A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove the pair of thumb screws holding each case in place. Fractal Design has changed the internal layout of the chassis quite a bit, deviating from the traditional functionality somewhat. We will see during the assembly process if this is a good or bad thing. Turning the CORE 1000 around, we can see that the mainboard tray is completely solid, with no opening to be able to reach the CPU cooler backplate. This means that you will have to remove the entire mainboard if you ever want to exchange the CPU cooler. Other cases of this price point do offer such a feature. It is cool to see an all black interior as there are very few cases that offer this at this price point.


Fractal Design has removed the traditional hard drive bays and included a vertical mount for two 3.5 inch hard drives or three 2.5 inch ones. The former is mounted on rubber rings, while the latter is not. Once again, the chassis is fairly restrictive in terms of expandability, as other mATX, entry level units can hold up to six 3.5 inch drives. Even when considering the fact that you have plenty of space for even the largest graphic cards, other cases can offer similar space while keeping two 3.5 inch bays. So, while the approach is refreshingly different, this configuration is not so special if you think about it. Above that are the two external 5.25 inch bays. Fractal Design uses thumb screws for these areas, which is great, as most screw-less systems in this price class are just a waste of plastic.


Turning our focus to the rear of the chassis, here you will find thumb screws holding the four mainboard expansion covers in place. Above that is the afore mentioned 92 mm spot for an additional fan, while the PSU can be mounted in the very top with the cooling fan facing downward.


It is refreshing to see that the front fan is the same as found in all the other case Fractal Design cases. Due to the open construction of the interior, this fan directly cools the cards plugged into the mainboard expansion slots.


Before we dive into the assembly aspect, let us take a quick look at the cables. These are nothing out of the ordinary and since this chassis does not include USB 3.0 and is geared toward system integrators, Fractal Design has kept the color coding of the cables instead of going with all black versions.