Fractal Design Core 1000: How Little is Too Little
by Dustin Sklavos on April 13, 2012 11:35 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- MicroATX
- Mini-Tower
- Fractal Design
Testing Methodology
For testing Micro-ATX and full ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-2700K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 4.3GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 |
| Graphics Card |
ASUS GeForce GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP (tested at stock speed and overclocked to 1GHz/overvolted to 1.13V) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| Accessories | Corsair Link |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Plus 750W 80 Plus Silver |
Each case is tested in a stock configuration and an overclocked configuration that generates substantially more heat (and thus may produce more noise). The system is powered on and left idle for fifteen minutes, the thermal and acoustic results recorded, and then stressed by running seven threads in Prime95 (in-place large FFTs) on the CPU and OC Scanner (maximum load) on the GPU. At the end of fiteen minutes, thermal and acoustic results are recorded. This is done for the stock settings and for the overclock, and if the enclosure has a fan controller, these tests are repeated for each setting. Ambient temperature is also measured after the fifteen idle minutes but before the stress test and used to calculate the final reported results.
We try to maintain an ambient testing temperature of between 22C and 24C. Non-thermal test results aren't going to be directly comparable to the finest decimal point, but should be roughly comparable and give a broader idea of how the enclosure performs.
Thank You!
Before moving on, we'd like to thank the following vendors for providing us with the hardware used in our testbed.
- Thank you to Puget Systems for providing us with the Intel Core i7-2700K.
- Thank you to Gigabyte for providing us with the GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 motherboard.
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory.
- Thank you to Corsair for providing us with the Corsair Link kit.
- Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan unit.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply.
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tambok2012 - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
I just got this pictures from our country philippineshttp://www.tipidpc.com/viewtopic.php?tid=261886&am...
mariush - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
Our Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is by no means [..], but its 159mm height caused the tops of the heatpipes to press against the side panel, bowing it outward a little.Yeah, because someone who buys a $40-45 dollar case is obviously going to to buy a $30 cpu cooler when the retail processor come with a perfectly good stock cooler.
How out of touch can some reviewers become...
This is not a case designed for overclockers, no need for special coolers, the stock ones are fine for regular users.
The only flaw I see is the small cage. A 4-5 unit one would meet more users' needs.
stoggy - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
how disconnected? He is using a downward facing PS, in a top slot. That will severily reduce his ability to overclock too, extra heat.Lesson to learn, Its easier to cool more heat in a smaller space then it is to cool less heat in a greater space. Google it, check in Heating/AC, simple physics too.
Possible solutions for reviewers concerns:
1. Zip-Ties. We use to use them. Back when case mods ment saws and drills.
2. Proper Power supply
3. Grinder to lower the heat pipes, this might not be enough though, In which case i would suggest a drill. Probably with a 1/4" bit.
4. Growing a pair.
5. Have fun.
JarredWalton - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
"This is not a case designed for overclockers, no need for special coolers, the stock ones are fine for regular users."Speaking of being out of touch, who are you to say what a case is or isn't supposed to support? This is a review, and the point about the CPU cooler is exactly that: if you happen to be the type of user that has or plans to purchase an aftermarket cooler, the case has some cooler height limitations. That's useful information, and there are many (MANY) people that read AnandTech that are hardware enthusiasts who overclock just about every PC they own.
Your comment is pretty much exactly what we've said: if you plan on a moderate config running stock, the case will work fine. Then again, if you're doing that, just about ANY case will work fine. If we tested with the stock Intel HSF, however, we'd be adding noise and reducing cooling efficiency, all in the name of saving $30. The same people that won't want to buy a superior $30 cooler also won't want to buy an i7-2700K, or an SSD, or a GTX 560 GPU, etc. We test with a higher end setup along with overclocked settings because if that will work in a case, then everything lower spec will also work.
mariush - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
"...however, we'd be adding noise and reducing cooling efficiency, all in the name of saving $30"That's EXACTLY what most users buying this case did, give up features commonly found on larger cases to save 20-30$.
The stock Intel and AMD coolers are not exactly low quality ones. Users can actually perform a reasonable overclocking with them - they don't HAVE TO buy a better cooler just to overclock.
In such a small case, even with good coolers the cooling efficiency will be reduced. By the time you add a large video card and the large cpu heatsink into this case, you'll barely have any airflow at all.
So coupling this case with high performance after market cooler doesn't really make sense, and by writing it out you make it seem like a flaw, instead of something obvious.
For a real world example, why would I pay 40$ for this case, then pay 30$ for an aftermarket cooler, when I could just as well pay 60$ for an Antec Three Hundred case that comes from the start with a 140mm top fan and a 120mm side fan, has more "slots" for 120mm fans and better airflow due to the power supply being mounted at the bottom?
The Antec 300 case coupled with a stock CPU cooler will almost definitely keep the processor cooler, compared to a large cooler in a crowded Fractal Design case.
samoya22 - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
The Antec 300!Oh, wait...that's not the...?
UltraTech79 - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
I spent 29.99 at compUSA about 8 yerars ago for a better case AND it came with a freakn 250W power supply that has not exploaded and killed anyone yet! (parents low power comp)This think is pure junk. Whats with the mesh in front? Why try and get fancy with limited funds? Stick with the basics. And a vent on the side? REALLY? If you fucking have a system that needs that extra kind of cooling, you sure as fuck have the money to toss $30 more at a case.
UltraTech79 - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
Already found a far supirior case for 10$ more. Free shipping. Why was this ugly piece of junk even reviewed??http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
This guy is only 20$ ! And its still better!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...
Mugur - Monday, April 16, 2012 - link
I don't think they are in the same class. Frankly I consider the case reviewed great for an inexpensive mATX build. And I'm sure that there are a lot of ugly tin and plastic 20$ cases... :-)GPCustomPC - Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - link
Does the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo really fit inside this case? It states 150mm of clearance and the EVO is said to be 159mm.