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Fractal design cases are so cheaply made =\

W

w0ng3r

Member
Picked up a Arc Mini R2 and a Node 304 (MatX SLI Gaming build + NAS build). First thing I realize is how soft the steel is. I stripped out 4 screw holes in 2 cases from hand tighetning thumb screws.

Then while installing my WD 6TB Red's, I had screws shear off inside the drive. What kind of super mild steel are they using?! I reached out to Fractal only to be blocked by their facebook page (What great customer service).

I'll be returning these cases for some corsair cases instead. :thumbsdown:

10700451_10204033917782150_5467250158561865633_o.jpg
 
I've gone through a dozen coolermaster (Since the ATC210) and corsair cases, they had some minor issues, but never an issue with cheap screws/steel. I can fix a stripped screw hole in my case, I can't fix a broken screw stuck IN a hole, and neither can Fractal's customer service.

The only people that case help me now are WD if they choose to RMA these 2 drives for me.
 
Sorry w0nger but I am going to have to call you out on this. Either A.) you were using the wrong screw. Or B.) you way overtightened Lenny (from mice and men) style unaware of your own strength. When something stops turning you don't triple the effort till it turns just a little bit more. No you apply just a slight bit more pressure to make sure it just hasn't got to a tight spot.

Sure could they have used a weaker steal in your case? Maybe, but in the one I built it didn't do anything like that. But to shear of a screw like that you have have to kept trying to turn it well after it stopped. Stop doing that. Shouldn't have even needed to first one to go to figure that one out. But seriously how do you get to three?
 
Topweasel said:
Sorry w0nger but I am going to have to call you out on this. Either A.) you were using the wrong screw. Or B.) you way overtightened Lenny (from mice and men) style unaware of your own strength. When something stops turning you don't triple the effort till it turns just a little bit more. No you apply just a slight bit more pressure to make sure it just hasn't got to a tight spot.

Sure could they have used a weaker steal in your case? Maybe, but in the one I built it didn't do anything like that. But to shear of a screw like that you have have to kept trying to turn it well after it stopped. Stop doing that. Shouldn't have even needed to first one to go to figure that one out. But seriously how do you get to three?
Click to expand...

Yes, the bag of screws labelled "For Hard drives" were the wrong screws, and I definitely over-torqued it with this https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12397062/IMG_20141007_103411.jpg
 
w0ng3r said:
Yes, the bag of screws labelled "For Hard drives" were the wrong screws, and I definitely over-torqued it with this https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12397062/IMG_20141007_103411.jpg
Click to expand...

Sounds like you were using a pipe wrench. Even the cheapest screws won't "shear off" in a HDD without some serious effort.

I also have had nothing but awesome luck with FD. I went straight through their website and had replacement parts within 3 days when I had an issue about 20 months ago.
 
You sheared off the thumb screws? You've got to be kidding.

I can only imagine what you posted to their facebook page to get yourself blocked.
 
One thing I have noticed over the last year or so is that Case and Water Block MFGr's tend to source out their Screwd , Nuts and Bolts and some times the product is sub-standard. I for one insisted that XSPC send me a Bolt Kit for their XSPC RAZOR 290/X WB Back Plate as one could not fit the Allen key into the head of the bolt and the threads where horrendous.

I also insisted that they personally inspect the package before sending it to me. They where very obliging.

In regards to my Fractal Design MIDI ARC2 tower the Fan Controller had a short, such that, when I moved the switch between voltage positions it would short out the PSU and rebooted my system. Fractal sent me a new one SAP without having to return the defective one and no shipping cost.

In my opinion both both XSPC and Fractal stand behind their products.
 
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Z15CAM said:
One thing I have noticed over the last year or so is that Case and Water Block MFGr's tend to source out their Screwd , Nuts and Bolts and some times the product is sub-standard.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious. EVERYBODY buys screws. Do you actually think that there are case or component manufacturers that make their own freaking screws?
 
I built an 804 last weekend. I didn't have any problems with the screws.

But I'm calling BS based on the photo in OP. If you break off a screw, it breaks where the threads start, not at the head like that.
 
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Somebody needs to learn how to screw 🙂

No issues with my Arc Mini r2. I've used a lot of cases in the past and I like Fractals offerings.
 
I've built in 2 Define Minis, a Core 1000, and an Arc Mini... never a problem, even with the low price-pointed Core 1000.... and I've had my drives in and out of all those cases umpteen times without a problem. Fractal is the first place I look...

...having said that, it's possible you got a bad baggie of screws. Call or email Fractal, I'm sure they will fix you up. As far as the screws sheared off in the HDDs... if you bottomed them out and then torqued the heads off... they ain't coming out.
 
You could drill them and hope to collapse them maybe or if they can make an easy out that small, that said my R4 worked great, the only slight issue was how the gpu bracket fit with the case one or both were slightly bent but still went in fine. The only possible way to cause this is cross threading. Even then why apply much pressure to something that should turn it just by hand.
 
I've built in 2 Define Minis, a Core 1000, and an Arc Mini... never a problem, even with the low price-pointed Core 1000.... and I've had my drives in and out of all those cases umpteen times without a problem. Fractal is the first place I look...
Click to expand...
Screw You - LOL
 
Both the cases I've used, a Coolermaster Elite and a Corsair carbide 200R, have presented 'cheap' material problems but not as bad as those described by the OP.

I bought good quality set of replacement (6/32) thumbscrews for the Coolermaster as it only came with a pair of thumbscrews for the right side panel. I couldn't fit any of the new ones in two of the screw holes, one on either side. When I looked it was because the, threaded, inner screw holes were through small projecting metal tabs not the main body of the case. These tabs were very slightly bent, I'd suspect during factory assembly, and only the original screws, probably slightly bent themselves will fit.

I thought about straightening the tabs but reckoned the chance of shearing them off was high as they had been bent already. So I left it.

There are also issues with some of the side panel fan screw mount holes where, because of the relatively thin paneling and, I suspect, not a perfectly perpendicularly made screw hole it is horribly easy to over tighten the screw and force the head through.

What's with the use of those typical self-tapping fan screws anyway? They are just a lousy design for mounting through metal panels. The heads should be wider and flat not countersunk. The panels' screw holes could easily be pressed during manufacture to accomodate flat heads rather than countersunk ones.

Whilst on this subject: why are the holes in the panels themselves simply not drilled smaller? In both the cases mentioned they are wider than the diameter of the 6/32 fan screws typically used which makes them dangerously close to the diameter of the head these screws have.

That is where the Corsair case fails because it tries to resolve the problem by fitting all the fan mount holes through metal panels with rubber grommets. However because the screws are self-tapping this means the raw holes have to made wider to accept grommets with the internal diameter of the screw. Result: because the rubber used is quite soft, if repeated too many times during the build it gets damaged by the self tapping screws quite easily and splits.

As the hole through the metal panel is wider than the screw the problem described with the Coolermaster repeats.
 
Gotta give a hand to this OP - It has to be the most Funniest threat on AnandTech Forums I've ever encountered LOL

For the OP: To get a system up and running, a strip screw is the least of your worries - Hang in there ;o)

I've been warned numerous times - Welcome to AnandTech.

In my opinion the Fractal Design ARC MIDI R2 case for $60 to $90 is the BEST water cooling case ever designed for a compact Midi Tower. Yes I've done a few mods but it was designed for the enthusiast at a cheap price - Hats off to Fractal for the ARC MIDI ARC 2.
 
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I bought a Corsair 900D back at release to find the 3.5" drive caddy retention nobs (the things that go into the screw holes to hold the drive in place) to be rusted. It looked like they had been sitting out in the rain for weeks with how bad they were. Corsair is definitely not perfect either, and that's a $300 case!
 
w0ng3r said:
Picked up a Arc Mini R2 and a Node 304 (MatX SLI Gaming build + NAS build). First thing I realize is how soft the steel is. I stripped out 4 screw holes in 2 cases from hand tighetning thumb screws.

Then while installing my WD 6TB Red's, I had screws shear off inside the drive. What kind of super mild steel are they using?! I reached out to Fractal only to be blocked by their facebook page (What great customer service).

I'll be returning these cases for some corsair cases instead. :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...

Why didn't you stop at busted HDD screw #1?
 
Carson Dyle said:
You sheared off the thumb screws? You've got to be kidding.

I can only imagine what you posted to their facebook page to get yourself blocked.
Click to expand...

This. I've built 100+ custom PCs in Fractal cases, from the cheap Core 1000 to their higher-end products. At every price point, they're comparable in quality to other companies' cases. When I wrote buyers' guides for the main site, I strongly recommended them frequently.

OP is the kind of customer that no company wants.
 
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