healthy amount of expansion and flexibility in a mid tower format. In exchange you do get that expansion and flexibility, all in what I think is an extremely attractive package with a smart aesthetic that feels at worst frugal rather than cheap. Build quality is excellent, with a lot of attention paid to the little details. It's easy to assemble, it looks good, what more can you ask for?
Well, you can ask for better fans. I think the fan controller included is a nice touch, but I suspect the fans Fractal Design uses are less than ideal for this enclosure. I keep feeling like we could see better performance out of the Arc Midi if we just pulled the stock fans, pulled the fan controller, and added better fans. The acoustics just don't fall in line with the cooling performance, but thankfully this is one place where the dedicated enthusiast can probably get a lot of mileage out of the Arc Midi.
Unfortunately, replacement fans cost money, and when you start spending up you begin to wonder if you shouldn't have just gone with something like the Corsair 650D or my personal favorite, the Rosewill Thor v2. My answer? Frankly, I like the way the Arc Midi looks, so I'd be more inclined to tinker with it. $99 is fairly inexpensive for a quality case, and the Arc Midi is well-built, looks good, and is easy to use.
If you want the best case you can get for under $100, as it ships, I'd probably suggest going with the Corsair Carbide 400R or In-Win BUC. But if you're willing to put in the time and energy and invest a bit, the Fractal Design Arc Midi should serve you well.
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beginner99 - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
I'm quiet surprised about the noise. I'm not sure that buying new fans helps much. i have the fractal R2 and those fans are inaudible, ok they don't have very good air flow but still. The noise comes from the GPU and probably cpu cooler and not the case fans and hence replacing them will mainly help improve cooling.But then if you want quiet you would not buy this case anyway.
Iketh - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
For some reason, this article got me thinking about tiptronic fans... what happened to them?? I can't find in google searchesKepe - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
I strongly recommend you guys at Anandtech check out and review the Define R3. The internal and external layouts are pretty much identical despite differing aesthetics on the outside. What the R3 has over the Arc Midi, though, is noise insulation all over the case. It also has removable noise insulation pieces for those fan intakes and exhausts that are not occupied by a fan. This way you can choose to have a VERY quiet case, or a very well ventilated case that is still quite quiet.I have the R3 with 2 intake fans in the front, 1 intake fan at the bottom and 1 exhaust fan at the back. This creates a nice overpressure that ensures there is minimal dust build-up in the case. When idling, the computer is very quiet. So quiet in fact, that when I come home from somewhere, I can't even hear if the thing is turned on or off (I have a small 1 room apartment). Also the thermals are astonishing. My Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti runs at 34 degrees Celsius when idle, and never reaches 75 degrees Celsius in Furmark.
The Define R3 cost me 75€ here in Finland (and we have huge taxes on everything), so I think it should be in the same exact price range as the Arc Midi.
barry spock - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
Yes, similarly I have the define mini. It has a lot of the same components as the arc here. For me the rubber access grommits did come loose, but apart from that I quite like it.Cyleo - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
Seriously, I've been waiting for this to be reviewed by Anand. I've had a hard time choosing between the R3, Carbide 400R and this one for a couple of weeks now and been hoping Anand would at least review one of them (your reviews can be a real dealbreaker for me). It didn't make my choose any easier, I still love the design of the fractal's and Anand hasn't reviewed the R3 (yet?) but I have some new arguments now. Any tips/suggestions from the other good chaps around here?Kepe - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
As I mentioned in my post above yours, I would definitely recommend the R3. It has the same layout but with very good noise insulation (even on the side panel fan mount) that lets you decide how exactly the air circulates in your case. But I do recommend at least 1 extra intake fan with the R3. With stock cooling, performance isn't that great. It's not bad, but it isn't industry-leading either.hechacker1 - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
I agree.I also have the R3, and the stock fan configuration can be lacking depending on your needs.
1. If you populate all the hard drive bays (it makes an excellent RAID box case), you will need another fan in the front.
2. If you have a hot chipset, you will either need a bottom or side panel mounted fan. My X58 chipset was crashing due to heat in the summer (110F outside), and putting on a low noise side panel fan solved the issue.
3. It's default configuration is damn near silent compared to the ambient noise. You could significantly improve it buying a few higher quality low noise fans. And this is on a gaming PC/RAID box config. I can hear the hard drives over the fans.
Dustin Sklavos - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
I just requested the R3, but I have a pretty hefty backlog of cases to review still.Honestly without knowing about the R3, between the 400R and the Arc Midi it's a tough call. I think I'd probably lean toward the Arc Midi, but I'd definitely populate the side vents with low-speed intake fans.
Kepe - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
Personally, I don't like side intake fans. A friend of mine actually installed a side intake fan to his rig, but all it did was raise the GPU temperature. This might have something to do with airflow and turbulence messing up the airflow to the GPU fan. Of course the placement of the side panel cutout for the fan affects this too. I don't remember the make and model of the case he uses, but it is a 50-70€ gaming case from a well-known manufacturer.If you want more airflow for the GPU, it's at least worth a shot to install a fan to the bottom of the case.
Z Throckmorton - Friday, October 7, 2011 - link
If your friend has an intake fan at the front of the case towards the bottom, tell him to try that lower side fan as an exhaust rather than as an intake. IME that lowers GPU temperatures.