Fractal Design ARC Mini R2 Micro ATX Chassis Review

Interior

With the side panel removed we can see a black interior, with all the minor fittings finished in a gloss white. There is a large CPU cooler mounting cut-out on the backplate and six grommeted cable routing holes that will help keep things neat and tidy when we do our build.

In the bottom we have four studs that will help keep our PSU nicely mounted and to the right of that we have a single 120mm fan mount.

There are six hard drive bays in a 3+3 format, both of which can be removed thanks to some simple thumb screws on the front.

All of the drive trays support 3.5″ and 2.5″ drives, and all the drive trays are made from high quality metals, with a thick white paint job that gives them a superbly premium look and feel.

In the back we can see the rear fan comes with a good quality braided cable and a standard 3-pin connector. The expansion slots are all fitted with high quality metal covers, which features the same thick white paint as the motherboard trays.

In the top we have a 140mm exhaust fan, bringing the pre-installed fan total to three.

With the middle bay removed we can create more space for long graphics cards, although this chassis isn’t exactly tiny anyway, so I doubt this would be required.

The hard drive bays are nicely manufactured and feature thee same high quality finish we’ve come to expect from all Fractal Design components.

You can clear both the drive bays out to make room for front mounted water cooling and other mods.

Around the back we can better see the cable routing options, as well as a number of cable tie loops that will help keep our build looking neat and tidy.

Around the back we have two stealth mounted SSD bays, perfect for those who stripped out the front drive bays for water cooling.

Strip back the top cover and we find space for three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans, or equivalent size radiators.

The top panel is padded with a foam mesh filter, handy for keeping noise down and collecting dust, but you’ll have to brush / Hoover it clean quite regularly.

Behind the front panel we see that there is a large clearing, perfect for fitting thick radiators in the front of the chassis.

Front fans are mounted away from the chassis, allowing a little extra room for the radiator, and also providing a little filtering from the front panel to provide clean airflow.