Fractal Design North Builds

Simply put, the Fractal Design North Mid-Tower Case (Charcoal Black, Dark Tinted Window) is just a beautiful case!

We use a variety of chassis/cases for custom computer builds. Fractal Design is among the best without spending a fortune for needless frugality. If you are neat freaks like us, you're going to love the intelligent layout. Our customers love the design and finish.

Purchased to replace 3090fe when changing out my kid's case to Fractal North. Perfect fit, performance, and running cool with 13900k, 360 AIO and 2 x 1440 monitors. Card uses 1 8-pin and 200w. Excellent for 1440 gaming.

I selected a Fractal case a few years back for a home build and like it enough that I now frequently use Fractal in builds for my lab. They tend to be reasonably quiet, very well thought out, and a pleasure to work in. Build quality is very good, and the define 7 line is one of the best cases I've ever used. This is a very flexible case, and you can modify it for many different types of builds although for major changes you will spend a fair amoutn of time taking it apart and putting it back togehter. The manuals aren't particularly helpful for this, but Fractal has a pretty good line of videos that make obvious what the manual does not. I've only had one warranty issue and Fractal took care of it right away.

This is the 3 Fractal Design case I have ever worked with and the only the 2nd one I have owned. Just like the pervious ones, the design is awesome. Easy to build in.

The Define 7 is the 4th Fractal Design case I've built a computer in(Define S, R6, Mesify C) and it is plain to see Fractal has iterated on and improved their designs in each successive case. The modularity and adaptability of this case very impressive due to the included accessories. The only two complaints I have are 1) I wish the included fans were PWM and 2) I wish the removable top radiator mount was tool-less like the side panels instead of held in by two screws. Beyond that, it's easily the best case I've ever built in.

I am thoroughly impressed with the fractal pop silent case. A lot of thought went into the design of this thing. Minimalist on the outside and many different options for hard drive mounting in various places and in various ways. Cable management is also great. I can also say that mine is extremely quiet although I did immediately replace the fans with Noctua fans, so I can’t say anything about the stock fans that came with the case because I didn’t try them. It also comes with a couple slots for optical drives which isn’t very common anymore but was something I needed. The only thing I ran into was something that I already knew from reading another review and that is that the case has a spot for a USB-C jack on the top, but does not come with the connecting cable. You have to order it separately for about $15 which is well worth it and it’s easy to install.

The case comes with an excess of cooling. The stock Fractal Design fans are amazing. The case fans are also pretty quiet. I typically used Fractal Design cases in the past for there super noise dampening to keep the PC quiet during operation but the Torrent has surpassed my expectations for quiet operation. At around $185 with all the included fans this case is a steal. I was building out a Lian Li O11 which would have cost significantly more to build out with a similar cooling solution. Cable management is probably the most effective system I've utilized in a case and is necessary. I added a 3.5" hard drive and a 2.5" hard drive which was manageable without any bulging from the cable management side panel, but if you plan on having more than two 3.5" drives then this case is not for you. The PSU is in the top of the case which is unique but definitely works well and provides a great place to hide excess cables. The included fan hub also works great for simplifying the connection of the 5 built in fans to a single motherboard fan header.

I'm definitely not the first to say it, but the Fractal Design Define R5 makes for a quiet and roomy NAS case. In 2024, most PC cases either feature glass sides or are ITX-sized. Thankfully, the Define R5 has neither of those, instead sporting sound-dampening foam to quiet otherwise noisy HDDs and fans. The directions can be confusing at times, and the sides are a little challenging to reattach, but otherwise, this is a good case.

Since the Cooler Master fans were too thick for my Fractal Design case, I tried the Be Quiet Pure Wings 2. They did fit, and I can barely hear them. Decent airflow, and the price point was good. Also the PWM cable is long enough so you don't need extensions.