Fractal Design North XL Computer Case Review

When external drive bays fell out of favor that allowed case designers had to change how computer cases were constructed.  However, despite that freedom, many of the designs you see today mirrors of the originals.  This allowed for more fans to be installed, larger radiators to be used and less complex bezel designs to be developed.

Fractal Design has opted to keep with tradition but, has been experimenting with bezel design.  As you can see here the bezel is comprised of vertical strips of wood that have been offset away from the frame to appear floating. 

This effect is further reinforced with the extremely wide section added to the back of the bezel providing visual separation between the front and side of the case. 

Expansion slots number the typical seven with the entire panel being skeletonized to provide the least amount of air resistance.  You’ll find that this punch pattern is also repeated across the top of the basement panel.

Color contrasts are something that I enjoy building into my mods as simple color accents go a long way to decorate the build.  Sometimes these are subtle such as tasteful RGB while others might be a completely repainted panel with attached brackets being offset with a different color.

Fractal Design has chosen a triple color combo for the Black edition North XL the colors are a dark brown (Walnut) sitting on black panels, A lightly shaded tempered glass side panel and Gold accents, which can be seen on the front panel controls.

Front panel controls consist of a main power button, analog jacks for headphones and microphone, two USB Type-A and one USB-C. 

Additional brown and gold can be found as elegant details on the chassis feet and the leather pull tab connected to the removable mesh panel across the top.