Fractal Design North XL ATX mATX Full Tower PC Case – Charcoal Black Chassis with Walnut Front and Dark Tinted TG Side Panel – FD-C-NOR1X-02

Pros: Easy to build in, for the most part. The wooden front grille is exactly as beautiful in person. I love the front panel so far; the gold accents look great. It’s whisper quiet (until it gets under load), and has great air flow. There’s great space to force power cables into their spots, and it’s required a lot less bending than other cases I’ve had. The included front fans are pretty clean to run power from the included fan hub to a 4pin port. Cons: The back panel could have used more room for cable routing/stuffing. I’ve got my panel on to where it’s not bowing outward, but just barely. The power supply basement is a little bit cramped, so I’d call fully modular a must especially if you’re including a 3.5″ HDD. More of a “me” issue as well was routing SATA cables was a bit of a pain. Organizing the cables through that back panel was a bit painful, period.
Also like I said earlier, under a load the fans to get loud. Not rattly and whiny like some reviews I’ve seen claim, but a definite *whoosh*. If you’re wearing headphones, probably not a huge deal.
I’m curious how the wood front will hold up to heat and humidity. I don’t have expectations here but I hope I’m being paranoid. Overall Review: Love how it looks, love how it builds for the most part. I’m hoping it holds up well.

Pros: -Looks great
-Good temps with my components (7800x3D and 4090)
-Easy to build in, plenty of space
-Side intake is great for GPU temps Cons: -Side panels seem a bit thin and cheap for the price. The edges are a little sharp and cut my finger a little when I closing it. It’s my fault for being careless with my finger placement but still not great
-Nitpicky, but the power button feels a bit cheap when you press it
-A little noisy because of the front wood panel and turbulance Overall Review: A pretty good case but you’re paying more for aesthetics than performance.

Pros: – great refined design, not flashy, no RGBs
– really easy to add/assemble components
– Fractal quality and thoughtfulness Cons: – may experience sound interference or resonance with some fans and the case / definitely not a quiet case
– top panel should have a screw at the back, it’s too easy to remove/slide
– A bit hard to remove the front panel to clean the dust filter
– panels a bit too flimsy Overall Review: Fractals case offers a sleek, refined design that avoids flashy RGBs and is easy to assemble, showcasing the brands quality. However, its not the quietest option and might experience sound interference with some fans. The top panel could use a rear screw to keep it secure. Some panels also feel a bit flimsy. Despite these minor issues, the overall design makes it a solid choice.

Pros: I was seeking a more refined and subdued case for my gaming rig build i.e. no gamer-esque vibe such as flashy exterior/overload on RGB; I was pleased to find this case since it has an appearance that suited my evolved preferences and blended with my decor nicely. I left my MOBO RGB and GPU RGB active and the subtle glow emanating from the case is quite pleasing; the glow adds to the case’s overall refined appearance in my opinion. The front intake panel’s wooden accent strips make this case very distinctive in appearance and adds to the overall fine aesthetic of this case.
The build quality of the case is top notch, installation of my components was not met with any challenges overall and the internal layout of the case made for an easy build experience. The included Fractal fans are of good quality but I did replace them with BeQuiet fans. The airflow in the case is excellent (I have 3 140s at the front for intake, 1 140 on the rear panel and 1 140 on the roof as exhaust) and my components are running nicely with regards to temperatures. The perforated side panel also permits the exhaust of a good volume of hot air that my GPU generates (my GPU is a triple fan design).

I am very content with this case, Fractal did an excellent job for sure! Cons: One issue that I encountered was the basement HDD/SSD sleds not being able to be utilized in my build unfortunately. It would have been thoughtful if Fractal implemented more positions (on the rear of the MOBO tray for example or perhaps on the PSU shroud) for SSDs since I could not utilize the removeable sleds for HDD/SSD installation in the basement of the case due to my PSU’s cables intruding into the basement area. The only other issue that I encountered was the inability to utilize the side fan mount since my air cooler was too tall (Noctua NH-G15 D2) and it would be thoughtful of Fractal to perhaps have a slimmer side fan cage and/or some form of alternate side fan mounting for those with taller air coolers (Fractal clearly disclosed the height limitations on air coolers so I was already aware of this potential issue so it was not unexpected). If I would have been able to utilize those side fans, I most likely would have used them as exhaust for the GPU. Overall Review: I would highly recommend this case to anyone desiring a more modest case with regards to appearance.