Fractal Design Core 1100 Case Review

System Building with Core 1100

Let’s go into the build. For this build demonstration, I will be reviving an older system based off the Intel G31 chipset. Most consumers who will purchase the Core 1100 are basic users. There are no mounts for a 240mm or even a 280mm water cooling unit. A 120mm water cooling radiator will be able to mount on the front of the case, but that’s about it for water cooling capabilities. As for the niche of people who will be using this case for a gaming system, I will demonstrate how much room is available for some of the largest graphics cards later in this build. But for now, this build should represent something realistic to the majority of consumers purchasing the Fractal Design Core 1100.

Test System

• Motherboard: Gigabyte G31M-ES2L
• System Memory: 2x2GB ADATA PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2
• Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 2.5GHz @ 3.9GHz
• Audio: Onboard Realtek ALC883
• Video: PNY Geforce GTX 650 1024MB GDDR5
• Disk Drive 1: Western Digital Green 500GB
• Enclosure: Fractal Design Core 1100
• PSU: Raidmax Hybrid II 530W
• Monitor: Acer G6 Series G226HQLBbd Black 21.5 inch
• Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit

Results

Here are the build results for the Core 1100. The build was very straight forward overall and required little to no effort to put together. There are no motherboard tray cutouts for cable management so the cables had to be tied up and tucked away behind the hard drive bracket. Audio and fan cables ran under the graphics card and the dedicated USB 3.0 card adapter for the best possible cable routing. An additional 92mm rear exhaust fan was added to help improve the internal air flow as well.

Because I chose not to install a 5.25″ optical drive, I routed the cables from the power supply through the small cutout at the bottom of the expansion cage. Doing this allowed me to hide the cables directly behind the vertical hard drive bracket. I also made sure no cables were blocking the front 120mm fan from spinning as space can become tight.

The Core 1100 will support CPU coolers of up to 148mm tall. If the case were to be just a bit wider, it would have been able to support even taller CPU coolers. As for now, it was able to fit the Rocketfish RF-UPCUWR with no problems. Similar CPU coolers with a 92mm fan, such as the Cooler Master TX3, should fit just fine. You can also see the cables were tied together and tucked away behind the hard drive bracket.

If the graphics card was any longer and there were two 3.5″ hard drives installed, they would physically touch each other and installation would be impossible. Keep in mind if you are using a longer graphics card, you have to install a 3.5″ hard drive at the top of the hard drive bracket. This will give room for the graphics card and its power connectors.

As for the people who are looking into turning this case into a gaming machine, the Core 1100 does support graphics cards of up to 350mm long. To demonstrate, this EVGA GeForce GTX 780Ti never comes close with the front intake fan. There is still enough space between the graphics card and the front fan for even a thick 120mm water cooling radiator with a fan. It is great to see a Micro-ATX case having this much space for a graphics card.

The overall build turned out to be very successful. The front 120mm preinstalled fan ran very quietly while keeping the internal components cool. Installing an optional 92mm rear exhaust fan helped the power supply exhaust hot air out the back of the case. It would have been great to see at least a preinstalled 80mm rear exhaust fan because cooling is so important for today’s standards.

Now that we are done with the system build, let’s finish up with my final thoughts and conclusion to the Fractal Design Core 1100.