Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsYour PC will look like a futuristic obelisk, pulsating with power that it's too confident to show.
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019
It can't really be put to words just how fantastic this case is. The build quality, the modular setup, the sharp edges and beautiful use of both subtle LED and multi-texture accenting.
Pros:
- Top notch build quality. It might seem expensive but the moment you open the case, everything has a remarkably high quality feel to it. None of the metal feels flimsy, everything just feels like it could hold your weight if pushed or pulled. There's no real function to the parts being that sturdy but it definitely justifies the price. This thing just 'feels' expensive.
- Perfect texture diversity. The case has beautiful matte black steel plating on the one side which is offset by a gorgeous tempered glass across the opposing side with an optional tempered glass top (included along with the alternative steel vented top). Between these two textures is a perfectly subtle band of customizable RGB LED's.
- Dust filtering. This shouldn't surprise anyone given the price point of this case but rest assured, it comes with dust filtering in both the front panel, bottom, and optional steel filtered replacement for the tempered glass top.
- Surprisingly quiet. My primary reason for purchasing this case was it's stunning look and brand known for their high quality cases. What I wasn't expecting was to find that the steel panel comes with sound-proofing to help address any unnecessary sound from escaping. Take this with a grain of salt because my parts were already whisper quite as is, but with this case, it's taken to an entirely new level. You can't hear the PC until you put your ear up to it. Seriously.
- Width for easy wire management. Again, a modern expectation but being my first modern case, I was very pleased to see I finally had enough room to hide and route my cables out of view.
- Compatible with Aura Sync, albeit fickle to setup. (More on that later.)
Cons:
- If this is your first new case in a long time, be prepared for relearning a lot of what you already thought you knew. Nothing here is incredibly difficult. If anything, it's as easy as it could possibly be. Just know that this case can tear down far more than you probably realize and you should absolutely take advantage of that to make installing your components that much easier.
- Size. The simplistic design of the case lead to a disconnect between how large the case looks vs how large it actually is. This could pose an issue when trying to route cables, especially Power Supply cables that might not always be long enough to be routed to their location. In my case, there's almost no give to the CPU power cable as it literally just barely reaches the hole and had almost no room to bend and plug into the board.
- Fingerprint magnet. This one's a given but you'll have finger prints on the tempered glass just by looking at it. It's incredible just how easily this thing shows any sort of finger prints. It comes with a nice cloth to help clean them but if you want this case to look it's best, you're probably going to be keeping a bottle of Windex near by or never touch it ever again.
- Aura Sync software was incredibly stubborn to install. If you've had issues with Aura Sync in the past, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Fortunately I was able to get it working and the way the case matches the on-board LED and allowed me to cull the color range precisely where I wanted it, made it all worth it. This thing can be as subtle or as flashy as you want it to be. You can even easily turn the LED's off if doing some nice dark room gaming.
The take away. Look, aesthetics are subjective. I've heard a lot of comments about how this case doesn't match what Fractal Design is known for. Almost to the point of making it seem like a bastard child to some overly dressed fly zapper beacon. But what's important to know here is that this case is a beautiful compromise between not wanting LED's and wanting just a little hint of that RGB love. It's clever in it's execution and as is expected from such a high profile name, carries with it a badge of unrivaled build quality.