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And the cooling is still fantastic, with its mesh design making it one of the best budget PC cases with good airflow (we love that for its price you’re still getting 2 high-quality fans also). Fractal Design's cases generally aren't all that quiet, and that's true here as well. During our full-speed test, we got an average of 53 decibels, which is, bluntly, quite loud. Even though the case is loud, let’s not forget that the side panel is mesh. So it's likely the tempered glass version of the North is at least a little quieter. Enter Fractal Design, a case manufacturer that often finds itself on our Best PC Cases, and its latest (and hopefully trend-setting) North case.
Define 7 XL
The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact is one of the newest cases from the company, and it brings the goodness of the Meshify design in a compact case. The case has a fully removable top panel for better access, as well as a full-length power supply shroud to counter the pitfalls of the compact design. The Fractal Design Define 7 is equipped with an excellent fan filtration system, with large removable nylon filters on every fan mounting location including the power supply.
Define R6 Tempered Glass
While not as cheap as some of our other budget PC case picks, we wanted our cheap Fractal case choice to still retain a lot of what makes the brand’s products so great. Which is why today’s feature on What in Tech is breaking down the best Fractal Design PC cases for gaming, production work, and more (whatever size/budget you have in mind). For enthusiasts looking for an extremely versatile chassis with a dual-layout interior, the Fractal Design Define 7 is a feature packed case with outstanding thermal and acoustic performance. Fractal Design didn’t re-invent the mid-century modern wheel with its North XL. But it takes what was great about the original and sizes it up for E-ATX motherboards and the longest, largest graphics cards, while keeping the price resonable. As much as we love the Nano C, if you’re after the smallest Fractal PC case possible, or one with a console/horizontal aesthetic.
Tom's Hardware Verdict
Fractal Design's gorgeous new Terra PC case vindicates my disdain of the cyberpunk aesthetic - PC Gamer
Fractal Design's gorgeous new Terra PC case vindicates my disdain of the cyberpunk aesthetic.
Posted: Wed, 31 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Fractal Design wisely designed the filter on the bottom of the case to be removed from the front, eliminating the need to move your system for filter maintenance and cleaning. Because we’re reviewing the tempered glass model, our North XL did not include the side bracket for additional cooling. Instead, Fractal sent over their Flex 2 vertical GPU riser kit (an $80 accessory that’s sold separately). Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
The chassis measures 546.8 x 240 x 474.2 mm and tips the scales at just over 15.9 kg (35 pounds). When outfitted with a tempered glass side panel is priced at $170 / £154 or $150 / £144 without it. A complaint we had about the original Fractal Design North when we tested it was its high noise levels.
Behind the door you will find a single 5.25 inch drive bay opening and a large removable plastic mesh filter covering mounting locations for three 120mm or two 140mm fans. Vertical vents line both sides of the front fascia, extending from the top to bottom of the case. The Fractal Design Define 7 mid-tower chassis comes in black, grey or white with the option of a tempered glass side panel. Depending on the color you choose, the tempered glass side panel is available in clear, light or dark tinting.
But if you’re looking to build the most powerful PC possible with absolute optimum cooling for a silence-focussed design, the Define 7 XL is likely the best premium PC cases on the market to achieve this. The R5 is perfect for a powerful gaming build with great GPU space (and the aforementioned cooling ability), you have a lot of overclocking potential here. The overall look of Fractal Design's Define series cases is one of the features that makes it popular with gamers and enthusiasts alike.
Ridge White
Watch us build bigger in the new North XL PC case - PCWorld
Watch us build bigger in the new North XL PC case.
Posted: Thu, 07 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
It is feature-packed, runs quiet, and comes with a whole lot of cooling features. If you want to go compact, Fractal Design has the Meshify 2 Compact, and for ITX builds, the Define Nano S. Fractal Design makes some great cases, and this list has the top options they have for your own PC build. Fractal Design cases all also offer multiple variants under the same product line, so you can get different versions of the cases listed above, set apart by the inclusion or shade of tempered glass panels.
The biggest reason we’d push you towards the Define R5 (or the other more expensive picks) is its superiority in quietness. Sure, the storage isn’t as plentiful as our top pick, and you can’t install quite the same level of cooling. But even if you’re looking at something more work-focused (say, video editing), you have some of the best storage capacity available in any ATX case. This closed-off design works with various sound-dampening material around the R5 to create one of the best quiet PC cases of all time. If you're building your own PC, one of the biggest decisions you have to make is picking the right PC case. Fractal Design makes some of the best PC cases out there, and you can find one for every type of build.
However, this case can fit GPUs up to 13.98 inches (355mm), and our Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC fits perfectly. The maximum CPU cooler height varies, depending on whether you install the fan bracket on the side. Without the bracket, the North supports coolers up to 6.7 inches (170mm), but 5.7 inches (145mm) with the bracket and fans installed. 5.25-inch drive bays were once a necessity for optical drives, but now are more or less gone. Following that collapse, the desire for glass (and RGB) everywhere came and is now going away as the thermal demand of high-end components went up and people began to take the need for airflow seriously. And now, because airflow is so important, too many cases are starting to look the same, which is frustrating.
But it’s also worth mentioning that the thumbscrews here are very stiff and require a screwdriver to remove. The wood front slats are a darker walnut on the black model than the oak used on the chalk white variant, and I think it looks great. Built to maximize cooling potential straight out of the box, the Torrent comes with a brand-new component layout and two custom-made 180 x 38 mm Dynamic PWM or Prisma RGB PWM fans.
The tempered-glass side panel is attached to a metal frame that eliminates the need for rubber-coated locating pins or hinges. The panel on the opposite side of the chassis is a solid stamped steel panel with a thick layer of sound damping material and is held in place by the same push-to-lock system as the tempered glass panel. As long as the performance is decent, there's nothing wrong with more traditional basic black PC case boxes or aggressive RGB-and-glass gamer chassis. But it's great to have attractive and well-performing alternatives like the North, that blend into a living room in a living room instead of standing out like an alien artifact. The Fractal Design North measures up at 18.5 x 8.5 x 17.5 inches (HWD), so I wouldn’t try to fit an E-ATX board in here.
The Define C is the perfect choice for those after the fantastic features that our top pick offers in a mini-tower form factor. The entire bottom of the chassis is covered by a large plastic mesh filter that is removable from the front. The filter covers two mounting locations for 120mm or 140mm fans and the power supply fan opening. The four large rubber-coated feet keep the case approximately a half inch off the ground. The exhaust fan mounting location features slotted screw holes that lets you adjust the position of the fan to fine tune airflow or make room for system components.
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