Core 500

A small, compact chassis that lets you build computer without compromising on component selection

  • Brushed aluminum-look front panel with a sleek, three-dimensional textured finish
  • Very compact case with a volume of only 19.5 liters
  • Extremely good water cooling support for its size, supporting radiators up to 280 mm long

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Key features

The case comes with one Silent Series R3 140 mm fan which offers great cooling from the get go. If you wish to expand their cooling ability there is room for an additional two 140 mm fans, water cooling radiators up to 280 mm or air coolers up to 170 mm in height.

  • Brushed aluminum-look front panel with a sleek, three-dimensional textured finish

  • Very compact case with a volume of only 19.5 liters

  • Extremely good water cooling support for its size, supporting radiators up to 280 mm long

  • Smart drive bay placement allows you to fit up to three 3.5" drives, three 2.5" drives and one 5.25" drive simultaneously

  • Supports Mini-ITX motherboards, ATX power supplies and graphics cards up to 310 mm in length and tall CPU cooler towers, up to 170 mm in height

  • Featuring a Fractal Design Silent Series R3 140 mm rear exhaust fan for great cooling

  • Big magnetic filters for the side and top air intake together with a PSU filter to ensure a dust free interior

Water-cooling ready

Extremely good water cooling support for its size, supporting radiators up to 280 mm long

1x 140 mm silent fan included

Featuring a Fractal Design Silent Series R3 140 mm rear exhaust fan for great cooling

Dust-free interior

Big magnetic filters for the side and top air intake together with a PSU filter to ensure a dust free interior

"Striving to be smaller than your average PC but staying just large enough to accommodate common components, Core 500 is well-put together and logically laid out so as to accept a powerful CPU and GPU combination, as well as up to half-a-dozen SSDs/HDDs."
HEXUS.net Read the full review
"The Fractal Design Core 500 looks like a simple case but it is more sophisticated and subtle than it first appears.[...]Fractal Design has delivered a cheap and versatile Mini-ITX case."
KitGuru Read the full review
"At a price tag of around 60 US dollars, the chassis is really affordable, but of great build quality. The interior—albeit very traditional for a chassis of this shape—is functional. Considering you will always have to make compromises when installing liquid cooling into a case as this, Fractal Design's Core 500 manages to avoid all restrictive issues outside of its sheer size with the exception of the PSU's length. With the ability to install six hard drive and an ODD while opting for a potent, large, and quiet air-cooling solution, the chassis has a lot to offer, coming in at a price/performance/quality ratio that is better than with most of the competition out there."
TechPowerUp.com Read the full review

Specifications

  • Motherboard compability
    Mini ITX, Mini DTX motherboard compatibility; NOTE: motherboards with SATA ports that are angled 90 degrees may conflict with installation in the case.
  • Expansion slots
    2
  • 3.5" HDD Positions
    3
  • 2.5" HDD Positions
    3
  • 5.25" Bay
    1 (removable)
  • CPU Cooler height
    Up to 170 mm
  • ATX PSU size
    Up to 170 mm in length (non modular PSUs); ATX PSUs, up to 160 mm in length (modular PSUs)
  • Graphic card size
    Up to 310 mm in length (note: graphics cards longer than 170 mm will not fit with PSUs that exceed 170 mm)
  • Case volume
    19.5 liters
  • Dimensions (WxHxD)
    250 x 203 x 367 mm
  • Case dimensions - with feet/screws/protrusions
    250 x 213 x 380 mm
  • Net weight
    4.4 kg
  • Package dimensions (WxHxD)
    285 x 335 x 450 mm
  • Package weight
    5.3 kg
  • Front interface
    2 x USB 3.0, Audio in/out, Power button with LED (white), HDD activity LED (white) & Reset button
  • Max GPU thickness
    44 mm

Cooling system

  • Rear
    1x 120/140 mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design Silent Series R3 fan, 1000 RPM speed)
  • Top
    2x 120/140 mm fan (not included)
  • Water cooling top (note: not compatible with AIO water cooler units that feature the pump on the radiator):
    280, 240, 140 and 120 mm radiators. (Thickness limitation of 100 mm for both radiator + fan) (240 and 280 mm radiators require removal of the ODD bay) (280 mm radiator can be maximum 325 mm in length)
  • Water cooling rear
    120 mm radiator (without a device in the rear 3.5" HDD position)
  • Dust filters
    Magnetic filters on side and top panel, PSU filter

Package contents & other

  • Package contents
    Core 500 computer case, user manual and accessory box
  • EAN/GTIN-13
    7350041082644
  • UPC
    817301012645
  • Product code
    FD-CA-CORE-500-BK
  • Available for system integrators
    Yes