Fractal Design Core 2500 ATX Mid Tower Review

By Jason Maxfield

Manufacturer: Fractal Design
Product Name: Core 2500
Model Number: FD-CA-CORE-2500-BL
UPC: 817301011952 EAN: 7350041081951
Price As Tested: $66.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Fractal Design

Fractal Design has sent me their Core 2500 ATX mid tower case for review. Anyone that is familiar with Fractal Design will recognize the Core series of computer cases. The Fractal Design Core 2500 is an updated version of the Core 2300, with the main difference being the hard drive mount cage. Most of the other design features of the Core 2300 are in the Core 2500.

The Fractal Design Core 2500 has various cooling options for air or water cooling, including 120mm and 140mm fans, and support for 240mm or 280mm radiators. Water cooling options at this price range are a nice bonus.

The Core 2500 is in the sub-100 dollar category, which has some really heated competition at the moment. Computer cases are becoming less expensive, while adding more features.

I’m going to put the Fractal Design Core 2500 through it’s paces in this article for Benchmark Reviews, and see how it stacks up to the competition.

Features & Specifications

Specifications

• Mini ITX, Micro ATX ATX motherboard compatibility
• 2 drive bays of 5,25″ or 4 bays 3.5″- all compatible with SSDs
• 1 -2.5″ dedicated SSD unit position
• 7 expansion slots
• Supports graphic card up to 380mm without any HDD removal
• Support cooling system: 7 Fan positions (2 fans included)
• Filtered fan slots in front and bottom
• CPU coolers up to 162 mm in height
• Integrated fan controller
• Supports ATX PSUs up to 155 mm deep when using the primary bottom fan location; when not using this fan location longer PSUs can be used
• 13.5-18.5 mm of space for cable routing behind the motherboard plate
• Extra cable routing holes for usage with mATX motherboards
• Available in Black
• Case dimensions (WxHxD):195 x 431 x 450mm
• Net weight: 5.7 kg
• Package dimensions (WxHxD): 270 x 547 x 492mm
• Package weight: 6.9kg

Cooling system

• Front: 2 – 120/140mm fans (included is 1 Fractal Design silent 120mm fan, 1200 RPM speed)
• Rear: 1 – 120mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design silent 120mm fan, 1200 RPM speed)
• Top: 2 – 120/140mm fan (not included)
• Bottom: 1 – 120mm fan (not included, PSU length limits apply) OR 1 – 120mm fan (not included, requires removal of lower HDD cage) OR 1 – 140mm fan (not included, requires removal of lower HDD cage)
• Side: 1 -140mm fan (not included)
• 1 – integrated fan controller on the backside for up to 3 fans

Water Cooling compatibility

• Front – 240mm radiator, up to 45mm in thickness (with lower HDD cage repositioned in case, upper HDD cage removed)
• Front – 240mm radiator, any thickness, push/pull supported (with both lower and upper HDD cages removed)
• Front –Slim 280mm radiator: 15mm fan spacing required for full fastening, radiators with 20mm fan spacing can be used with only the top half fastened to the case (with lower HDD cage repositioned in case, upper HDD cage removed, lower ODD slot may need to be unused depending on tube end chamber size)
• Top – Slim 240mm radiator (with upper ODD slot occupied by a device no longer than 150mm and with no components on the upper 23 mm on the motherboard that are taller than 34mm)
• Rear – 120 mm radiator

Front interface

• 2 – USB 3.0
• Audio in/out
• Power button with LED (white)
• HDD activity LED (white)
• Reset button

Package contents

• Core 2500 computer case
• Accessory box
• User manual

Product features and specifications taken from Fractal Designs website.