There are many reviews about this PC case but yours is by far one of the most detailing in terms of actually building inside the case. Most reviews just have a quick view over the case features, pro's and cons but they never get this detailed about how it actually is to build inside the case. Thanks a lot!
I thought the same, great review. The only thing missing was connecting up the 3.5 HDDs and demonstrating how difficult it is to swap out drives. Other reviews have mentioned it as a design flaw that the connections are at the bottom, but so far I havent seen anyone show how bad it is to deal with. If you had 4 drives in a cage, presumably you have to unplug some or all before you can pull it out and put the cage on the desk? Doesnt seem there is much clearance above the PSU - at last for the rear cage.
@@Ironbuket I actually purchased this case last week and built my NAS PC inside of it. The space between the HDD cage (if mounted to the rear top of the case) and the PSU is indeed very narrow and you should need to take out the entire cage if you were to take out one or more HDDs. Hope you sort of got an answer. Overall I am very satisfied with this case although cable management could’ve been better. The quality of used materials with this case is very good, given the fact I only paid €59,90 ($69,55) for it on Amazon (NL). Another thing I would like to mention is that many people experienced problems screwing their 3.5” HDDs into the HDD cages because there are HDDs that do not have screw holes in the middle (on each side of the HDD). Through Google I found out that some have printed the brackets themselves with a 3D printer. However, the case I ordered came with brackets, made by Fractal itself!
@@jorisstassen7995 Interesting point about the middle driver connections. Ive see some of the very high capacity drives have those missing. You did manage to pull the entire cage out of the case without having to unhook any of the sata connections? I was thinking maybe at least some cables wouldnt be long enough and you would end up jamming your fingers in the case trying to unhook things if you populated all 4 and later wanted to remove it.
@@Ironbuket Hmm I don’t know for sure if you got all 4 hdd slots (per cage) loaded with the drives if the cables would become tangled or became loose. I am currently only using 2 hdds for storage and one ssd as a boot drive. About the screw holes, I made a mistake in what I meant to explain. Some hdd drives only got screw holes in the middle: one hole on the left side of the drive, one hole on the right side of the drive. This is why Fractal now includes hard drive brackets with this case, so any 3,5” hard drive should fit safely in the hdd cages. My apologies, my English might not be perfect as I live in Belgium.
Wow! This was the best review / build video I have found on this case. Thank you. I just ordered this case for two reasons, all the drive spaces and the optic drive. I will be using it to creat a personal NAS and a video and music streamer.
Great review! I've been looking for a HTPC/NAS/Productivity case and you did a great job showing the potential with this build. Going to order one now.
Very good review... I went ahead and ordered a case (even though it's one of the ugliest mATX cases available, you've convinced me it'll do the job for my NAS). Fractal Design should thank you.
Great review really helpful, looking to upgrade my Unraid server and struggling to find a case with enough 3.5 drive bays looking for 4 minimum and although this case is overkill it could be where I end up. Now looking through your other vids for inspiration 😁
Hi AV techy!! great video! I have almost the same build, but I have rom for one more fan in the top front. I am unsure if this one should be exhaust or intake... You say in this video that it should definitely be intake. but other sites I see it recommended to have both top fans as exhaust..This with arguments of simple, one-way airflow, and that heat goes up. I think intake would be better, for more air to go through the CPU heatsink, but could you please elaborate on your reasoning for this choice?
some information, I saw that you also mounted the upper fans, what do they do, do they remove the air or introduce it? Is it better to mount the top cover after mounting the top fans or should it not be mounted? Thank you
Thanks for the video, a curiosity, the case fans pull the air out or pull in???? (i'm not a very expert, and I would not have said nonsense). Thank you
Hello, I know you may not have the case anymore, but help me with memory if you can. Do you think that 160mm cooler clearance is mandatory or i could fit a 161-162mm cooler?
You'll normally get away with a couple extra millimetres on your CPU cooler. The clearance is typically slightly oversized from the spec to account for manufacturing tolerance. A couple of millimetres is about all you'll get extra so I wouldn't push it any further than that.
I know this was a few years ago, but during the discussion on the hdd cages you mention that with the right brackets you can install 16 2.5" drives. Do you have any details on these brackets? I've googled a bit but can't find anything
i think he was basically saying you can just get a (2) 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket per 3.5" hdd spot. If they are SSDs don't use brackets, just velcro a ton of them stacked together
Hi, well done, your work is very good. This is not a request, but, have you think about build in the Thermaltake core v21, its another cube case that i really like and has too many ways to configure it. See you bro.
Thanks you very much! Funnily enough this channel was due to start with the Core V21, but due to issues with potential design copying from Thermaltake I decided I would create a video on reasons not to support a company that might be performing unethical practices (emphasis on the might). (That video is so old and low quality compared to some of the videos now, I wouldn't recommend checking it out.) However since then Thermaltake has released a lot of interesting designs that have firmly moved away from close competitors designs (at least from what I've seen). So I may take a look at the Core V21 in the future, since I did round it down as pretty much the perfect case for my situation at the time. Thanks for your thoughts, and please don't feel awkward about requesting videos. It keeps me creating content people want to see, it's actually extremely useful. So if you have any more requests or suggestions, let me know. I can't promise I will be able to meet the requests but I will strongly take them into consideration. And finally thanks for checking out the video and showing support, I really appreciate it!
man i might just get this to replace my air 240 beacuse of the damn pci slots ugh. The hinge thing on the 140 like u explained in ur vid is so pointless. My 1060 3gb sags! like cmon now corsair lol. (yes im like 6 years late from 240 air release lol).
I use this case, I think it's absolutely massive. I want to change into a normal micro atx case but I'm not sure if my CPU cooler will fit. I'm pretty sure it's the same as the one you use. Which would fit into the case I'm wanting. Are most CPU coolers like the 212 evo 160mm?
It certainly takes up a lot of desk space, it's a bot of a monster for an mATX case. As for the cooler, there are a lot of 160mm coolers on the market. The trend is pretty much set by the total height of the motherboard and a 120mm fan inside a case. But there are plenty of coolers that are smaller than a 160mm cooler. But bigger is generally better, by that I mean more fin surface area. This means there are coolers that are smaller in profile, but have more or bigger fins that will outperform the Hyper 212 Evo. However there are plenty of mATX cases that can support the Hyper 212 Evo, many of them have been reviewed on this channel. If you want a few suggestions let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.
@@unrealdevon Hell man go all out and stain the wood so it even looks nice... fuck go All out all out and burn a logo into the word after then seal it.
So you'd give your PSU about half a centimetre of room to breathe, rather than the masses is space and active airflow from the fans inside the case? Right... Just look into some videos around looking into PSU orientation, and you'll soon realise it doesn't really matter.
@@AVTechy Careful not to drop anything into the PSU. There is a reason they arent installed that way by default, not in any case I am aware of. You could maybe add your own filter, but if the orientation doesnt matter, as you said. Then just install it the way you are meant to? You also wouldn’t have had the screw clearance issues at 14:59 if you had fitted it the correct way up
I don't mean to burst your bubble, but the resistance created by the close distance between base of the case and the desk will likely be higher than the active airflow and more spacious area inside the case. I think fan side up if the inside isn't completely rammed full is the right move here. And who called themselves a "tech master"? Is the "train" part supposed to be a clever twist on the joke? I'm really confused about the whole comment to be honest. You might want to get yourself some"train"ing to understand that PSU position really isn't all that important (to the PSU itself, and the system as a whole). The sooner you understand that most things aren't black and white, and are instead mostly a mix of greys you can probably get past making weird faux elitist comments like this one...
There are many reviews about this PC case but yours is by far one of the most detailing in terms of actually building inside the case. Most reviews just have a quick view over the case features, pro's and cons but they never get this detailed about how it actually is to build inside the case. Thanks a lot!
I thought the same, great review. The only thing missing was connecting up the 3.5 HDDs and demonstrating how difficult it is to swap out drives. Other reviews have mentioned it as a design flaw that the connections are at the bottom, but so far I havent seen anyone show how bad it is to deal with. If you had 4 drives in a cage, presumably you have to unplug some or all before you can pull it out and put the cage on the desk? Doesnt seem there is much clearance above the PSU - at last for the rear cage.
@@Ironbuket I actually purchased this case last week and built my NAS PC inside of it. The space between the HDD cage (if mounted to the rear top of the case) and the PSU is indeed very narrow and you should need to take out the entire cage if you were to take out one or more HDDs. Hope you sort of got an answer.
Overall I am very satisfied with this case although cable management could’ve been better. The quality of used materials with this case is very good, given the fact I only paid €59,90 ($69,55) for it on Amazon (NL).
Another thing I would like to mention is that many people experienced problems screwing their 3.5” HDDs into the HDD cages because there are HDDs that do not have screw holes in the middle (on each side of the HDD). Through Google I found out that some have printed the brackets themselves with a 3D printer. However, the case I ordered came with brackets, made by Fractal itself!
@@jorisstassen7995 Interesting point about the middle driver connections. Ive see some of the very high capacity drives have those missing.
You did manage to pull the entire cage out of the case without having to unhook any of the sata connections? I was thinking maybe at least some cables wouldnt be long enough and you would end up jamming your fingers in the case trying to unhook things if you populated all 4 and later wanted to remove it.
@@Ironbuket Hmm I don’t know for sure if you got all 4 hdd slots (per cage) loaded with the drives if the cables would become tangled or became loose. I am currently only using 2 hdds for storage and one ssd as a boot drive.
About the screw holes, I made a mistake in what I meant to explain. Some hdd drives only got screw holes in the middle: one hole on the left side of the drive, one hole on the right side of the drive. This is why Fractal now includes hard drive brackets with this case, so any 3,5” hard drive should fit safely in the hdd cages.
My apologies, my English might not be perfect as I live in Belgium.
Wow! This was the best review / build video I have found on this case. Thank you. I just ordered this case for two reasons, all the drive spaces and the optic drive. I will be using it to creat a personal NAS and a video and music streamer.
You got a talent kid. This tutorial was very painless to watch. Super Necessary! ty!
Great review! I've been looking for a HTPC/NAS/Productivity case and you did a great job showing the potential with this build. Going to order one now.
Very good review... I went ahead and ordered a case (even though it's one of the ugliest mATX cases available, you've convinced me it'll do the job for my NAS). Fractal Design should thank you.
You really think so? I feel it's one of the best cases I've ever seen.
Fantastic review and build video! I'm building up a B550 Ryzen PC in an 804 tomorrow and this was concise and thorough. Cheers!
Great review really helpful, looking to upgrade my Unraid server and struggling to find a case with enough 3.5 drive bays looking for 4 minimum and although this case is overkill it could be where I end up. Now looking through your other vids for inspiration 😁
An excellent and very detailed review.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you very much. 👍🏻
Great video and overview of the fractal case - thinking of using this one to build a NAS.
was thinking the same
Hi AV techy!! great video! I have almost the same build, but I have rom for one more fan in the top front. I am unsure if this one should be exhaust or intake... You say in this video that it should definitely be intake. but other sites I see it recommended to have both top fans as exhaust..This with arguments of simple, one-way airflow, and that heat goes up.
I think intake would be better, for more air to go through the CPU heatsink, but could you please elaborate on your reasoning for this choice?
some information, I saw that you also mounted the upper fans, what do they do, do they remove the air or introduce it?
Is it better to mount the top cover after mounting the top fans or should it not be mounted?
Thank you
Great review!!
Can you give a link to the fans you used?
Thanks for the video, a curiosity, the case fans pull the air out or pull in???? (i'm not a very expert, and I would not have said nonsense). Thank you
Do you have any links to slimline disc drives? Trying to figure out if any slimline would work
Hello, I know you may not have the case anymore, but help me with memory if you can. Do you think that 160mm cooler clearance is mandatory or i could fit a 161-162mm cooler?
You'll normally get away with a couple extra millimetres on your CPU cooler. The clearance is typically slightly oversized from the spec to account for manufacturing tolerance.
A couple of millimetres is about all you'll get extra so I wouldn't push it any further than that.
I know this was a few years ago, but during the discussion on the hdd cages you mention that with the right brackets you can install 16 2.5" drives. Do you have any details on these brackets? I've googled a bit but can't find anything
i think he was basically saying you can just get a (2) 2.5" to 3.5" adapter bracket per 3.5" hdd spot. If they are SSDs don't use brackets, just velcro a ton of them stacked together
A fantastic review!
QUICK QUESTION CAN YOU INSTALL FANS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CASE?
Hi, well done, your work is very good. This is not a request, but, have you think about build in the Thermaltake core v21, its another cube case that i really like and has too many ways to configure it. See you bro.
Thanks you very much!
Funnily enough this channel was due to start with the Core V21, but due to issues with potential design copying from Thermaltake I decided I would create a video on reasons not to support a company that might be performing unethical practices (emphasis on the might). (That video is so old and low quality compared to some of the videos now, I wouldn't recommend checking it out.)
However since then Thermaltake has released a lot of interesting designs that have firmly moved away from close competitors designs (at least from what I've seen). So I may take a look at the Core V21 in the future, since I did round it down as pretty much the perfect case for my situation at the time.
Thanks for your thoughts, and please don't feel awkward about requesting videos. It keeps me creating content people want to see, it's actually extremely useful. So if you have any more requests or suggestions, let me know. I can't promise I will be able to meet the requests but I will strongly take them into consideration.
And finally thanks for checking out the video and showing support, I really appreciate it!
man i might just get this to replace my air 240 beacuse of the damn pci slots ugh. The hinge thing on the 140 like u explained in ur vid is so pointless. My 1060 3gb sags! like cmon now corsair lol. (yes im like 6 years late from 240 air release lol).
awesome video. very useful. Thx for this.
I use this case, I think it's absolutely massive. I want to change into a normal micro atx case but I'm not sure if my CPU cooler will fit. I'm pretty sure it's the same as the one you use. Which would fit into the case I'm wanting. Are most CPU coolers like the 212 evo 160mm?
It certainly takes up a lot of desk space, it's a bot of a monster for an mATX case.
As for the cooler, there are a lot of 160mm coolers on the market. The trend is pretty much set by the total height of the motherboard and a 120mm fan inside a case. But there are plenty of coolers that are smaller than a 160mm cooler. But bigger is generally better, by that I mean more fin surface area. This means there are coolers that are smaller in profile, but have more or bigger fins that will outperform the Hyper 212 Evo.
However there are plenty of mATX cases that can support the Hyper 212 Evo, many of them have been reviewed on this channel. If you want a few suggestions let me know and I'll do my best to help you out.
Hi, i am planning to use this case with a mini-itx mobo(ASUS ROG Strix X570-I Gaming).. this shouldn't be a problem right? :)
yup no issue
Such a shame they don't sell this case without the daft window in it.
Think if they'd made a version with a mesh side with mag dust cover... 4 more 140mm intake would be awesome.
@@ArkAngelHFB one could get rid of the glas replacing it with thin wood panel and drill holes for fans.
Damn im Going to do this.
@@unrealdevon Hell man go all out and stain the wood so it even looks nice...
fuck go All out all out and burn a logo into the word after then seal it.
Hi!
Thanks for sharing this video.
Now i know what to do with my fans.
now to find a microatx board that has enough sata ports. and works for the amd ryzen
I use ASRock X570M Pro4 it has 8 sata ports
No way those temps are normal!! Way too high!
すごい
You put the power supply in upside down
So you'd give your PSU about half a centimetre of room to breathe, rather than the masses is space and active airflow from the fans inside the case? Right...
Just look into some videos around looking into PSU orientation, and you'll soon realise it doesn't really matter.
@@AVTechy Careful not to drop anything into the PSU. There is a reason they arent installed that way by default, not in any case I am aware of. You could maybe add your own filter, but if the orientation doesnt matter, as you said. Then just install it the way you are meant to?
You also wouldn’t have had the screw clearance issues at 14:59 if you had fitted it the correct way up
A very great model but the place for my pc is at my left :'v
Yeah, it's quite the little monster. Shame it's not reversible...
seems it isn't good quality.... once the top cover has been off it doesn't want to get on :( looks good but cheap crap for + price.
alia
im giving dislike cuz u putted the psu on the wrong way.... and if u call urself a ''tech master'' im a train....
I don't mean to burst your bubble, but the resistance created by the close distance between base of the case and the desk will likely be higher than the active airflow and more spacious area inside the case. I think fan side up if the inside isn't completely rammed full is the right move here.
And who called themselves a "tech master"? Is the "train" part supposed to be a clever twist on the joke? I'm really confused about the whole comment to be honest. You might want to get yourself some"train"ing to understand that PSU position really isn't all that important (to the PSU itself, and the system as a whole). The sooner you understand that most things aren't black and white, and are instead mostly a mix of greys you can probably get past making weird faux elitist comments like this one...
There's more fresh air available above the PSU than below it, look how little clearance there is below the case.