Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower Review 27

Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower Review

(27 Comments) »

Value and Conclusion

  • The Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower starts at 80€ in Europe. Expect a similar price in US Dollar value.
  • Unique set of features
  • Plenty of space for cable management
  • Space for eight HDDs
  • 240 mm radiator fits into ceiling
  • Both 5.25 bays can still be used when installing a 240 mm radiator - just keep things slim and short
  • Rubber mounted hard drives
  • Three 140 mm fans included
  • Freedom to install 180 mm fans in side and ceiling
  • Updated fan controller with longer dial for easier access included
  • USB 3.0 cable with mainboard header - future proof
  • 7+1 expansion slots
  • Dust filters on front and top mesh
  • Dust filter on the underside of the chassis
  • Excellent tray system for hard drives
  • Thumb screws on all external drives
  • Thumb screws on motherboard expansion slots
  • No USB 3.0 adapter for use on USB 2.0 mainboard
  • Side opening has no dust filter
  • Fans not the quietest
  • Plastic front, pictures may be misleading
Fractal Design is actively moving away from the Define series of cases with the Arc and Core lines aiming at diversifying their product line-up. With the Arc, Fractal Design has shown that they are capable of creating a fairly potent Mid Tower chassis. It comes with cool looks, nifty front and top use of mesh, three 140 mm fans and an internal USB 3.0 plug. On top of that, you still receive the signature fan controller, which has been improved for easier access. Also, in Fractal Design fashion, even though the Arc in this review is a mid-tower chassis, it can hold up to eight hard drives. All this is excellent, but Fractal Design has chosen to place the chassis in the very competitive 80-90 Euro price segment. This means that it is duking it out with the likes of Xigmatek Pantheon or CM 690 II. While the Arc is definitely aimed at the user who wants to utilize good active cooling and even a water cooling system, the rest of the specs don't really turn any heads in today’s market. That said, the Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower is a very good chassis with a solid feature set, very cool looks and a few very nice surprises. So if you are shopping for a clean looking chassis, with excellent cable management, those cool white accents and the ability to stuff a 240 mm radiator into the top, the Fractal Design Arc is the perfect chassis for you.
Recommended
Discuss(27 Comments)
View as single page
Nov 22nd, 2024 05:36 EST change timezone

New Forum Posts

Popular Reviews

Controversial News Posts