Case Interior
The Define Nano S presents a completely open interior to the builder, with no drive bays or brackets in the way at all. This serves to make the build very simple, and also makes a build look very sparse unless you're using a custom loop.
I'll pause here, as usual, to discuss the all-important side panels. These are of the traditional slide-off variety, and have the advantage of captive thumbscrews, which is a nice touch.
As this Nano S is the windowed version, there is a (very clear) window on the front side panel, while the rear panel is lined with an sound-reducing insulation.
Moving past the side panels, we'll take a look inside the front of the enclosure, which first requires the removal of the front panel:
This is easily done, as the panel simply snaps into place. This cover is also lined with insulation.
And now we have a look at the removable screen filter for the front intake:
The front screen filter is magnetically attached
Inside the front of the case there's a single 140 mm fan pre-installed, and room for a pair of fans or a radiator up here if desired.
Moving to the rear of the enclosure, there is a 120 mm fan installed for exhaust, and the two expansion slots sit just above the ATX power supply mount.
The case floor offers a mount for a hard drives in the form of a removable bracket, to the right of the (padded) PSU mounting location.
Turning the case around now we have our first look behind the motherboard tray:
This rear portion is a great design, and I appreciate it all the more as I work with a lot of cases. There's enough depth to allow easy cable routing, and further improving this aspect of the build are velcro ties for flexible cable management. Storage is back here as well, which we'll get into shortly.
Next we'll add the system components.
I still do not understand the
I still do not understand the reasoning behind large MiniITX cases. this is barely smaller than my Fractal Core 1000 which supports MicroATX boards.
I’d have loved for the Nano S to be an impossibly small MiniITX case like the N-Case M1, but alas, it seems to not be the case
(no pun intended)
(well, maybe a little)
I keep waiting for an M1
I keep waiting for an M1 alternative from a company like Fractal to make it affordable. At such a small size aluminum construction (such as the NCASE M1) would be less important, and it could be made less expensive.
I agree that this is close to the size of the Core 1000 (I reviewed the similarly-sized Core 1100 a couple of years ago), but the Nano S is in a different class. Better materials, better interior design, and compared to what I've seen in the past two years this is priced very competitively at $69.99. It's not a budget case, and Mini-ITX is a more expensive platform, of course; a case like the Core 1000 is more economical beyond the initial investment.
There are a lot of other
There are a lot of other differences though. I believe the Nano S is a bit higher quality in terms of overall construction, sounds dampening material and cable management with gromets, etc. It also has a bottom mounted PSU, different front panel I/O, no 5 1/2″ bays, etc. A lot of this stuff is preferential.
The Nano S is also catered towards water cooling and has greater compatibility than the Core series. If somebody wants to build the smallest single-GPU system with a full custom water cooling loop the Nano S fits the bill more than the Core.
Not to mention watercooling in the Core removes HDD mounting options. And the Nano S has filtered intake in the front and bottom, something the Core doesn’t have.
The Core 1000 is 175 x 355 x
The Core 1000 is 175 x 355 x 420 mm (26.1 L). By comparison, the Nano S is 203 x 330 x 400 mm (26.8 L). Now, the Nano S can do a lot of things the Core 1000 can’t, for sure, just not hold an mATX mobo.
Keep in mind that Fractal Design also has the very slim Node 202 as well as the shoebox Node 304/Core 500. They’re offering a traditional mini tower-sized ITX case in the Nano S here, but they do cover other grounds too, unlike some competitors. Though nothing as space-efficient as the NCase M1 or DAN Cases A4-SFX.
I was hoping this would be an
I was hoping this would be an option as a NAS box. Looks like Lian-Li Q25B is still the best option.
Umm. The power supply blocks
Umm. The power supply blocks air flow to the GPU.
Wouldn’t it be better to have the GPU on the floor and the PSU somewhere else? Like up front or on top?
I love this case but am
I love this case but am amazed at all the reviews that fail to point out, when using a stock cooler on a GPU there is a limited air flow space due to how close the PSU sets to the GPU.
When I did my build I used an SFX PSU to make sure there was a real opening there so the GPU could get proper airflow. This is a simple fix and yet no one actually talks about it.
Also the side window is crap. The material they use to keep cost down is VERY easy to scratch. Again something that is not often discussed. With an ITX case, that can be used for LAN events and thus would travel and be prone to scratching I would think this would be important.
Finally a note on the SSD mounts. I used dual SSDs and the mounts are positions so tight to the back of the motherboard that is the cabling passed under the power mount the fit is very difficult to make solid. This is a minor gripe that could have been fixed by moving the SSD mount outward a 0.25″ more from the back of the main board.
Now this is not to say this is a bad case, for the money this case is an awesome budget option and my first choice for a low cost ITX build. However the lack of any meaningful and through reviews on this case is disturbing.
I would say that showing the
I would say that showing the ins and outs of a case, and then testing that case with both liquid and air CPU coolers (not to mention the installation of a 240mm AIO liquid cooler on the upper and front intake mounts for reference, which are not included in testing and included simply to show fit), with thermal and noise performance data provided for each cooler setup, including GPU temps with both options, is "thorough".
As to the GPU clearance, it's not an issue or I would have noted it. There is a small gap between the PSU and half of the GPU, yes; though a gap nonetheless. This would be hardly ideal except for the fact that the other half of the GPU is completely unobstructed. My dual-fan R9 290X performed just fine for a small enclosure.
How is it possible for the
How is it possible for the GPU temps to be 13c on idle and CPU temps at 1.6c with air cooling?
In the graphs, it says
In the graphs, it says “temperature over ambient” that you know how hot it will be in your situation