A Closer Look: Exterior
The first impression I get from the ARC Mini R2 is that the design is very simple, yet very sleek and modern. This chassis has a smooth matte finish that, thankfully, is not prone to major fingerprinting. The left side of the chassis is home to a side panel that houses a nice smoked window that will allow your more aesthetically pleasing computer components to be viewed from the outside. The front face plate is curved with rounded edges at the sides; and only has a small Fractal logo on the bottom of the front grill. The brushed finish of the front face plate is aesthetically pleasing, even though it is plastic. For shipping purposes you will notice a piece of tape across the front to keep the grill in place. We will discuss that a bit more later. All of the chassis controls and front panel ports are located at the top of the chassis next to a larger ventilation grill.
The rear side of the ARC Mini R2 has a pretty standard layout featuring a rear 120mm fan pre-installed, two water cooling rubber grommetted holes, four motherboard expansion slots, an additional expansion slot, and a power supply mount at the bottom of the chassis.
The top side of the ARC Mini R2 chassis has a long filtered vent and is also removable via two thumbscrews as we will see a bit later in the review. Also visible here towards the front of the chassis are the front panel connections. Located here are the headphone and microphone ports, a power button with power and HDD activity LED, a really tiny reset button, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, and a fan controller switch; featuring 5v, 7v, and 12v settings. On the bottom side of the chassis, we discover an external removable filter that covers the vents directly beneath the power supply mount as well as an additional 120mm space. As with most chassis, there are also four rubber feet that lift the chassis up from the surface to allow for positive intake airflow and also dampen any noise or vibration that may occur.
