Fractal Design North Overview
Taking a first look at the North as you can see we received the white version of the case. The case will also come in black, but the black version has walnut paneling on the front, while the white version has oak. For those wondering about size the case has official dimensions of 447 x 215 x 469 mm and I would say it is about the average size of a mid-tower.
Starting at the front of the case we have what really sets it apart from others, the wood paneling. Yes, this is actual real wood as I mentioned on the white version of the case you are going to get oak. The wood paneling is spread out enough to allow for proper airflow into the case.
This front panel of the case can easily be removed and built into it we do have a removable filter. Mounted on the front of the case are two of Fractal Design’s Aspect 140 PWM fans. The front of the case will support three 120 mm or two 140 mm fans as well as radiators up to 360 mm.
Moving up to the top of the case towards the front we have our buttons and connections which include a large power button, headphone and microphone jacks, two USB 3.0 ports, and a USB 3.1 gen 2 type-C port.
The rest of the top of the case is ventilated. You can actually remove this section of the case by pulling on the faux leather tab at the back of the case. With the top panel removed we can see mounting for two 120/140 mm fans or radiators up to 240 mm.
The main side panel of the case is also mesh, which is made to match the top part of the case so the mesh extends about 80% of the panel. For those who are not into the mesh Fractal Design will offer tempered glass version of the case, which have the same 80/20 split like you see on the mesh version. The opposite side panel of the case is just your normal steel panel.
Moving on to the back of the case we have a pretty standard design with a fan mount, lots of ventilation, our motherboard mount, and then a power supply mount at the bottom. The fan mount will only support a 120 mm fan or radiator. There is a small filter that pulls out from the bottom of the case for the power supply.
