No frills boxes at Fractal, just a sturdy brown cardboard box that neatly protects the innards. One side gives an idea about the case design. The exploded view on the other side gives away most of it’s features. The case itself is protected by Styrofoam inserts and a simple plastic bag.

 

 

 

A typical Fractal design case, stylish and not too much bells nor whistles. Clean and sleek, no Transformer look–alikes from this company.  The left side panel has window build in to show off your precious hardware, one of the differences from the original ARC midi case. Looking at the picture of the front we spot room for two optical drives, plenty for a mid-tower sized case. The front front grill with build in dust filter is easily removable.

 

 

 

The rear side is accentuated by the white fan blades and backplates. This being one of the trademarks of a typical Fractal Design enclosure.

 

 

 

The ARC Midi R2 has up to 8 quickly removable white HDD trays, divided over two HDD cages. The top cage houses 5 of the trays.  This entire cage can be removed for maximum direct airflow or long GPU compatibility. Secondly this cage can be rotated 90°. The bottom cage, thus housing the remaining three HDDs, is also removable via unscrewing four screws in the bottom and two in the linked bracket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The HDD trays include rubber anti-vibration grommets, sadly the HDDs still require manual screwdriver intervention for fixation. In fact also the top 5 ½ drives need screwing down to secure them.

Looking at the back of the motherboard tray we see the large cutout to facilitate the CPU cooler installation and the three big rubber grommets for the cable routing. In the top we find two smaller cutouts, also including rubber grommets to route the 4/8 pin power plug and cables of the top fans.

 

 

 

The front and top bezel are easily removable, either by using slight force for the front panel or unscrewing two thumbscrews for the top panel. Both feature a build in dust filter. The front panel dust filter pops out after pressing its top part. The top panel filter is a fixed version.

 

 

 

 

The bottom dust filter, below the PSU easily slides out. The ARC Midi R2 rest on four well dimensioned rubber feet.

 

The ARC Midi R2 includes three identical 140mm fans. One in the front panel, one in the rear and one positioned off center in the top of the case. These silent rated fans all feature a hydraulic bearing and spin max at 1000 RPM. The max airflow is rated at 66 CFM and the noise level should be maxed around 18.5 dBa. Similar as with the  backplates and HDD trays, the white fan blades add to that special touch of class look. Nice feature is that the fan cables all are sleeved versions.

 

 

 

 

In the front, the option exists to add a 2nd 120/140mm fan. In the top part, there's room for two extra 120/140mm Fans. In the bottom one 120/140mm Fan can be installed.

The front panel interface includes two USB3.0 ports, the audio in/out jack, a power button, a miniscule reset button and a three-step fan controller (7-9-12V) able to steer up to three fans.

 

  

 

Compared to previous case reviews Madshrimps opted to install a single AMD 7970 graphics card instead of the regular two GTX480s we usually used when reviewing gaming enclosures. For the cooling tests the case is equipped with the Corsair H100i Hydro cooler.

The hardware comprises of the following parts:

• ASUS Sabretooth X79 mainboard
• Intel i7-3960X OC'ed at 4.5Ghz 1.37Vcore
• Corsair Hydro100i cooling
• 16Gb G.Skill RipjawsZ 2133C9 RAMs
• 1 x AMD 7970HD graphic card
• 1 x Western Digital 1TB Caviar Green Hard Drives
• 1 x Intel 520 240GB SSD
• Corsair HX1050 Power Supply.

 

For the IDLE tests we let the setup warm up during a 30 min period. The temperatures of the CPU cores are monitored by the Realtemp software. The temperatures of the motherboard components are read out by the ASUS Thermal Radar software. For the stress test we go flat out and test our the six cores of the overclocked i7-3960X CPU (4500MHz) with the Prime95 64bit software with a custom 12-12K setting. For the GPU test we run a 3 time loop of the Futuremark Vantage 3D bench software to heat up the graphics core.

Here are some screenshots of the ASUS Thermal RADAR software in action:

 

 

 

Specifications

• ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX motherboard compatibility
• 2 - 5.25" bays
• 8 - 3.5" HDD trays - all compatible with SSDs
• 2 - 2.5" additional SSD positions behind the mothboard plate
• 7 + 1 expansion slots
• 7 - Fan positions (3 Silent Series R2 fans included)
• Filtered fan slots in front, top and bottom
• CPU coolers up to 180 mm tall
• PSU compatibility: ATX PSUs up to 170 mm deep when using the bottom fan location; when not using this fan location longer PSUs (up to 270 mm deep) can be used
• Graphics card compatibility: Graphics cards up to 290mm in length with the top HDD cage installed - With the top cage removed, graphics cards up to 430mm in length may be installed
• 26 mm of space for cable routing behind the motherboard plate
• Thick rubber grommets on all holes on the motherboard plate
• Colors available: Black
• Case dimensions (WxHxD): 230 x 460 x 515mm
• Net weight: 10.7kg
• Package dimensions (WxHxD): 320 x 610 x 560mm
• Package weight: 12kg

Initially we tried to install the CORSAIR Hydro 110, however, even with the off-centered position, we dit not have enough clearance with the X79 Sabertooth's heatsinks, so we were obliged to install the CORSAIR H100i. If only Fractal made the R2 Midi one cm higher or wider. Besides this unexpected hardware incompatibility the rest of the hardware blended in smoothly.

 

 

 

 

Due to the numerous and well dimensioned cutouts, the cable routing is pretty easy. Nice to see a cutout just above the power supply for the audio and USB cables. The 7970HD had a few cms to spare from the top HDD cage. Videocards over 290mm require the top HDD cage to be removed. Once removed the Midi R2 supports GPUs up to a whopping 430mm.

 

 

  

 

 

With an ambient temperature of 21°C, the FRACTAL ARC Midi R2 kept all hardware operating inside a safe temperature range. Even when reducing the fan speed at 7V, which makes the included 14cm fans inaudible, the cooling loss remains max at 1-3°C. Tests were not conducted at the lowest Fan controller setting at 5V as the noise generated by the two Corsair HP fans of the H100i became the noisiest components inside the PC.

 

 

Too bad the 360 radiator did not fit in the Fractal Arc Midi R2. Ofcourse this without cutting up the case. Luckily for us, the guys at EK were so kind to send us a 240 radiator version, so we could demonstrate the potential of this case as a full blown watercooling setup.

Take note we opted for the easiest install method, which is via the top. For your info there's also room in the front of the case for a 2nd 120/240 radiator.

 

 

The installed hardware are for the upcoming LAN party are:

• Gigabyte Z77 UP7 motherboard
• Delidded 3770K@4500MHz 1.25Vcore
• ASUS HD6990@ 900/1300 watercooled card
• OCZ 240GB RevoDrive X3 PCIe
• Western Digital 2TB Data storage HDD
• EK waterblocks Supremacy Full Copper block
• EK waterblocks L240 all in one kit

 

Due to the off center design of the ARC Midi R2, any 240mm radiator will blend in perfectly, no matter the thickness. Even our long ATI 6990 card has no clearance issues once we removed the top HDD cage.

 

 

 

 

 

The major strength of the EK WB L kits is the combined pump/reservoir unit, which can be mounted in many ways to snuggly fit in in the space you provide it. Mission accomplished, the OverClocked 3770K hardly reaches 60°C in Battlefield 3. The temperatures of the dual GPU 6990 card remains around 45-50°, while pumping out some serious frames during long gaming sessions on the battlefield. All in all a pretty easy and straight forward install in this Fractal ARC Midi R2 !

 

Swedish Fractal Design has nicely improved the predecessor of this case, the ARC Midi. Besides some cosmetic changes the presence of the 3-step Fan controller and the large smoked window will draw a lot of attention. The overall design remains pretty slick and the build quality is again at a high level.

Installing most hardware will be an effortless job, as there's more than enough room to work in. However some small points of criticizm. The room for two SSD at the backside of the motherboard tray requires the removal of the motherboard to secure the SSD. Secondly, even though Fractal does not include it in the specs, it's weird that the Corsair H110 didn't fit at all in the top compartment, especially as FRACTAL themselves use 140mm Fans. It's all a matter of adding one extra cm in height/width.  The dimensions of the top compartment could easily house a 360 radiator, this with some minor adjustments to the design. Especially the latter modification would really top this case off and make it stand out even more from the crowd.

 

 

The Fractal ARC Midi is a very interesting case, featuring out of the box great, audible air cooling. Nevertheless  the ARC Midi R2 can also be turned into a watercooling beast, thanks to the provision to install two 240mm rads. The three bundled 140mm fans shift some serious air, however being not that silent when run at full blast. Luckily they can be run at 3 different volt modes thanks to the integrated fan controller.

Cable management is a breeze in this case, thanks to the numerous cutouts and plenty of room behind the motherboard tray to store away them excessive cables. Depending on the configuration of the HDD cages, even the die hard storage guy will have plenty of options to install his SSDs or Data drives.

The Fractal ARC Midi R2 is a nice evolution from it's predecessor. The tiny refinements makes this just a better case then the ARC Midi has ever been. The looks and lines of the case remain in tradition of this Swedish enclosure designer. Their sleek design enhances that professional look. This all topped off by the smoked sidepanel window, allowing you to show off your clean build to the masses.

The Fractal ARC Midi R2 retails around 90 euros making it a straight adversary for the CORSAIR Carbide 500R and the Cooler Master 690 series. Not the easiest competition, but the ARC Midi R2 has enough features to stand it's ground. If it's not the build quality, the design or the cooling features, it might just be the black and white theme that could turn you over to the Fractal side. Another great case from the FRACTAL Team at a justified price.

 

 

PROS:

• Build quality
• Build in 3 speed Fan controller
• Windowed Side  Panel
• Storage capacity
• Three 140mm fans
• Watercooling

 

CONS:

• 140mm fans not that silent at 12V
• Miniscule Reset button

 

 

I wish to thank Heili from Fractal design for the ARC Midi R2 sample

 

Harry from Corsair for the H100i and the HX1050 PSU

 

Sven from ASUS for the X79 Sabertooth mainboard

 

Niko from EKWB for the 240 radiator

 

Tones for the years of support !