Fractal DesignNorth XL Charcoal Black

I don't write many reviews, but I had to come on here to express just how amazing this case is. Not having to deal with tempered glass is a HUGE plus for me, it's a trend I have very much disliked as I tend to transport my desktop PC around. Aside from that major, major factor for me--this case is just so simple to work with. I was upgrading my GPU and realized that I needed to increase the wattage on my PSU along with it--in the past, undoing power cables and swapping out a PSU would have been a nightmare--NOT with this case. There's plenty of room to be able to perform this task without disassembling anything else. My radiator + fans take up a decent amount of space on the top of the case, but that didn't even block the CPU power connectors from coming out with minimal effort. There's also plenty of room on each side of the case so that cable management in general is an extremely easy task. The cherry on top of all of this is that the case itself looks and feels premium--and I love the design. The wood trim on the front and the gold buttons/connectors give it a very high-end look and it fits my aesthetic perfectly. Cannot recommend this case enough!

This is my favorite case of the past two decades. I migrated my desktop from a Define 7 XL to this and love it.Pros: (1) It can easily fit a Noctua D15; (2) There is plenty of space in PSU enclosure/shroud once you take out the 2 drive trays; (3) the near fully mesh with a side fan bracket means really great access to room temp ambient air, leading to lower fan speeds/noise; and (4) shorter case height relative to define 7 XL means adequate venting on top.Semi-Cons: (5) the large screws are hand sized, but they're much more usable on the threading with a screw driver; (6) While there isn't quite as much space behind the mobo for cable management, it's still enough; (7) While I would prefer only mesh on the front without the wood slats, it's fine; (8) you cannot use the fan bracket in the top slot with a tall cooler like the D15, but it does fit in the bottom pushing air to the side of a GPU. Or, you could just put your GPU on a riser and cut out the middle man. (See diagram) Note: This case would probably be awesome with both a C14 and riser GPU doing intake from the side panel.Potential Cons that are setup-dependent: (9) If you need to use both 3.5" HDD trays, you cannot use a long PSU (see diagram). In fact, even with a short PSU, I'm not sure how fun it would be to manage cables with that near HDD tray; (10) Do not come expecting actual intake from the bottom, the only bottom intake is for the PSU (see diagram). You can install fans on the mesh PSU enclosure/shroud (easiest would be with rubber grommets), which could pull from whatever air the bottom front intake is feeding down there. (A riser would be more beneficial than that.)Future: If Fractal made a v2 (a) with bottom mesh and (b) a little wider so could run double fan bracket, I would probably mount those extra fans. Hopefully they offer a no-wood slats all mesh model, too. Otherwise, I think this case will continue on in my next build. Glad I didn't mess up getting the too-small non-XL North mesh.

I love this case!! I recently built a new pc as mine was very… very out of date. I chose this case because not only did it look great and unique, but it has impressive airflow with the mesh side panel, top panel, and the front behind the wooden slats. It comes with 2 case fans (yay). I am so glad I chose this case because it is so beautiful. It also feels sturdy, and was shipped really safely.

compact and fits the design of the house perfectly. I have done the interior of the house with lots of white base with light wooden highlights. And this case fits the house perfectly. I leave my desktop in the living room, so the design of the desktop needed to fit the house. Also, the ventilation of the housing seems to be working as explained. There are a few extra housing units for more fans as well. Without any extra installations, Everything still seems to be running in its optimal temperature.

i was impressed. But i have only had it a week. So far , so good.

I am very happy with my Fractal North case. It looks great, has excellent ventilation, and a lot of provisions for fans. The case is on the small side for ATX boards, which was a positive for me, but if you want more build room I recommend the Fractal North XL instead. I bought the mesh side panel as opposed to the tempered glass version. The mesh panel version comes with provisions for side mount fans which really helps with GPU cooling. That being said, the side fan bracket barely cleared my CPU cooler so the usefulness of the side fans will depend on the size of your GPU and CPU cooler. It is a tight case.Cable management is generally good but the drive bays are basically useless. The power cables occupy the same space as one of the drives. That is not a problem for me since I only have a board mounted nvme but if you use a HDD for extra storage it could be an issue.It comes with two front mounted 140mm fans. These fans are okay, but they're nothing special. They are reasonably quiet and descent build quality but they are by no means high end / premium. If you want additional fans I would recommend a good third party brand as opposed to more of what the case comes with. I learned this the hard way.The case can fit two 140mm fans in the top of the case, however, one of the fans will interfere with your mobo's 8-pin power connector. You can fit both fans but you have to put a fair amount of stress on your power cables to do it.

Great case, I enjoy the construction and the sleek design. Noticed a good improvement on airflow over my previous case. The included fans are a nice perk

There are a few really great design features that you notice while building the case such as the location of cutouts for cables that just make the build process s little less annoying. Love to see it. I do wish it supported 140mm on the back though.