Fractal Design Focus G review

PC Cases and Modding 227 Page 9 of 9 Published by

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Final words and conclusion

Conclusion 

By design the Focus G is more of a budget series. That does show as the metal feels thin, the plexi-glass window a little cheap and the storage options a little rather limited. Then again, for 50 bucks that is fair as Fractal Design needs to compromise a bit here and there to bring some value into this chassis series while making a bit of profit as well. Storage wise you'll have options in the form of two SSDs / HDDs. Surprisingly however is that you may mount two 5.25" units. Lacking is a fan controller, but in this price range that may be expected. The two fans included are PWM and LED lit (one color white) for a bit more in that aesthetic feel. Simply connect them to your motherboard fan headers and regulate fan RPM in your BIOS. Set them at 400 RPM and you'll have a nice balance of airflow and silence. The chassis itself looks fine, while I am not a big fan of that huge front-side grill though. Other then that it has been done in a tasteful fashion but sure, it feels a bit more metal'ish and plastic than we have ever seen from Fractal Design. Choices has been made to lower production and build cost in the end to a more acceptable MSRP. The matte black design looks great albeit the bezel is darker compared to the chassis paint job. The chassis is fairly tool free. Mounting an SSD will still require good old screws, that works fine of course and at this point I do wonder how tool free a chassis really needs to be these days.

Low Noise

I can confirm that a big plus is the sound level of this chassis producesm it remains low, but that all depends on how fast you RPM spin the two fans of course. Properly setup the balance of airflow and noise is not an issue though. So yeah, it's fine really, perhaps add an additional fan in the rear for a bit of a push-pull airflow.

The Innards

The chassis offers enough room for pretty much anything standard ATX with combined components to install, even two graphics cards. Keep in mind that only up-to ATX sized motherboards will fit, thus EATX and XL-ATX are not an option. If you choose the Mini model, then Micro-ATX is the biggest form factor motherboard you may use.  Cable management options are good but could be better, the space you have available varies a little like 1 cm at certain points and 2cm in others. Once you mount the PSU you will realize that you probably would have liked a little more space. It all fits, but barely as the cabling quickly bumps into the HDD bay. The HDD/SSD drive trays works simple enough, though you do need screws to secure the actual SSDs, installation otherwise is easy. We like the fact that you can hide all these storage units at the backside. The looks are quite nice and with the side panel window you can peek at your hardware as well. It surely is a complete chassis for its size alright and with the side window it offers very clean looks.


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The Exterior

The matte black paint job on both in and outside has been done well, it will not scratch easily. Once again, there is a color difference in-between the chassis (dark gray) and front bezel (dark black). Have a look at the photo above to spot it. The looks are simple. But as we always state, each and every individual is different, and thus so is taste. What I might be labeling as a good looks, you might find revolting. I like a more sterile, clean and stylish look. And that certainly is what the Define C is offering. No screaming logos, flashing LEDs and mismatched colors. The massive front side grill however, I personally don't like very much as it is a bit feels 'much'.


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Final Words

The Focus G is a chassis that can is very mainstream with its 55 Euro / 49 USD pricing level. It'll offer proper value and in return you get decent enough chassis features, a decent looking product and decent space to work in with with decent storage options. So yes, today's keyword for the Focus G really is that, decent. It is decent enough for what it needs to be. The chassis has two nice low noise LED fans that does bring in a little extra value and aesthetics. Remember, I do find the PSU space to be a little limited though. I'd advise 17cm length max as you also need to think about the PSU connectors that will stick out of the PSU as well. Overall the other space and mounting options are good enough for most simply liquid cooling related stuff if you stick to the aforementioned size (40mm) for top side mounting. The chassis is feature rich with the removable dust filters. It has pretty okay airflow with its two 120mm front-side fans, no complaints there but perhaps you might want to insert an additional fan in the back for a bit of a push-pull airflow. The Focus G remains to be a very decent product for the money, if you want to build a simple non-expensive DiY PC, hey this might be a good deal for you. It might not be a perfect chassis bit it certainly ain't a bad one either. If you are in the market for something compact at a fair price, then hey definitely recommended.

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