Assembly

Fractal Design asked us if we could install a 240 mm radiator in the chassis. Since I had none at my disposal, I reached out to Cool IT Systems for one of their A.L.C 240 units. As the name implies it utilizes a 240 mm radiator and fits perfectly in the space provided. Just to show you that an air cooler will also have plenty of space, I used the Super Mega, which is rather large by any standards. It fits fine, with room to spare.


To install the hard drive, Fractal Design has employed the same method as with the Define series of cases. Simply pull the white, tray out and secure the 2.5 or 3.5 inch drive with the supplied screws. Thanks to the rubber lining, you won't have to worry about any vibrations from this area either.


Then, simply slide the drive into the slot of your choice until it snaps into place. While you won't need to worry about it sliding out during transport, Fractal also gives you the option to screw the tray down with a single thumb screw. Thanks to the width of the Arc, there is plenty of space on the other side, so that any cables can easily be attached and you won't have to buy special, angled ones.


Before we install the optical drive, you have to remove the panel and then the drive bay cover. Turns out the fans are not attached to the frame of the chassis, but to the front. As you can see there is another 140 mm spot below the pre-installed cooling unit. Once the bay is free, simply slide the ODD into place and secure it with the supplied thumb screws. Even though I have used the bottom bay, the drive does not extend beyond the drive bay walls, so you should also be able to use the top bay, if your radiator is not too thick and the optical drive is not too long.


Installing the power supply is nothing of the ordinary. The foam lining makes sure that no vibrations are passed on from the PSU to the rest of the chassis. You are free to install a long unit as well since there is plenty of space. Such a power supply will cover the bottom air intake for that optional floor fan though.


Once everything is installed, you can see that the case makes it really easy in terms of cable management. Everything can be routed and hidden quite well. Even when filling the chassis to the rim you should be able to keep things nice and tidy. Thanks to the space between the mainboard tray and the side of the chassis, even thick cables can be run through here.

Finished Looks

Once turned on, the chassis makes a great impression. Since water cooling is used within the case, I have installed the ceiling fan in the side window. The blue power LED is embedded in the square power button up top. Besides that, there are no other lighting elements. I like the fact that there are no LED equipped fans within the Arc.


Fractal Design has taken the fan controller and given it a taller knob. This results in it actually extending beyond the confines of the chassis, making it much easier to reach than the old version. It is good to see that small things are still being improved here and there.


The three fans are actually very quiet when turned down, but do generate a clean but fairly noticeable sound stage when turned up all the way. That said, I do not see a reason to crank them all the way anyways. For those who are too lazy to adjust these they can connect the units to the mainboard. Doing so should also result in a quiet system as the mainboard would rarely run them at full throttle when temperature based speed fan control is enabled.