Fractal Meshify 3 XL Case Review

The mark of a good product series is when you can look at any product and know where it belongs.  When looking at the Meshify 3 you’ll recognize the distinctive front bezel while also getting a hint of the Momentum high performance RGB fans behind.

The primary side panel is clear tempered glass and appears seamless with the rest of the chassis.

Turing the case around shows a slightly different design element, a meshed area stamped out of an otherwise completely flat panel. The meshed opening extends the entire height of the panel giving the appearance of a band similar to what we found with the North XL.

Expansion slots number seven and feature a very open design to promote venting with a stamping pattern that is replicated across the entire rear of the case.   While fans can be installed here, the stamping doesn’t provide a clear location to where the screws should be installed or where the fan should be positioned. 

Personally I like these clean details but, knowing deep down that some users require considerable hand holding when it comes to installing fans, I'm not sure they would know what to do.  A nice positive is that with how many fans are supported on the Meshify 3 XL having a single exhaust fan installed would actually hamper cooling performance.

Now, this brings me to the one thing I hate about this case which has become an increasingly popular cost saving measure, the location of the expansion slot screws.

As you can see from the photos of the case, the rear panel is completely flat.  This pushes the motherboard I/O and expansion slots back, giving you slightly more interior space, saving on some material while simplifying the manufacturing process.  The downside, it exposing the expansion slot screws and creates large holes.  To improve the visual appeal a small panel is installed to cover the screws and the opening. 

Does it work, yes.  Is it extremely lazy from a design standpoint, yes. 

Personally, I find this feature the mark of a “cheap case” and prefer the “traditional” design where the screws are inside the chassis.  This removes the need for an extra panel and provides a degree of security where everything important is inside the case instead of hanging out the back.

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

Despite the debacle with the expansion slots many of the elegant features we saw on the North XL have made their way over to the Meshify 3 XL including a rather large vented panel covering the top fan location.  This panel is removed by sliding it backwards and they provide a pull tab to make things easy.