Benchmarks: temperature and noise
To see how well the Fractal Design Core 3000 chassis performs, we load it up with our high-end test bench and record CPU temperature, GPU temperature and system noise level.
Before we get onto the results, here are the pertinent specifications of all our comparison chassis, as well as a brief breakdown of our test system configuration and benchmark process:
Comparison Chassis |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fractal Design Core 3000 | Corsair Graphite Series 600T | Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T | Corsair Obsidian Series 650D | Antec Lanboy Air | Thermaltake Level 10 GT | Corsair Obsidian Series 800D | |
| Case type | Mid-tower | Mid-tower | Mid-tower | Mid-tower | Mid-tower | Full-tower | Full-tower |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 200mm x 430mm x 480mm | 265mm x 507mm x 592mm | 265mm x 507mm x 592mm | 229mm x 521mm x 546mm | 222mm x 518mm x 490mm | 282mm x 584mm x 590mm | 229mm x 609mm x 609mm |
| Weight | 7.1kg | 12.7kg | 12.7kg | 11.11kg | 9.2kg | 12.7kg | 10.2kg |
| Available colours | Black | Graphite Grey and Black | White and Black | Black | Yellow/Black, Red/Black, Blue/Black | Black with red highlights | Matte black |
| Material | Steel | Steel structure with molded plastic accents | Steel structure with molded plastic accents | Aluminium faceplate and steel structure | Steel frame and mesh panels | Steel and plastic | Aluminium faceplate and steel structure |
| Motherboard support | mini-ATX, mATX, ATX | mATX, ATX | mATX, ATX | mATX, ATX | mini-ATX, mATX, ATX | mATX, ATX, eATX | mATX, ATX, eATX |
| 5.25in drive bays | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3.5in / 2.5in drive bays | 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5in | 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5in | 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5in | 1 x hot-swap 3.5in/2.5in 6 x internal 3.5in/2.5in |
6 x internal 3.5in 2 x internal 2.5in |
5 x hot-swap 3.5in/2.5in 1 x external 3.5in |
4 x hot-swap 3.5in 2 x internal 3.5in |
| I/O panel | USB 2.0 x4 Audio x1 Mic x1 |
USB 3.0 x1 USB 2.0 x4 FireWire x1 Audio x1 Mic x1 |
USB 3.0 x1 USB 2.0 x4 FireWire x1 Audio x1 Mic x1 |
USB 3.0 x2 USB 2.0 x2 FireWire x1 Audio x1 Mic x1 |
USB 3.0 x1 USB 2.0 x2 Audio x 1 Mic x 1 |
USB 3.0 x2 USB 2.0 x4 eSATA x1 Audio x 1 Mic x 1 |
USB 2.0 x4 FireWire x1 Audio x1 Mic x1 |
| Expansion slots | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Supplied fans | 1 x 140mm (front) 1 x 140mm (top) 1 x 120mm (rear) |
1 x 200mm (front) 1 x 200mm (top) 1 x 120mm (rear) |
1 x 200mm (front) 1 x 200mm (top) 1 x 120mm (rear) |
1 x 200mm (front) 1 x 200mm (top) 1 x 120mm (rear) |
2 x 120mm (front) 1 x 120mm (rear) 2 x 120mm (side) |
1 x 200mm (front) 1 x 140mm (rear) 1 x 200mm (top) 1x 200mm (side) |
1 x 140mm (front) 1 x 140mm (bottom) 1 x 140mm (rear) |
| Power supply | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) | ATX (not supplied) |
| Approx. Price | £55 | £120 | £130 | £130 | £140 | £205 | £220 |
System Configuration |
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|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASUS P6X58D | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition (with reference DBX-B cooler) | |
| Memory | 6GB (3 x 2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3 | |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon HD 6970 | |
| Power supply | Corsair HX1000W | |
| Storage | Intel SSD | |
To measure each chassis' CPU cooling performance, we set fan speed to low and record CPU temperature when the system is idle. We then apply a 15-minute load of the Prime95 stress test and record CPU temperature again. To demonstrate the chassis' optimum cooling capability, we also set all fans - including the CPU cooler - to high speed mode and re-run the Prime95 torture test for a further 15 minutes.
Similarly, GPU temperature is recorded in three states; idle, load with fans at standard speed and load with fans at high speed. In this test, GPU load is defined as a 15-minute stint of Furmark.
All three chassis are tested only with the standard manufacturer-supplied fans, and to take into account the fluctuating ambient temperature, our graphs depict the delta temperature - that's actual CPU/GPU temperature minus the ambient. Just so we're clear, room temperature at the start of testing was recorded for the six chassis as follows:
Fractal Design Core 3000 - 20.9ºC
Corsair Graphite Series 600T - 19.8ºC
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T - 20.2ºC
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D - 21.4ºC
Antec LanBoy Air - 18.1ºC
Thermaltake Level 10 GT - 18.9ºC
Corsair Obsidian Series 800D - 18.3ºC
Thermal performance
Priced at just under £55, Fractal's Core 3000 chassis is far and away the cheapest solution in our line up but it does a decent job of keeping our CPU cool under extreme load. Turn the fan speed up, and performance is roughly on par with enclosures that cost more than twice as much.
Keeping a high-end Radeon graphics card cool under load is a challenge, and the Fractal chassis feels the strain of the highly-intensive Furmark stress test.
Representing a worst-case-scenario, actual GPU temperature (delta plus ambient) gets close to 90ºC with the fans set to either low or high speeds, and the chassis side panel becomes warm to the touch in the area nearest the graphics card.
Noise
We want to shed some analytical light on chassis noise levels when our high-end test rig is installed. To this end, we're using a PCE-318 noise meter placed at the front of each chassis to take decibel readings with the system idling in two modes; low fan speed and high fan speed.
That's nice to know. Despite losing the noise-dampening materials available to the Define R3, Fractal's Core 3000 manages to keep relatively quiet during use.
Turning down the speed of the bundled Silent Series fans is enough to make the Core 3000 the quietest chassis in our line up.