Gadgetory

hey guys this is Dimitri with Harbor Canucks and welcome back to another review fractal design have figured out the formula when it comes to chassis design and they're sticking to it so this is the Ark mini r2 a micro ATX chassis priced 120 dollars it's a relatively small micro ATX case just like it should be and like with pretty much all the arc series it's just a miniature version of the arc XL or the MIDI arc 2 they keep it simple and I do like it the tinted window for example is a beautiful addition to the arc series allowing you to show off your internals and the brushed aluminum looking plastic front panel keep things elegant without adding to the cost norther need to clean the surface due to fingerprints the front dust filter is easier removal that reveals the 120 millimeter included fan that is screwed in and doesn't sit on clips like we saw on the original arc mini plus the entire front panel comes off for easier installation of the fans at the top we get a fan controller for 5 7 and 12 volts that would regulate the speed to USB 3 ports audio jacks and your PR buttons the mini r2 is fully dust proof the entire top panel and removable with just two thumb screws and also containing the same dust filter as in the front and one the very unique features and something on that I really like is this offset of the fans closer to the windowed side panel as the top support the three sixty millimeter radiator and smaller of course so fractal design have taken into account clearance for your CPU cables and any top heat sinks on your motherboard so nothing should interfere with your radiator everything is standard at the back with two water cooling holes exhaust fan for plus one vertical PCI slot and it bottomed out the power supply with a dual dust filter covering both the power supply intake and the optional bottom fan slot the case feet are also rubberized that I always like to see so let's take off both side panels and check out the internals I really do love the tint of the window that I think more case manufacturers should implement but first we notice are the two hard drive gauges with metal drive caddies these are one of the best Drive brackets because there no fear of them snapping like on a lot of the plastic ones and they also feature rubber grommets for mechanical drives and SSDs are also supported the top drive cage is removable with just two thumb screws to allow for better air for penetration and longer graphics cards to be installed as ten and a half inch cards are supported with the drive cage in place you can also rotate the drive cage to face in the inside not compromising on drive capacity but still allowing a more direct airflow entrance the power supply sits on rubber standoffs and there is some padding at the rear to really silence Andy vibrations and if you wish to utilize the optional bottom fan intake take note as longer units mode allow for clearance so anything up to about 160 to 170 millimeters should be alright now let's turn the mini r2 around and I am happy to see removable SSD brackets it's about time we see more of these space efficient features to be implemented and that's exactly what fractal did the initial cable management seems to also be taken care of with all the cables routed cleanly inside and to keep form-factor tight there isn't a ton of room to work with but as you'll see later on it's totally a non-issue now what's really impressive about the mini r2 are the water cooling capabilities removing the bottom drive cage you get clearance for a 240 millimeter radiator that does not exceed 275 millimeters in length so majority of a IOT's would be fine but in case you want to go into the custom loop direction the optical drive cage is also removable with just a few screws providing a ton more clearance for those radiators plus if you wish to install a 360 rad at the top the optical drive cage must be removed now I'm sure that water cooling enthusiasts will be happy to see such flexibility and starting with the assembly mounting in our micro ATX board and routing all the essentials there's absolutely no hiccups as rubber grommets are spread appropriately and mounting in our GTX 590 the reference system looks awesome turning case around despite all these cables being sort of concentrated at the bottom there you can still easily manage with two SSDs installed and with the help of you zip ties to secure the cables as close to the case as possible so closing the rear panel is not an issue and I'm going to conclude with saying that working with every single fractal design case is a bit of a deja vu in a sense that the mainframe and the internal features are almost identical and there are no reason to change this because they are extremely functional fractal is also staying on top of their game with SSD brackets and very modular design allowing for impressive water cooling capabilities in such a small form-factor full dust proof with the removable filters has sort of become the standard it seems and the tinted window is gorgeous but like with the arc mini D $120 price tag may appear a little bit too high considering it's only a micro ATX chassis but it sure is worth it especially if you're considering a slightly smaller form factor and we're giving you the hard work Knox damp your award because the arc mini r2 brings those extra enthusiast features in this competitive market and now I'm really eager to see how the next revision will play out so that concludes our view of the arc mini r2 from fractal design thanks guys for watching don't forget to subscribe for more similar content and we'll see you in the next one