Fractal Design Core 3000

Stripes · 5 Feb 2011 at 21:34

Looks like Fractal Design have created a new case more generally suited to performance cooling in the Midi-Tower format, the Core 3000:

Click Here (via Vortez.net)

Key Features:

# 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,

[..]

* 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

Strikes me as direct competition to the 912 given option for v.long GFX Cards and comparative pricing should be interesting. I'm not a great fan of the external aesthetic, especially compared to the Define, so it will probably need to be very keenly priced to tempt the money out of our collective wallets.

KiiYzOo · 5 Feb 2011 at 21:44

sooo want one of those, hope they'll bring out white models

Atmos · 5 Feb 2011 at 22:26

I wish it had a window

KiiYzOo · 5 Feb 2011 at 22:33

Atmos said:
I wish it had a window

that's what I used to look for in a case, now I look for the ones with the best space (usually for watercooling

)

daver · 6 Feb 2011 at 10:33

Notice they have added a mini version of the Arc design to their website as well, so we are waiting on them to release the Define Mini, Arc, Arc Mini & Core 3000 now.

Aretenon · 6 Feb 2011 at 14:02

I agree with you stripes, to me it looks very much like their attempt at more of a budget case, as the cable management looks bad. Hopefully it will be cheaper than the 912 due to the lack of cable management compared to the 912, unfortunately I think you are right, they probably will be quite similar in price.

Kosmiche · 6 Feb 2011 at 14:31

Looks like a Antec 300 with slightly less visual appeal.

Tweaker · 6 Feb 2011 at 16:09

Im hoping £40?

Need to replace my current file server box, the SATA make it impossible to put the right side panel back on.....

OCUK, are you going to stock these?

Skellig · 6 Feb 2011 at 16:26

Should be a decent cooled budget case.

SubScape · 6 Feb 2011 at 18:11

Looks tempting if it's a good price

mishima · 6 Feb 2011 at 19:11

I agree this does look like a decent case. I should be reviewing it soon so when I do I will let you guys know what I think.

MouthBoy · 6 Feb 2011 at 19:53

I like the look of this case, although as already stated I am worried about lack of cable management.

KiiYzOo · 6 Feb 2011 at 19:55

smeaney said:
I like the look of this case, although as already stated I am worried about lack of cable management.

You could take a dremmel to it?

MouthBoy · 6 Feb 2011 at 21:40

KiiYzOo said:
You could take a dremmel to it?

Depending on the price of it, that might be a plan!

Freelanc3r · 6 Feb 2011 at 22:40

Eames said:
Looks like a Antec 300 with slightly less visual appeal.

I thought this. The 300 undoubtedly has better cable management too. Looks like you could mount a double 120.2 rad in the roof though

and possibly another double in the base? The bottom hard drive bays look removable, get the dremel out, create some mounting holes and could make a nice little w/c build

Fractal Design · 8 Feb 2011 at 10:18

The Core 3000 should land in at 49,95 GBP incl. VAT given the current USD/GBP rate. With 3x fans included, 2x 140 and 1x 120.

About cable routing - even though our Arc and Define series offers much better cable routing possibilities due to increased width, the Core 3k still offers some cable routing. Id' say it is still better than Antec 300 in that way, which doesn't offer much cable routing options at all in my opinion.

Aretenon · 8 Feb 2011 at 11:03

I think £50 is a good price.

shannowdr · 8 Feb 2011 at 11:47

Fine looking case for £50

Ace Modder · 8 Feb 2011 at 11:59

The case is likely to be around 3months away - and the RRP is around £60

SubScape · 8 Feb 2011 at 22:44

Ace Modder said:
The case is likely to be around 3months away - and the RRP is around £60

Fractal Design said:
The Core 3000 should land in at 49,95 GBP incl. VAT given the current USD/GBP rate. With 3x fans included, 2x 140 and 1x 120.

?