Case review : Fractal Design Core 3000
Originating in Sweden, Fractal Design is relatively new manufacturer who focuses on computer cases and accessories. Their first few products were enough for the company to become very popular among the enthusiasts. Today we bring you the first review of a Fractal Design product in VR-Zone, the Core 3000 case.
Manufacturer’s features and specifications
Key features
- Simple yet elegant front panel with mesh and filter
- Optimized for performance with multiple cooling options
- A total of 7(!) fan slots (1x 120mm + 1x 140mm in front, 2x 120/140mm in top, 1x 120mm in bottom, 1x 120mm in rear,
- 1x 120/140mm in side panel)
- Three fans included (1x 140mm in front, 1x 120mm in rear and 1x 140mm in top)
- 6x white painted HDD trays, with silicone mounting
- Upper HDD cage is removable and rotatable
- Easily removable front panel with clip on fan slots
The Core 3000 has plenty of cooling options, up to 7 fans of various sizes can be installed. The front panel is easily removable and pre-fitted with fan filters to ensure a dust free interior. The sleek black interior is matched and contrasted with white expansion slots and HDD trays. Similar to the Define Series, all the HDD trays are fitted with anti-vibration silicon grommets. The upper HDD cage is removable and rotatable, which enables support for even the longest graphic cards.
Cooling system
- Fan controller for 3 fans included
- 1 front mounted Fractal Design 140mm fan @ 1000rpm included
- 1 rear mounted Fractal Design 120mm fan @ 1200rpm included
- 1 top mounted Fractal Design 140mm fan @ 1000rpm included
- Additional 4 fan slots available for optional fans; one 120mm in front, one 120mm in bottom,one 120/140mm in top and one 120/140mm in side panel
Specifications
- 6x 3,5 inch HDD trays, compatible with SSD!
- 2x 5,25 inch bays, with 1x 5,25>3,5 inch converter included
- 4x USB 2.0 and Audio I/O – mounted on top of front panel
- Removable filter below PSU (PSU not included)
- M/B compatibility: Mini ITX, Micro ATX and ATX
- 7 expansion slots with sleek white painted brackets
- Supports graphic card lengths up to 270mm when removable HDD-Bay is in place
- Supports graphic card lengths up to 420mm without removable HDD-Bay
- Supports CPU coolers with height of 160mm
- Supports PSU's with a depth of maximum circa 160mm, when using bottom 120mm fan location. When not using the bottom 120mm fan location, the case supports also longer PSU's, typically 250mm
- Case size (WxHxD): 200x430x480mm with front and top bezel in place
- Net weight: 7,1kg
The Core 3000 comes inside a relatively small and simple cardboard box. The artwork on the box is minimal, limited to a sketch of the actual case. Inside the box the case is protected by two polystyrene foam pieces and a plastic bag.
Inside the case you will find a well written installation guide, a 3.5” floppy disk front panel adapter, the necessary mounting hardware (screws and stand-offs), several black cable ties and a fan controller. It is noteworthy that every last one of the screws is black.
Our first look on the Core 3000 case reminded us of many cases sharing a similar faceplate design, such as the CoolerMaster Stacker and the Antec Three Hundred; the Core 3000 is not as large though, being no larger than any average ATX tower case. The Core 3000 is made out of SECC steel with few plastic and no aluminum parts.
Most of the faceplate is covered by a honeycomb mesh. The openings of the mesh are fairly large, considerably larger than any other similar mesh we have seen on a case and/or PSU before today. The top two parts of the mesh are removable and hide two 5.25” bays. You cannot install more than two 5.25” devices or one 5.25” device and one 3.5” device.
All of the front panel connectors and the case buttons can be found at the top edge of the case. There are four USB 2.0 connectors total, headphone and microphone jacks, the standard power and reset buttons and a HDD activity LED. The power button has an integrated LED light.
The left side panel has an opening for one extra 120mm or 140mm cooling fan. Unfortunately there is no dust filter covering that intake slot.
Two more fan slots can be seen at the top of the case. Only one exhaust fan comes pre-installed while the second slot is free. There are no dust filters here either but they are not necessary as these are exhaust fans.
Fractal design placed one 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the Core 3000 and, surprisingly, two holes covered by rubber grommets for a potential water cooling system can be seen above the fan’s slot.
Fractal Design made the interior of the Core 3000 black but they also painted the HDD trays and card covers gloss white. The company is also using fans with a black frame and white blades. The contrasting theme looks original but the case would need a windowed side panel for it to be of any use. The motherboard tray is cut behind the CPU area, allowing the installation of large CPU coolers without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
Two of the exhaust fans can be found mounted inside the case. The rear fan is a 120mm fan rated at 1200RPM maximum speed and the top fan is a 140mm fan rated at 1000RPM maximum speed.
A total of six HDD trays are present at the lower front part of the case, divided between two cages. The top cage is removable while the lower cage is not. The HDD trays and very nicely made, with rubber grommets to minimize vibration noise and support for 2.5” drives (laptop HDDs and SSDs) as well.
Fractal design placed a filter beneath the PSU area which can be removed from the rear of the case without having to open any side panel. There is also another 120mm intake fan slot at the bottom of the case, unoccupied. You may use any size ATX PSU with the Core 3000 but if you install a 120mm fan at the bottom of the case you are strictly limited to standard ATX size (maximum depth of 160mm) PSUs.
The third cooling fan is mounted at the front of the case, cooling the top three HDDs. Another 140mm can be mounted to further increase the case’s cooling performance and add cooling for the lower three HDDs as well. The company placed a dust filter behind the entire faceplate mesh.
An adaptor for an 3.5” floppy or another 3.5” device which requires access to the front panel, like a card reader or fan controller, can be found inserted in the bottom 5.25” device slot. You may remove it if you want to install two 5.25” devices.
Our ICTT system fits inside the Core 3000 comfortably. There is not too much room for hiding cables but by using the holes right behind the HDD trays and a lot of patience most of the cables can be routed behind the motherboard tray.
In order to assess the thermal performance of the case we will be using our Integrated Casing Torture Test (ICTT) system
VR-Zone's Integrated Casing Torture Test to take readings over a period of one and a half hour. All of the case fans are operating at their maximum speed during the test and both side panels are closed. The exhaust temperature probe was placed above the rear fan of the case.
From the above results we find that that thermal performance of the Core 3000 to be well above average, especially when considering the price range of the case. The Core 3000 managed to handle our massive thermal load without much trouble during the first 30 minutes. After that the temperatures of our major thermal points (CPU and GPU) did rise considerably but not to an unexpected point given the massive thermal load and the cooling capabilities of the case.
When it comes to acoustics performance, the Core 3000 did very well by generating 34.4dB(A), less than what most people would expect from a case running three medium speed fans.
Quality (30% of the total score)
The quality of the Core 3000 is acceptable, which is more than we would say for most similarly priced cases. Fractal Design did a great job making the Core 3000 sturdy and versatile, which certainly is positive even though the extra steel makes the case a bit heavy for its size. There were a few slightly sharp edges and the plastic faceplate feels a little cheap but overall the Core 3000 is a well made product.
Quality Score 9.0/10
Performance (30% of the total score)
The thermal performance of the Core 3000 slightly surprised us; we did not expect a case of this price range to perform this well, even if it had three large cooling fans installed. The three factory installed fans can easily handle the cooling requirements of a good gaming system but considering that the case can handle another 4 large cooling fans, three intakes and one exhaust, it can be easily upgraded to meet even higher cooling expectations. The fans are neither too slow nor too fast, offering a balance between acoustics and performance. Generating 34.4dB(A) with the three stock fans running at maximum speed, the Core 3000 will be audible but not annoying, unless if you plan sleeping next to it while the system is left running overnight.
Performance Score 9.0/10
Aesthetics (30% of the total score)
Aesthetically the Core 3000 is pleasing but far from innovative. Its clean design ensures that it will match most environments; on the other hand, it neither original nor it stands out. Fractal Design did a noteworthy try to make their case unique with the interior black/white contrasting theme but that also requires a side panel to work. The Core 3000 is not a bad looking product nor it is a good looking product; it is a product that simply goes unnoticed.
Aesthetics Score 7.0/10
Value (10% of the total score)
The high value of the Core 3000 probably is its strongest selling point. The Core 3000 offers good performance, quality and expandability at a very low retail price. Users who would like the best possible long term value out of their purchase will have a hard time finding a better choice than the Core 3000 at this point of time.
Value Score 9.5/10
Case review : Fractal Design Core 3000
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