Does anyone have the new Fractal Design Node 605 case?

IMHO, what holds it back is no IR window. Otherwise, I'd have one (and no I am not going to drill one out )

Once you have an IR window, you'll never go back But, that's all personal preference anyway. Like, I never use a reset button so it's no big deal for me.

I agree it looks amazing. I really like minimalist brushed aluminum. I keep coming back to it too. From what I've read if you have an ATX motherboard there's no way to mount the slim optical and the fans while quiet don't do a great job of creating airflow. IIRC, in the review I looked at airflow was a complaint. I don't know if they've updated the case since.

I bought the 605 last week. Paid $159. Not cheap at all. Looks like newegg has it for 129 right now.
It looks real nice, however it is too wide for me. I need to return mine. I would trade depth for width in a heart beat.
I want a nice looking case that's narrower then 14inches and can hold an ATX mobo. My options are limited....

I use a usb IR receiver that sits behind my center speakers cloth in my entertainment centers center cubby.

Just returned it to Micro-center and am looking online for a new one. Losing ability to have an optical drive if I use a full ATX mobo and the width killed it for me.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but....

My entertainment center has an 18.5 inch space that flanks the right and left of the center speaker. Thus the width of the HTPC is pretty important.



I've had an Antec NSK2480 in there for about a year and it does ok. Temps are higher then my liking, but the little AMD 4250e and 780gmobo manage to do ok. There is about .5 inches of clearance on either side of the case for side venting airflow. Oh yeah, there is a furnace vent that blows into the bottem shelf. (The door has to always stay open when the htpc is on )



So, now I am building a new htpc (i3 3225, Asrock 6extreme full atx mobo. I'll use this mobo for my server upgrade in a year or so.

Heres my options for new cases.

4 needs:
-Fits standard ATX mobo
-No doors on front, unless very small. Cant have Optical drive hidden.
-Black
-Narrower then about 16.5inches. 14-15 is perfect!

Some ideas...

www.3rsys.com/english/products/view.asp?navi=case&idx_num=105


At 14.45inches and able to fit a full ATX mobo, while looking decently good looking (besides the double cd drive) its a winner.
However I cant find it anywhere...Any ideas? I'm in the USA

Other options are: (in order of best to meh)

Lian-Li PC-C33B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112228

Silverstone SST-LC10B-E-USB3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163193

NMEDIAPC HTPC 2000B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204032

Thoughts?

I have the nMediaPC 1000b, the microATX version of that case which is the same size as the 2000B (they flip the PSU on the side to make room for an ATX motherboard) and I really like it. I've had it for a couple of years. One thing to know though the optional LCD module is shite. My shelf is the same width as yours.

Lian-Li PC-C60 is one to add to your list.

I have never seen the one you have pictured.

I just got the Fractal Design Node 605 case last week.......lets just say I have a friend that hooked me up It looks amazing and matches my Onkyo AVR. I have not built it out yet but just purchased a slim bluray drive from eBay (geeks.com) for $36. I am thinking about using the new AMD CPU/GPU in this beast and adding a good video card down the road. I will post some more info once I build it out.

My 605 came today along with a new psu since my other one died over the weekend.

Let me ask you guys are you mounting the psu with the fan to the inside or outside?

Just curious what power supply you went with and how many watts? The Seasonic are well known for being dependable and quiet but recently I like the Corsair models.

I went with this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703034

I recently got this for my first HTPC case. Few things that could have been improved;
1) Cable Routing - Unless its modular there really isn't any. I honestly would love it if they added a bit of height for this.
2) The slim-line ODD. Not its a bad thing, Just that I wish I knew to get a modular psu/one no longer than 140mm, As I am not having trouble with connecting it all up.
3) ODD mount. I am a little fussy and I found it overly complicated to adjust the position of the ODD to get it flush with the panel.

I haven't installed a GPU yet but that shouldn't be an issue.

I would recommend a modular PSU.

I just got done with my build. I'll say one thing the quality of this case is unreal it looks great.

First thing I noticed when taking the top off why didn't they use thumb screws. Took the top off and noticed the dampening very cool. With all the room inside I said no problem with my full atx. I had a extra 120mm fan and nice touch that they used 4 black nuts and bolts to cover the fan screw holes. Even nicer that they included 4 black screws. I'm thinking quality quality quality case here.

My modular psu went in no problem next the mob no issues there either. perhaps a little tight to the fan edges but still no problems. This was going to be a breeze. I read all the reviews out there and thought are they kidding a slim line optical will fit no problem.

Then came the issues which everyone has said.

No cable management at all. In fact the main power cables needed to be tied down to the bottom of the case along the front of the case using the 2 tie down mounts( which one was bent down and had to bend it back up to get the tie down through) Running the usbs, firewire and hd audio not a pain but just wires everywhere. I ended up tying them to the top cross bar.

The molex connector for the fans was cheap. I needed to push down the wires from the back with a small screw driver. Maybe it was the male ends on my psu where to big anyways I started to say are they kidding here. Maybe change from a molex to a sata connector for the fans also. The only molex I needed and we know on your psu one run of molex can be 2-3 connectors at least .No need to deal with connectors you don't need.

The real issue now;

You need to be very patient with your cable mgmt. to fit both hard drive caddies in. Even with my modular it was a challenge. The drives are very close together in each caddy a heat concern for sure. I would of liked to see a cross bracket mounted to each drive to keep some space between them or at least a rubber stopper which I might add later. Its very tight to get all 4 drives in. I'm using 2 now and with adding 2 more and 2 more sata cables and power cables its going to be a nightmare. Good thing there is a fan right there.

In my opinion no way you can fit a slimline optical in this case due to cable management at least with a full atx maybe with a matx. This was no biggie for me because I do not use a optical drive in my htpc.

Im sure a lot of the cable issues is due to the case not being that deep as say a silverstone 08.

Final thoughts:

beautiful, sexy, I might stare at it more than the tv or movie I'm watching but never the wife of course I'm not stupid now
Silent
quality materials, no sharp edges and the drop down door in the front is metal not plastic that breaks within a year. I dont need the optical drive, hardly ever use the card reader and/or usb/ firewire so the door will be up most times.

I would consider another case if your building with a full atx and need a optical drive

you should consider a modular psu as others have said

very poor cable management

Concerned about the heat issues with 4 hd's hanging down over the south bridge

I would not buy this case again if I was building a full size atx htpc but damn it's one pretty case