Review on Fractal FBA_FD CA NODE 202 BK Design Node 202 by Anastazja Andrzejews ᠌

Name: Fractal FBA_FD CA NODE 202 BK Design Node 202
Item: Fractal FBA_FD CA NODE 202 BK Design Node 202
Rating: 4

December 20, 2022

The product suited me, I will recommend it to my friends.

First I bought this case, and then I began to select the rest of the components for a long time and hard, which turned out to be not so simple.
As a result, I settled on the following assembly:
- motherboard Gigabyte H310N 2.0
- Intel Core i9-9900K processor
- Memory Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red 3000MHz PC4-24000 32Gb KIT (2x16Gb)
- disk Samsung MZ-V7S1T0BW 970 Evo Plus 1TB
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics card
- cooler for ID-Cooling IS-60 processor
- three Noctua NF-A12x15 PWM fans - one went to replace the standard turntable on the processor, and the other two to the case - for additional cooling of the video card
- Chieftec SFX-500GD-C power supply
I was most worried that the system would overheat under load, since it was impossible to put a normal cooler on the processor here. But, in the end, in this assembly, even in the horizontal position of the case, the processor heats up to a maximum of 80C - with a full stress test of the CPU and GPU.
The temperature difference between the stock fan and the Noctua fan in the ID-Cooling IS-60 cooler is minimal - only a few degrees at full load in favor of Noctua, but this fan costs almost the same as the cooler itself, so it's still a big question whether it's worth it. I didn't notice much of a difference in noise either.
I have not overclocked the processor and am not going to, therefore, everything suits me.
In general, there were not so few applicants for the place of a processor cooler, but ID-Cooling IS-60 and Alpenföhn Black Ridge made it to the final, but since the second one is not for sale here, I bought the first one.
First, I assembled the system without additional fans for the case for the video card, but in games (and especially in the stress test of the video card), the video card coolers began to noticeably howl, so I decided to buy additional cooling - it became noticeably quieter.

In general, I was satisfied with the case, it turned out to be a powerful system in a small volume, with the exception of a number of small jambs, voiced above, the case passed the test, and I can safely recommend it.
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Pros

- Compactness - it turned out a powerful, complete system in a small package - High quality workmanship of body materials - Ability to use a large (long) and powerful graphics card - It is possible to install additional cooling in the form of two 120mm coolers that will blow directly onto the video card

Cons

- If you, like me, are building a powerful system, then you will have a long and painful process of selecting components, since not everything you buy will fit into this case - The body conditionally consists of two plastic panels (top and bottom) and an iron frame in which all components are attached. The bottom panel is attached to the frame with plastic latches, which raises concerns that they might someday break. - If you install additional fans to cool the video card, then you have to remove the corner that additionally holds the video card so that it does not hang out - The Chieftec SFX-500GD-C power supply I use has a 120mm turntable, so the power supply belongs to the SFX-L standard, and it fits into this case only if you remove the SATA drive cage. I used an M2 drive in my assembly, so this was not a problem for me - The ventilation hole on the case for the power supply is clearly made for 80mm coolers and there is no special sense from a 120mm turntable in it - This power supply has only 3 holes for mounting in the case - two on the right in the corners and one in the center from the left edge, in the case all 4 holes are in the corners, so my power supply is held only by 2 bolts, which is annoying, but It's more of a PSU problem than a chassis problem. Apparently, due to the fact that SFX power supplies are not as widespread as their ATX counterparts, manufacturers have not yet developed uniform mounting standards. - The power cord that goes inside the case and that connects to the power supply is secured with ties in a very strange route - I had to cut these ties and lay it along a new path, as it got into additional coolers to cool the video card - The manufacturer could make the case a little thicker and then a regular ATX power supply could fit into it and you would not have to fool around with a clearly smaller selection of compatible SFX power supplies, and the range of compatible coolers for the processor would also greatly increase

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Comments (1)

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Anastazja Frelek (Ma ᠌

December 20, 2022

Pros below: Rigid frame inside, which is covered with plastic, thoughtful cooling, you can put dropsy, compactness. Has cons: It is difficult to assemble if you do not correctly select the components, a plastic cover.