This is my first SFF build. I do a lot of data heavy editing and was looking for something that could support that workload while still being in a small form factor for travel. I did quite a bit of research gauging sizes and was able to fit everything into the Fractal Ridge below. One thing that was a little off was the uneven heights on my deshrouded Asus GPU, which made the clearance very tight on the AIO side. The case would close, but the side panel wanted to pop the top off a little, so I trimmed off one of the fan mounts and that solved the issue. Enjoy.

Build Specs

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 16-Core Processor
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master AIO (with Noctua Chromax G2 120mm fans)
• GPU: Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5080 (Deshrouded)
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B850-I Gaming WiFi
• RAM: 96GB DDR5 SDRAM T-Create
• Storage: 2TB Samsung 9100 PRO NVMe (Primary) + 4TB Gen 5 NVMe (Secondary)

Fan Control Adjustments

The two Noctua Chromax fans are sandwiched between the AIO radiator and the GPU heatsink, functioning to cool both. They are connected to the CPU header, and then I used the Fan Control app to sync them to a custom Mix Curve tracking whichever temperature is higher between the CPU and GPU.

• CPU Fan Curve (Master Mix):
  • 45°C @ 30% / 65°C @ 50% / 80°C @ 75% / 90°C @ 100%
• GPU Fan Curve: Linear control curve targeting the core sensor directly:
  • 35°C @ 25% up to 80°C @ 60%
• Chassis Fan Curve (60mm Array): Forced to follow the combined CPU/GPU Mix Curve:
  • 40°C @ 25% / 70°C @ 45% / 85°C @ 65% / 90°C @ 100%
• Extra Flow / VRM Fan Curve: 15mm Noctua Chromax 120mm mounted above the AIO block on the outside wall of the case:
  • 40°C @ 20% / 55°C @ 40% / 65°C @ 60%
• AIO Pump Curve: Locked flat at 100% speed static (completely silent to my ears, providing maximum fluid velocity).

Benchmarks & Thermals

3DMark Steel Nomad Stress Test:

• DX12 Score: 8,553
• Max GPU Temp: Stabilized right at ~85°C under sustained loop load
• Max CPU Temp: Hovered comfortably around 50°C to 55°C with brief intermittent utility spikes up to ~65°C

HWInfo Built-In Stress Testing (10+ Minute Sustained Heavy Load):

• CPU Only Load: Settled smoothly at 88.0°C under full multi-core stress.
• GPU Only Load: Leveled out at 74.6°C.
• Simultaneous CPU + GPU Test: CPU stabilized at 88.5°C while the GPU actually dropped to a cool 67.6°C.

Acoustics: The system is actually pretty quiet, averaging about 35dB from 1 foot away, and moving closer to 38dB at flat-out full speed. When I was first running tests, there was an AC unit and a generator running nearby, and the PC was completely inaudible in that environment.

Overall pretty happy with how it turned out :)

I builded this beauty together two weeks ago.
This case is very beautiful 😍
Specs:
CASE: Fractal North XL
GPU: ASUS TUF RTX 5080
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D
MOBO: Asus x870e E Gaming wifi
RAM: 32GB DDR5
AIO: Thermalright Peerless Vision 360
SSD: Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Fans: Arctic P12 Pro ARGB (front) and Arctic P12 Pro (bottom)

2 questions:

1. If i use all noctua fans (like in the picture), will there be a big sound difference between the North XL and Meshify 3 XL? (I would really love to have the north xl case. But if the Meshify 3 XL is alot quieter with that layout, i might have to choose that one)
2. In both case setups, are those good reliable fan setups for cooling and noise?

I am trying to build a quiet air cooling only pc (as quiet as can be with fans of course). Having a quiet pc is important to me, because the pc will be in a rather small room together with my girlfriends pc.

I am now stuck between 2 choices. Problem is that i like the design of the North XL case WAY more because of the wood. But multiple people has raised issues with the wooden paneling, as the wood creates noise/turbulence with the front fans? I would hate to spend a lot of money on noctua fans, only for the wooden paneling to be the big noise source. Its also better to house 3x120mm fans in the front, instead of the 3x140mm fans in the meshify 3 XL. But that would negatively impact the cooling/noise right?

I like the design of the meshify 3 XL way less. But the case gets praised so much for its airflow. That would fit a quieter build very well.

PC specs: 9800x3d, 4070 windforce oc or 5070 ti tuf, X870 Aorus Elite, KLevv cras 2x32gb ddr5 ram, noctua nh-d15 g2

These bins at Faro airport in Portugal look incredibly stylish yet somehow familiar!

I put my computer on the floor and don't look at it anymore. Now, I can waste time on other things besides customizing the looks of my PC (which was actually a lot of fun). One other tip: I usually have my phone on my desk. There are apps that report system info like temps. So, you don't NEED screens on or in PCs if, for whatever reason, you like to see whether your CPU is at 60 or 62% utilization while installing BG3.

9060 xt 16gb Sapphire Nitro , 9800x3d (bottlenecked by the card I know but I got it a deal on it) 32gb 6000mhz ddr5, Arctic fans all round. Gotta love the GPU clearance 🫡 Obviously nowhere near the steam machine's size but it's still a tidy little case all the same and it's the all solid version with the built in noise dampening.

This system used to run a 4070 but that's in my desktop setup now, sick of using a separate wireless media keyboard in windows 11 to navigate everything as it's a htpc. Moving it onto steam os now that it's in beta for any AMD setup. We'll see how it goes!

Motherboard: MSI MPG X870E Carbon WIFI

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D

CPU Cooler: CORSAIR Titan 360 RX

GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC paired with Wireview Pro II

RAM: 48GB Corsair Dominator Titanium

Storage #1: 2TB Samsung 980 PRO | Storage #2: 2TB Samsung 980 PRO

PSU: 1200W Super Flower Leadex VIII Platinum PRO

Hello! I recently bought the Fractal Design Meshify 3 RGB TG Light Tint White. Overall, I really like this case and how well it’s engineered, but the build quality is a bit disappointing, especially for a premium brand. The panel gaps are uneven and it looks like some of the panels don’t fit together properly. Is this normal for this case?

The first picture.

Started 11 months ago modding the front intake for three 140mm Noctua fans. It required some slow dremelling to cut out the impeding parts at front intake. Before that could properly and safely take place, the case needed to be isolated from metal dust and fillings as a result from the dremelling. 🫣 See first picture.

The second picture (the bottom angle mod is swapped for a scoop mod, explained below.

Now about the 140mm airflow amplifier. The original is meant for room cooling by forcing air to flow in such a way that accelerate it to go further; it is also only in 120mm.

I thought of doing myself, and anyone interested in doing such a demented thing (not even Noctua engineers condone this a bigger 140mm version favor-- because... WHY NOT. 😂🤣🫣 Sometimes we have to live life a little adventurous, though do so cautiously, of course.

So the purpose of the 140mm Airflow Amplifier (refer as AA here on) is to shoot the air further towards the NH-D15S (G2) instead of a more disturbed fashion if without. Why would I want that? Curiosity of how streams of "focused eddies" can do for cooling. Actual benching is next. Stay tuned. It be awhile.

The front bottom, however, is modded with a 3D printed scoop. Inspired by latter designs of other case manufacturers in hopes to deliver needed airflow to the entire length of the GPU (likely only half way due to triple fan intake of GPU design). Meshify 2 is not the issue since I am working with a legacy case if intent for high GPU airflow (was considering Torrent XL, but damn thing is just too large); conversely, I push forth to fully utilize whatever Fractal Design has to offer by using a scope with help from middle fan 140mm AA to do that job.

Third and fourth picture.

Yup, it took that long to put this together. Life. Yes. But now it is nearly complete (front top fan slot is sealed with fitting cutout to enable the wind tunnel-like effect.

Final pic.

GPU support via leftover Lego pieces. Cause. If it fits. Why not.

Thanks all for contributing their advises so many months ago, 11 months. Thanks Fractal Design. 🥰

It’s finally done… for now.
I built this computer because I wanted a strong and capable computer that I could carry with me anywhere.
I play on a 4k oled screen and this thing pairs up with it perfectly. This is my first ever ITX build (second build overall) the Fractal Terra was very easy to build in. The hardest part about building in this case was finding a combination of parts that works. You have to sacrifice a lot with this case. I tried to put together something that had as little compromise as possible. I think I have accomplished that,
It took some time but for me this setup is perfect. It’s not loud, (actually quieter than any other pc in my house) and it’s a powerhouse.
Case : Fractal Terra ITX (BLK)
CPU : Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8c/16t
CPU Cooler : ID-Cooling IS67XT (Stock Fan Swapped for Noctua A12x15)
RAM : Teamgroup T-Create Expert CL30 6000MHZ DDR5 32GB
SSD : 4TB Samsung 9100 Pro + 4TB Samsung 990 Pro
GPU : Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition
PSU : Corsair SF1000 SFX
Bottom Case Fan : Noctua A12x15
Top Case Fan : Noctua A12x25

Fan Orientations //
Top Case Fan (exhaust)
Bottom Case Fan (Intake)
CPU Fan (intake)
GPU Fans (exhaust)
PSU Fan (Intake)

CPU/GPU Undervolt //
CPU : -30 PBO
GPU : 75% Power Limit , +250MHZ Core Clock

Extra mods // GPU Flipped travel kit Gpu standoffs Top Fan bracket Psu offset bracket Low profile power cable
Fan Orientations // Top Case Fan (exhaust) Bottom Case Fan (Intake) CPU Fan (intake)

Overall I’m happy with it.
It’s not the cleanest or most effective build, but it gets the job done for me

How come white version has a completely different layout (sata drives on left) and no cable management flaps on the back? I would have thought a colour change wouldnt change that.
Dont really care for it but just curious why they would do this.

First image of my White north xl second image of black xl. Third image my build

CPU: Ryzen 7 7800x3d
GPU: ASUS RTX 5070 Ti ROG Strix
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B850F Gaming
Cooling: be quiet! Silent Loop 3 360
Power supply: be quiet! Dark Power 14 850W
RAM: Trident Z Skill 32 GB 6000 MHZ
SSD: Samsung Evo 1T

It became time to move away from the huge RGB build id created in the Air5400. The temps were great and I do like the look, but I got tired of the size of the whole thing taking up so much of my desk and decided maybe its time to grow up... Loving the Noctua Chromax components. Ive fitted 2x NF-A14 G2 intake fans, 1x NF-A12 G2 exhaust, the NH-U12A CPU Cooler with the NA-HC8 Chromax Cooler tower cover.

The main build is:
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Nano Case
Gigabyte X870I Ice ITX motherboard
Ryzen 9 9900X
Gigabyte 9070XT Ice
Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 32gb 6000MHz
Acer Predator GM7 4TB M.2 SSD
Corsair RM1000X Shift

Hi,

I'm building my first PC and I'm thinking about the best airflow possible, especially because of the heat wave in Europe. As I did some research, it seems that this is the recommended airflow for the North XL, but I would love some advice or feedback.

Thanks!

Fan in front: default 3 x 140mm

Top: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro, 3 x 120mm

Rear: ARCTIC P14 Pro Reverse

180mm fans in the meshify 3 xl