Fractal Design Core 500 Review

Introduction

The "Core" series of cases from Fractal aim to focus on the concept that less is more.  Certainly when we look at the exterior of the Core 500 we have for review today it's clear that Fractal haven't wasted money on unnecessary frippery.  Take a look at the spec sheet below and it becomes immediately obvious that the chaps at Fractal have been busy working out how to cram in just about everything the enthusiast could want, whether it be long GPUs, tall coolers, or even water cooling up to 280mm with thick rads to boot.  You name it, the Core 500 seems to have things covered.  Here at OC3D we don't take things on face value though.  Just because the spec sheet says a case is capable, doesn't mean it necessarily is, so with this in mind we're going to give the 500 our usual thorough once over and let you good people know what we think.

Technical Specification

Key Features

• Brushed aluminium-look front panel with a sleek, three-dimensional textured finish
• Very compact case with a volume of only 19.5 liters
• Extremely good water cooling support for its size, supporting radiators up to 280mm long
• Smart drive bay placement allows you to fit up to three 3.5"drives, three 2.5" and one 5.25" drive simultaneously
• Supports Mini-ITX motherboards, ATX power supplies and graphics cards up to 310mm in length
• Supports tall CPU cooler towers, up to 170mm in height
• Featuring a Fractal Design Silent Series R3 140mm rear exhaust fan for great cooling
• Big magnetic filters for the side and top air intake together with a PSU filter ensures a dust free interior