Final Thoughts
Fractal Design has done something with the Meshify S2 that is surprisingly needed in the modern case market; they’ve made a case that is quite functional. Tempered glass has such a dominant grip on the market that it has driven many chassis engineers to throw away everything we had learned about cooling a pc in favor of what is a purely aesthetic pursuit. It is so overwhelmingly the standard, that it’s a challenge to even find a case designed with high airflow in mind. This is somewhat surprising as generally neither CPUs, nor GPUs have really made strides in producing any less heat than they ever have.
With this in mind the Meshify S2 steps in with a design reminiscent of those of yesteryear. Both the front and the top of the case have large mesh panels with the bottom being well vented as well allowing this strongly angular shaped design to practically gulp air. You might be thinking that this is a throwback but it’s not. It has strong modern lines complimented by pressed geometric angles on the mesh of the front panel. From there we are impressed to find that both the full tinted tempered glass panel and the back panel secure with tool-less push tabs.
While the construction is full steel, it does have a quality feel to it. Both the fit and the finish of the case are extremely high quality, with the semi-matte textured paint done really well. With all that airflow, Fractal has been sure to add in tons of mounting for all the fans or radiators you might need. You won’t find that many cases out there in the mid tower range that offer support for 1060mm of radiators all at the same time. With that much available surface area there is no limit to the number of components you can cool. And if air cooling is more your thing you should be pretty happy running 9 140mm fans. The included PWM hub will happily handle all those fans as well.
Fractal has the Meshify S2 priced at $149.99 from our favorite online retailer. This price does push it right up into the range of some very polished cases but we feel it does a fine job delivering on all the modern features while providing a bit more in the space and cooling department.
While the Meshify S2 does a lot of things really well, there are a couple of smaller things it could work on. The first would be the accessibility of the lower compartment. Unfortunately the slot to access this space is fairly narrow and once a full size PSU is installed it cuts down on the access considerably. We would gladly give up one of the 3.5″ drive bays to have a full length back slot. The other two issues are much more minor and an easy fix for Fractal Design. First, simply include a handful more zip-ties. These are cheap and they are so valuable to a clean cable routing job. The other issue is the pre-installed thumbscrews. They are tightened down with just a bit too much force rendering them useless as thumbscrews as you will need a screwdriver to remove them the first time.
Overall ThinkComputers.org would like to award the Fractal Design Meshify S2 with a 9 out of 10 score!
Pros:
– Copious amounts of cooling support
– Clean minimalist design
– Excellent fit and finish
– Actually provides airflow
– Well placed Cost
Cons:
– Difficult to access lower compartment
– Short on Zip ties
– Over tightened thumbscrews