Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini-ITX Case Review

[atheus]

...Had I wanted to refer to a comparable case that does water cooling with a similar volume I would look at the Corsair 250D, again a better solution than this IMO...

Well, good luck fitting a thick 280mm radiator, pump and reservoir in your Corsair 250D.

 

[Adhmuz]

Well, good luck fitting a thick 280mm radiator, pump and reservoir in your Corsair 250D.

How about you go and do it and prove to the world it can be done, until then I don't see a "Thick" 280mm radiator with fans fitting in the top of this case. BTW are you one of those hardcore Fractal fan boys or something? Your way to adamant about this case's water cooling abilities. Something I see absolutely no point in doing in a small case, if your going to go water cooling you go triple rads, don't waste your time crippling your performance capabilities by cramming it into the smallest box possible (kind of defeats the purpose a little). Hence why I suggested just going air and getting a case with more features/looks better in the first place.

 

[2Be_or_Not2Be]

Atheus,

Adhmuz' main point is that the SG10 fits a ton more in it while being a lot less in volume. Not sure why you're pursuing the "can't fit in a custom loop" tangent. Busting on water vs air cooling is also a red herring.

I agree - for a case that has the word "nano" in it, it sure isn't as small as expected from the name.

...because the whole point of this case is custom loop water cooling - as is the Define S that it's based on. If that were not part of the design, then the whole front 40% of the case wouldn't be there, or it would be filled with drive bays or something useful, not just empty space. You think they put that big empty front section of the case just because they couldn't figure out another way to fit a long graphics card? This is why I took issue with the article stopping at demonstrating its performance on air. While it's nice to know, if you're just doing air and also go out of your way to build itx, this case would be a very strange choice, because yes, if you're not actually planning to use that space for a reservoir, pump, and a big fat radiator, then it certainly isn't all that compact.

It's like looking at a pick-up truck and saying "well it's not all that compact". People buy pick-up trucks because they need the big empty bed in the back to put things in. If you don't need it, then obviously you shouldn't be looking at pick-up trucks.

Well, if the sole reason for existence is water-cooling setups, then that's fine. However, I guess then I take issue with the marketing name - "Nano". A terrible name for a case supposedly meant for the ITX class of cases.

Of course, let's not go down the auto route. Way too many people drive trucks who don't need the big bed. 😉

 

[atheus]

To engage, or not to engage... well I've come this far, what the heck.

How about you go and do it and prove to the world it can be done

Actually, I don't work for a hardware review site, and like the rest of the general public, I don't have a Define Nano S.

I don't see a "Thick" 280mm radiator with fans fitting in the top of this case.

You're just digging yourself into a hole here. I don't see a thick 280mm radiator fitting up top either, but you can fit one in front. Then you can also fit maybe a thin 280 up top, but if it won't fit with the front 280, you could probably at least get a 240 up there. So there you go, two large radiators in a mini-itx case with pump and reservoir. Pretty nice. Maybe you could even put another radiator on the back if you were feeling excessive.

BTW are you one of those hardcore Fractal fan boys or something? Your way to adamant about this case's water cooling abilities.

Sure, I like Fractal Design cases. Mainly I'm just responding to people saying silly things in forums. Why are you here?

Something I see absolutely no point in doing in a small case, if your going to go water cooling you go triple rads, don't waste your time crippling your performance capabilities by cramming it into the smallest box possible (kind of defeats the purpose a little). Hence why I suggested just going air and getting a case with more features/looks better in the first place.

Apparently there are other people with different requirements and tastes than you. Also, do you consider yourself an expert on water cooling or something? Just a few posts back you were saying that water cooling was pretty much on par with air cooling. Lastly, this case may actually support "triple rads". Have you decided whether it's too big or too small yet?

I'm done here.
*drops mic*

 

[atheus]

Well, if the sole reason for existence is water-cooling setups, then that's fine. However, I guess then I take issue with the marketing name - "Nano". A terrible name for a case supposedly meant for the ITX class of cases.

*picks up mic*
I'm back.

It's called the "Define Nano S". That's because it's a smaller version of the "Define S", which is an ATX case built specifically for custom loop water cooling. It is the smallest "Define" case that you'll find built for water cooling, and it uses the smallest socketed motherboard standard. Seems pretty appropriate to me.

 

[2Be_or_Not2Be]

Well, if the sole reason for existence is water-cooling setups, then that's fine. However, I guess then I take issue with the marketing name - "Nano". A terrible name for a case supposedly meant for the ITX class of cases.

*picks up mic*
I'm back.

It's called the "Define Nano S". That's because it's a smaller version of the "Define S", which is an ATX case built specifically for custom loop water cooling. It is the smallest "Define" case that you'll find built for water cooling, and it uses the smallest socketed motherboard standard. Seems pretty appropriate to me.

Well, it seems Fractal already used "Mini" in their Define Mini (up to mATX boards), so I guess they needed a word that was descriptively smaller. Now, the Define Mini also wasn't so mini, so I see a trend here.

 

[atheus]

[Well, it seems Fractal already used "Mini" in their Define Mini (up to mATX boards), so I guess they needed a word that was descriptively smaller. Now, the Define Mini also wasn't so mini, so I see a trend here.

I've always thought "microATX" was a bit of a misnomer myself. It's 80% of the size of ATX. I'd just call it "realisticATX" since it's got a far more reasonable number of expansion slots for your typical user. Unfortunately, I was late for work on the day they named microATX. Or maybe I didn't work there to begin with. One of those two. Either way, the world would be a far better place if I were in charge. That's the main thing.

 

[Onus]

No the Define Mini is fairly large (not as tall as an ATX case, but definitely wide). It is probably the nicest case I've ever owned, except that it doesn't have a HDD LED. It is decently quiet, and has good cable management.

 

[g-unit1111]

It's good to see more manufacturers migrating toward smaller cases, mainly because it's amazing to see how much PC can fit into such small form factors these days. I personally want to see more high end hardware fit into smaller cases.

 

[Vaesmannaeyjar]

Still not getting thos enormous cases. I have a mini ITX build, for me it means like the CM Elite series. Mini ITX MBs being more expensive, there's no gain if the case footprint is as big as a microATX.

 

[atheus]

No the Define Mini is fairly large (not as tall as an ATX case, but definitely wide). It is probably the nicest case I've ever owned, except that it doesn't have a HDD LED. It is decently quiet, and has good cable management.

I have one too! I put my 2600k build in there and loved it for many years. Can't wait until FD updates it!

It makes perfect sense that it's still a fairly large case that's just a little shorter, since the only difference between ATX and Micro ATX is that the motherboard is 2.4" shorter, and of course everything else is the same size. I found out the hard way that although the Define Mini is pretty wide, it's still not wide enough to fit a NH-D15 🙁

 

[Surprisekitty]

"Too big for a mini-ITX"

Yeah, sure - Whatever you say.