Fractal Design Core 500

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

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NeilBlanchard
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Fractal Design Core 500

Post by NeilBlanchard » Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:40 pm


Quinnbeast
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by Quinnbeast » Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:34 am

*rubs chin*

I'll be keen to see how the reviews for this pan out. Looks like a chubby Shuttle, and a good update/variation to the Node 304. As much as I like some of the slim home theater type cases, I'm always going to lean towards an ATX PSU and a low power GPU for better versatility (HTPC / Music server / modest TV gaming box). This could be just the ticket. Looks like you could mount two 2.5 inch drives along the front-to-back panel on the right hand side...

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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by NeilBlanchard » Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:34 am

Yes, it actually has 3 bays for SSD's.

Jotunn
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by Jotunn » Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:26 pm

It actually doesn't support SFX power supplies, only ATX power supplies.

Quinnbeast
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by Quinnbeast » Fri Jul 24, 2015 1:50 am

Correct!

Jotunn
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by Jotunn » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:16 am

With how popular AIO CPU liquid cooling is and the fact that this case has space for 3 HDDs and 3 SSDs, long GPUs (from other views of the case, no tall GPUs unless they are fairly short in length), AND a 5.25" drive (sadly, not at the same time as a 280mm radiator), you could make a hell of a shoebox powerhouse for LAN games or a small, quiet workstation with one or two fans in this case.

fyleow
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:47 am

This case looks really good on paper and I've narrowed down my case selection for my mITX transition to either this or the Legacy W1 reviewed. I need support for a tower cooler, full lengths graphics card, and a full ATX power supply. This case handles it in 19.5L which is much smaller than the Legacy W1, although in terms of desk footprint they are similar. Most of the Legacy W1's extra volume comes from its height and since the Core 500 has top intakes it probably needs to be unobstructed on the top anyway.

Anyway coming back to the Core 500 the greatest issue I see is with the intake. With a tower cooler it looks like you'll be able to fit a single 140mm fan at the front position but those grills look fairly restrictive. Most of the successful cases reviewed here have a door with open side slits and little obstruction on the intake fan except for the filter. Cases like the Air 240 have shown how restrictive grills combined with filters can have a huge impact on temperature. Based on the picture the Core 500 has pretty restrictive intake grills. The holes don't look very large, certainly less porous compared to the honeycomb grilled exhausts of my R4. On the other hand the Prodigy seemed to do just fine with a fairly restrictive intake, but it also has more ventilation slots on the top which may have helped with the lower temperatures.

What are your guys thoughts on how well this case can perform with the same equipment as the SPCR ITX system guides released lately? I wish SPCR reviewed the Node 304 with a gaming setup as this case is very similar in structure.

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:59 pm

I have one of these cases on order and it should arrive this week sometime.

CA_Steve
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Aug 03, 2015 2:22 pm

jaredhoward076 wrote:I have one of these cases on order and it should arrive this week sometime.
Cool - I look forward to your build comments perfomance feedback. :)

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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:33 pm

jaredhoward076 wrote:I have one of these cases on order and it should arrive this week sometime.
Awesome, would love to hear your impressions. Out of curiosity where did you order from? The only place I can find it in stock in North America is NCIX and they are notorious for showing items in stock when they are not and slow shipping. I also tried checking some European websites and still don't see it in stock.

QUIET!
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by QUIET! » Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:58 pm

That design is interesting.

I think they missed a trick with that ODD location. A laptop drive mounted under the PSU would have made a lot of sense. The front would be cleaner with better GPU clearance inside. ODDs are rapidly becoming legacy devices with software and content mainly delivered by the internet (and sometimes thumb drive) so the slight performance compromise won't be noticed.

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Tue Aug 04, 2015 3:38 am

fyleow wrote:
jaredhoward076 wrote:I have one of these cases on order and it should arrive this week sometime.
Awesome, would love to hear your impressions. Out of curiosity where did you order from? The only place I can find it in stock in North America is NCIX and they are notorious for showing items in stock when they are not and slow shipping. I also tried checking some European websites and still don't see it in stock.
Lol, well that is where I ordered it from so we shall see. I ordered it last Friday so hopefully I get it this month!

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Wed Aug 05, 2015 3:34 am

According to UPS, I should have it next week so I will put some pics up after I get it.

nstclair13
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by nstclair13 » Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:22 am

Hey guys,

I have one of these cases and just recently finished my new build in it. If you guys have questions I can definitely try to answer them the best I can :)

Pictures here: http://imgur.com/a/QRiQp


Intel Core i7-5960X
Corsair H105 with Noctua NF-F12 PWM (x2)
ASRock X99e-ITX
G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400MHz
Samsung 840 EVO 500GB (Will eventually like to upgrade to something faster and bigger)
EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified
Silverstone Strider Gold S 850W
Fractal Design Core 500 Mini ITX
Noctua NF-A14 PWM (x1)
Last edited by nstclair13 on Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Wed Aug 12, 2015 4:06 am

Received the case last night.

Initial impressions:

For the price it is great and the steel is much thicker than expected and solid.

I am impressed that the beveled edges of the front panel are actually vented and not just for looks.

Only cons that I can see right now would be there is little cable management and the exhaust on the top might cause some turbulent noise.

To me this feels more like a $80-$90 case rather than a $50 one.

Once I finish my build, I will post some pics.

fyleow
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Wed Aug 12, 2015 1:55 pm

Thanks for sharing. The vents on the top of the case seem to be offset a few inches from the front edge. If a 140mm intake fan is mounted towards the front will the fan be fully vented or is it partially covered?

From the pictures I would think it is partially covered because the top fan bracket screw holes look like they are at the edge of the case while the vents start after the offset.

nstclair13
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by nstclair13 » Wed Aug 12, 2015 8:24 pm

Yes, you are correct that a 140mm/dual 140mm fan combo would be partially blocked when mounted on the top. My dual 120mm setup is pretty much the length of the opening.

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Thu Aug 13, 2015 4:02 am

fyleow wrote:f a 140mm intake fan is mounted towards the front will the fan be fully vented or is it partially covered?
A 140mm fan is roughly 5.5 inches in diameter, I measured the length of the top vent and it equals 10.5 inches. There might be up to .25 inches of each fan covered but the mounting is adjustable. My build is not fully complete, but the front fan is covered some at the moment. All I have to do is slide both fans back a bit. To me I think it is a non-issue and it is close enough.
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fyleow
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:18 am

Thanks for the pictures. I guess those are 120mm fans? I plan on using a tower cooler that's 160mm high and its wide so it runs up until the edge of the motherboard overhanging the ram slots. I believe 160mm is tall enough such that it will prevent an intake fan from being mounted anywhere above the cooler :|

I was going to populate just the front intake with a 140mm fan but that might not be possible

jaredhoward076
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by jaredhoward076 » Thu Aug 13, 2015 7:27 am

fyleow wrote:I guess those are 120mm fans?
They are 140mm fans, Noctua ULN 140 800rpm max.

I can take measure the distance from case floor to 140mm fan if that would help.

fyleow
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:21 am

When you remount your fans so there's nothing covered can you please check how much the front 140mm overlaps with the motherboard?

Koolpc
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by Koolpc » Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:54 am

Awesome case.

Not available yet in UK. I like that the PSU is not above the CPU!

lodestar
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by lodestar » Wed Sep 09, 2015 12:38 pm

Koolpc wrote:...Not available yet in UK...
In stock at ebuyer.com. Costs £49.98 including VAT with free delivery.

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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by siltsunrise » Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:36 am

fyleow wrote:n but those grills look fairly restrictive. Most of the successful cases reviewed here have a door with open side slits and little obstruction on the intake fan except for the filter. Cases like the Air 240 have shown how restrictive grills combined with filters can have a huge impact on temperature. Based on the picture the Core 500 has pretty restrictive intake grills. The holes don't look very large, certainly less porous compared to the honeycomb grilled exhausts of my R4.
That was the first thing I saw, having been alerted to the issue from the rosewill w1 review here.
I actually wrote fractal and asked them why they didn't just use the hex mesh, as it is obviously much more hole than metal!
I may get this anyway and just drill out a bunch of the smaller holes into a grid of small and big, keeping enough metal for strength. But may be ugly.

Is the node 804 otherwise. Which has ridiculously good fan options and more room to play anyway. I don't personally see 40 liters vs 20 to be a big deal, though the wee ones are niftier.

fyleow
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by fyleow » Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:55 pm

siltsunrise wrote:
fyleow wrote:n but those grills look fairly restrictive. Most of the successful cases reviewed here have a door with open side slits and little obstruction on the intake fan except for the filter. Cases like the Air 240 have shown how restrictive grills combined with filters can have a huge impact on temperature. Based on the picture the Core 500 has pretty restrictive intake grills. The holes don't look very large, certainly less porous compared to the honeycomb grilled exhausts of my R4.
That was the first thing I saw, having been alerted to the issue from the rosewill w1 review here.
I actually wrote fractal and asked them why they didn't just use the hex mesh, as it is obviously much more hole than metal!
I may get this anyway and just drill out a bunch of the smaller holes into a grid of small and big, keeping enough metal for strength. But may be ugly.

Is the node 804 otherwise. Which has ridiculously good fan options and more room to play anyway. I don't personally see 40 liters vs 20 to be a big deal, though the wee ones are niftier.
We'll need an SPCR review to know for sure. The side intake for GPU looks less restrictive than the W1 which is good since the GPU is the biggest heat generator on a gaming system. Although the top intake is restricted it may still be enough to cool the cpu. The front also has a little bit of venting. The combination may just be enough to keep a gaming system using an efficient Nvidia card cool although I wouldn't expect miracles. It's probably going to be closer to the Raven rvz01 compared to the prodigy or W1

I actually bought the W1 but I'm not sure if I'll keep it. The drive cage does a poor job of decoupling the hard drive vibrations and I can feel it through the surface of my desk. May just revert to the R4. I've wasted some money switching to an ITX board and memory in the process but I guess it was a learning opportunity.

GreenTRTL
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Re: Fractal Design Core 500

Post by GreenTRTL » Mon Sep 21, 2015 8:53 am

Does anybody know if the front panel of the node 304 will fit the front of the core 500? It looks like if you removed the top I/O the node 304 front panel could snap on. Does anybody have both these cases and can confirm? I like the internal layout of the core 500 but the node 304 front panel looks nicer, especially without the 5.25 cutout that I don't plan on using.

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