Fractal Design North ATX mATX Mid Tower PC Case - Charcoal Black Chassis with Walnut Front and Mesh Side Panel

Pros: Looks great
Compact size
Plenty of cooling

Cons: Backside too shallow making cable management harder than it should be.
Strange metal bend that makes it so you can't put radiator in front with a pull configuration.
My power led doesn't work :(

Overall Review: The moment I saw this case I knew I needed to switch to it from my older micro atx nzxt case. This case really isn't much bigger.
I love the wood front and the brass accents are a really nice touch.
Very easy case to build in and out has a great build quality like all other fractal design cases.

Pros: - Looks great
- Solid build quality
- Decent airflow

Cons: - There is only one place to route the CPU power cables, forcing a 180 degree bend and blocking the use of a 140mm top-mounted fan at the back.
- The front fan bracket is too small to allow a 140mm + 2x120mm fans despite the opening having plenty of space.
- Since the front fans are mounted with the screws facing inwards, you need to remove the PSU or use a tiny screwdriver in order to access the screws at the bottom. If you have anything other than an AIO then the other screws are also difficult to access.
- Some of the vents and openings do not have mesh filters.
- Cable management in general is limited with few options to route cables.

Overall Review: My computer tower has to be in a highly visible space, I'm not a fan of the flashy crazy cases, and dust control is a definite consideration of mine. I had bought a Fractal Define 7 a while ago and overall liked it a lot. There were a few small quality of life issues and keeping it cool was tough but it still checked all the boxes.

Then I saw the North. Still minimal and stylish but with a mostly open front face? Sign me up!

I looked at all the pictures and watched all the reviews I could. As far as I could tell, a lack of mesh filters, one less spot to mount a fan on the bottom, and two less USB 2.O ports on top were the only major differences. I figured the wide open front would make up for the loss of a fan, I could buy some mesh to make filters of my own, and I rarely ever have more than one thing plugged into the front IO at a time.

Unfortunately, now that I have the case and am transferring all my parts, I'm finding many little downgrades in quality and layout decisions that leave me feeling frustrated and more than a little disappointed.

In the Define 7, I could fit a 140mm and two 120mm fans up front. The North can only fit three 120mm fans. Also the screws face into the case so once you have parts installed, good luck swapping fans if one dies. The two bottom most screws legit require the PSU to be removed to gain access.

The Define 7 also has two spots along the top to feed the CPU power cables. That let you run the cables along the top of the MoBo and alongside the fans, allowing for a 90 degree bend to connect. The North only has one opening right next to where the cables plug in, forcing a 180 degree bend and blocking the use of a 140mm fan in the top/rear spot.

Then there are little things. The Define 7 had plastic cable management brackets with Velcro straps in multiple places on the back. The North only has the Velcro and in fewer places. Overall there are fewer places and options to run cables. There is no sound deadening material like the Define 7 has. You can fit one less fan into the case. The top fan ports don't have a mesh filter despite there clearly being slots for a filter to slide into.

In conclusion, while looking nice the North has some definite design downgrades from Fractal's previous cases like the Define 7 and I'm sort of considering sticking with the Define.