Exactly!! I've seen multiple reviews where they note higher temps esp for the GPU with this case. If it wasn't for that this would be my dream case too and I would go out & buy it yesterday! Admittedly, it can't be an easy feat to make even a semi-wooden case run cool, but hopefully they can pull off some magic with an updated iteration 🤞🤞🤞
Finally, someone released a wood case! I remember watching this channel's coverage of some computer con years ago and In Win showcased a wood case that never released. I was so disappointed. Definitely going to check this one out!
Im literally on the market for a new build, and I am so glad this exists. I almost exclusively buy vintage 70s audio equipment, and all of it is walnut with black furniture. This is literally going to look like it was made specifically for my house haha.
yeah if they make an ITX chassis id definitely jump right on it esp if both side panels are mesh. Id get some Powered 8"-10" monitors to match with the wood on the itx or re-stain the pc....to match the swans ive been looking at for my room setup. VERY EPIC turn from RGB in the industry towards this seemingly ideal for audiophiles chassis. Or if they make a flat sff chassis like a flat tower with wood to make it look like an audio processor/console it could be set on a bookshelf/furniture and look like it belongs there, not to mention if you go full APU system like for a multimedia pc/media center....you can use the GPU compartment in those FLAT box itx chassis....and fabricate a dac/amp into the ITX pc's GPU compartment. Have an all in one SYSTEM.
I'm thinking the same thing about the white one. My office/studio is basically all built around a birch desk and shelves I made with my dad. The white one would slot into the PC cubby in the desk very nicely. I currently have an semi-SFF build in there and it looks nice, but I really want to do a different front for it in the style of this case.
@@DigitalJedi my only worry is will this fit a full sized 3080 or dare I even say 4000 series card? Because I'm going high end cpu so I need a 360 mm rad for cooling.
Fractal is doing some of the most consistently interesting and attractive work in the business. I love my current Define case, and now the Torrent has competition for being used for my next build.
Thank you for mentioning the difference between the mesh and glass side panels! I’m building a new pc, thermals always matter to me, and since it sits in my living room this case is just goals honestly. Super appreciate the numbers! And you thought of how the wood was treated! Literally no one else (I’ve watched a few reviews now) thought to worry, but I’m so glad you did because ooo boy can wood go ugly if it’s not treated properly, so thank you again.
I'm a third generation carpenter. I've grown up around woodworking my whole life. I took a more general construction route because I lacked the patience for woodworking. But the older I get the more I've started to transition into woodworking. And I'm saying all this because I never once thought about using wood in a PC case. I have an emulation PC that has a boring case and now I'm considering making an entire case out of wood. I have the ability and the tools available to me that I would need. Why not?
I hope Fractal makes a North XL. I already love this case and it would be even better if it was able to fit larger air towers + the side intake bracket installed.
Yep some side mount fan intake holes w/threaded grommets...or studs to screw fans into the back/inner side of the panel. Ideally a giant 230mm fan or multiple 140mms. It was definitely the first thing that came to mind....larger/atx form factor and adding a heap of fans to that side panel like an OG coolermaster stacker.
I love this! I'm seriously considering switching even though it's a much larger case than I actually want. Great look, no RGB or tempered glass nonsense and the price is reasonable for what you're getting, even though it's a bit on the higher side. I have no idea what took case manufacturers so long to incorporate real wood in their designs, there is only one single case I'm aware of that has real wood other than this one, but that's a niche product from a niche manufacturer, an ITX case that only supports low profile graphics cards and comes flatpacked for you to assemble. If Fractal Design releases an ITX version of this case I will order it the minute it goes on sale, but the ATX version looks so good that I might be getting this right now even though it's larger than I want.
Great video, I've been watching various channels that talk about this PC case, but you actually covered every single point, from top to bottom, and that made me sure of buying this case, thanks for the vid, pls keep uploading great videos, God bless
I've found pc cases always kind of ugly, until this! Finally something that has some elements of Scandinavian design and minimalism; absolutely love this case!
I just got my white version of the case. Worth sharing that the wood is a lot warmer than shows in a lot of photos. Probably an effect of lighting. I was happy since this will work better with my setup. Only regret is I would have preferred the brass accents over the silver.
I love the way they did the wood layout. I love the the circular design and how the tempered glass is shortened to give this case a different look compared to every other case. BTW, can you do a review on the Lian Li Lancool 216?
It is sooo gorgeous with the wood! If they came out with a bigger version that supported at least 360mm rads that would be something I'd seriously consider purchasing! Time will tell I suppose. Thanks for the review!
I was just checking the website and it looks like it'll do a 360 up front and a 240 on the top. It's quick but in the video he discusses maximum widths for them, it's just not very clear that he's giving 360 and 240 dimensions.
@@OnkyoGrady yeah id like to see front mount push pull potential of a 360 and 280mm aio....Hoses reaching on a 360mm front mount while also being "facing down" on the rad 5 to prevent bubbles or potential pump failure is pretty tough to accommodate/reach cpu socket if the hoses are down on a 360mm aio. The 280mm freezer II with push pull and rad thickness fits with a 3070 strix in my MESH II per ex....Id defintely want to replicate my MESH II build...of a 280mm aio push pull bc of the lower rpm/noise of operation while still having 4 fans of performance vs the noise of a 3 fan 360mm at a higher RPM or push pull. WHILE also being able to actively cool my GPU with gpu intake fans. I hope eventually they offer some of these mesh side panels with fan holes drilled/grommets you can attach studs to for fan screws to mount your own custom fan orientation like an array of 120mm side intakes/140mm...or larger 200mm fans or 230mm single fan side intake. Then it would really crush what a lot of airflow chassis bring to the table esp while offering a wood bezel and its 130$ price point. IT could raise the potential of air cooling and even front mount+GPU heat that would inherently affect most builds w.o a side passive cooling.....if not ACTIVE which is more ideal.
@@laggmonstret still 140x3=full tower range sizes and yeah i dont even care for air cooling unless i can get enough volumetric pressure/airflow. Or else i gotta drop 100-200$ on fans...which means i shoulda just got a full tower chassis instead NGL
Great case. Small correction. It's actually incredibly easy to design open mesh. For small circle perforated metal, use 40% to 46% open area. I'm just telling you for the 80 thousandth time, if you start measuring the hole size and wall size of the perforated metal, or just freaking ask the manufacturer, you'll know the performance delta before you even test.
Yes. There is more open space that he thinks. The holes look to be at least 50% of the surface area. He obviously doesn't know much about mechanical engineering nor simple math.
@@christopherwood2290 That's not quite what I was saying. Small circle peforated sheet metal most commonly comes in 27%, 40%, and 46% open area. Case manufacturers aren't going to create their own presses so they will always be in a commercially available size and shape. Cases need at least a combined 40% open area for adequate airflow, rather using square or hexagonal perforations with more open area + a fine mesh dust filter, or by using smaller perforations without a filter. The effect between the two is the same, all that matters for airflow is the open area. If the open area gets measured and is at or above 40%, then it's fine. Obviously higher is better, but it's a balancing act between protection, dust buildup prevention, and airlfow.
I just fell in love with the design and features from the very beginning. I hope to make a full פארס Tower version of it so could stick three 140 mm fans in the front and have more space for all of my other stuff, but I am planning to go to this case, just because it’s beautiful and functional, and suddenly will be my next case.
The 129 USD from 3 months ago are about 170 EUR now. The beauty has its price ... however is one great looking piece of technology, they brought case making to a new level.
Iv been looking at this case since it first came out thinking it would be good for my next build. I was quite surprised to see you using a 8700k for your test, I currently use the same CPU so it was nice to see test results I could put my own experiences against.
Omg it's beautiful! Combined with the quality and functionality we've come to expect from Fractal I can see this being a new /r/battlestations staple. I'm expecting a lot of NORTH cases on top of Alex drawers and Karlby desktops. :D Seriously though, if I was building a new PC soon I'd definitely get this case!
I really like it : wood and leather accents give it a premium vibe I'm tired of the design of the O11 and variants as well as the Hyte y60 : they all look like aquarium / fish tanks However I need a bigger case so I would love an XL version of this !
Beautiful case! I'm planning my build in it and this has helped me. I've been deciding on options like mesh vs glass side and fan arrangement. You diligent work has shown me I need only one rear 120mm fan. Since side fans don't help, I will go with glass. THANK YOU!
Case look wonderful.. they can use same style in future cases.. just to make it wider little bit, they can make wide one to add power supply on the side and to have clearance for gpu's horizontaly and space for vertical.. and that shroud on the bottom will dissapear and that opens up so many possibilities for fans.. or new ideas.. It's always good going little bit wider and you get so much space inside and as i mention wasted space under bottom shroud dissapears.. Most beautiful case i ever saw.. not only because of wooden part, shape of it.. idea of mesh sides and top.. also how they are shaped on the edge.. so elegant and beautiful. Good job Fractal.. and i wish they will give us similar model just to be wider.. that will add some elegant watercooling solutions .. etc.. We miss that elegant pc cases, all of them are so gamery.. it become boring..
I bought this case a couple of days ago and I love it! Looks even better in real life! I bought the white one with the mesh panel. It's a nice clean minimalistic look with a little bit RGB visible through the mesh panel. It's clearly a case for the somewhat older audience, because my little nephew (13 years old) didn't like it. Not enough RGB visible 😂
Seriously ? With the correct RGB accents really looks awesome. Of course no rainbow stuff 😂. Just an easy on the eye brown/orange for the black case is stunning
That's my new case. I was waiting so long for something really tasteful to appear on the market and the oak gives me this feeling exactly. It looks amazing
FYI, just bought one. One thing you should have mentioned that is a drawback for this pretty chassi. There is only one small opening for cables in the top, up in the top left for PSU-CPU. If you have for example an AIO you need to manage all the cables thru the big openings on the side. Feels like the missed that cut out in the drawings.....
I'm a Joiner and have always planned to do a full wooden case, I'm going to salvage some parts from an old coolermaster case I've been using for the last 15 years.
I love the direction that Fractal Design has been going with their upcoming cases and I would totally switch out my current one with this! Only caveat for me are three things: 1. A 'Snow White' edition, where the entire interior, exterior chassis/covers and front plate as white steel/plastic and gray rubber. Kind of like what the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo Snow White Edition does for their color palette. 2. Ability to mount a 360 mm radiator to the top - I don't know if this is necessarily something that I like and isn't required, but using a liquid CPU cooler, I enjoy cases that allow me to mount it on the top, and I own a Corsair H150i Capellix. I understand that the front can host it, but would be extremely nice for air flow to use front with 3 120mm fans as intake, then the radiator at top as exhaust, removing the need to have fans at the rear, and that extra fan bracket attached (which I would want to use the TG and show the inside off). 3. One thing that their Torrent really benefited from was the cable management Velcro option to host power supply and misc cords at back - this one lacks it, and I just really loved the idea of having exquisite cable management both inside and outside the system. Don't necessarily know if it's because in the Torrent, power supply is hosted at top and it's easier, but I can see how it can still be achieved, and maybe isn't a requirement, but would be amazing to have as an option.
Great video! It sounds like you might have been fighting the air flow of the GPU's fans. If you swap the direction on the 40mm and the side intake fan you might see better results. Unfortunately the side fan fights the GPU's airflow either way you have it to some extent because of the size of it, but i still think making it exhaust would be better.
I wonder if you can buy the tinted glass separately. I don't like the clear glass they give with the white models... and as you can see, the darker glass is perfect.
with how little difference the side fan makes, changing the mesh probably doesn't matter. just let the airflow go front to back smoothly without disrupting the flow from any side fans.
I'm currently collecting parts for a 7900X build and although I was thinking about getting the 011D Mini, I actually like the look of the Fractal North way more. I hope this comes out soon!
good overall; testing temperature is a sensitive topic; in my view the optimal requires 2 industrial fans at the back-top and top-rear to suck out all heat around the CPU; thus combined with two powerful industrial fans 140mm on the front to ensure fresh air is always getting in; side panel mesh is a good thing, to potentially improve thermals, but that depends on the desk configuration; having a tower facing a wall in the back is terrible for thermals; had to change my tower to pull in air from the back and push out towards a room door and corridor, just to keep the room less-warm.
The side fan mount would probably work better with 80mm fans as intake blowing air below the GPU fans. Using a 140mm fan just fights with the hot air the gpu blows out the side.
Heads up for 8:53 : Officially (per the specs) the NHD 15 is supposed to be from within 160 to within 165MM, so should just barely fit, but I'm not sure if your measurements include motherboard thickness and clearance from MB standoffs
My Dark Rock 4 cooler is 159mm in height, it fits, but the width is what's causing contact with the side bracket. The NH-D15 is wider than my Rock 4, so it'll definitely hit the bracket... at least that's what i see based on my setup. -D.
If I had to guess with the GPU temps, you are probably right. I think that the pathway GPUs create. They suck in cool air and exhaust it out the back near the I/O ports. This isn't for every GPU, and it is mainly blower style cards that use this, but most GPUs try to follow this pathway to some degree in order to prevent exhausting hot air back into their system or into the CPU region. But with the fan I think it must be removing cold air from the system rather than helping exhaust hot air.
If you build a full loop and have the graphics card on a vertical mount converter the side fan mount might be able to hold a 40mm or thinner 240mm rad, you just need slightly longer screws. A shame they went for a more compact size for this though. If there were eight PCI-E slots, the side fan bracket can be set lower away from large CPU air coolers, and you can vertical mount some graphics cards wider than the PCI-E bracket and still be able to use huge CPU air coolers. If it was also taller between the mobo and the roof of the case plus a little bit wider, it's not just about mounting a 280mm rad on the top, you can get two side brackets to go on the top and bottom position, mount 240mm rads on them (plus a 360mm out front), and then have 140mm exhaust fans on top, with all rad fans functioning as you never use preheated air that's already been through one rad to go through another rad. But hey if they do a North XL...
@Rizky Hadi Felani they had a little rough patch when everyone started doing psu covers, temper side panels and integrated rgb. Took then a while to catch up and imo take over the market
The Torrent is, objectively, the slightly better case. But I still went with the North because of how it looks. The wood front bars brilliantly melt into my office, with my wood shelving system and wood desk with almost exactly the same color and nuance as the wood bars on the white North. I am beyond happy with it, even though I know that the Torrent would have improved my temperatures by a few degrees.
For over a year now, I was keen on my next PC being an itx case, because those tend to have a nicer look compared to the normal midtower design (not fond of the gamer aesthetic anymore) and dont take up as much space, but this is an art piece! I may have to reconsider...
The fan header is an odd choice to me, most motherboard fan headers support around 1 amp of total draw before either tripping the PSU or risking damage if the mobo is very cheap, and most fans ( when failing at least ) will draw close to 0.3 amps from the header, but only half that when they are in good working condition. Which means that for the unlikely scenario that all the fans plugged in the same header fail all at once, for absolute safety, you can only have a maximum of 3 fans in the same header, which is also why most fan splitters or controllers that include 3 inputs or more have to be powered separately.
I just got this case in the black mesh variant, and it looks great. For those that won't be using the 3.5" hdd drives next to the psu, I just wish there was an option to put an extra 2 fans underneath.
man fractal design is the best. I'm glad I used their products since the node202, they really are innovating. With the new ridge and this, I really am trying really hard to stop myself from building a new pc.
My rtx 3070 msi ventus 2x ran at nearly 80c under load with 2 140mm front intakes and a 120mm rear exhaust. I added 2 140mm side intakes and the gpu temps dropped down to 70-72C under load. Using a Dark Rock 4 Pro for my CPU which stayed the same.
nice review, definitely deserves a 9.5/10. it's better than lots of case reviews out there with 2/3 of the entire video just building the pc, I prefer more focuses on the case itself, though the build specs might be a little bit outdated, it would've been better if you guys also provides a more modern variation of the build (like 12 gen i7 with 3070ti) along with the one shown in the video (since there's still a large portion of userbase with these kind of specs). Keep up the great work :)
Fractal just get it. Whatever it means. Their cases are a perfect blend of engineering, and elegant design. I still use their first gen Meshify C. But now I'm torn between this and Torrent when I decide to upgrade my system a bit. So many good cases from Fractal lately, just spoiled for choice.
I think you should have tried to use the side fan as an exhaust fan (mounted as far as possible towards the back). It should help to get the hot air from the GPU out as quickly as possible. It's an awesome looking case but I'd never buy it due to the lack of bottom air flow. I wish they would offer the Torrent with a mesh side panel. Even better, the power supply shouldn't be at the top (where it is in the way of a top exhaust fan, helping the CPU cooler), but to the side (dual-chamber style). That extra width (vertical power supply with its fan to the side) would also make cable management a breeze.
That side fan bracket is brilliant in concept. But with the GFX card blowing out air to the sides, this is actually counterproductive when the fans are blowing inwards.
Im already thinking about getting the mesh and drilling some holes on the mesh/side panel to be able to mount multiple 140mm fans...or a 230mm fan if theres enough gpu clearance. Gonna need something with actual 8 pin connectors most likely to pull this off...still its been so long since weve been able to actively cool a system like this. Methinks....if i can manage to fit a 280mm aio push pull front mount, i can plop some major side intake and just go top/rear exaust. Nice touch with the fan hub, i used to use STRIX GPU fan headers on older builds to tie in gpu intake chassis fans to the GPU fan curve by linking them in asus software. Just generally nice to see manufacturers more aware of these sort of "niche" needs...you could even do a 240-280mm aio push pull then connect the hub into the CPU fan header...easy solution. Then the aio pump to the pump header...unless its a single plug solution like an arctic...which has its own PWM multi connect fans as well. These days you have a lot of potential with fan headers/placement and fan curves/management in bios. Still nice to see ppl providing fan controllers for ppl that may potentially not be using these nicer/newer boards. Even the irony of the 80mm fan....in the "just case" you wind up with a "2 slot" gpu that happens to also suck 250w+ of power and necessary thermal performance. In most cases "these days" gpus with that requirement come beyond 2 slots....as far as the shroud/cooler etc. Where as....the "lesser" gpu that also come that large....are quite cool in opeartion...or in the scaneario where most 3080 AIB were used on a "lesser" gpu like a 3070 or even 3060ti....you would largely not NEED the 80mm fan....its CLEARLY for ppl on a custom loop/blocked GPU. Which is still nice to see. Or someone "smart" enough to buy a Chopped/pcb high power gpu...or OE style refrence design gpu used/FE card potentially. Even then utilizng the duel 120mm fan side bracket will be a better option. Id avert use of that 80mm fan bc of noice potentiality. Otherwise i can see the validity behind its potential LARGELY for water cooling gpu or gpu that are watercooled that generally lack VRAM/VRM cooling potential where an 80mm fan will largely be an aspect of use in this chassis any more then when they are incorporated in small /custom loop itx builds to help cool ram/vrm or gpu vrm/ram. Going from a 2080ti strix oc at 2000ghz to a 3070 FE is a night and day shift from an efficiency performance per/joule standpoint....its almost like using a 80mm fan to cool a 2080ti or 5700xt reference gpu....vs getting a 3070 FE....or 6650XT. Youre just better off hunting down the cooler performing gpu than saving 100-200$ on a used option that will also be hottter/draw more potential power. TO equate the same theoretical FPS yields. Given the cost of the 2080ti it was MUCH more ideal to sell it for a nominal SUM....and get he "cheaper" cooler" performing 3070. Which was also 2 slots...shorter, and also easier to incorporate into an ITX build. But if someone wants to toss a block on a 4090 or a 4080....or a 7900XTX and use an 80mm or 92mm noctua fan im all for it and looking forward to the builds/maxed out builds ppl will wedge into this chassis. Possibly a CHOPPED pcb 4080 if they offer a custom H20 BLOCK for it...with a more condensed board design/orientation for vram/vrm...so it can be adequately air cooled potentially use one of those NZXT AIO to cool a BIG BOI GPU with that side bracket...if possible to rig something like this into existence...really looking forward to this generation of GPUS hitting 3ghz with both brands....and the future 6ghz chips that these "bottlenecked" gpus are experiencing. This chassis is a perfect "SHIFT" in the RGB/aesthetic era towards performance/luxury being an affordable standard.
I think the black one looks best, but If I had a choice I "wood" have totally went a differn't direction. I know everyone says they could do better. But, in this "CASE" I really could. I've worked in and both owned my custom cabient shop. I assume for a mass produced item it's not like you could really go overboard. But I've always wanted to make wooden case covers you could just slip over whatever case you had. I know it wouldn't be easy but I would love to try. Keeping the air flow, with easy access to your usb, audio, usb c plug in. With a custom stain and poly finish. Choices between, gloss, semi gloss, and flat.
