The Fractal Design Node 202 Case Review: Mini-ITX Gaming For the Living Room

Conclusion

Fractal Design created the Node 202 for use into modern living rooms, yet unlike some of the other living room-centric designs we've seen in the past, for the Node 202 they did not have an HTPC in mind. The case lacks the capability to support optical and 3.5” drives, essentially preventing the use of optical media and limiting the storage capacity of the system, features that are of primary importance to a HTPC. Instead this is a case intended to accommodate a modern Mini ITX gaming system within minimal proportions, all while maintaining an elegant external appearance. It would be no exaggeration to say that Fractal Design created the Node 202 envisioning the replacement of a gaming console from a gaming PC.

Recapping the design of the case, like some other living room-centric cases, the Node 202 can be placed either horizontally or vertically. However vertical placement will degrade the aesthetics of the case, as the company logo will be sideward and the bottom of the Node 202 is not flat and clean like the top. When placed vertically, depending on the system and setup, it is wise to place the Node 202 with its left side down, as the right side offers some ventilation to the CPU/Motherboard area.

The size of the Node 202 introduces a number of limitations and the case is not very comfortable to work with. A lot of attention is needed when selecting the hardware, especially the length of the PSU’s cables, the size of the GPU card and the height of the CPU cooler. Cleaning the filters is a tedious, time consuming process, as both panels of the case need to come off. In terms of quality however the Node 202 does not disappoint, as the chassis is very strong and Fractal Design is using high quality materials.

Ultimately I can't help but to reiterate that this is a case designed for a very specific niche. It doesn’t have an optical drive bay for true HTPC usage, and it doesn't have 3.5" drive bays for use as a small file server. This is a case designed specifically to accommodate a full sized video card (or some other dual-slot PCIe card), and this is what it does well.

For its intended purpose, serving as a living room gaming machine, the Node 202 does not disappoint. With an energy efficient CPU and video card installed, the Node 202 can host a relatively powerful gaming PC. The tight space does pose some restrictions - you're going to want to stick to reference-style blower cards - but otherwise you shouldn't have any trouble getting a latest generation high-end card in the Node 202, a testament to both its design and the relatively low power consumption of the latest generation of cards.

In conclusion, the Node 202 is a case designed solely to introduce a gaming PC into a living room while maintaining a low volume and elegant form. Due to the very limited cooling options and the limiting SFX PSU, very powerful hardware will either cause issues or not fit at all. Still, the Node 202 can accommodate a potent gaming PC that will satisfy most users who want to do some casual gaming into the living room.