Fractal Design has announced the North, a new PC case that features natural materials and bespoke details, including a fine-patterned mesh ventilation and an open front with real walnut or oak panels, complemented by sleek brass or steel details and an integrated tab for easy access to the top of the case.
- Get a head start on your build with the two included 140 mm Aspect PWM fans
- Choose a GPU up to 355 mm, or up to 300 mm with a 360 mm front radiator
- Enhance the look of your gaming station with sleek wood and alloy details
Developed for an enjoyable building and gaming experience, North offers an intuitive interior layout and generous compatibility. It supports GPUs up to a length of 355 mm, or up to 300 mm with a 360 mm front radiator. For a smooth start, it includes two 140 mm Aspect PWM fans, a USB-C port and drive mounts for up to four 2.5” drives and two 3.5” drives out of the box.
North is available in four versions:
- Chalk White
- Chalk White with tempered glass panel
- Charcoal Black
- Charcoal Black with tempered glass panel
Fractal Design has confirmed that the North is now available.
The MSRP for all four case options is $129.99 based on retailer listings at the time of this posting.
Discussion (19 replies)
Join Discussion →Years ago I would have said, I'm not a fan of the "modern" light pine colored wood against white look.
I would have been talking about kitchen interiors and furniture, but still.
I'm more of a traditional "medium brown" kind of guy, thus the black and medium brown version works better for me.
That said, either of these are much nicer than the disco-light trends of the last 10 years.
If PC case styling moves in this direction, I won't be disappointed.
Same for me, and I am a fan of white cases. The black, darker brown wood version with the gold accents works well.
Being able to support a CPU with AIO and an air-cooled GPU is more or less the trend. Looking at the mesh side panel option, with that side dual fan mount, you could probably get away with an AIO-cooled GPU.
Biggest issue of course is the balance of intake and exhaust.
Yeah, I didn't look closely at the layout or anything.
Take my comments as purely about the aesthetics of the case.
I'd probably have more to say if I looked more closely at the layout.
It does give off that professional vibe while also being functional.
I have now looked a little bit more closely at it, and I like it.
If they decide to make a full tower version with support for E-ATX motherboards, I may be in for one or two of them.
ooo I like this one
My grandparents had a mid 60s cabinet TV that had that same vertical paneling look on either side…
Since I'm from that era ... timeless.
It supports EATX - in the sense that EATX is ATX but deeper. Wendel at L1T did a build in one with a mildly EATX board, and it didn't encroach on the cable passthroughs much at all. Larger obviously would require more cable routing creativity.
Nice to see them go back to basics as it were. I'd still like to see more utlity options though.
Interesting. I'll have to see if I can find the max motherboard size anywhere. Maybe I missed it in the specs.
My motherboard is somewhat beefy at 12.2"x10.9"
Yeah, I love those colors. It would perfectly match my desk setup.
Not crazy about the brass/gold colored accents, but I guess I could cover them somehow.
On the non-tempered glass version. Is that a vented mesh panel?
I think I would prefer a solid black panel, I wonder if they sell one as an option (maybe the right panel fits upside down on the left? Maybe you can order it as a spare part?
Yes
Yeah, I have looked at the specs page, and downloaded the manual.
Both only list "ATX / mATX / Mini-ITX", no max dimensions.
Which means it could work, or it might not fit.
I had this same problem with another Fractal Design case I bought once. I bought a Fractal Design S back in 2015. This one was completely on me. I had forgotten that my Asus p9x79 WS I was using at the time was not ATX, or even EATX, but rather SSI-CEB, so I didn't even check for fit.
I wound up using that case for my stepsons build later that year, so it didn't go to waste, and instead bought myself a Corsair 750D Airflow.
The Define S was a really well built case though. If these newer Fractal Design cases can live up to that same build quality, they should be excellent!