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
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we'll see you in the next one
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