Fractal Design Node 804 Case Review
by E. Fylladitakis on February 18, 2015 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- MicroATX
- Fractal Design
Conclusion
As per the company's statement, the Fractal Design Node 804 is a clean, minimalistic design, ideal for environments where users require a good-looking but not extravagant case. Aesthetics are a subjective matter and users need to decide for themselves whether or not they like the Node 804, but we feel that its clean appearance will easily appeal to a large percentage of its intended audience.
It does make a great option for living rooms and offices, where a tower would look out of place but good cooling options and versatility are required. The cooling capacity and the large number of 3.5" devices make the Node 804 an interesting option for small file servers, even though it has not been primarily designed with that market in mind. The retail price of $92 including shipping is fair, making the Node 804 not an incredible deal but not overpriced either.
Even with its stock cooling options, the thermal performance of the Node 804 is excellent for a case of this size. It can easily house a rather powerful gaming PC, without any additional cooling options. If desired, it is not very difficult to install even a dual GPU behemoth and liquid coolers inside the Node 804 – it will fit tightly and certain sacrifices will have to be made, but it is doable. On the other hand, the acoustics are a double-edged sword; the stock cooling fans are exceptionally quiet, but the case has virtually zero noise dampening capabilities. If acoustics are a primary concern, and they most likely will be for those who are planning to use this case in an office or a living room, the system's components need to be carefully selected so as to maintain low sound pressure levels.
The only true enemy of the Fractal Design Node 804 is the company's attempt to make it more versatile than it should be. In order to make the not-so-small cubic case capable of housing a great number of components, the company resorted to a design that is not very convenient to work with. For example, the whole drive cage needs to come out if the user wants to swap just one disk and the case has to be lifted in order to remove three out of four of the air filters.
There are also limitations regarding the type and number of the components that can be installed, such as the size of air coolers and the type/number of liquid coolers. Fractal Design proclaims that up to four AIO liquid coolers can fit in the Node 804 and that is true, but the 3.5" cages need to be removed, RAM modules have to be less than 48mm tall, and the top chassis slot will be limited to 120mm radiators, with hoses long enough to reach the right compartment of the case.
If a common, relatively simple system is to be installed inside the Node 804, the installation is a breeze. The installation of too many components however should be carefully planned and the user should expect that cable management will be a tedious process. Also note upgrading or modifying the system will most likely not be an easy task.
It is difficult to give a direct recommendation of one case over another, especially when the user's selection is (and should be) heavily based on aesthetics, which are a subjective matter. The Fractal Design Node 804 is a very good product – well made, aesthetically sleek, and fairly versatile. We do not feel that it is the right case for a gaming behemoth, but if you want an elegant case for your living room or office, there is no reason not to consider the Node 804.
Still, we cannot help but mention the Corsair Carbide Air 240 as an alternative. It is smaller, offers similar thermal performance, and is slightly cheaper as well. On the other hand, Corsair's offering is not as subtle, the stock cooling options are slightly louder, and it cannot hold that many disk drives. If you wish to compare the two cubic cases in more detail, you can read our comprehensive review of the Carbide Air 240 here. As it stands, both are good cases and personal opinion rather than performance will largely determine the winner.
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SkyBill40 - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
Get at it, modder!DanNeely - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
If you're building a medium size mITX server, the CHENBRO SR30169T2-250 is worthy of consideration. It's a similar style but only does mITX with 4x3.5 and 2x2.5 drives so it significantly smaller. If I had any complaint, it would be that the hot-swap bays are mostly a gimmic (consumer mobos don't support sata hotswap), and orienting the drive bays to make hot swap easy via the front panel made the case significantly bigger than it needed to be.I've been using it for my home server for the last 2+ years; without complaints. Best of all no stupid window!
lewisl9029 - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
I've been using the Silverstone DS380 and ASUS P9A-I for a few months now. 8x hot-swap bays and 4x fixed 2.5 bays on the DS380 is a perfect match with the 2xSATA + 4xSAS ports (16 sata) on the P9A-I.I have 2x SSDs for the OS and 2xSSDs + 6x4TB HDDs for my storage cluster so far. Runs like a dream.
DanNeely - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
Looks like a nice case if you need something a bit bigger than I do.I'm currently using 2x3TB HDDs and a small SSD for the OS; at current fill rates I may or may not need to add a 3rd drive to my pool before my server reaches retirement age and is replaced.
The only thing I wonder about is the backplate space for a 2nd expansion card. Aside from GPUs I'm not aware of anything else that would need to be 2 splits tall; and a GPU in whats obviously a server case seems rather weird.
sweenish - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
Talk about potato pictures.A decent case for the price. I just don't want to have to fight a case, regardless of the size.
randomlinh - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
I know it's just a case, but yeah, these shots are terrible for a site like AT. It's not even a bad camera, just don't know why they are shooting product at ISO1600Zak - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
I agree. Disapointing. While many cameras these days produce clean shots at ISO1600 this is not the case. Very unprofessional and reek of laziness. I've seen eBay product shots that look better.E.Fyll - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
This is mostly lack of proper lighting and enough space. When you cannot even set a tripod, high ISOs are necessary. I need to hold the camera.Of course I could use better photographic equipment. Ironically, I have already ordered the parts weeks ago. Things will be changing after a few more articles.
When criticizing, do take into account that things can be more complicated and time consuming when something requires your own space and funds. It rarely is as simple as typing a five sentence comment.
Then again, people complain about a coke can, so I guess that I should be grateful for a useful comment, even if it is somewhat rudely voiced...
chlamchowder - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
I'd just like to say thanks for the review. I've been looking at case options for a while, and case reviews are always insightful to read.I feel that for a lot of things, including computer cooling, overclocking, and photography, past some point increasingly ridiculous amounts of effort/money are required for small gains. Don't take this stuff in the comments section too harshly - we tend to exaggerate.
chlamchowder - Wednesday, February 18, 2015 - link
I agree that the product shots could be better. It's a combination of missed focus and heavy noise reduction that makes the pictures look blurry.But this isn't Dpreview. The pictures do get the job done, albeit in a very unsatisfying way. If you guys at Anandtech have time, I'd suggest using a tripod (or just putting the camera on a box of the right height), and using a long exposure for lower ISOs. Also check focus with magnified live view before taking the shot. After all, cases don't run away.