With the new North series, Fractal Design wants to reinterpret the image of a gaming case. Completely without RGB, the new series relies on a front with wood paneling and large mesh inserts on the left housing wall and the lid.
Wood in the Front
The Fractal Design North breaks with the current trend and does not rely on spacy shapes or colorful lighting as a distinguishing feature, but on wooden paneling in the front. The wooden struts are reminiscent of acoustic panels. While the black offshoot uses walnut wood, the white housing offshoot comes with oak wood.
In addition to the material wood, which is rarely found in the housing segment, the new series has another special feature. The left wall of the housing and the lid are made almost entirely of mesh and are intended to promote the supply of fresh air. The I/O panel and the housing feet are also color-coordinated with the wood.
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Fractal Design North (Image: Fractal Design)
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Inside, the Fractal North is divided into two chambers. The front chamber accommodates mainboards up to the ATX form factor. The power supply unit and the drive sleds are housed under a panel. A total of three brackets can be attached here, each of which can accommodate a 3.5″ and 2.5″ drive in parallel. However, only two of these brackets are included in the scope of delivery. Another bracket is home to two 2.5″ drives and is stowed on the mainboard tray. 19 mm are available behind the carrier and 30 mm in the front area for cable management.
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Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
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Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)< figure class="thumbs__figure thumbs__figure--has-caption"> 
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North Charcoal (TG) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North North Calk (Mesh) (Image: Fractal Design)With regard to a sufficient supply of fresh air, the mesh version of the Fractal Design North offers space for up to 8 fans. The mesh offshoot comes with a fan bracket for this purpose, which is stretched behind the left housing wall and accommodates two 120 or 140 mm fans. However, when using the bracket, depending on the mounting location, the hardware limitations also increase. The maximum possible height of the CPU cooler when mounted at the top drops from 170 to 145 mm. The graphics card size limit increases from 178 to 148 mm in height. The offshoots with a glass side panel (TG – Tempered Glass) are limited to a maximum of 6 fans. Speaking of fans: Thanks to two notches, an 80 mm fan can optionally be installed on the slot covers of the expansion bays and thus support the graphics card if necessary. A PWM hub for 4 fans is included in the scope of delivery.
Fractal Design North: Fan Bracket (Image: Fractal Design)
Fractal Design North: Optional rear fan (Image: Fractal Design)Fractal Design's new North series will be available today in Charcoal (walnut, black) and Chalk (oak, white). The manufacturer calls for a price recommendation of around 160 euros for both the mesh and the glass version.
Wood on the gaming PC case, how do you like that?
- Super cool!
- Can be done.
- I don't care.
- Better not.
- Not possible!
- Abstain (show result)
Please log in to vote! Fractal Design North Fractal Design North (TG) Mainboard format: ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX Chassis (L × W × H): 447 × 215 × 469 mm (45.07 liters) 447 × 215 × 469 mm ( 45.07 liters)
Side window Material: plastic, steel, wood Plastic, steel, glass, wood Net weight: 7.60 kg 7.70 kg I/O ports/other: 1 × USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2 ) Type C, 2 × USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1), HD audio slots: 3 × 3.5″/2.5″ (internal)
2 × 2.5" (internal)
Fully modular drive cages Expansion slots: 7 fans: Front: 3 × 140/120 mm (2 × 140 mm included)
Rear: 1 × 120 mm
Top: 2 × 140/120 mm (optional )
Side panel left: 2 × 140/120 mm (optional) Front: 3 × 140/120 mm (2 × 140 mm included)
Rear: 1 × 120 mm
Cover: 2 × 140/120 mm (optional) dust filter: front, power supply compatibility: CPU cooler: 170 mm
GPU: 355 mm – 380 mm
power supply: 255 mm Price: €159.90
ComputerBase has received information about this item from Fractal Design under an NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication date.