Fractal Design Node 202 - Black - Mini-ITX Slim Profile Compact Small Form Factor Computer Case – Modular interior - USB 3.0

Product Information

Standard 25 mm thick fans would press right up against the GPU fans, and this fan stacking would create horrendous noise.

At first glance, the Node 202 does not appear to be much different from other HTPC cases, aside from Fractal Design’s familiar minimalist design. drive, 2x 120mm fans on a Fractal Ion 650w Gold PSU which hums along nicely at a little less than 300 watt draw at the wall for the whole system during Time Spy. Alternatively, the PCIe-Riser can be screwed down after installing the graphics card like I mentioned earlier.Finance is only available to permanent UK residents aged >18, subject to status, terms and conditions apply. The top and sides are all one giant plastic shell and are secured using four screws accessible from the bottom. I would be happy to see reviews and build guides for other cases as well, instead of just before / after pics and a partlist. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. The video card doesn’t quite fill up the entire two slots so there is some separation between it and the exhaust fan.

My only concern is if blower style GPU cooler would make a big difference - for entire case temps it surely will, but hard to say how big the diff will be compared to noise that it will make. It’s worth mentioning that with ventilation comes noise, so be sure to undervolt accordingly and adjust those fan curves to preserve your sanity. I'm gonna try maxing out a few games on steam and see what the temps are from gaming just to get a more realistic view.

Here is what Fractal Design has to say about their latest chassis: The Node 202 is the ultimate PC case for those looking for a beautifully designed, compact chassis that can house a capable gaming build. It's worth remembering that the Node 202 has a dust filter over the CPU vent whereas the windowed RVZ02 we tested did not.

With or without the PSU, it's also pretty good value, and remember again that the PSU has a handy short cable set. GPU fans are cable tied, uses liquid metal on the core and adaptor for mini fan headers to connect direct to the gpu.

At first sight, the Node 202 appears to be just another slim HTPC case that forbids the use of full size expansion cards, a design that effectively negates the installation of any high performance video card, making it useless to gamers.

The enclosure is well constructed, and Fractal Design has done a great job by offering a clean chassis that will fit the living room, while also adding some edgy design elements to give those wanting to build an understated gaming rig what they want. You are responsible for the contents of your comments and any consequences that may arise as a result of them. Edit 2: I ended up not getting the PNY but did snag an EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 ULTRA GAMING card which is a bit over 2 slots wide. Fractal design supplies the Node 202 without any case fans (there is an 80mm fan in the PSU) and while you can add two 120mm fans in the graphics side of the case we choose not to do so.I also decided to include the larger Silverstone SFX-L sized PSU to show that even with a larger PSU installed, there is plenty of room to route the cables in the Ridge. If the case was just 6mm thicker, a 3-slot GPU could have been used alongside 25mm case fans and it would enable the use of a 25mm fan on my particular HSF, but then it would be 12.