Picket accents are removed from new to the PC trade, but they’re so hardly ever used that their look virtually appears novel. The picket slats of Fractal Design’s new North collection ($129 for the wood-faced mannequin we examined) set it aside from competing merchandise, including an air of opulence to an in any other case mundane product class. Earlier trend-setters have included brushed-aluminum finishes and tempered-glass facet panels, so will different corporations copy the design theme? We hope so, however for now, the North is a stable tower in a category practically of its personal. If most of what you may see of your PC is the entrance face, it is onerous to discover a extra distinct, elegant panel to show to the world.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The Design: Wooden I Ever!
Talking of themes, the North is accessible in white with silver and oak trim along with the black with gold and walnut trim proven. The gold (or silver) trim applies to bands across the toes along with the ability button, headphone and microphone jacks, Sort A (Gen 1) and Sort-C (Gen 2) USB 3.x ports. Each colour themes can be found with the client’s alternative of mesh or tempered-glass panels on the left facet.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Mud filtration is accessible just for the entrance and backside panels, the latter being a slide-out filter that covers the ability provide air inlet. Which may be sufficient filtration for many builds, as the twin 140mm consumption followers that cover behind the entrance panel will are inclined to push air out of the case’s different holes.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Zooming away from the ability provide filter reveals a rear panel with detachable energy provide bracket, a seven-card growth card gap that’s made with out separators in order that it might probably alternatively assist a vertical card bracket, a 120mm fan mount with slotted holes that permit vertical spacing adjustment, and a cloth pull tab that helps builders take away the highest panel cowl. Additionally discover the six unused mounting holes on the far edge, which we’ll focus on in just a few paragraphs.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The front-panel mud filter is detachable from the again of the face panel, which itself will be faraway from the remainder of the case by pulling outward on its backside edge.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Whereas the facet panel on the suitable is an strange painted sheet, left panels can be found in each tempered-glass and mesh-faced varieties. The mesh half is strengthened as proven.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Right here’s what the highest panel’s cowl appears to be like like eliminated. It has no filter, however many individuals who use its fan mounts might configure these followers as exhausts.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Below the quilt is a mount giant sufficient to suit the builder’s alternative of two 120mm or two 140mm followers. Extra slots that appear like they might maintain followers don’t look like spaced for any acquainted fan sizes.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Behind the painted-steel proper facet panel are a dual-2.5-inch-drive tray, a passive four-fan PWM energy hub, a recessed cable loop, and a power-supply tunnel with two 3.5-inch drive trays. A field for the included {hardware} equipment is included in one of many 3.5-inch bays, and all the additional mounting holes seen within the blown-up portion permit one of many trays to be slid ahead in 1.5-inch increments. Energy-supply size could also be restricted to as little as 165mm or prolonged as much as 280mm relying on the variety of trays put in and their placement.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Additional holes on the underside of the three.5-inch drive trays make these suitable with 2.5-inch drives, as nicely.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The facility-supply tunnel is notched in entrance to assist radiators as much as 1.5 inches thick, which explains why the entrance drive tray will be moved backward 1.5 inches (after eradicating the rear drive tray): The obtainable house is required by those that’d wish to front-mount a so-called 360mm radiator.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Constructing With the Fractal Design North
Included in one of many 3.5-inch drive trays is a {hardware} equipment with eight #6-32 shoulder screws and rubber grommets for damped mounting of three.5-inch drives, a pack of eight #6-32 panhead screws for motherboard set up (one standoff has a key pin fairly than a screw gap), 16 M3 screws for securing 2.5-inch drives, 4 #6-32 hex/Phillips combo head screws for securing the ability provide, a spare standoff, and 4 ratcheting cable ties. The guide is packed individually on the surface of the case.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Entrance-panel cables embrace an influence change lead, energy LED, HD Audio (for the headphone and microphone jacks), a Gen 1 cable for the 2 Sort-A ports and a Gen 2 cable for the only Sort-C USB 3.x port. Proven to the left of these are leads for the passive fan hub and two entrance followers, the place these connected to followers have passthrough connectors to suit two extra followers. Because the fan hub has no energy supply aside from the motherboard’s fan header, builders ought to think about the output ranking of their fan header earlier than connecting the whole lot by way of the hub.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Do you keep in mind after we talked about the six unused holes on the again panel? These are designed to carry an adjunct fan mount in one among three positions (higher/heart/decrease) behind the mesh facet panel. The basket portion is barely deep sufficient to carry regular (round 25mm thick) 140mm and 120mm followers, however artful builders who can discover the additional element clearance might select to mount a radiator on the again facet.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Elements equipped particularly for these case critiques embrace Corsair’s iCue H100i RGB Professional XT all-in-one CPU cooler and FSP’s Dagger Professional 850W energy provide. The cooler’s twin 120mm followers make it best for top-panel placement normally, which permits it to offer airflow round our motherboard’s CPU voltage regulator, whereas the Dagger Professional’s mixture of SFX housing, a PS2 adapter plate, and mid-length energy cables permit it to suit each compact and full-size circumstances.
The North guide we acquired makes no point out of top-mounting liquid cooling radiators, however with 1.25 inches of house above the board and virtually 1.5 inches of horizontal offset away from the board for 120mm fan mounts, we couldn’t go up the chance to make use of our cooler to vent the board. Had there not been sufficient house right here, our different would have possible been to mount the identical cooler, in the identical exhaust orientation, on the best mounting places of the non-obligatory facet fan bracket.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
One different factor I seen is that Asus’ full-ATX (9.6-inch-deep) motherboard matches a full 1.25 inches behind the inward-angled cable passage holes. Which means these oversize (10.6-through-10.8-inch) enthusiast-class motherboards of the previous will match, though this case doesn’t carry the Prolonged ATX (EATX) label.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
The North has no lighting options past the power-on indicator that glows purple subsequent to USB ports on the highest panel, however any lighted inside elements are simply seen by way of its mesh facet panel or by way of the entrance filter sheet as considered between the picket grille items. A tempered-glass model is accessible to builders who’d like to offer others a clearer view of their inside elements.
(Credit score: Thomas Soderstrom)
Testing the Fractal Design North: Fairly Good Wooden
As a result of a few of our units spherical to the closest entire quantity earlier than that knowledge is charted, it’s attainable for 2 an identical outcomes to be proven as one diploma aside as a result of rounding points. The Fractal Design North seems to have the good CPU temperatures, however a slight chill within the air reminded us that it’d truly be tied for first.
Variations of about 3 levels are much less ambiguous: The Fractal Design North cools our motherboard’s voltage regulator higher than any case on this comparability set.
Keep in mind what we stated a few slight chill within the air? The North seems to be the second-worst at feeding cool air to our graphics card, but when not for attainable rounding errors might have resulted in an precise tie for worst.
Dealing with the query of how a case may have each the most effective voltage regulator and second-worst GPU temperatures in its class, we regarded on the North’s manufacturing unit front-fan placement simply above the power-supply tunnel and decided that it ought to be excellent for GPU cooling. We don’t like unanswered questions, however with one check level exhibiting clearly superior efficiency and one other exhibiting merely acceptable efficiency, want we torture ourselves additional?
Although it’s additionally obtainable with a tempered-glass panel just like its rivals, the model of the North we’re testing has a mesh left facet that leaks noise simply as simply as air. When heard from the opposite facet, the case sounds equally noisy to its rivals.
The mesh model is a bit noisy from one facet, and we didn’t have the chance to check the tempered-glass model, however we’d name the North a stable performer when evaluating the low CPU and chipset temperatures to the conventional stage of noise emitted from the alternative facet.
The Verdict: We Say, “Timmmm…ber!”
Low cost the entrance face, and the North is a reasonably typical trendy PC case whether or not in its mesh or glass side-panel variants. The opposite accents are good, but it surely’s the wood-slat portion that actually units this case aside. Efficiency is mostly on par for what it’s, excluding the GPU thermal testing we did. However which may be reducing it too high quality for a case like this; the aesthetics are the true promoting level.
The mix of connectors and inside options locations the North solidly into the $120 value class, leaving patrons to resolve whether or not the walnut or oak wooden trim is value the additional $10 of its $129 MSRP. It undoubtedly will get our vote. To noticed off one final pun, why woodn’t you go for it, too?
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