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Fractal Design Node 304 mITX Case Review: Paving the Way to the Future

 by Dustin Sklavos on November 23, 2012 12:01 AM EST
80 Comments | Add A Comment
80 Comments

Conclusion: There's Potential Here

Reviewing the Fractal Design Node 304 is actually a somewhat layered experience, which is interesting given the fundamental simplicity of the design. Probably the first angle to attack is its thermal and acoustic performance, and on those fronts I feel Fractal Design has a success here. The fan controller is essentially only slightly throttling a trio of silent-running fans and bringing their noise level down even lower, but that's still a plus. I think CPU thermals would be improved by using a tower cooler or, alternatively, a closed loop liquid cooler, and at that point the Node 304 would exceed being competitive and start to really shine. Thermals on the dedicated video card were also excellent.

Where Fractal Design loses some steam is in the fundamental design, but again, that's more complicated than it initially appears. What they've done is give you a few modular pieces (specifically the drive brackets) with which you can then adapt the 304 to suit your needs. The problem is that cable space really is at a premium, and I think they missed an opportunity by not placing grills behind the front intake fans. I didn't have problems with cables getting into them, but I can see situations where that could happen. There's no real reason for the motherboard standoffs not to come pre-installed, either, and I really wish the shroud were easier to replace.

The most interesting thing about the Node 304 may not be any of the usual criteria cases are typically evaluated by, but by how it portends changes in case design in the near future. As I mentioned in the introduction, Fractal Design targets the Node 304 as either a file server or as a minimalist system, but I think it goes deeper than that. Optical drives are essentially falling by the wayside and aren't strictly needed as internal hardware, so why take up space including one? Reset buttons also have a tendency to go unused, so they just omitted it entirely. The plain flat front and minimal style belies the truth: we rarely need cases bigger than this anymore.

By their nature, mITX cases often challenge the imaginations of enthusiasts a bit more, and I can't help but wonder if I could cram my desktop into the Node 304. It's an attractive, small, quiet case, with reasonable thermal performance. The fact that there are no external drive bays means the exterior is particularly clean, and it's striking. While Fractal Design could probably stand to revise the Node 304 a bit more and should consider switching to an SFX power supply to free up some internal space, ultimately this is a very compelling starting point for a small form factor build. I hope to see the Node 304 employed by enthusiasts and boutiques alike.

Noise and Thermal Testing, Dedicated GPU
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  • yyrkoon - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link

    Personally, Id like to see something standard ATX width ( doubled ) and at around this height. Or maybe a little taller. Dedicate the second side to nothing but disk storage. Perhaps partitioned, and well ventilated.

    This would probably start to encroach on rackmount territory though. Without the rack.

  • JekyllHyde5 - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    I read on the specifications of this PSU @Silverstone's website that the dimensions are "150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 160 mm (D)". So the length is 160mm, and the F-D's specifications of the Node says it allows PSUs until 160mm. What the hell did I not get ? Why did Anantech had difficulties setting up the GTX 560Ti if the length was alright ?

  • Death666Angel - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    But in the text he specifically says it is 180mm. Weird.

  • JohnMD1022 - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    First time I've seen it used in at least 30 years.

  • Th3rdparty - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    I have been building a NAS media server over the last several months and this was the last purchase I needed to complete the build. So far it has been running 24/7 for the last 2 weeks without the slightest hiccup. My build consists of

    Node 304
    Jetway NF9E-Q77 (6 Sata, USB 3.0, dual Intel NIC, Sandy Bridge)
    Core i7 3770t (45w TDP)
    16GB Corsair Value Ram
    5 2TB Seagate 5900RPM HDD (Raid 5)
    90GB Corsair SSD (boot drive, VM and Cache for media before it lands on the raid
    Seasonic X460 Fanless PS (modular)
    Antec Kuhler 620 liquid cooler (replaced the 140mm exhaust fan w/ 120mm Noctua NF-P12)
    Ubuntu Server w/ XFCE (I'm still a linux noob and need a GUI every once in a while)

    The only thing I really wish I changed was put it the WD 3 TB Red NAS drives and the new Platinum version of the Seasonic PS but they were not available when I made those purchases

    I also have to run the fan controller on high because the Antec Kuhler doesn't seem to get enough voltage to run at low speeds. Even so it is not audible unless there is dead silence in the room

    I can tell you that this was the most fun build I have ever done. I haven't completely finished the software side yet (still need to setup SSH, VNC, Timemachine, and secure it better) but this thing is a beast and handles anything I throw at it media wise. If I ever get around to taking some temperature readings and total power draw I will update but my initial experience is that it is very efficient and doesn't run even slightly warm. The cabling was not to bad but there is definitely an art to putting this case together so you don't get spaghetti and it keeps the air moving.

  • Calista - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    An SSD is more or less only being sold in 2.5" and smaller formats (forget about PCI-E for a moment), a 1 TB 2.5" HDD is roughly a hundred dollar. More and more (music, movies, games?) are migrating to the cloud. Maybe it's time to ditch the 3.5" format as well?

  • Grok42 - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    Interesting thought. It would certainly make case design better given that it is apparently impossible for them to figure out a modular mounting system. The main drawback if doing this would be for those wanting bulk storage. It would take 3 drives, 3 cables, 3 SATA ports and 2x the money to replace a single 3tb drive. So it would take a LOT of drives to build some rigs. Maybe if they started building double height versions that were 2-3TB. I still like the idea of standardizing on the 2.5 size.

  • Calista - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    Seriously? I can't find a single valid reason why the connectors should be located on the side as compared to the front. Besides aesthetics. The way my desk is arranged I wouldn't even be able to use the connectors on a case like this without moving it 5 inches from the wall. Giving me a wonderful kindergarten - for dust mites.

  • sna2 - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    hi,

    Can you please test this guy with some max component?

    Z77 itx Mother board

    i7 3770k

    nvidia GTX 680

    and a fast SSD. and 16G Ram

    this case is designed for top end machine in a small case.

    seriously Anad , ...

    you are testing this case the wrong way it is NOT MEANT to be an HTPC

    this is a LAN PARTY GAMING BOX !

  • sna2 - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - link

    hey Anand , there is allways SFX powersupply over there with an Adapter .. so the standard PS2 power is FINE. they DONT NEED to Change into SFX. they HAVE SFX

    here is an 450 watt SFX with Adapter for PS2 from silver stine , and IT HAS SHORT CABLES and modular and GOLD as well

    this one

    http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=342&...

    please test this with MAX system

    i7 3770k , 680 nvidia GPU !!!
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