Fractal Design Node 304 review - Article

Small, smaller .... gosh it's small !

We review the Fractal Design Node 304, an all black all cool and all silent PC housing for Mini ITX and DTX motherboard. For this Mini-ITX ready chassis can you'll be surprised about storage, style, USB 3.0 options and an integrated three-speed fan controller. It's cute, tiny and probably the best looking Mini-ITX chassis we have tested to date.

The Node 304 is a new and very compact PC chassis from Fractal Design. Though you may only house small mini ITX form factor motherboards it offers space for a good six 2.5"/3.5" HDDs. It can house normal sized ATX power supplies, and heck there's even space for a normal sized dedicated graphics card. Oh did I mention already that it's only sized  (W x H x D): 250 x 210 x 374 mm ?

Next to rather cool small and compact design, the looks are just great. An aluminum front bezel, USB 3.0 connector, it even has a three step fan controller for the included three fans. You'll receive two front mounted mounted 92mm Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fans rated at 1300 RPM as well as a  rear mounted 140mm silent fan. But let's have a look at some of the specifications first.

Features

• Compact, modular interior
• Minimalistic design with an elegant aluminum front panel
• Unique new modular mounting system that accommodates up to 6 hard drives
• Accommodates tower CPU coolers and single-fan water cooling systems
• Filtered air intakes ensure a dust-free environment for internal components
• Three Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fans included
• Excellent cooling for all components
• Accommodates ATX power supplies
• Fan controller for all fans included
• USB 3.0 for fast file transfers

Technical specifications

• Mini ITX, DTX motherboard compatibility
• 2 expansion slots
• 6 – supports either 3.5" or 2.5" HDD / SSD
• ATX PSUs, up to 160mm in length (To fit in combination with a long graphics card, PSUs with modular connectors on the back typically need to be shorter than 160 mm)
• Graphics cards, up to 310mm in length, when 2 HDD brackets are removed (Graphics cards longer than 170 mm will conflict with PSUs longer than 160mm)
• Tower CPU coolers, up to 165 mm tall
• Case dimensions (W x H x D): 250 x 210 x 374 mm
• Case volume: 19,5 Liters
• Net weight: 4,9 kg

Cooling / ventilation

• 2 - Front mounted 92mm Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fans, 1300 RPM speed (compatible with 80mm fans) – included
• 1 - Rear mounted 140mm Silent Series R2 hydraulic bearing fan, 1000 RPM speed (compatible with 120mm fans) – included
• Removable air filters for front fans and PSU
• Fan filter for graphics card
• 1 - fan controller for all 3 fans included

Front interface

• 2 - USB 3.0 (Internal 3.0 to 2.0 adapter included)
• 1 - 3.5mm audio in (microphone)
• 1 - 3.5mm audio out (headphone)
• Power button with LED
• HDD LED