Corsair330R vs FractalDesign Arc Midi R2

Sepen

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I bought both these cases within the last two weeks at some pretty great prices. I was going to use them each for a few days then decide on a winner and sell the loser. I took them out of the boxes today and my initial impressions are that the Fractal is MUCH heavier and wider than the Corsair, it is also mean (?) looking, has three fans and a fan control, more hdd space, a windows (no biggie for me) and less 5.25 space. It also has the USB 3.0 on top where as the Corsair is on the front. The Corsair looks more refined and also has some nice looking sound dampening on the inside. It also has one more 5.25 space, less hdd space, seems to have easy to use brackets for hdd and burner, two fans, nice door that is easy to change from left to right etc.

I don't know if this would have anything to do with my needs but everything about the Fractal is thicker, hence heavier. I could drop a brick on it from 10' and don't think it would dent it much.

That is where my testing sadly ends, as now I seek out help from the Anandtech crowd. Recent and recurring health issues (setback just this am) have sidelined my testing and would love any advice from anyone who has used one or both of the above. My needs are simple, I wish to have a quiet case, and easy to install and remove things. I only have one ssd, two other high capacity low rpm hdd's for media and pictures etc backups, a single Bluray burner, some usb 3 addon cards, and simple mb-cpu-power supply. My current case makes it a pain to do anything in, not that it is all the time but when I need to try something out or install something new I want it to be as simple as possible. My current case also gets really dusty inside, and I mean really.

Hopefully I haven't bored anyone, and would appreciate any pros or cons. Thanks so much.
 

JechtShot

Senior member
Feb 18, 2007
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I can only speak of my experience with the Fractal Design cases. I have built computers into the Fractal R4, Arc Mini R2 and the Midi R2. They are heavy but the build quality feels so much more durable than other brands I have used in the past. They have rubber grommets for nice and tidy wiring (Looks like the Corsair 330r does not). They have dust filters on intake and exhaust (Looks like the Corsair 330r does not) in which makes cleaning a snap. They are very easy to work in. If you are not going to be moving your case around much, its a great case. Your health is more important than anything else so base your decision off of that reason alone.
 

JechtShot

Senior member
Feb 18, 2007
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You don't but some Fractal cases have them at the top. Just an extra option vs the Corsair is all i meant.
 

Essence_of_War

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2013
2,650
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Ooooo gotcha.

They're both high quality cases OP. I've never built in a fractal case before, but a couple things to note about the Corsair:

The 5.25'' and 3.5'' bays are totally tool-less, and they accomodate 2.5'' drives w/o any extra brackets or stuff like that.

The top panel has fan mounts, but it doesn't look as nice if you put fans/radiators in it because you have to leave the panel off.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
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I built my HTPC in a Fractal Define Mini, mostly because I had size limitations. I found the fractal case extraordinarily well built and, once built, very quiet. I liked it sooooo much, I bought another, pulled my desktop build out if the CoolerMaster case it was in, and put it in another Define Mini.

Corsair builds pretty solid cases, I originally wanted a 550D, but Fractal builds some really nice stuff.
 

Vinwiesel

Member
Jan 26, 2011
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I want a Define Mini for my next build, but what really bugs me is the single front USB 3.0 port. There is typically only 1 header on the motherboard for USB 3.0, which supports 2 ports. But won't this second port just be wasted? Many other cases have the same problem but I don't ever see it mentioned. I have a pair of 3.0 ports on the front of my current case which is handy.

I hope they address this in the next revision.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
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I want a Define Mini for my next build, but what really bugs me is the single front USB 3.0 port. There is typically only 1 header on the motherboard for USB 3.0, which supports 2 ports. But won't this second port just be wasted? Many other cases have the same problem but I don't ever see it mentioned. I have a pair of 3.0 ports on the front of my current case which is handy.

I hope they address this in the next revision.

I'm with you on that... since USB3.0 is backwards capable, why wouldn't they put 2x 3.0 ports up there? :confused:
 

Sepen

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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71
Thanks for all the replies. A couple of things I discovered last night, the bottom filter is so easy to remove on the Fractal, just pull it out. On the Corsair you have to lift the case in the rear just an inch or so to remove the filter. And in reviews of the cases I have read how nice the rubber grommets were in the Fractal case and the lack of them in the Corsair. Looking at the cases last night I discovered what they meant, on the tray were the wires come thru, should make wire management look better. Haha, I wouldn't think that would be a priority when you can't see it 99.99% of the time. They both have pros and cons as far as it is to my own priorities. Probably giving this to much thought.

Thanks again.
 

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
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If the bottom filter is like the one on the Mini, you have to be careful when you slide it back in place that you don t miss one of the retention tabs, otherwise you'll be defeating the purpose of it.
 

Sepen

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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71
Well, wife went shopping and got a chance to assemble. After pondering for a few moments I took my system apart and put everything into the Corsair. All went well and it booted up fine. Works perfectly, lots and lots of room. But, it is louder than the case that I replaced. The old case had the same amount of fans but I think that I bought them specifically for the lack of noise, low db. Heck, the old case with the side off was quieter. Don't know if it is worth to even strip this again and put it all in the Fractal to try. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. More noise than I wanted or anticipated. Very easy to work with though.....
 

Alan G

Member
Apr 25, 2013
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My build is in the Fractal Arc Midi R-2 case. It was incredibly easy to build in, lots of space for wire management and the drives go in quite easily. I only needed the one 5.25 bay for a CD/DVD burner as I still listen to music on the computer. I like the fan controller and during the cooler months I run the three fans at the lowest (5V) setting so this thing makes no noise at all (there is only a whisper of fan noise at the middle setting and I've never had to use the high setting at all). The front filter also pops out for easy cleaning. Charlie98 is correct about the bottom filter, you do need to be careful putting it back in to make sure it slides into the retention tabs but you only need to do this every month or so depending on how dusty your work area is.

Customer service is great as well. One of the retention clips on the front filter was broken and the filter would not pop out. An email to FD service was all it took to get the replacement part. Additionally, I'm only running three drives (1 SSD and 2 HDD) so I just took out the 5 drive bay and stuck it on a shelf in case I need it sometime. This is just a great case.

EDIT: @Sepen - it's up to you whether you want to strip it down and put it in the FD case. I can tell you that my case is 18 inches from me and I cannot hear anything except for an occasional noise from the WD Black HDD which is the noisiest component in the case. See above for my comments on the fans.
 
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