Fractal Design Node 202 - Black - Mini-ITX Slim Profile Compact Small Form Factor Computer Case – Modular interior - USB 3.0

Product Information

All that said, those are very impressive results. With a 95w TDP processor, you would likely experience similar or better results. Model: HP Omen 17 17-an110ca CPU: i7-8750H (0.125V core & cache, 50mV SA undervolt) GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Mobile (+80/+450, 1650MHz~1750MHz 0.78V~0.85V) RAM: 8+8GB DDR4-2400 18-17-17-39 2T Storage: HP EX920 1TB PCIe x4 M.2 SSD + Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD, 128GB Toshiba PCIe x2 M.2 SSD (KBG30ZMV128G) gone cooking externally, 1TB Seagate 7200RPM 2.5" HDD (ST1000LM049-2GH172) left outside Monitor: 1080p 126Hz IPS G-sync Lifting the lid on the Node 202 reveals a clever layout. Removing the top panel is relatively simple, you unscrew the four screws at the bottom, flip it over and voila. That being said, it was a little fiddly when re-attaching but it’s easy enough. While this macro shot is heavily focused on the protruding lip of the 25mm fan, it helps to illustrate the sizeable gap between the GPU and the fans. Despite being quite old and small, the Node 202 still comes with a few key features. Like most Fractal Design cases, the Node 202 has excellent build quality, with high-end materials and solid construction. This is quite a versatile machine made for both the living room and computer desk. The Node 202 can stand it vertically with the use of the stand and lay down horizontally for the home theatre setup.

Gaming consoles may not be as versatile as PCs, but one of their greatest advantages is their size and design. PCs on the other hand may be versatile and powerful multimedia and gaming machines, yet their insertion into elegant living rooms can be problematic. Large systems and tower cases are a major visual dissonance in a living room, whereas consoles were designed with that specific purpose in mind. The Node 202 looks great. Its actual design is simplistic, which is a common theme from Fractal Design, but the slim look is much preferred to the boxy Nodes we see elsewhere in the range. It’s mostly comprised of three parts, with the top shell lifting off after removing the screws from the underside. This is small but I’d still say noticeably bigger than consoles. The GPU support bar that the PCI riser card is fastened to needs to be removed when installing the motherboard but the process is mindnumbingly simple.Buying 2 of these fills the whole top THOUGH, I did need to cut the end of one of them to make it fit. Example: https://imgur.com/a/CdABB0W First of all, CPU Cooler. You have the mainstream option which is the (Dont buy this) Noctua NH-L9i. Here is the bulky USB 3.0 header cable that I cannot wait for the industry to forget. It’s such a cumbersome cable to make look nice and it’s always way too long but that’s no fault of Fractal Design. The Node 202 suffers on the cooling front, however the same is true of most small form factor PCs. In this case the dual core Pentium G3258 starts at a relatively warm 44 degrees but the temperature only rises to 61 degrees under extreme load. No doubt a Core i5 or i7 would have got significantly hotter but that wouldn't have proved very much. The front sees the most features, from what is essentially a ventilated box. The only bit of branding is on the front, Fractal Design is near the top, or right depending on how you have this orientated and it looks quite nice. The branding appears to only suit this when laying flat but I quite like it either way.

The top of the case (when laying horizontal) is one entire piece that securely screws into the base plate. The sides are just airflow ventilation panels and don’t come off as you would see from a regular PC case. The sides are part of the entire top shell, which lifts off. If you can't water-cool (Trust me, it might not be worth it), air fans are always much more reliable. I was able to fit these under my GPU to allow for more airflow: So believe it or not, it CAN be entirely possible to Watercool your GPU, ONLY if you get a SFF Card such as: (Hopefully newer SFF Cards come out soon)Showing off more of the chassis’ rear, you can see a C13 female for the internal power cord. Beware that it’s position might conflict with any motherboards that use an oversized heatsink over the rear IO (i.e. MSI Z390 itx) but for most boards that stay within the limits of the keep out zone, it shouldn’t be an issue. Instead of using a snap in design that can be a real bear to remove, they opted for a more premium design that is screwed into place with 2x screws that can be removed if getting to the 8-pin connector on the motherboard proves too difficult.