Basically anything, my problem is I have a 360 AIO ( they don’t fit top mounted) but you need a 360 to properly cool a 14900k if you overclock so I had to mount it to the front there’s no way to fit the radiator on the panel side ( there’s a lip you could dremel but I’d already installed everything so didn’t want to kick metal flakes around my components) so it has to be internal and it’s a push pull so it has fans on the inside too. Now that’s about 4cm of internal space taken up horizontally so there are no Nvidia cards that will fit in that space as they all need upwards of 30cm from every manufacturer the regular north only has 33cm stripped so nothing fits.
Edit sorry for the word soup
Ah, yeah if you have a push/pull config then it's going to be a bit of a non-starter.
I do have an Arctic LFIII 360 in mine with T30's and was shocked that all fit with my 4090 FE with a little bit of room to spare still between the card and rad.
I never really got into the push/pull setups, are the differences in cooling performance that significant?
I notice about a 4°C difference under load but if I’m truly honest I just like how the fans look they’re Kunai fans from razer so they’d be wasted hidden behind the radiator.
I’m amazed you could fit that 360 and a 4090 I just watched gamers nexus do a review of the North Xl where they compared it to the North and it really does only have 355mm of room with nothing in it. FE cards are about 310mm and you have a radiator? Admit it you’re from galifrey and you built a tardis
haha I completely understand. I'm still wrestling with buying custom cables even though I have a mesh case and the machine is running just fine. I won't ever see them, but still want them.
FE is 304mm actually, that was key for me. I don't even know why I was so deadset on a 360 AIO considering I just have a 7800X3D. Your CPU is a beast and actually needs the robust cooling.
7800X3D is such a good card bro, I love AMD and was kinda inbetween your card and the 14900, it won out on single core. Could you get a glass panel to show off your work? Your setup sounds really cool.
I have a 4080 super fe (same cooler) and was able to front mount a 280x55mm radiator lol. Extremely tight fit and lead to sub optimal thermals under cpu load so I opted for a slimmer 30mm 360 aio instead. Although now I’m running 1440p cpu thermals don’t matter too much but the Icemyst keeps mine cool at 5.5p 4.4e (8e) and 8000mts
Me too. I was able to fit my front AIO but I ended up having to use a 4070 Ti Super instead of a 7900xt. 7900xt just wouldn't fit. If I had known this was coming out I would have waited, but not the end of the world I guess.
end of the day I'm not going to switch. Maybe next build in a year or two and at that point who knows what they will have available. Possibly a north 2.0
Be me, yesterday.
Building a top-end gaming PC.
i9-14900k, 4080, the works.
Want to use the North, tired of rainbows.
Want to use air cooling, tired of AIO problems.
Spend hours trying to see if anyone could make the NH-D15 fit. Consensus says no.
Throw in the towel. Pull the trigger on another o11d. And an AIO.
Fractal announces North XL a few hours later.
FeelsBadMan.jpeg
You can absolutely fit an NH-D15 in a North.
[There are several builds on various subreddits that show it](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/s/h862JrjAc4)
I fit a NH-D15 with a 4080 in mine. Absolutely enough room. I have the Tempered Glass version though, so I’m not sure if it’s different if you wanted to go with the mesh side panel and cooling.
Awesome, I'd ideally get the tempered glass one too. What processor? What are your temps like under marathon gaming/extended load situations (not benchmark, who cares)?
Yeah no problem! Been an obsession of mine since I built the pc. I have 3 phantek t30 intake, 2 top exhaust and one back exhaust running slower than the intake. But I’ve noticed that since I got the 4080 super fe, which exhausts GPU heat out the top, it pushing warmer air into the NH-D15 and so my temps are warmer for my CPU as a result. Maybe by about 5 degrees. But definitely still way under its heat tolerance. Just something to note. I assume with the fractal north size and air cpu cooler size, you’d get much better temps with liquid cooling and less obstructions for airflow in the case. But air coolers look so cool! Love this case and build.
Huh. Could have sworn I checked the Noctua site for compatibility, and it said no. Maybe I was looking at the o11d at that point.
That said, looks awfully tight. I'd be worried about good airflow, especially with an i9-14900k.
I'm not entirely upset about landing on the o11d evo rgb as a case, looks fine... But I won't be surprised if I end up picking up a North XL when they hit shelves. 😅
Nah, I regret my purchase, the North is a sexy case. Will probably get the XL, but parts are in flight and not sure when the XL will hit shelves. Checked around today and couldn't find any retailers offering it.
I’ve been trying to find a way to fit a 4090 into a North for months, finally bit the bullet last month and settled with a 4080… now they announce this ;_;
Well, I meant Meshify XL and Define 7 XL internal layout. By my quick look at North XL it just seems bit wider and deeper, and by internal layout more reminds me of 5000D then Fractals other XL cases. It's more like something in the middle between North which by the size reminded me Define 7 / Meshify Compact and Define 7 / Meshify XL
Ahh I see. It does look a bit shorter. I was about to blindly pull the trigger to replace my meshify XL but I’ll do a closer comparison now, thanks for the heads up
Yeah, I don't see it as improvement over Meshify XL at all, as I think Meshify have way better internal layout then North XL. Only thing that catches my eye of course are looks, as it's simply best looking case on a market
Gamers Nexus also mentioned that the North XL is more inline with a normal ATX case like the Define 7 / Meshify. And that the og North should be a North Compact and the new XL should just be a North.
gamernexus said that while this thing is titled XL, it isn't really an XL case. at least they got the big boy out of the way. i suppose the XS will follow sometime later this year
A XS could be elegant, but then its too small for chunky GPUs and similar. North none XL is a perfect size for me, can swallow any GPU if you watercool it and get rid of the big aircooler. I have a 3090 in mine and will upgraded to a 5090 when it releases.
Tinting the glass tends to colour it slightly, often a bit yellowish in hue. It's not noticeable in darker cases and components, but once you add brighter white areas they can look a bit odd.
The Multibrackets will allow you to install a 3.5" anywhere there is a 120 fan slot and some extra room, which in the North XL is pretty much anywhere.
[https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/](https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/)
For sure. But it took literal months for the Torrent to be available in my usual retail stores in Spain. I bought one returned from amazon after giving up waiting for stock.
It released in August 2021, I could only get one by February next year.
Love that it’s got so much more top cable routing than the original, my only gripe with mine is I have so many fan and rub cables routed through the tiny top cutout
Been contemplating doing the O11DXL with a boat load of rgb and stuff... then this comes out.
Should I go noctuas and arctic freezer 3... or spend a lot more on rgb fans and an lcd aio... yeah. Big think.
About 10 or 15 mm more GPU length would have been nice, vs the standard, but the XL is 58 cm more. For the CPU cooler, I just want it to be able to fit a 165 mm cooler. The standard can do that, but not with the fan bracket. The XL is allows 10 mm more, but still doesn't fit a tall cooler with the bracket.
Just built around the xl black mesh last night.
Due to planning, switching to masterful maker compound, being careful and having to redo things a couple times it took me about 5 hrs to move the following.
- 7800x3d
- asus 650 e-f
- asus 4080s
- Super Flower focus gx 850
- 6 total 140mm fans(no red fans or lights)
Doing it sober would have sped it up a bit.
Difficulty: I've worked on my own machines since 89 and have a graveyard of past cases that I love or hate. I love the North but man oh man I wish there was better access to the power supply once installed. The shroud that covers the top and side of the psu can't be removed. I found myself having to remove and redo things a couple times as I wanted the wiring to be clean. Ended up being relieved I only had pwr led and pwr sw headers to deal with as the location on my motherboard made them tough to connect.
Not that big: XL really isn't big at all, just feels like a regular full tower. I bought it mainly for its additional width as my asus 4080s prevented my last case from closing as super flower (nor any 3rd parties) don't offer a right angle cable to make the cable management easier.
Fans/bracket: Ended up using the fan tray to add a third arctic pwm pst 140mm exhaust to the top side of the CPU so there's 3 pulling the hot air away from the top left corner. Originally wanted to put it over the gpu to pull fresh air over the rear half but didn't want to put strain on the 4080s power cable. Had to put tiny strips of rubber along the sides of the fan to stop the blades hitting the tray as it's flimsy and was rattling. Front fans were left default. It's great now.
Overall: Very happy to have a case with no emphasis on rgb/glass panels.
- Originally wanted white but seeing them in person I realized the black would match everything else in my office and the gold trim was a more subtle/orangy-yellow.
- Different finger screws would have been appreciated as the ones included are just basic.
- An integrated gpu bracket would also have been a nice touch.
- Front fan cable is a little short as are the lengths of the pwr switch/led cables if your motherboard has them along the bottom like mine l.
Just my thoughts. Love it.
what fans did you order? I'm doing a build this weekend and I didn't know I'd need to add additional fans.
Here is my build
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jgRtyg
I always use Arctic cooling PSTs. They're quiet and have the ability to daisy chain multiple together so you can run multiple off a single fan header and they all share the PWM signal so will run at the same speed. You can get them in 5 packs (currently about 33 bucks for 5 on amazon US).
Below is the name of the fans I use but I don't see the best prices currently. Be aware the arctic sells a version without PST so you don't get the daisy chaining and no PWM speed control (have to rely on 3 pin/voltage only). This is the model I use, they make a white version as well though I'm not sure if they do 5 packs. I do think they have 3 packs though which is fine as that's all you need for the back/top and maybe side of the case.
ARCTIC P14 PWM PST - 140 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing Technology (PST), Pressure-optimised, Very Quiet Motor, Computer, Fan Speed: 200-1700 RPM
Below is the price history for amazon, you can see the 5 packs got for about 33 regularly when in stock. 3rd party pricing (plus the added shipping) makes them less ideal .
[https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07HCKWF2X?context=search&tp=1y&cpf=amazon-new](https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07HCKWF2X?context=search&tp=1y&cpf=amazon-new)
Where are you located? Newegg have them in stock;
[https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=fractal+north+xl](https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=fractal+north+xl)
As does BH
[https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=north%20xl&sts=ma](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=north%20xl&sts=ma)
Bought one but returned it almost instantly. Feels so cheap compared to my old Define R6 (that I want to replace it with) It is clear to me FractalDesign desperately wanted to cut costs due to probably insertion of that wood front grill (that most likely more expensive than the cheap plastic and metal they used in this case)?
My Define R6 while not better in airflow it has much better materials (thicker plates, flexibility and just a better build overall) and much better noise management. For the NorthXL I would have expected a much more premium feel not just in looks but also in materials used. It scream China all over it. Kind of disappointed as it is not a cheap case. That mesh (I had the mesh version) is so cheap and it bends very easily. Also the top mesh comes away way to easily so it is a pain to move this case. Also there is no ssd/hdd activity led in this case - wtf?!
Other than looks and probably airflow this case is a disappointment.
The answer is yes. I got a North XL yesterday as a replacement for my North. A bit more clearance for the Noctua D15 and more room inside in general. Oh and my 1000W PSU doesn't require removing one of the 2 HDD bays anymore.
Really disappointing the XL doesn't have room for two more 3.5 inch drives, maybe even a 5.25 behind the grill like the define, but it is tempting. It looks like there's a bracket where you can reasonably put at least one more 3.5 inch drive in there without sacrificing much, would be nice if that were clearly supported.
[https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/](https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/)
Please make an ap201 version of the North case but 30 mm longer so you can use long psu's with long gpus. Then take my money. Wouldn't care if it was 200 euros.
I just built my xl as mentioned in this thread. The xl isn't really bigger than other regular towers and even then I found it a bit tight or awkward during parts of the build. I absolutely would recommend the xl over regular as the width alone should help in case future video cards continue to be tall.
A case called Terra happened lol, but they still don't have a matx case with wood details. Matx is getting more and more popular. Free advice, Fractal!
Can you make haste, It's been like a few hours and i still can't buy one in the uk
Also, it dosnt say I can mount a rad on bottom Im gonna you cant stop me
As a person who loves large form factor cases and was waiting for a larger variant of the North I am actually kinda disappointed with the North XL.
My current case is the Torrent and in my years of PC busing it is without a doubt one of the best designed large cases and my favourite so far. I was hoping they would take the excellent design of the Torrent and integrate it with the Aesthetic of the North, but no the North XL just seems like generic uninspired case.
I will stick with the Torrent and hope another company comes along a gives a proper large form factor case with a wood aesthetic
It's out right now! It might take a while for your local store to list it though. My local store in Sweden has hundreds of the XL's showing as in stock and available.
Was hoping for a North XS
Me too, I would instantly cop a North itx
I'd be down for a North mATX
What’s wrong with the Terra?
It's a noisy hotbox.
Is it both noisy and hot compared to other sff cases? Or just compared to full size cases?
Yes.
Not everyone wants a sandwich case.
One letter off!!
North XXL?
Create a 1000D competitor haha
\#metoo
I second this. I'm trying to down scale, not upscale lol this literally looks like the same size as the one I already have.
I just bought a new one last week :(
Literally same, but the small case is such a great size. Still can fit everything, 360mm aio, 3 fan gpu. It’s all good
I am going to wait it out and see if they introduce a mini kinda like the AP201. Give me a micro-atx case with wood front panel.
Nah... Keep it... Smaller is almost always better. You'll thank me later
Yes me too
Yeah I got a north a month ago and I have to get a liquid cooled GPU because most cards don’t fit
how? do you have a radiator or something?
He must because I have a Gigabyte 4090 in my Fractal North. But I don’t have a radiator to contend with.
You guys all guessed it I have a 360 AIO that’s mounted to the front of case. 14900k is a hot chip
What card couldn't you get to fit?
Basically anything, my problem is I have a 360 AIO ( they don’t fit top mounted) but you need a 360 to properly cool a 14900k if you overclock so I had to mount it to the front there’s no way to fit the radiator on the panel side ( there’s a lip you could dremel but I’d already installed everything so didn’t want to kick metal flakes around my components) so it has to be internal and it’s a push pull so it has fans on the inside too. Now that’s about 4cm of internal space taken up horizontally so there are no Nvidia cards that will fit in that space as they all need upwards of 30cm from every manufacturer the regular north only has 33cm stripped so nothing fits. Edit sorry for the word soup
Ah, yeah if you have a push/pull config then it's going to be a bit of a non-starter. I do have an Arctic LFIII 360 in mine with T30's and was shocked that all fit with my 4090 FE with a little bit of room to spare still between the card and rad. I never really got into the push/pull setups, are the differences in cooling performance that significant?
I notice about a 4°C difference under load but if I’m truly honest I just like how the fans look they’re Kunai fans from razer so they’d be wasted hidden behind the radiator. I’m amazed you could fit that 360 and a 4090 I just watched gamers nexus do a review of the North Xl where they compared it to the North and it really does only have 355mm of room with nothing in it. FE cards are about 310mm and you have a radiator? Admit it you’re from galifrey and you built a tardis
haha I completely understand. I'm still wrestling with buying custom cables even though I have a mesh case and the machine is running just fine. I won't ever see them, but still want them. FE is 304mm actually, that was key for me. I don't even know why I was so deadset on a 360 AIO considering I just have a 7800X3D. Your CPU is a beast and actually needs the robust cooling.
7800X3D is such a good card bro, I love AMD and was kinda inbetween your card and the 14900, it won out on single core. Could you get a glass panel to show off your work? Your setup sounds really cool.
I have a 4080 super fe (same cooler) and was able to front mount a 280x55mm radiator lol. Extremely tight fit and lead to sub optimal thermals under cpu load so I opted for a slimmer 30mm 360 aio instead. Although now I’m running 1440p cpu thermals don’t matter too much but the Icemyst keeps mine cool at 5.5p 4.4e (8e) and 8000mts
Me too. I was able to fit my front AIO but I ended up having to use a 4070 Ti Super instead of a 7900xt. 7900xt just wouldn't fit. If I had known this was coming out I would have waited, but not the end of the world I guess.
end of the day I'm not going to switch. Maybe next build in a year or two and at that point who knows what they will have available. Possibly a north 2.0
Be me, yesterday. Building a top-end gaming PC. i9-14900k, 4080, the works. Want to use the North, tired of rainbows. Want to use air cooling, tired of AIO problems. Spend hours trying to see if anyone could make the NH-D15 fit. Consensus says no. Throw in the towel. Pull the trigger on another o11d. And an AIO. Fractal announces North XL a few hours later. FeelsBadMan.jpeg
You can absolutely fit an NH-D15 in a North. [There are several builds on various subreddits that show it](https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/s/h862JrjAc4)
I fit a NH-D15 with a 4080 in mine. Absolutely enough room. I have the Tempered Glass version though, so I’m not sure if it’s different if you wanted to go with the mesh side panel and cooling.
Awesome, I'd ideally get the tempered glass one too. What processor? What are your temps like under marathon gaming/extended load situations (not benchmark, who cares)?
Under heavy loads of D4 at 2140p GPU I’m getting 60ish Celsius. CPU (13700k) around 50C
Not bad at all! I'm sure the 14900k will run a bit hotter, but 60C under load is pretty good on air. Thanks for following up!
Yeah no problem! Been an obsession of mine since I built the pc. I have 3 phantek t30 intake, 2 top exhaust and one back exhaust running slower than the intake. But I’ve noticed that since I got the 4080 super fe, which exhausts GPU heat out the top, it pushing warmer air into the NH-D15 and so my temps are warmer for my CPU as a result. Maybe by about 5 degrees. But definitely still way under its heat tolerance. Just something to note. I assume with the fractal north size and air cpu cooler size, you’d get much better temps with liquid cooling and less obstructions for airflow in the case. But air coolers look so cool! Love this case and build.
Also, Fractal's own website says the regular North fits coolers up to 170mm and Noctua's website says the D15 is 165mm *with fans*. RTFM, nerd.
Right? I feel like he just wanted a different case/cooler and used a size argument to justify it
Yeah, that's what I get for parting everything together while trying to work at the same time. 😅
Huh. Could have sworn I checked the Noctua site for compatibility, and it said no. Maybe I was looking at the o11d at that point. That said, looks awfully tight. I'd be worried about good airflow, especially with an i9-14900k. I'm not entirely upset about landing on the o11d evo rgb as a case, looks fine... But I won't be surprised if I end up picking up a North XL when they hit shelves. 😅
If you just wanted a different case/cooler, that's totally fine. No need to have a weird story behind it.
Nah, I regret my purchase, the North is a sexy case. Will probably get the XL, but parts are in flight and not sure when the XL will hit shelves. Checked around today and couldn't find any retailers offering it.
O11D is a great case.
I have a D15 in a North. Almost no extra space, but fits.
Still I'm going to upgrade to a North XL for other reasons. Now I'm going to have to firesale my mint North TG :( (NYC if anybody interested)
I mean you can just return everything and change your plans.
Probably cost me just as much in return shipping and restocking fees, as it would to just keep the thing and buy a North.
Have a NH-D15 and Zotac 4090. It fits.
I’ve been trying to find a way to fit a 4090 into a North for months, finally bit the bullet last month and settled with a 4080… now they announce this ;_;
Have nh-d15 in mine as well..
My prayers are heard
The original is literally almost the same size. I can barely tell the size difference between this one and the original.
Might be the time to get some glasses.
I waited for this since the first North Announcement. I'm ready!
North XS please
I have been waiting for this
North XS next! Get me a itx focus one!! Then a North Rack :P for a pretty rack mount case
They set it to wumbo instead of mini...
Not that I'm disappointed but was hoping for Define/Meshify XL with North aesthetics.
Wait, is it not that? It fits E-ATX and looked similar to my Meshify XL at first glance
Well, I meant Meshify XL and Define 7 XL internal layout. By my quick look at North XL it just seems bit wider and deeper, and by internal layout more reminds me of 5000D then Fractals other XL cases. It's more like something in the middle between North which by the size reminded me Define 7 / Meshify Compact and Define 7 / Meshify XL
Ahh I see. It does look a bit shorter. I was about to blindly pull the trigger to replace my meshify XL but I’ll do a closer comparison now, thanks for the heads up
Yeah, I don't see it as improvement over Meshify XL at all, as I think Meshify have way better internal layout then North XL. Only thing that catches my eye of course are looks, as it's simply best looking case on a market
Gamers Nexus also mentioned that the North XL is more inline with a normal ATX case like the Define 7 / Meshify. And that the og North should be a North Compact and the new XL should just be a North.
Yes, that seems logical if we consider internal layout and size. Steve, did the review already? Need to watch it.
Love my north, this one is too chunky, takes away a bit of the elegance.
gamernexus said that while this thing is titled XL, it isn't really an XL case. at least they got the big boy out of the way. i suppose the XS will follow sometime later this year
A XS could be elegant, but then its too small for chunky GPUs and similar. North none XL is a perfect size for me, can swallow any GPU if you watercool it and get rid of the big aircooler. I have a 3090 in mine and will upgraded to a 5090 when it releases.
Will it accommodate SSI-CEB motherboards?
Yes
Finally!
Damn. Wish I had bought this instead of the regular.
Thank you Fractal!
big w
that's one chonky boi
Is the glass tinted on both the black and white version?
Just the black, for whatever reason.
Tinting the glass tends to colour it slightly, often a bit yellowish in hue. It's not noticeable in darker cases and components, but once you add brighter white areas they can look a bit odd.
Just after I did my build with the Torrent 😩
Torrent still has better airflow and thermals.
Very true, but the North is beautiful!
whats the price?
$180
I wonder is there any way of mounting an extra couple of 3.5'' drives even if the trays aren't included. Hard to tell but doesn't look like it.
The Multibrackets will allow you to install a 3.5" anywhere there is a 120 fan slot and some extra room, which in the North XL is pretty much anywhere. [https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/](https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/)
Interesting, thanks
It’s the same EXCEPT you can mount a drive up top like the original north.
Do you mean on top of the shroud? After watching the Gamer's Nexus video looks like no longer being able to mount one there is new
Right you can’t mount a hdd at the top .
Not with that attitude.
Thanks, shame
With double sided tape you can easily put hard drives pretty much anywhere you want.
i bought a north a month ago and im still waiting for it tobe delivered. Now theres a new one
Nice. i hope it won't take long to arrive in Europe
Fractal is from Sweden
For sure. But it took literal months for the Torrent to be available in my usual retail stores in Spain. I bought one returned from amazon after giving up waiting for stock. It released in August 2021, I could only get one by February next year.
Designed in Sweden to be precise.
No support for backsided connectors?
https://youtu.be/tD95GTlMTrk?si=UWzMbkUgUKvx2HkR
They went the wrong way! I just left my north for a A4 H20 with a North-like front panel.
Oh damn, and I'm just about to buy a North too...
Is it compatible with any of the hdd trays and how many would fit in here? Would like to put some hdd's to the right of the mobo.
https://youtu.be/dgZWoM\_KXog?si=S7LTXME1HsKLSnZB
Love that it’s got so much more top cable routing than the original, my only gripe with mine is I have so many fan and rub cables routed through the tiny top cutout
Been contemplating doing the O11DXL with a boat load of rgb and stuff... then this comes out. Should I go noctuas and arctic freezer 3... or spend a lot more on rgb fans and an lcd aio... yeah. Big think.
I just did a minimal RGB build in a Fractal case and it came out so nice I'm not sure I ever want a lighthouse ever again.
I wish I could order directly from their website instead of going through a retailer. This is going to be a pain to get to Canada.
Memory Express has this.
You're right! I had no idea. Thank you friend.
I have a Asus Dual 4070 Super and going for a 7800x3D and thinking of an Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 or 360. Should I get the normal or XL case?
Finally! I have been waiting for this!
You’re going the wrong way!
North mATX please!!!!
Forget the case. I wanna get that monitor!
Too late, I already went Corsair 4000D with the wood panel. North was too small for a real AIO and 4090.
Depends on how you set it up https://pcpartpicker.com/b/MmBcCJ
Trust me, I tried several and returned several they didn’t fit, eventually returning the north
About 10 or 15 mm more GPU length would have been nice, vs the standard, but the XL is 58 cm more. For the CPU cooler, I just want it to be able to fit a 165 mm cooler. The standard can do that, but not with the fan bracket. The XL is allows 10 mm more, but still doesn't fit a tall cooler with the bracket.
Make a wider torrent compact pls
I ordered the regular fractal North Monday. Then you came out with this so I ordered that yesterday. I guess I'll be returning the regular north 😂😂
Just built around the xl black mesh last night. Due to planning, switching to masterful maker compound, being careful and having to redo things a couple times it took me about 5 hrs to move the following. - 7800x3d - asus 650 e-f - asus 4080s - Super Flower focus gx 850 - 6 total 140mm fans(no red fans or lights) Doing it sober would have sped it up a bit. Difficulty: I've worked on my own machines since 89 and have a graveyard of past cases that I love or hate. I love the North but man oh man I wish there was better access to the power supply once installed. The shroud that covers the top and side of the psu can't be removed. I found myself having to remove and redo things a couple times as I wanted the wiring to be clean. Ended up being relieved I only had pwr led and pwr sw headers to deal with as the location on my motherboard made them tough to connect. Not that big: XL really isn't big at all, just feels like a regular full tower. I bought it mainly for its additional width as my asus 4080s prevented my last case from closing as super flower (nor any 3rd parties) don't offer a right angle cable to make the cable management easier. Fans/bracket: Ended up using the fan tray to add a third arctic pwm pst 140mm exhaust to the top side of the CPU so there's 3 pulling the hot air away from the top left corner. Originally wanted to put it over the gpu to pull fresh air over the rear half but didn't want to put strain on the 4080s power cable. Had to put tiny strips of rubber along the sides of the fan to stop the blades hitting the tray as it's flimsy and was rattling. Front fans were left default. It's great now. Overall: Very happy to have a case with no emphasis on rgb/glass panels. - Originally wanted white but seeing them in person I realized the black would match everything else in my office and the gold trim was a more subtle/orangy-yellow. - Different finger screws would have been appreciated as the ones included are just basic. - An integrated gpu bracket would also have been a nice touch. - Front fan cable is a little short as are the lengths of the pwr switch/led cables if your motherboard has them along the bottom like mine l. Just my thoughts. Love it.
what fans did you order? I'm doing a build this weekend and I didn't know I'd need to add additional fans. Here is my build https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jgRtyg
I always use Arctic cooling PSTs. They're quiet and have the ability to daisy chain multiple together so you can run multiple off a single fan header and they all share the PWM signal so will run at the same speed. You can get them in 5 packs (currently about 33 bucks for 5 on amazon US). Below is the name of the fans I use but I don't see the best prices currently. Be aware the arctic sells a version without PST so you don't get the daisy chaining and no PWM speed control (have to rely on 3 pin/voltage only). This is the model I use, they make a white version as well though I'm not sure if they do 5 packs. I do think they have 3 packs though which is fine as that's all you need for the back/top and maybe side of the case. ARCTIC P14 PWM PST - 140 mm Case Fan with PWM Sharing Technology (PST), Pressure-optimised, Very Quiet Motor, Computer, Fan Speed: 200-1700 RPM Below is the price history for amazon, you can see the 5 packs got for about 33 regularly when in stock. 3rd party pricing (plus the added shipping) makes them less ideal . [https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07HCKWF2X?context=search&tp=1y&cpf=amazon-new](https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B07HCKWF2X?context=search&tp=1y&cpf=amazon-new)
Y'all introducing this but you can't actually buy it anywhere yet. What gives?
Where are you located? Newegg have them in stock; [https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=fractal+north+xl](https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=fractal+north+xl) As does BH [https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=north%20xl&sts=ma](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=north%20xl&sts=ma)
I'm in the US, and thank you! Ordering from Newegg now. Checked BH and Amazon 2 days ago and they weren't posted there.
monitor from the future?
Bought one but returned it almost instantly. Feels so cheap compared to my old Define R6 (that I want to replace it with) It is clear to me FractalDesign desperately wanted to cut costs due to probably insertion of that wood front grill (that most likely more expensive than the cheap plastic and metal they used in this case)? My Define R6 while not better in airflow it has much better materials (thicker plates, flexibility and just a better build overall) and much better noise management. For the NorthXL I would have expected a much more premium feel not just in looks but also in materials used. It scream China all over it. Kind of disappointed as it is not a cheap case. That mesh (I had the mesh version) is so cheap and it bends very easily. Also the top mesh comes away way to easily so it is a pain to move this case. Also there is no ssd/hdd activity led in this case - wtf?! Other than looks and probably airflow this case is a disappointment.
Does Somebody know which monitor, keyboard, mouse and table they are using? 👀
I really was hoping they would add some earth/soft colors like the Terra has. I'd love this in Jade.
give me a micro North and Ill jump for joy
Is the North XL sturdy enough to leave, say a 30lbs UPS on top? Trying to rethink my setup here.
Does it accomodate longer PSUs that the North in terms of blocking HDD bays?
The answer is yes. I got a North XL yesterday as a replacement for my North. A bit more clearance for the Noctua D15 and more room inside in general. Oh and my 1000W PSU doesn't require removing one of the 2 HDD bays anymore.
Really disappointing the XL doesn't have room for two more 3.5 inch drives, maybe even a 5.25 behind the grill like the define, but it is tempting. It looks like there's a bracket where you can reasonably put at least one more 3.5 inch drive in there without sacrificing much, would be nice if that were clearly supported. [https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/](https://www.fractal-design.com/products/accessories/mounting/universal-multibracket-type-a-2-pack/black/)
Would be great to have solid side and top panels for this piece of art. The noise is meh.
Please make an ap201 version of the North case but 30 mm longer so you can use long psu's with long gpus. Then take my money. Wouldn't care if it was 200 euros.
Neat, now how abouts an XXL version that is at least 600x240x600? No, really.
Should I go with the normal north over XL? Will GPU size be an issue in the future? Where I live the north is a lot more expensive than MSRP.
I just built my xl as mentioned in this thread. The xl isn't really bigger than other regular towers and even then I found it a bit tight or awkward during parts of the build. I absolutely would recommend the xl over regular as the width alone should help in case future video cards continue to be tall.
Can you put a 360mm rad at the top?
Yes you can https://youtu.be/tD95GTlMTrk?si=UWzMbkUgUKvx2HkR
Thats sweet! Only reason I was hesitant on the original was because of the limited options so this makes the decision easier
You can get creative with the north, here is mine that houses both a external 560 and internal 360 https://www.reddit.com/r/FractalDesign/s/HY9yZ60pvv
You can also do this wit a 360 rad https://pcpartpicker.com/b/MmBcCJ
You can put a 360 rad in the front of the regular North I have an Liquid Freezer III and T30's.
What happen to a itx fractal north. We don’t want bigger. We want smaller!!
A case called Terra happened lol, but they still don't have a matx case with wood details. Matx is getting more and more popular. Free advice, Fractal!
Can you make haste, It's been like a few hours and i still can't buy one in the uk Also, it dosnt say I can mount a rad on bottom Im gonna you cant stop me
I hope it can fit an artic 420
As a person who loves large form factor cases and was waiting for a larger variant of the North I am actually kinda disappointed with the North XL. My current case is the Torrent and in my years of PC busing it is without a doubt one of the best designed large cases and my favourite so far. I was hoping they would take the excellent design of the Torrent and integrate it with the Aesthetic of the North, but no the North XL just seems like generic uninspired case. I will stick with the Torrent and hope another company comes along a gives a proper large form factor case with a wood aesthetic
Just make wood accents for your Torrent.
I just came 😂
Is there a release date/price anywhere? I was just about to buy the normal one, wishing there was an XL model :)
It's out right now! It might take a while for your local store to list it though. My local store in Sweden has hundreds of the XL's showing as in stock and available.
North is already huge 😂
Until you try and install a 360mm aio and a 7900xtx then it's to small 😂😂😂