Fractal Design Node 804 Exterior

In terms of appearance, the Node 804 stands true to all that Fractal Design proclaims; it is a minimalistic, simple design, lacking anything that would have the case profanely standing out in a living room. Measuring 307mm × 344mm × 389mm (H×W×D), it has a volume of 0.041m3, which is not among the smallest cases of its league. As we mentioned in the introduction, the Node 804 is externally very similar to the much smaller Node 304 that we reviewed years ago. There currently is only one color variant (black) of the Node 804.

The Node 804 has a straight, clean faceplate with intake vents covering about a quarter of its surface and a left side panel window. The power button and the front I/O ports can be found on the right side of the faceplate, hidden from direct view. There are two USB 3.0 ports and two 3.5mm audio jacks, with the power button in between them. A long, narrow opening can also be noticed across the right side of the front panel; that is for the installation of a slim, slot loading optical drive. The Node 804 has no 5.25" bays, so this is the only option for an optical disk reader. Still, it is an option that most of the cases in this category do not offer at all.

The faceplate can be removed by simply pulling it off, revealing two long filters covering the front air intakes. In what we consider it to be a serious design flaw, the filters can only be removed towards the bottom of the case, not upwards, forcing the user to roll the case on its side or back if it is not near the edge of a desk. The faceplate is also home to two 2.5" drive bays. Yes, that is where Fractal Design placed the slots for SSDs, which fit inside a thin plastic frame formed behind the faceplate. It saves space from the inside of the case and keeps the system a little bit cleaner, but it is not very convenient when it comes to cable management.

The metallic right side panel is completely flat and plain, while the top panel is one huge metallic mesh held on a thick plastic frame. The rear of the case reveals the split compartment design of the chassis, with the motherboard/system on one side and the PSU/disk drives on the other. We can also see a small switch that acts as a basic fan speed controller with three settings (High, Medium and Low). At the bottom of the case are two dust filters covering the bottom intakes of both compartments. The left filter can the removed towards the rear of the case, but the right filter that covers the PSU intake can only be removed by lifting the case and pulling it towards the front.

Introduction, Packaging & Bundle Fractal Design Node 804 Interior
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  • Samus - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    I tried to sell a bookcase on craigslist awhile back, and all people commented on/emailed about was how big my Maine Coon was (she was intended to be used for scale, but after what happened, that backfired in making the bookcase look tiny)

    http://i62.tinypic.com/1o3afr.jpg
  • just4U - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    (GRIN) thanks for sharing Samus,

    My girlfriend and I also have one. Great cats!
  • Murloc - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    my maine coon is quite small. But she ticks all the other maine coon boxes.
  • Gigaplex - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    Except coke cans vary in size based on region. Especially regions that use metric units.
  • E.Fyll - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    That's true; the cans in the US are 355ml (12oz) while most of Europe and Asia is using 330ml (11.2oz) cans. The one pictured is a 330ml can.

    The difference however is small, it is just 0.54cm shorter and 0.15cm narrower than its US variant.

    It is not easy to find something readily available to everyone globally to use as a scale. And I'm allergic to kittens too.
  • romrunning - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    Love having the Coke can there - it's really easy to see at a glance the relative size of the case.
  • barleyguy - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link

    The caption below the picture says it's a 12 oz can. If it's a 330 ml one, the caption is wrong.
  • Murloc - Friday, February 20, 2015 - link

    what about a BIC pen?
  • CaedenV - Saturday, February 21, 2015 - link

    Ya, it is nearly impossible to find something that could be used for scale. It would be great if we had international bodies dedicated to making measurement instruments that we could use to compare things. Maybe we should start such an organization and make a set of 'rules', and then we could make a measurement tool called a 'ruler' so that we no longer have to deal with regional differences. Heck, we could even make these 'rulers' things with multiple comparative standards on the same device to help multiple audiences make good understandable comparisons.

    We have some smart people in this community. Somebody get on that!
  • Kjella - Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - link

    We've tried that:
    http://41.media.tumblr.com/47a2c8a02ffbe89e7737cb7...
    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XS-JVzF_E0I/TB1R2uZJHsI/...
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum...

    Do you see one country who just *has* to be different?

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