Fractal Design Node 202 Black

This case is wonderful. It's smaller than the competition and I personally think it looks much better. Disassembly is straight forward, though the clips holding the bottom on require a little bit of tact to release. Cable routing is difficult and can take some time to route everything perfectly, and the drive bays could have been thought out better, but I'm not going to deduct stars for those since it's so small and room is limited. I got my internals to fit nicely and actually had fun playing Tetris with them. The power supply made by FSP is a nice feature. There are no reviews for this specific PSU but FSP does supply 450w Bronze units through Silverstone that are Tier 3 (ST45SF), so it's possible this unit is the same. They look nearly identical, but without ripping the thing apart I can't tell for sure. All in all, a great product. I had a much better experience with this case than I had with the Silverstone equivalent. 5 Stars. Please note, the CPU cooler height restrictions are 56mm, however I was able to fit the 58mm Silverstone AR06 cooler albeit BARELY. There is less than a millimeter of clearance between the top of the cooler and the filter on the case, it's a VERY close shave but it fits. Just a heads up if you're looking for a compatible cooler.

I was piecing together a console killer a couple of months ago and decided on this case, but when I went to purchase one I couldn't find a non-psu version for under $100, due to a mixture of tax/shipping/overcharging by the retailers. I had a Corsair SF600 lying around that I could've used, so the included PSU seemingly wouldn't have done me any good. After a couple of weeks, I got impatient waiting for a sale, and happened to run across a used case that DID include the power supply for about $110, which I decided to snag up. Originally, I figured that the included PSU would just be an extra to have around, and the SF600 would take it's place. However, as I started watching build videos and even when I started putting together the equipment myself, I started to realize that this wasn't just a PSU that was thrown in for fun, the included 450w PSU was specifically designed for this case. It literally has exactly the amount of connectors it needs, and no more. Each cord is exactly the length it needs to be, and no more. You actually couldn't and wouldn't want to use this PSU in almost any other case, as there are no 4-pin molex connectors on it, and the ATX connector is too short for any ATX case. By comparison, SF600 (being of a more generic design) had nearly every cord at twice the length, which was just too big for such a small case. The custom 450w PSU barely fits in there. The case itself is gorgeous, and brilliantly compact. The power cord for some reason cuts across the video card from the factory, which I didn't like, so I ended up cutting the zip ties holding it down and moved it to the inside corner for a cleaner look (even though i'll never see it). I would recommend installing the hdd's before installing anything else, as you'll be cramming and even tying things down to the outer walls of the cage as you move forward with the installation, and you DO NOT want to have to go back in there half way through. The rest of the installation is very straightforward, as there's really only one way to install everything in the case. You do have the option to install two fans where the video card sits, but you have to remove the video card stabilizer to install the second one. Whether or not you should use two fans is actually very situational (note that you should ALWAYS use static pressure fans with this case), as the fans have a relatively small area to pull air in from, and a second one will greatly reduce the efficiency of the first one. I'll break it down: 1. If you're using a GPU with a blower style fan, stick with a single fan blowing directly into the intake. The second fan will in no way benefit the GPU, and will likely rob efficiency from the first fan, negating it's benefit. 2. If you're using an open style GPU cooler and you're wanting to add fans, you're definitely going to want to go with two of them. The reduced efficiency will be fine, since you're distributing air evenly across the entire board as well as pushing the generated hot air out of the case more quickly (which the gpu in this case won't do itself). 3. If you're not using a GPU at all and want to have fans, you're safe to use two, but you could really go with any amount that you wanted. The reduced efficiency isn't going to cause an issue here, and the added positive pressure will potentially keep cpu temps lower and dust out of your case. That being said, the node202 does a fairly good job of staying cool without fans if you don't have a GPU heating it up, so it's not a requirement. Overall, I'm really happy with this case AND the included PSU, as they compliment each other perfectly. Yes, everything is a tight fit and yet, it can be a pain to setup, but the results were 100% worth it.

Great case, I really like it. Pros: - Small size for a PC (the old PS4 is smaller than this) - Building in it wasn't very difficult given the extra space behind the PSU to put cables - Simple design that will fit almost anywhere (kind of looks like a VCR) - good price if you get it on a sale (I managed to get the case and PSU bundle for $105) Cons: - components get very warm, especially the gpu when the case is in the horizontal position (typical of an ITX build though) - can be fixed by placing a fan or two next to the gpu but that adds an additional cost. - the screws for the motherboard and the GPU riser look identical in the pictures but they are not! *the GPU riser card screws are a bit thinner and has more threads. Due to the picture looking the same, it took me about 30 minutes of wondering why I could only get one screw into the riser card. - This could be solved by either putting each set of screws in individual little bags or having a better diagram on the box that shows what is included. - I feel that quality control isn't the best. the paint around the screw used to hold the PSU in place is chipped revealing the metal. also on the top cover under the cpu vented section, it seems like a section was sanded off poorly, showing the white plastic. as both of these are on non-visible parts of the case, I can forgive it but its still something I don't like to see. - the USB 3.0 motherboard cable is unnecessary long - no reset button - no place for a slim CD drive (mainly for people hoping to use this for the ultimate home theater/couch gaming PC like me) - removing the bottom plastic piece of the case can be a little difficult - recommended building instructions are in picture format only (not really a con since most people prefer a more pictorial instruction) - no 3.5 in. HDD support. 4 out of 5 stars mainly because of the gpu vs motherboard screw dilemma and the scuffs on a brand new case (not due to shipping, but manufacturing). most of the other cons are just typical trade offs of having a small form factor case.

Excellent case to use for an ITX HTPC option. Ample space inside case for wiring and extra cooling fans. Made of sturdy plastic with non sharp edges. Has two sturdy cleanable screens that keep dust out. Only drawback is that you have to take the case apart to clean the screens. Otherwise, it's small game console foot print makes this a solid option for a modern clean living room appearance.

The good: Compact. You can lug this thing anywhere without worrying about your huge ATX or Micro ATX case any longer. Fits a double sized full GPU. There are other types of cases that can get even smaller, but for the price, this was really good because I wanted for horizontal clearance. Riser card is great. My GPU is normally facing down because of my motherboard, but this case has it facing towards the exhaust (can also be a SFF ITX motherboard thing.) Lots of dust protection except for the top of the case where the hot air exhausts. The meh: The front plastic that illuminates when turning on the power is prone to breaking when one wants to get to the back of the cover. If it breaks, it won't be an issue as the led light for the power button will still illuminate. Just something to be aware of when taking the back-panel. You either unscrew the front panels (that contains the audio jacks and usb ports) or risk having the plastic part snap. A regular sized cpu fan is off the table unless you are using a one slot GPU or a half size. You'll need a slim (less than 25mm) for the fan to fit without rubbing against or being close to the GPU. You can only use a slim heatsink or the low profile cpu heat/fan that comes with your motherboard. AIO is off the table unless you are willing to modify it. The bad: The biggest issue was the cabling because of the small form factor case. The PSU is on the top front side of the case while one needs to wire it onto the bottom side of the case which means having to deal with the other wires that will need to fit through the hole. This means on the GPU compartment, it might have wires for two fans, another SSD card, cable for the GPU, along with the PSU connector Most of the wiring is bunched up right next to the portion in which you would need to screw in the SSD (if you are using only M.2, this isn't as big of an issue) trying to make space for a 2.5 SSD can be a hassle if the wires aren't going to cooperate. Consider getting an ITX motherboard with M.2 capabilities if you don't want to deal with the cabling hassle.

This is a damn fine case. Here's the issue though, I bought this thinking I was going to get a new case when it was actually refurbished. Terrible choice from Amazon not to inform me of this. Here's the issues that I had to face because of it: 1. The power supply and its shroud are both loose so I was very VERY lucky that the PSU didn't get damaged in shipping 2. The adjustable rubber foot that's supposed to hold a heavy graphics card is completely stuck half-way. While I'm using a 1050ti right now that doesn't quite reach the rubber foot, I won't be able to upgrade in the future to a bigger/longer graphics card that will NOT be able to fit. 3. All the screws were placed in one bag. That was a fun 3 hours trying to figure out which screw goes where. All in all, this case is great for what it is. I just wish it had better room for cable management because as it is right now using Fractal's included PSU is a pain in the ass. Anyone reading this review please BUY A FULLY MODULAR SFF power supply!

I'm in love with this case! It's smaller than some gaming consoles in years past and capable of being way more powerful thanks to the ample room in the graphics card chamber. Sleek, efficient, and easy to setup you will not regret the extra few bucks over similar concept models from other makers. -So dang beautiful (this is subjective) -During installation, the materials just feel high quality. Not flimsy at all although it's probably not the lightest thing out there. You wont notice though because it's so small. -I put my old GTX970 in here and there's definitely room for a much larger card, like the lengthy GTX1080. -Plenty of breathing vents, however if you're going to put a card that's going to heat up in there, make sure to either stand it upright or install the optional 120mm fans in the graphics compartment. Even though it has standoff feet for horrizontal allignment, I noticed a massive temperature improvement (and therefor noise improvement) when it was upright (although I did not install 120mm intake fans). -Get good at cable management, because there's just enough room for everything. -Check the size of your CPU cooler. Some of them may not fit as the vertical clearance is just around 3". -Included PSU is good enough for most CPU/GPU power requirements, no trouble with my Skylake i5 and gtx 970. -Overall it's not designed for noise reduction so don't be surprised when you can hear your graphics fans spinning up. The PSU isn't particularly noise imo though. -Doesn't come in white but It takes paint well :) Call it sacrilege, but I'm using it as a guest PC and it looks so nice next to my white NZXT s340 after painting it. So small it fits in my carry-on with all my peripherals and a 21.5" monitor with ample padding for everything! Gaming on the go!

This is the best small form factor PC case I've worked with. Yes it is small and compact, but it really isn't that difficult to work with if you know what you are doing and you are prepared. I've been running this build for over a year now so I feel like I can give some good input. I will start with the couple negatives: 1. The included power supply (if you get that version) isn't bad, but I wish it was more than 450W. I ran a 390x on it at one point and it worked well, although I was probably barely making it by without overloading the PSU. Also, with a case this small, it would have been much better of the PSU was at least semi-modular. If I could go back, I would have bought the version without the PSU and bought my own separately. 2: The power button broke on mine, the little plastic part on the front. I was able to tape it fixed but I didn't like how it broke easily. Besides those two things, I really can't complain in regards to this case. I really love it. It looks great great and slick next to my television. Working on this PC is no problem either, as long as you know what you are doing and expect it to be compact. I have used it with four different GPU's: 390x, 370, 480 and a 960. All of them ran decent, of course the 390x ran hot though. That card needs a lot of space to keep cool with a ton of airflow, plus it was cutting it close with the PSU as far as power consumption goes. After a year of using the tower, I am very satisfied.