Fractal Design Node 304 mITX Case Review: Paving the Way to the Future
by Dustin Sklavos on November 23, 2012 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Mini ITX
- Fractal Design
- mITX
Noise and Thermal Testing, IGP
Admittedly, clearing out two of the drive brackets probably helped testing a great deal, but interestingly I'm not sure our stock testbed is actually very ideal for the Fractal Design Node 304. The reason is the way the motherboard is essentially stuck in a bit of a valley between the intake fans and the exhaust, hiding behind the power supply. A tower cooler would probably work gangbusters in this enclosure, but you'll see that even with the suboptimal downdraft cooler we still had reasonable performance.
The Node 304 was tested at all three fan control settings, and with winter setting in, ambient temperatures hovered between 23C and 24C.
You can see thermals are essentially competitive without being mindblowing. I think a tower cooler would make a big difference in this case, but as it stands the Node 304 isn't bad. Note that the higher fan speeds don't really add anything to the performance.
And, same as before, the different fan speeds don't produce any appreciable difference in performance. There's just no reason to run it at higher than the lowest fan setting.
I think it's particularly important to point out that the Node 304 at its lowest fan setting is basically inaudible at idle. Our sound meter doesn't dip low enough to tease out the differences, but you can see now that there's really no reason to turn up the fans. Even under sustained load, the Node 304 is incredibly quiet, and that makes the middle-of-the-road thermals much more tolerable.
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Grok42 - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
I had the same thought about wishing the cable was shorter when looking at the main power connector all looped up in the screen shot. (I know you tried to make it clean Dustin!) I think you are on to something this wouldn't be a problem if they would standardize the modular connectors. Given that only a few manufactures sell different lengths it seems like something that everyone could agree on.yyrkoon - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
Or, you could learn to solder, cut wires to proper length, and disassemble / reassemble the connector ends yourself. This requires a bit of experience but is not very hard. You could possibly even profit from it by following through with your own aftermarket idea personally. However, I would not count on becoming rich as the enthusiast computer market really is not that large.Dandyman - Sunday, December 2, 2012 - link
Found this rig on some Finish online store:http://www.verkkokauppa.com/fi/product/15996/dhqxv...
Proof of concept :-)
martyrant - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
I admit I wasn't paying attention to the size of the PSU he was using...lol, and yeah, even with a 670 or a 7950 a lower watt 500 psu would be fine for a build this size. So I guess I'll retract my complaint about the PSU... ;)Still glad to see that pesky 5.25" drive gone tho!
Grok42 - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
I was paying attention but given how everything is orientated with the PSU positioned a bit toward the middle of the case to allow for the power lead to run to the back, I worry that even with the 4" PSU I plan on using instead of the 7" one reviewed, it will still be a very tight fit. It all depends on how the modular connectors protrude from the back of the PSU and what they hit.May the 5.25" bays never return!
Guspaz - Monday, November 26, 2012 - link
The absence of a 5.25" bay is kind of a critical flaw... If they had a slot for a slim drive that might be excusable, but as it stands the system has no way to play bluray films, or install software from CD/DVD.You can get away without an optical drive on a notebook, but not a desktop.
yyrkoon - Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - link
external . . ..krumme - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
Okey, so what 7950 card and ps do i use when using the usual intel plus sing ssd stuff?Koppit - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
I have one of these cases as my HTPC. Just wantetd to say I used a Corsair CX600Wand with the help of some cableties I got room for my Sapphire 5870 vapor-x. So there is room for larger cards. I really like this case and would not have any problems recommending it, if you just get a small PSU with few cables.
just4U - Friday, November 23, 2012 - link
A way around the cable problems (imo) is use modular powers supplies that employ the ribboned cables. Their relatively easy to work with and tuck away.