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This "sandwich style" setup offers extra diversity in terms of what components you can install, but at the same time, the wiggle room is pretty limited. You can move the spine about 1.5 inches one way or the other, even with parts attached and, again, the case's total width is just over 6 inches. I have to wonder why, particularly in today's world of three-slot-plus GPUs, Fractal didn't just make the case a couple of inches wider – and maybe one or two taller – to accommodate more fan mounting options and better CPU cooling. The Fractal Design Terra is a small form factor Mini-ITX case with style and capability. Its anodized aluminum and solid walnut structure echo modern gamer living spaces.
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With that done, I turned the case back around and installed the power supply. And while all sides of the Terra are amply vented (albeit without any dust filters), fan support is limited to a single 120 mm spinner at the bottom rear. In my building experience with the case, detailed below, even with a modular SFX power supply, that bottom area is going to be very occupied by cable slack. Plus, if you do put a fan there, you lose one of the two mounting places available for 2.5-inch drives.
Fractal Terra (Jade) / 4090 / 7800X3D
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Clearance options - 2 groups of items - 18 total selections
The Terra is built mostly from aluminium, with a solid wooden slab on the front, surrounding the USB ports. One of which is a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C with fast charging and 10Gbps transfer speeds. The wood panel is unique on each one, so no copy paste for my fellow Scandi design lovers. At just 343 x 153 x 218mm it's truly dinky, with a gorgeous minimal aesthetic and soft, rounded corners. Both sides have folding gull-wing doors, and a top panel that slides back and pops off with the help of a little leather tab. It's a little difficult to take off when there are no components in there keeping the case sturdy, and a loud clattering sound that interrupted my chat with the team has me thinking someone else had a little trouble too.
Fractal Design Terra im Test: Edles Mini-ITX-Gehäuse mit Aluminium und Walnussholz - Hardwareluxx - Hardwareluxx
Fractal Design Terra im Test: Edles Mini-ITX-Gehäuse mit Aluminium und Walnussholz - Hardwareluxx.
Posted: Wed, 31 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Similarly, the top panel pulls back (via a stylish and handy faux-leather tab) and lifts off, giving you full access to three sides of the case for the build process. Late last year, Fractal's mid-century-inspired North PC case won all kinds of awards (including case of the year from us here at Tom's Hardware). So it's no surprise that the company is back with another wood-accented chassis here at Computex.
Cable management was pretty easy really, but putting a standard fun under the PSU required some cable ties to (just about) hold the cables out of the fan blades. Used a AXP90-X47 Full Copper and replaced the fan with a taller Noctua 92x92x25mm (instead of the stock 15mm tall). The clearance with the 4090 means there is EXACTLY 57mm, a single millimetre more will prevent the side panel from closing. There is some turbulence when under load (after about 65% fan speed) so I will also be testing a 15mm Noctua fan next week with some fan ducts and see how that performs. As you've probably noticed in the photos, the side panels flip up gull-wing style, and the rear of the frame is spring-mounted, so if you push back on the hinges, you can remove the side doors completely.
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It features a built-in PCIe 4.0 riser cable and a moveable central spine for customisation of hardware clearance, accommodating GPUs up to 322mm. While a 120mm radiator is technically supported in the Terra, that's only with a short (8-inch) graphics card. The clearance for CPU coolers wavers between 1.89 and 3.03 inches, depending on how you adjust the "spine," or the central plate that holds the Motherboard on one side and the GPU on the other. Inside, Terra hides smart features such as a stepless slidable central wall, allowing users to adapt the space ratio between compartments by up to 30 mm. This gives builders the freedom to design their small form factor gaming PC around their component choices, including the option to incorporate a in a space-saving 10.4 L case.
Oh and it comes with a PCIe 4.0 riser cable, too, which is a necessity when you're kinda forced into vertical mounting. There's a little trick inside the case too, with a side sliding motherboard plate that has seven integers of movement. That counts for 30mm of flexibility altogether—a nice touch, especially when some people are going to want to prioritise space for the humongous RTX 4090 even in a smaller case. And yes, in case you were wondering, it does fit in there; the founders edition does, anyway. Granted, there's not much room, but it looks like there's more than enough ventilation to accommodate for the lack of space.
You can also use the longer standoffs but the two bottom ones will require some sanding down as they interfere with the central spine. If you need help with products purchased from Micro Center, please contact one of our knowledgeable tech support reps using the online chat button below, or visit our Tech Support page for additional options and helpful information. While I didn't have the time to put together a full review before heading off to Computex, Fractal did send the case ahead of the launch date and, space constraints aside, there's a lot I like about it. We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund in accordance with our return policy – no receipt needed if you have a Micro Center Insider Account.
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But as this is a tiny case that's clearly designed to sit on your desk, the audio jacks on the motherboard aren't much more than a foot away at the back of the case. Part of me wants to see more USB ports up front, but again, those are within fairly easy reach around the back.One other thing of note about the Fractal Terra is that I don't love the matte finish on the aluminum front and sides. It looks nice out of the box, but feels a bit rough rather than the smooth metal you might be expecting – a bit like an old chalkboard. As such, at least with the black model I tested, it has a tendency to pick up and show smudges or small bits of material or fibers from paper towels or cloths you might use to wipe it down (or even just my own fingers). This is fairly minor, but in a case that's so obviously geared toward pretty design, the fact that the front is a bit hard to keep clean feels like an oversight.
Anyone is welcome to seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop. Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been demystifying tech and science—rather sarcastically—for three years since.
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