Fractal Design Updates Core 3000 Case

Two years ago Fractal Design released the Core 3000 enclosure, which has now received an update.

The case measures in at 200 mm by 444 mm by 480 mm, and weighs around 7.9 Kg.  It has support for all modern motherboard formats up to ATX, space for six 3.5" or 2.5" drives, two 5.25" drives and can accommodate most modern graphics cards up to 420 mm in length. The CPU cooler can have a maximum height of 160 mm. The case also comes with vibration grommets for the 3.5" bays.

The enclosure can house up to seven fans, three of which are shipped; two 140 mm fans and a single 120 mm fan.

The fans can be controlled using a fan controller that will sit in a rear expansion slot. The case also features dust filters for the power supply and the front fans along with water cooling cutouts on the backside.

The biggest update on this enclosure are the front panel connections, which have now been updated to have USB 3.0 ports. Rather than the previous four USB 2.0 ports, the front panel now features two USB 2.0 ports next to two USB 3.0 ports.

MSRP is set at $74.95 by Fractal Design.

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Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

  • TheBigTroll
    nice to see a refresh of the fractal lineup of cases. only thing id like to see is more cabling in the back and wider cabling holes. gromments can be optional at this price point though
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    Fractal is doing rather good with so many cases and decent(not top end, but not too bad) quality as well. My Define R2 was my most quiet case ever with the right fans.
    Reply
  • anxiousinfusion
    The only thing keeping me from considering this case before was it's lack of USB 3.0 ports. It still would be nice to see 4 USB 3.0 ports but this is a step in the right direction.
    Reply
  • COLGeek
    I have 2 of the first version of this case. Great case. Easy to work with. If V2 is half as good as the V1, then this is one to have on your short list of "go to" cases.
    Reply
  • lunyone
    The only thing keeping me from considering this case before was it's lack of USB 3.0 ports. It still would be nice to see 4 USB 3.0 ports but this is a step in the right direction.
    The only problem with 4 x USB 3.0 front ports, is that there is usually on 1 USB 3.0 header on most motherboards right now. They (mobo manufacturers) would have to add another USB 3.0 header on their mobo's in order to get 4 x USB 3.0 ports on the front of a case.
    Reply
  • calmstateofmind
    Price tag is very appealing.
    Reply