Fractal Design Meshify C Review
Category : Cases
Published by Marc Büchel on 09.08.17
With the Meshify C, Fractal Design has added the next case to their portfolio. The interior strongly reminds of the Define C, which has been available for quite a while now. Apparently the Swedes have reworked the exterior, which is why we're finding an unusual lot of mesh on this case, allowing for excellent airflow. Overall we're curious to find out how this case is going to perform in our review and apart from that we want to know more about the pricing.
[pagebreak]
Preview
Specifications
| Model: |
Meshify C |
| Case Type: |
Mid tower |
| Dimensions: |
210 mm (W) x 440 mm (H) x 399 mm (D) |
| Material: |
Steel, ABS |
| Color: |
Black |
| Drive Bay: |
5.25": |
0 |
| 3.5": |
2 |
| 2.5": |
3 |
| Expansion
slots: |
7 |
| Form factors: |
ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Cooling: |
Front: |
3x 120mm / 2x 140mm (1x 120mm included) |
| Rear: |
1x 120mm (1x 120mm included) |
| Top: |
2x 120mm / 2x 140mm |
| Bottom: |
1x 120mm |
| Side: |
/ |
| Watercooling |
Front: |
240mm / 280mm / 360mm |
| Rear: |
120mm |
| Top: |
240mm / 280mm |
[pagebreak]
Features
PSU Cover
In order to hide all the cables connected to your power supply, there is cover hiding away the unit. This helps creating a neat and clean looking system. |
| |
Dust filters
There are washable dust filters covering all big openings of the Fractal Design Meshify C. Thanks to a quick release system they are very easy and convenient to remove. |
| |
Watercooling ready
The Fractal Design Meshify C is ready to be equipped with watercooling gear. If you wish to create a custom loop, there is the possibility to place three radiators in this case. One of them can be a 360mm and the other a 280mm one. In addition you can put another small 120mm radiator in the rear part. |
[pagebreak]
Product overview
Overview |
|
|
| |
|
The Meshify C features a simple and neat design, while it's made from black sheet metal, plastic of excellent quality as well as tempered glass. In the case of the front panel the manufacturer decided to equip this case with a large mesh, behind which a dust filter has been placed. The panel can be removed easily and therefore cleaning happens comfortably quick. If you're looking for 5.25" slots you won't find any, which means there is no possibility to add an aftermarket card reader, a fan controller or an ODD. Meanwhile we don't mention this in our "contra section" at the conclusion, since especially ODDs are simply not needed anymore and all the latest motherboards allow for DC controlled fan speed adjustments. Looking for the I/O panel we find two black USB 3.0 ports, a power and a reset button as well as the standard audio jacks integrated into the top of the case.
Advancing to the side panels, we see that the one on the right is made from sheet metal of reasonable strenght, which add to the stiffness of the case and adds a feel of quality to the product. On the left side Fractal Design is using a panel made from tinted tempered glass adding a lot to the looks of the product as a whole.
The back panel is as simple as it gets, while there are seven PCI expansion slots, the opening for the motherboard I/O panel, a 120mm fan slot and the opening for the standard ATX power supply. The bottom of the case has been equipped with four plastic, which receive an aluminum finish. There is also an air-inlet allowing the PSU to breathe should the fan be facing downwards. |
| |
|
|
| |
[pagebreak]
Installation
Overview |
|
|
| |
The interior of the Meshify C is clean and simple, and it features a layout that can be called classic meanwhile. Apart from that the interior layout clearly shows that the The Meshify C derives from the Define C, which was and still is a successful prodcut. Although this is a compact ATX tower there is space for custom water cooling gear as well as capable tower air coolers. Apart from that there is space for up to two 3.5" HDDs and three 2.5" SSDs. Both can be installed using sledges or using a carrier plate.
The motherboard tray has been manufactured from sheet metal, which we would like to be a little bit thicker. There is the usual, big cut-out, where the motherboards's CPU socket is, which allows for installing of aftermarket CPU coolers requiring a backplate without having to remove the motherboard. The tray features four openings with rubber grommets allowing you to create neat looking cable management. Between the motherboard tray and the side right panel there is enough space to hide plenty of cables.
For a test build, we've used a mATX Z270 motherboard paired with a EK Predator all-in-one water cooler and that unit requires quite a lot of space but fits perfectly. In addition we've installed an EVGA GTX 750 Ti custom graphics card as well as a Seasonic power supply. As you can see from the pictures there are plenty of slots for the fans and radiators. The Meshify C is able to accommodate a CPU cooler with a maximum height of 170mm and graphics cards can measure up to 315mm in length. [/de][en]The interior of the Meshify C is clean and simple, and it features a layout that can be called classic meanwhile. Apart from that the interior layout clearly shows that the The Meshify C derives from the Define C, which was and still is a successful prodcut. Although this is a compact ATX tower there is space for custom water cooling gear as well as capable tower air coolers. Apart from that there is space for up to two 3.5" HDDs and three 2.5" SSDs. Both can be installed using sledges or using a carrier plate.
The motherboard tray has been manufactured from sheet metal, which we would like to be a little bit thicker. There is the usual, big cut-out, where the motherboards's CPU socket is, which allows for installing of aftermarket CPU coolers requiring a backplate without having to remove the motherboard. The tray features four openings with rubber grommets allowing you to create neat looking cable management. Between the motherboard tray and the side right panel there is enough space to hide plenty of cables.
For a test build, we've used a mATX Z270 motherboard paired with a EK Predator all-in-one water cooler and that unit requires quite a lot of space but fits perfectly. In addition we've installed an EVGA GTX 750 Ti custom graphics card as well as a Seasonic power supply. As you can see from the pictures there are plenty of slots for the fans and radiators. The Meshify C is able to accommodate a CPU cooler with a maximum height of 170mm and graphics cards can measure up to 315mm in length. |
| |
|
|
| |
[pagebreak]
Ventilation options
Overview |
|
|
| |
|
| The Meshify C offers plenty of sposts to place fans. Included in the delivery there are two, black 120mm fans. Overall, the case is able to accommodate three 120 or two 140mm fans in the front, one 120mm fan at the back and another two 120/140mm fans can be place in the top. If you're planning on building a liquid cooled systems we can say that we were surprised to see this much space for water cooling gear. Apart from that Fractal Design mentions details related to the thickness of the radiators. This way you won't have to worry about buying the wrong heat exchanger. Thanks to the fact, that there is a lot of space there is the possibility to install a 360mm radiator at the front, a 240mm at the top and a 120mm on the back. |
| |
|
|
| |
[pagebreak]
Temperatures
Overview |
| |
| |
|
For testing purposes we're using an MSI Z170I Gaming Pro AC motherboard, an Intel Core i5-6600K CPU, which receives cooling through a SilentiumPC Fortis 3 HE1425 MCE cooler as well as a MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G graphics card. To put the CPU under full load, we're running prime95 for 10 min and in the case of the GPU we use Furmark also for 10 minutes. After these ten minutes, we're going to write down the temperatures. The ambient temperature is close to 24°C. |
|
All noise dampening panels installed |
Idle (°C) |
Full (°C) |
|
Intel Core i5-6600K |
26 / 26 / 25 / 26 |
50 / 53 / 52 / 51 |
| MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G |
43 |
66 |
|
Less is better |
[pagebreak]
Conclusion
Rating |
| |
Cooling |
Features |
Layout |
Build Quality |
Value for Money |
| Pros |
+ Good
compatibility for watercooling and aircooling |
+ Water cooling
+ Dust filters |
+ Interior
space
+ Good space for cable routing |
+ High quality materials
+ Rubber groomets
|
+ Well priced |
| Cons |
- Not compatible with fat radiators |
- No Type-C USB |
- Max 175mm PSU |
|
|
The Fractal Design Meshify C is a mid-tower PC case designed for those who are looking to build a silent rig, which offers plenty of space for high-end hardware as well as custom liquid cooling gear. Fractal Design decided to use a high airflow design of the exterior, while the front doesn't feature any 5.25" slots. Those have been sacrificed for the sake of better compatbility with radiators and cooling gear in general. The materials and the build quality are on a good level, which is something we certainly expected from Fractal Design.
On the inside there is quite a lot of space available. If you fit an ATX motherboard you can easily install a radiator in the front and one in the top. Apart from that, all drives bays have been moved either to the bottom part of the case or behind the motherboard tray, which means they're not visible and thus well hidden. Testing the case as delivered with the two 120mm fans - one being in the front and the other in the back - we found the temperatures to be on a reasonable level, while the noise level was low.
The number of features the Meshify C offers is appreciated and there are plenty of options for installing water cooling gear. It's surprising to see that this case is compatble with 280mm and 360mm radiators, but it needs to be mentioned that if you're planning on putting a radiator in top you'd have to make sure you're using a slim model. In general we would love to see two or three centimeters more space between the top edge of the motherboard and the top of the case. This would further increase compatibility with water cooling gear as well as make the mounting process of a motherboard even more comfortable.
The Meshify C from Fractal Design is a PC case which we can recommend. Shoud you be looking looking for a mid-tower PC that features a side panel that's made from tempered glass, offers a very well-though interior layout and is therefore compatible with custom watercooling gear, then this is a great choice. The MSRP of the Fractal Design Meshify C is set to 89.99 Euro, which is a fair and competitive price. The Fractal Design Meshify C earns
4 out of 5 stars.
