Fractal Design Core 3000 Case Review

After wrestling off the fairly cheap feeling side panel, we are met by a mainly black interior which creates an appealing appearance and ensures aesthetic compatibility with almost any hardware. 3 cable management cut-outs allow easy cable routing for the 24 pin and PCI-E power cables, but the lack of cut-out for the CPU power cable is very disappointing.

A rotatable and removable upper HDD cage allows extra clearance for graphics cards longer than 270mm.

Fractal Design were thoughtful enough to leave extra room in front of the 140mm front panel fan for cable management with a rotated HDD cage.

The 2 5.25″ bays don’t feature impressive tool-less mechanisms, just simple screws holes and supplied thumbscrews.

Two rubber mounts allow some extra clearance underneath the PSU for cool air to enter it while also reducing vibrations, hence noise output.

7 white, ventilated PCI shields are included as standard with the Core 3000. White shields are a welcomed change from the norm of black and PCI thumbscrews are another welcomed feature.

There is around 1.5cm of clearance behind the motherboard tray with extra space in the form of a channel allocated specifically for the 24 pin cable. As previously mentioned, the lack of cut-out for the CPU power cable is disappointing and really shouldn’t be missing on a £50 case. The side facing HDD cages free up plenty of extra room behind them for cable management. A large CPU backplate cut-out is what we have come to expect from the majority of modern cases.

A single 120mm Fractal Design 1200RPM fan is attached to the rear of the case. There are 2 mounts for 120/140mm fans in the roof, 1 of which is occupied. While it may seem that 240mm radiators such as that used on the Corsair H100 will fit in the case’s roof, the clearance between the top of the motherboard and radiator/fan positioning makes this feat increasingly awkward.

Gaps in the front of the chassis are included to allow space for the front fans which mount on the front panel itself. The side facing HDD cages will block a significant amount of the airflow produced by the front fans. Fractal Design have very cleverly cut a cable management channel in each of the HDD cages. This will allow easy routing for SATA cables and fan headers destined for the motherboard’s nearby ports while also ensuring the rear of the case doesn’t get too overcrowded.

A single 120mm fan fits in the lower mount and a 140mm fan, which is included, fits in the upper mount. Each fan has 4 designated plastic clips attaching it to the front panel. This ensures that additional noise output is minimized by dampening the fan vibrations. A problem with this type of fan connection method is that you are required to remove the side panel and disconnect each fan from their power delivery location, just to remove the front panel. At least the opacity of the bezel ensures that the fans aren’t visible from the outside.