Final thoughts and rating
The fact that we expected great things from the Core 3000 is testament to Fractal Design's growing reputation as a chassis manufacturer.
The Swedish company has established itself as key player in an increasingly crowded marketplace, and we can see why; its chassis are feature packed and priced with the mass market in mind.
Taking aim at the value segment, the Core 3000 - retailing at under £55 - offers consumers a good selection of high-end functionality at an affordable price. The ability to house up to seven fans will appeal to extreme users, but the Core 3000 is equally adept at serving the mid-range; the enclosure provides decent airflow right out of the box and it's suitably quiet in use, too.
The chassis isn't faultless, though, and lacklustre cable management combined with an awkward fan controller help cement its position as good but not great. This is a strong first attempt at a budget gamer-orientated chassis, but the Core 3000 falls just short of an out-and-out recommendation in the crowded £50-£60 space.
The Good
Sleek, understated aesthetics
Can accommodate up to seven fans
Plenty of features at an affordable price
Bundled "Silent Series" fans almost live up to their name
The Bad
Limited cable-routing possibilities
Crude fan controller
No USB 3.0 support
HEXUS Rating
Fractal Design Core 3000
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Fractal Design Core 3000 chassis is available to purchase from ebuyer.com.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
