For the test setup we have to thank first of all to Bernice from Gigabyte for supplying us with the Z87N-WIFI mITX board. The used hardware was:

• Intel i7 4670K cooled by boxed cooler
• Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI
• 16GB of Corsair 2400C10 ram
• ATI 7970 videocard
• Intel 520 240GB SSD
• Western Digital Green Caviar 1TB HDD
• Thortech 1200W Thunderbolt PSU

Even though mITX automatically lets most think that everything is tiny and the workspace would be cramped. The Node 304 was a pleasure to work with. No issues were detected to build in our normal sized modular Thunderbolt PSU. Even though the power cables are of extreme lengths ( read: more then 30cm long) it all fitted after some minor fiddling under the shroud.

We sacrificed two of the three brackets to free up some extra room for the enormous Thunderbolt PSU cables. Just be careful when you pick your power supply with this case, especially if you want to add a dedicated graphics card, limit the PSU size to 150-160mm.

The ASUS ATI 7970HD card had no clearance issues due to the removal of the top HDD bracket. A plus is that the video card can draw in fresh air via the meshed vent on the side of the shroud.

Even though are build is not one of the prettiest, it clearly shows the potential one gets with this Fractal Design Node 304 case. Loads of room, great compatibility with normal sized power supplies and idem ditto video cards.

Cooling wise we just tested the 4670K running with the boxed cooler and temperatures remained well within the safe operating temperature. We played some with the three speed fan controller but couldn't measure big discrepancies between the high speed or the low speed fan setting. Noise wise it all remained below 30dBA, the noisiest part was either the Intel boxed cooler or the ATI graphics card.