Gadgetory

I'll admit when I first got serious about building custom pcs Franklin design was not the first case manufacturer that I looked toward I was more into the flamboyant ostentatious cases that just kind of caught your eye from a different perspective and just made you look at it because it looks so weird and out there fractal cases have always been subdued and that is what I have learned to love about them the fractal define s was perhaps one of their biggest successes because it allowed users to throw whatever they wanted into the case they had plenty of room left over and cable management was an absolute dream the factor to find C which I reviewed inadvertently in the video right here manages to keep the same cable management standard but includes a basement and a shorter profile overall and now we've come to the fractal design mesh if I see this is still based on the defined C chassis it still has the same basement it still has the same removable top panel for custom cooling compatibility but pumps down here whatever you really want and it also has improved upon some of the air flow qualities that restricted the defined C it's a beautiful case upfront and I think that it's priced well it also includes a tempered glass side panel let's talk about it what I like about it what I really like about it and what I think they could improve upon in the next gen right off the bat yes this is a tempered glass case much like the newly released defined C tempered glass Edition but this is its own case because they changed a few things about it that well might appeal to some might not appeal to others it really depends on what you're going for with your build that's what videos like these are going to be for the first and most obvious difference between this case and the defined C is the fact that this case has a mesh front panel and specify C this will be great for those who want to mount radiators up front even just a fan configuration it will allow for smooth airflow through these front little slits you won't have that restricted and a side panel airflow pattern that the defined C had this front panel is also tessellated quite a bit which gives it a bit more texture looks a bit more dynamic up front than just a solid front panel and it is completely meshed out so if you want air to flow through the front put a couple fans up there and you should have a problem airflow at all you'll also find a fractal design logo toward the bottom left the front panel is also a bit more difficult to remove and you'll find that the front io port have been integrated into the front panel so be careful when you remove this you'll have to mind the cables that are attached up top in terms of front io you'll find the exact same configuration here exists as was on the C reset switch microphone jack headphone jacks power button and two USB 3.0 ports at the very top you'll find a single mesh magnetic dust filter now this is the only thing included up top you do not get the mod you vent so this actually was packaged separately with the defined C when it shipped but here you only get the mesh dust filter I guess that's good though if you're looking for maximizing airflow this is really all you need other improvements that in my opinion the measure by C has over its defined C counterpart or black PCIe slot covers instead of white ones which I don't know why they've been using light for the longest time and now they're black which is good fractal has a I guess improve that in a sense and then the fans that are now included there are two included with the metruff I see both 120s have black fins instead of white ones you'll find that the case is supported by four large sturdy rubberized feet just like the defined C and the same large dust filter that spans the entire base fractals also stuck with the same PSU mounting system you'll find the bracket they kind of ripped off from NZXT here although it only uses two thumb screws in this case vs. four very easy to use simply mount it to your power supply and then slide your power supply and do the back use the two thumb screws to secure it in place rubber grounded cutouts everywhere as usual and a hard drive cage down below which is removable that includes two hard drive brackets I'm a huge fan of this SSD tray behind the motherboard shroud a simple thumb screw removes it install the SSD config to your liking and then reinsert it I think it's an excellent use of otherwise wasted space look airflow design with the mesh fic has drastically improved over the defined C I speak from experience there what hasn't changed which is good in this case is the cable management setup so the back of the case is identical to defined tape you're familiar with that case at all you'll find that cable management in this case is a dream as it was with the defined C as it also was with the is every full and midsize tower on the market should follow suit with this design it makes these cases such a breeze to build and if you know fractal design you know that cable management is a top priority this is one of the easiest cases to build in hands down off to the far left you'll find fractals supreme cable measurement technology here so this back panel is actually bumped in a little bit for extra cable management space I think all cases like I said should do this and you also have included velcro straps to keep those cables where they should be but the compact nature of the mesh fic which was also in a way the Achilles heel of the defined C is extremely Hardware limiting you can see this even just from that camera angle there there's only about an inch for the space between the endless graphics card and the beginning of the to 40 mil a IO and this is a reference PCB so third-party coolers with third-party PCBs on them might extend a bit further toward the front of the case that's a serious concern for the metruff I see a way you can get around this with the define C is by putting maybe your fans in front of the chassis but behind the front panel that would restrict airflow but it was better than not being able to stick your graphics card into your PC that's actually what I've had to do with my defined C custom loop builds I've had to put the fans between the front panel and the beginning of the chassis and then I rest the radiator just behind the front of the chassis so that gives me a bit more space for my water cooling tubes to run up from the basement and also gives me a bit more breathing room for the 1080s I have in the current build but if I wanted to throw the exact same custom loo config into the mesh if I see it wouldn't happen is there's no way that it would work I couldn't run the tubing first off between like I probably could but it'd be really cutting it close between the graphics card and the radiator I also could move these fans here into the front panel compartment because it's really about I'd say a centimeter of space between the front panel and where the chassis begins just because they have an integrated dust filter in here and kind of a mesh metal sheen on the very front it's really the only serious concern I have with this case they've improved everything that defines C was lacking including air flow but they've compromised hardware compatibility to an extent so if you want to throw a 240ml AIO in here and a custom graphics card say something that's not reference for one then you're going to have to really pay close attention to the length of your video card how much space you're gonna have between that and the radiator you could try mounting the radiator fan config up top there is room for two 140 s or to 120 fans and their radiator counterparts but I'm not sure you could fit a radiator I guess no no you'd be cutting it close you would certainly block off part of your motherboard and I'm not sure if the heat things here would interfere with the radiator either it's just something to consider hardware compatibility it's restricted here I'd say it's restricted by about 30-40 percent the defined C was already restricted but they managed to work around via the kinks by giving you more space in the front panel here not the case at all the last thing I'm going to complain about only because this is a subjective video really it's just going to come down to what you want and your build I'm not a huge fan of the extra tinted tempered glass it looks not that tinted because I have this huge light panel here that's kind of shining through it but this is a rather dark tempered glass panel and I kind of find that it defeats the purpose of having a tempered glass panel in general it becomes rather difficult to see what's inside so you're going to need a ton of LED strips in there just other RGB can fix to illuminate what is on the inside otherwise you're going to have to really squint to see what's inside or shine a bright LED panel like I've got here into the case it's foam-padded not going to rattle or anything of that sort it's also got rubber mounts so it's designed well and it's implemented well especially from a company that hasn't done tempered glass and typical cases like this before but the tint is just it's a little too much for me I think that the p400s was probably as far as I would go along a tint line I think that NZXT s340 elite to their white version I don't know if the black version is the same I think it is that tint is the best tint in my opinion just very slight you can see everything inside regardless of whether you've got things lit up in here or not that's the way a tempered glass panel should be this here with the expert int it's just I don't know it feels kind of cheap so that's my review of the fractal design mesh if I see I was honestly prepared to give this my favorite case of the Year award I think that this is a true contender against the s340 elite and the p400s tge the only problems here like I've mentioned the tent on the tempered-glass isn't all that appealing to me and I think that this case could be maybe an inch longer for the extra video card and a i/o compatibility maybe even custom loop compatibility this case would look also by the custom loop in it but it's going to be really difficult to pull it off if I put the reservoir on the bottom or the top and I don't know I don't know how you're going to fit a radiator and fans up in the front with a standard video card link that's just I'm not seeing that happening right now I'm also going to define C tge in the video description I think that's a true contender over this one if airflow optimization isn't your thing then I don't really think you should consider the measure by C you're going to be okay o2 config like this but custom loop compatibility is going to favor the define C at the expense of airflow yes I can attest to that personally but this case is restrictive it really is so I'm going to link that case in the description also can review the defined C tge in a dedicated video and then give my final decree as to whether I think that case is the best all-around midsize tower on the market look at an ideal world I would say that the define s with a basement would be the best case overall but I would be willing to compromise the extra length Forge the more compact style I think this is a pretty good style here and keep the basement ads I think that the defined C is a pretty nice middle ground for most people and the tempered glass is just the icing on the cake but if you like this case maybe like this video be sure to give this one a thumbs up I do appreciate that be sure to click subscribe button as well it's that red button down below and click the little Bell notification icon so that you get notifications when I upload more videos like these on the channel this is science studio thanks for learning with us