Overall and Final Verdict
The Fractal Node 804 falls into a weird size category that gives you the impression it is smaller because of its shorter height and Micro-ATX size. But in reality with Fractal making it such a wide case you actually have the same internal size as most full sized cases but with less motherboard to fill the space. Because of this you end up with a wide selection of both storage and cooling options. If you wanted the Node 804 can hold up to 12 hard drives or if you want you could just use the two drive bays hidden behind the front panel and just pack the case full of water cooling. With all of that flexibility the Node 804 will make a lot of people happy.
The only downsides to the case are fairly small. If they did a redesign in the future I would love to see them move the built in fan controller back behind the motherboard tray for cleaner wiring or at least give it longer cords. The other thing to keep in mind is that the wider design does mean it will take up more room on your desk. That means a little less room at LANs as well.
At the end of the day the downsides I mentioned are trivial issues and frankly this is a great looking case. You still get Fractals typical amazing build quality and durability. The Node 804 has the clean Fractal styling as well. I would expect the Node 804 to sell for over $100 but surprisingly you can pick it up for $69.99 currently. Assuming you have the space and you are open to building a Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX case this is a great option. Especially if you are interested in adding custom water cooling or are addicted to having a crazy number of hard drives in your system.
