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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bill.rookard - Monday, June 6, 2016 - link
Agreed. I'd like to see a no-compromises SFF that uses a mATX board.lmcd - Monday, June 6, 2016 - link
Silverstone SG09 and SG10 are as close as you'll get I'd imagine. I have the SG09 and toted it from university and back for most of two years (before finally getting tired of it and ordering a Skull Canyon box).Tikcus9666 - Monday, June 6, 2016 - link
It is possible for HTPC use, an external optical drive could be added (not as neat as an internal) and there are plenty of 7200 rpm 2.5" HDD available, and SSHD drives, not to mention NASedzieba - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
A gTX 295?! No wonder the thing was cooking itself: compact cases - particularly ones without auxiliary ventilation fans - benefit greatly from rear-exhaust coolers, rather than ones that exhaust into the case itself.Xajel - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
I wonder when will these companies build a home-theatre + home-server case in the same time... the smallest size which can fit 4~5 3.5" HDD's (maybe 4x 3.5" + hybrid 3.5" which can also fit 2x 2.5"), SFX PSU, miniITX, and a mid to entry-high end gpu... with a good looking design and good front panel connectivity ( including IR receiver )AbRASiON - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
You can do so much more with the ITX form factor than this. I'm sure this appeals to some but I'd rather just see a smaller, neater, nicer, but still mildly roomy, Node 304. Think SUGO08 sized but with more features or something.JoeyJoJo123 - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
I don't think you realize that the Node 304 is a pretty large ITX case, so when you say "smaller ... Node 304", you're actually mistaken.Node 304 volume: 19.5 Liters
Node 202 volume: 10.2 Liters
It's literally almost twice as large as the Node 202 in volume.
The Node 304 is neater, due to the additional space for cable management, very roomy as far as ITX cases go, and nicer due to the aluminum front panel.
AbRASiON - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Sorry my post was poorly written. The Node 304 is obviously a larger case but it's a very very nice case which looks better and can fit more, yet it's stylish and relatively quiet.My SUGO08 however is smaller than the Node 304 and also vastly superior to this ugly and impractical looking Node 202. I have a 'normal' power supply, massive CPU cooler (considering case size) can take a full size GPU and 3 SSDs or 1xSSD and 2x3.5" HDD
AND it's quiet
Haravikk - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
The height of this case is a bit disappointing; it doesn't seem like there would be much to lose by making it a little taller and thus able to accommodate more of the low-profile coolers, in fact, most of the good ones require 60-70mm so this seems like too much of a sacrifice. Placing this horizontally is never going to be a great option due to how easily you'll restrict airflow, so it makes a lot more sense to just put it vertically, in which case it doesn't matter much if it's a centimetre or two "taller" (wider in that orientation).Having to disassemble the case to remove the dust filters is likewise poor design; I can't imagine it would have take much to have them accessible via a slot and just pull them out, clean and slide back in.
So I dunno, aesthetically it looks nice, and I like that the GPU is properly partitioned from the motherboard area, but I can't help but feel like the attention to detail on this is otherwise poor.
Scootiep7 - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
The lack of a spot for a slim drive simply kills 3/4's of miniITX cases. Like it or not, BluRay & even DVD's are still a large part of your average user's media library and most simply don't have the budget for dedicated NAS with the capacity for everything. Streaming services rarely have all of your favorite movies right when you want them. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Googles offerings on Youtube being poster child examples of a lackluster movie selection. Quite simply, if you want to beat the console market in the living room, find the friggan space for a slim optical drive. End rant.