Final Thoughts
The Fractal Design North is a rather interesting case. I think if anyone was going to make a case like this, it was going to be Fractal Design. We’ve already seen them release the small form factor Ridge case, which has a very contemporary design and now we have North. North is not about RGB lighting, or flashy interiors, it has a sophisticated style, which is inspired by Scandinavian interior design. With that you are actually going to get real wood panels on the front and even a faux leather tab on the top panel which helps you remove it.
There are not many cases out there with this type of design, and if there are it is likely they are not going to have the same type of quality you are going to get from Fractal Design. You aren’t going to find many plastic elements on this case besides the front bezel really, you have an all steel interior and all of the hard drive cages / trays are metal. There are thumbscrews everywhere, velcro cable organizers, and plenty of tie-down points. Building in this case couldn’t be easier either too, even if you are a beginner.
When I see this case, sleeper build immediately comes to mind. I could see this case sitting in a design studio with an RTX 4090 build inside. If you opt for the mesh versions you really don’t even know what is inside the build.
Being a mid tower you have room inside for all of the latest hardware, motherboards up to ATX, graphics cards up to 355 mm, CPU coolers as tall as 170 mm, long power supplies, and up to six hard drives out of the box. For those wondering about watercooling you can fit a 360 mm radiator in the front of the case and 240 mm in the top. The case does come with two included 140 mm fans, which are mounted in the front of the case and there is an included fan hub as well. I would have liked to have seen a rear fan included though.
At the end of the day the North is a case with a pretty unique design and does not really try to do more than what it is designed for. It is easy to build in and with a price of $129.99 it will not break the bank. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Fractal Design North a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Sophisticated design
– Makes use of real wood on the front panel
– Solid construction
– Two included fans and fan controller
– Easy installation
– Support for six hard drives out of the box
Cons:
– No rear exhaust fan
– Some may not like the style
