Fractal Design Node 304 Mini-ITX Case - $59.99+FS @Newegg U.S.


Hoopster

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After going back to "regular price" of $89.99 after midnight PST on Jan 11, the Fractal Design Node 304 is back at the "sale price" of $59.99 tonight, Jan 12.  Don't know how long it will last this time.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352027

 

For $60 I'll give this case a try for my next mini-ITX unRAID build.  It has a limit of 6 HDD/SSDs.  Many on these forums are using this case and are very happy with it.

 

Current best price on Amazon is $72

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I also prefer the Lian-Li PC-Q25 for the hot swap, ease of side panel removal and excellent cooling; however, availability tends to be spotty and it is much more expensive when available; although, it is worth the cost (lowest price I saw recently was $100 and that deal is now gone). I figured that for $60 and with a Mini-ITX motherboard with 6 SATA ports, an i5 CPU and 16GB of compatible RAM lying around, I'd give this case a try in my soon-to-be unRAID backup server.

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It's an excellent choice for a low-cost case.  As I noted above, the hot-swap drive bays in the Q25B are nice, but are really a very minor difference.    As rare as drive changes are, it's certainly no big deal to unplug a couple cables to swap a drive.

 

... and you DO save a few $$ relative to a Q25B.    I have a spare Q25B (unopened) in my back room that I picked up the last time it was on a very good sale (I think it was $89) ... but I paid more like $120 for the two I'm actually using.    Still a very good value IMHO for such a nice case -- but you're paying perhaps $10 ea. for those hot-swap bays  :)

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That is a great price, and it's a very nice case. Great build quality.

 

I bought one for a developer workstation I'm filling with drives I'm salvaging from my unRAID server when I'm replacing them with bigger ones.

 

The only thing I'm not too happy about is that it gets really tight if you fill the case with drives. You are almost certainly going to screw up the wire management a couple of times before figuring out a way to snake them through/around/over the drive cages.

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That is a great price, and it's a very nice case. Great build quality.

 

I bought one for a developer workstation I'm filling with drives I'm salvaging from my unRAID server when I'm replacing them with bigger ones.

 

The only thing I'm not too happy about is that it gets really tight if you fill the case with drives. You are almost certainly going to screw up the wire management a couple of times before figuring out a way to snake them through/around/over the drive cages.

 

That's why I am definitely installing an SFX power supply in this case even though it can accommodate an ATX PSU.  That ought to open a little more room for cable routing.  In this case, the Corsair SFX units with their shorter modular cables might actually be a great fit; less to worry about snaking through/around/over. 

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Definitely agree with SFX power supplies => I've long advocated them for ANY mini-ITX build.    Both the Fractal Node 304 and the Lian-Li PC-Q25B  CLAIM ATX compatibility ... but neither really works well with them -- simply too crowded.  With an SFX unit you have MUCH better airflow AND room to move your fingers around a bit to install/route cables  :)

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Love my Node 304. It has been full of 3.5HHDs and a PCIe SSD for many years now. HDD swaps are almost as easy as a case with hot swap bays because of the modular hanging design of the HDD mounts in this case. Additionally, for my AV console, the reduced height of the Node 304 made fitting it in a breeze - and because there are no vents on the top you don't need to leave any additional air gap between shelves.

 

Great cooling with the two large adjustable speed fans mounted to the front of the case. I keep them on the medium setting and I can't hear them in my living room. Dust filters are of course a nice touch for a 24/7 machine.

 

I had no problems fitting an ATX power supply in my old build, it sits nicely under the HDDs so any reduced space from an STX power supply isn't beneficial. However, the PSU was NOT modular so there were lots of extra cables floating around. This all changed when I upgraded my motherboard - the new motherboard had the stacked SATA ports positioned perpendicularly out the side of the board so they extended out of the designated mITX motherboard envelope. I now have a modular STX power supply and am very happy. Note that most STX power supplies do not come with 6 SATA power connectors. Make sure you buy the right spare cables or adapters.

 

This solid steel case fully loaded with HDDs is one heavy case to pick up. Use proper lifting techniques :)

 

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... This solid steel case fully loaded with HDDs is one heavy case to pick up. Use proper lifting techniques :)

 

You should try lifting my Lian-Li PC-K12 with 17 drives  :)

 

... and of course a lot of folks have systems with Norco 24-bay cases stuffed full of drives.

 

I agree, however, that a mini-ITX system can require caution when lifting -- my Q25-B with 7 drives is moderately heavy as well.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've just done a fresh build in this case. Two firsts for me, building in this case and using unRaid. Both are so far so good.

 

I used a Corsair SF450 PSU with the Silverstone adapter bracket (PP08B) (Corsair apparently doesn't include the brackets with SF PSUs, and the mounting is supposedly standard so I just got the Silverstone since it was cheap). The PSU's 24-pin cable was *just* long enough to get plugged into the motherboard. I also found that the included SATA power cable is not nearly long enough to connect more than a couple of drives. So I ordered one of Corsair's longer compatible modular cables (CP-8920113) which now powers 3 HDDs and 1 SSD. Have another on the way so I can eventually max out the storage space.

 

I can already see how tricky it can be to run cables in this case, esp. if a tower cooler is used (I used a low-profile Noctua) or a GPU (not needed for a headless machine). I'm probably going to revisit the cabling and try to tidy it up some.

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... I also found that the included SATA cable is not nearly long enough to connect more than a couple of drives. So I ordered a longer one from Corsair that powers 3 HDDs and 1 SSD...

STOP!!!!

 

What you said here is very scary!

 

A SATA cable just connects a single disk to a single SATA port, but you are talking about a cable to power multiple disks. It sounds like you are planning to use a power cable from Corsair on a Silverstone power supply. They are very likely to not be pin compatible and you can fry your disks!

 

*edit* sent user a PM about this.

 

*edit2* Nevermind :P. I see he is using a Corsair PSU with a Silverstone bracket, not a Silverstone PSU.

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... I also found that the included SATA cable is not nearly long enough to connect more than a couple of drives. So I ordered a longer one from Corsair that powers 3 HDDs and 1 SSD...

STOP!!!!

 

What you said here is very scary!

 

A SATA cable just connects a single disk to a single SATA port, but you are talking about a cable to power multiple disks. It sounds like you are planning to use a power cable from Corsair on a Silverstone power supply. They are very likely to not be pin compatible and you can fry your disks!

 

*edit* sent user a PM about this.

 

*edit2* Nevermind :P. I see he is using a Corsair PSU with a Silverstone bracket, not a Silverstone PSU.

It's still an issue that needs to be investigated, unless he ordered specifically for his PSU model number. I've seen cables from the same brand pinned differently depending on who was the manufacturer of the specific model in question. Yes, not all brands manufacture their own stuff, and will source from different manufacturers  for different models over the years.

 

If the cable didn't come in the box with the PSU, I'd definitely ohm it out with a multimeter to verify pin for pin compatibility.

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... I also found that the included SATA cable is not nearly long enough to connect more than a couple of drives. So I ordered a longer one from Corsair that powers 3 HDDs and 1 SSD...

STOP!!!!

 

What you said here is very scary!

 

A SATA cable just connects a single disk to a single SATA port, but you are talking about a cable to power multiple disks. It sounds like you are planning to use a power cable from Corsair on a Silverstone power supply. They are very likely to not be pin compatible and you can fry your disks!

 

*edit* sent user a PM about this.

 

*edit2* Nevermind :P. I see he is using a Corsair PSU with a Silverstone bracket, not a Silverstone PSU.

 

I appreciate your caution. Your message gave me a brief panic moment until I re-read what I had written previously and saw the possible confusion. I updated my post to include links and some formatting so the important bits are easier to pick out. I did check out the cable compatibility before I used it, and I saw the combo recommended in a few places as well.

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... I also found that the included SATA cable is not nearly long enough to connect more than a couple of drives. So I ordered a longer one from Corsair that powers 3 HDDs and 1 SSD...

STOP!!!!

 

What you said here is very scary!

 

A SATA cable just connects a single disk to a single SATA port, but you are talking about a cable to power multiple disks. It sounds like you are planning to use a power cable from Corsair on a Silverstone power supply. They are very likely to not be pin compatible and you can fry your disks!

 

*edit* sent user a PM about this.

 

*edit2* Nevermind :P. I see he is using a Corsair PSU with a Silverstone bracket, not a Silverstone PSU.

It's still an issue that needs to be investigated, unless he ordered specifically for his PSU model number. I've seen cables from the same brand pinned differently depending on who was the manufacturer of the specific model in question. Yes, not all brands manufacture their own stuff, and will source from different manufacturers  for different models over the years.

 

If the cable didn't come in the box with the PSU, I'd definitely ohm it out with a multimeter to verify pin for pin compatibility.

 

I saw the same PSU and cable combo recommended elsewhere, and I verified via the Corsair website as well (the PSU is a type 3, and the cable is marked compatible with all Corsair's type-3 PSUs). Amended my post to include links and some formatting for clarity.

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