Fractal Design North XL Review: The Prettiest PC Case Gets Upsized
Table Of Content
Our testing hardware uses Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform, specifically a Core i KF, cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. When you make a Focus the cornerstone of your build, you showcase the hardware aesthetics at the heart of your system with elegant accents and sophisticated style. 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. Our testing hardware to uses Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform, specifically a Core i KF, which is cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. 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. Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.
Cable management
I then compared these with pictures of components from the Internet, and I was able to confirm and modify the 3D models to my needs and start the puzzle to fit all the hardware inside the build. While the Fractal Design North XLsports a familiar look, I’m glad that the company brought a larger version to the market. Despite the thumbscrews and still-not-quiet acoustics, the unique look and attention to detail outweigh those fairly minor issues, especially with its sub-$200 MSRP.
Tom's Hardware Verdict
Front I/O includes two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port is nestled between the power and reset buttons. The Fractal Design Define 7 bears a remarkable resemblance to the Define R6, R5 and Define S. The cases look so much alike that one could be forgiven for confusing them at first glance. The company seems to be going with the "if it isn't broke don't fix it" line of thinking in terms of aesthetics and style. 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.
Specifications of the Fractal Design North XL
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). Fractal Design didn’t re-invent the mid-century modern wheel with its North XL.
We hypothesized that the tempered glass side panel would likely be quieter than the mesh variant. Fast-forward to today, the tempered glass variant of the XL model is, in-fact, quieter. No, but if fan noise particularly bothers you, you may want to consider the glass panel even if you don’t care much about looking at the internals of your case.
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Just below the surface of the top panel, you will find a large plastic mesh fan filter, and below that are mounting locations for three 120mm or two 140mm fans. 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. And it can be mounted in three different locations (bottom, middle, or top) to best suit the needs of your build. Behind the wood are two pre-installed Fractal Design Aspect 140mm fans, which can be replaced with fans or radiators up to 360mm.
Fans
If you want to go compact, Fractal Design has the Meshify 2 Compact, and for ITX builds, the Define Nano S. 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. An uncluttered, small form factor case designed to integrate seamlessly into your living space and daily rituals. An evolution of the slimline format, Ridge was developed in collaboration with gaming and entertainment enthusiasts to subtly improve their homes and enhance the small form factor PC experience.
Not only is it the best Fractal PC case for mITX builds, but one of the best from any brand on the market today. Anybody building an mITX build will know they’re not going to get quite the same performance as a larger build. Simply put, the Define Mini C is the best Fractal case available today for MATX builds bar none and perfect for most compact enthusiast builds. Starting with the build is the high-quality finish and largely steel exterior you expect from its more expensive counterparts. And the Meshify C does just that, with some impressive quality for its price (if you are looking for something extra cheap, see our “cheapest PC case” pick further below).
Specifications and Features
If you consider yourself to be an expert PC builder, you can submit your own custom PC build to us today for a chance of being featured on PCGamesN in the future. Most of the changes were made to save some well-needed space during the build. I bought the CPU, motherboard, RAM and GPU second-hand to save money, but they all still work great now. I was quite happy with the specs I had at the time – a Core i5-6600K, an ATX Z170 motherboard, 16GB of 2400MHz memory, a 500GB SATA SSD and a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti card. Still, some of these specs needed to change because of what I wanted to achieve with the build. You could say this is on the warm side but I like my systems to be really quiet.
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This frame needed to be placed into the case via the top, requiring me to only remove one panel in the case, minimizing the number of rivets I needed to drill out. Once the new internal frame was sorted, I went on to design the custom distro system for the build. The final step was the cable management plate that goes on top of the distro system. The front side of the loop directly hooks into a custom-designed distro plate that sits behind the motherboard tray and serves as the base for all the cable management. Once the liquid enters the distro plate, it’s routed through both radiators and goes into the built-in reservoir until it enters the pump again and goes around.
We’ll have to test it to find out, but first, let’s take a look at its specs. Behind the motherboard tray, you’ll find the usual cable tie points, a dual 2.5-inch drive bracket and two 3.5 or 2.5-inch drive trays. Ultimately, the Fractal Design North can support four 2.5 and two 3.5-inch drives simultaneously, which is very respectable in 2022. A PWM fan hub is also included, mounted behind the motherboard tray by default. It can be moved to a position above the rear fan mount, but we expect most will find its default location more convenient–and better for aesthetics as well, should you opt for the glass side panel. A complaint we had about the original Fractal Design North when we tested it was its high noise levels.
Ranking amongst the best PC cases of all time (not just from Fractal), the Define R5 hits the perfect sweet spot in offering what a majority of gaming/production builds will be looking for at its mid-range price. One of the few gripes I had with the original North was the thumb screws needed to remove the side panels, and that carries over to this larger model. I suppose it’s more secure than the pop-off pegs that have become increasingly common.
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