Overall we are suitably impressed with the Fractal Design Node 605. The exterior of the case has an elegant visage which reflects Fractal's usual combination of a sturdy steel chassis hidden behind a pretty brushed aluminium faceplate.
We love the way that Fractal has hidden all of the front panel connections behind a flap on the front of the case so they are only visible when needed. Also, the inclusion of a card reader gives the Node 605 an advantage over most of the competition.
It's clear that Fractal has taken inspiration from other home theatre PC cases on the market with regards to the internal design which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It reminds us a little of Lian Li's PC-C50A which is one of the best HTPC cases on the market. There are a few issues though, including the power supply fouling some of the drive bays, reducing the drive capacity to two.
The installation process is always a little complicated with HTPC cases as they are engineered with a low profile design and acoustics ahead of ease of use. Most users will leave their HTPC alone after building it, though, unlike enthusiasts who will often switch out the components in a regular PC. If you have a few hours to dedicate to building a system in the Node 605, you will be able to route the cables very neatly so they don't restrict air flow much at all.
At a price of around £107 at Lambdatek, we feel that the Node 605 is a little overpriced. This is only £20 less than the excellent Lian Li PC-C50A which is, in our opinion, a superior chassis. If the price of the Node 605 was to fall to below the £100 mark, it would be winning our ‘Must Have' award.
Pros:
- Pretty quiet.
- Sleek design.
- Fairly spacious
- Inbuilt card reader.
Cons:
- Internal design could be better implemented.
- A little expensive.
KitGuru says: Another impressive case from Fractal Design, although it's a little overpriced in our opinion.