Assembly

As I mentioned before, you should install any SSDs onto the backside of the motherboard first since you can't access these spots after installing your motherboard. How spacious the chassis really is only becomes apparent once the motherboard has been installed. There is plenty of space along three sides of the board and above the CPU cooler. You should, as such, easily be able to install a 120 mm tall CPU cooler into the Core 3300.


Installing both 2.5 or 3.5" hard drives is quite easy because you can take the panel out of the chassis to do so. You do have to watch the order you install them in since 3.5'' drives will cover up 2.5" mounts - simply make sure to put the smaller variants in place first. Fractal Design has included rubber rings for the bigger drives. These will absorb vibrations nicely. Once installed, there is actually a bit of space between the PCIe power connectors and the hard drives, so going for both long GPUs and lots of drives is definitely possible. An issue with the original Core cases, it is good to see the new iteration address the problem.


Installing an optical drive does require thumbscrews, but no screws. Simply slide the drive into the bay of your choice and secure it with the larger thumbscrews. I am always a fan of such a mounting option, instead of a weak and dysfunctional plastic lock.


Installing the power supply is a simple and pretty straightforward affair. The foam lining kills any vibrations the PSU would otherwise pass on to the chassis, and there is also plenty of room for a long unit. Such a power supply will cover the bottom air intake for that optional fan on the floor, though.


With everything in place, the Core 3300 does not really make a clean impression. While you can route all the cables behind the motherboard tray, the missing grommets give way too much insight into that part of the chassis. Sure, once you put the black panel on, the interior won't nearly look as bad, though some of its blemishes would still be visible.

Finished Looks

With everything in place, the Core 3300 makes a nice, understated impression, which should appease system integrators and budget builds equally. In the rear, everything is where you would expect it to be, all the plugs readily available.


A nice little white LED lights up behind the power button to let you know the system is on. Looking at the side panel, one cannot see the graphics card since it is too far away from the panel itself, but you can take a peak at the interior through the top of the chassis. This means that both dust and noise can enter easily. However, Fractal offers other cases for those who want a completely silent option.