Final words and conclusion

Conclusion 

Is the Mini Meshify C just a scaled down version of its bigger brother? Well, in a word, yes. Aside from the obvious size difference, it retains many of the features that made us like the original as much as we did. Sleek looks, tempered glass, excellent build quality & cable management, etc. Whilst the original Define C was much more targeted toward those of us more sensitive toward the noise, internal temps did suffer as a result. That isn't to say that this 'new' chassis is loud, however, and in reality, any system that is properly built and configured should not be audible under both reasonable and idle scenarios.

Stuff we frown upon? Well, the lack of a fan controller winds me up (forgive the British-ism). A speed switch on the front I/O would go a long way to adding to the premium feel of the case, and would - in my eyes - better justify that $89.99 USD, £79.99, or 89.99 Euro tag. There is no 5.25'' bay, but I hear nobody surprised by this. I also feel as though some extra cable management area behind the motherboard tray would be nice, as 15mm (at the narrowest) is pushing tolerances a little bit. What if you have more than 1 CPU cable? However, I can only really see this being a problem if - as previously stated - the builder is running a lot of cables through narrow areas. Finally, the drive caddies are not tool free. This bothers me and always has done.

Could you argue that the chassis is a little much for $89.99 USD, £79.99, or 89.99 Euro? Maybe. Two things I mentioned above are a genuine 'irks', but one is arguably an 'I can live with it' problem (the drive cages, as once it's done, it's done). Aside from this, the case really does not lack in any area. It's compact, looks great, and has the allure of tempered glass. The space inside is well used, and unless you are rocking a truly outsized GPU or tower cooler, this chassis should cater to 90+ percent of your 'average' builder's needs. This is, in fairness, a point to 'redeem' the case (not that it needed redeeming, the above are 'gripes,' and that is all). It is very well thought out for a mATX case, and is relatively feature rich.

The Interior

Let's keep the annoyances brief. No fan controller? Drive bays needing screws? Tight on cable routing space in some places? All somewhat annoying. Would any of those, however, stop me considering this case? I doubt it. The thickest cable in your build will be the 20+4 pin, and that has a very defined 'place to go.' The only 'thicker' cable that needs to go where the others do not is the 4+4 CPU power cable, and 15mm is more than enough. Aside from maybe a couple of thin 3/4 pin cables, and maybe a SATA power/data cable, what else is there?

PSU length might be a concern for some, but - if so - pray tell me why you're trying to use a unit of 175mm+ in a mATX build? Given the diminutive form factor of PSUs nowadays, 650 watts will take care of any build housing an 8700k and 1080Ti. If you want a high end yet compact mid-tower PC with ATX mainboard support, the Meshify C regular is a great choice. If you want a really high-end PC, go for a bigger tower like the Define R6 (we did review this chassis a few weeks back, and you can find it here).

The Exterior

Short section this one, as I feel as though I've made my 'like' of this case's looks pretty clear! It's very 'no-nonsense,' with the only out there bit of design being the tessellated panel at the front. Simplicity has an elegance all of its own, and - to me - that rings very true here. The plain steel frame is tough, pleasingly weighty, and shouldn't scratch easily. In fact, the case is almost entirely devoid of anything to let know you it's from Fractal Design. Unless you're a seasoned PC parts veteran, the only bit of branding that is 'obvious' is a simple stamped badge near the bottom of the front mesh.

Final Words

The Meshify Mini C is aimed at the high end, of that, there can be no doubt. Sure, it misses some features that I think it could do with. With due regard to the (lack of a) fan controller, for a moment. In fairness, if you're spending approx. over a cool 1000,- bucks then what is a tenner or three (or so) on something like NZXT's Grid+ V2? I made my views on PSU 'limitations' fairly clear earlier, but I'll reiterate. If you're using a 750W and above unit, then is mATX really what you want? This is an area in which the smaller chassis can avoid the critique leveled at the bigger one. You might want a big PSU in a regular mid-tower, and that is where the limited space in the regular Meshify C can hurt it. Having said that, I do appreciate that the regular case is heavily marketed as a 'compact' mid-tower, and it's not meant for someone looking to use all the GPUs humanly possible. I personally think that this case gets almost everything right. Improved airflow, good storage and decent cable management, great looks, and - depending on your viewpoint - potentially good value for the money, looking at how feature rich this case is. To be clear, it actually isn't that much smaller than the regular case, which might be disappointing to some people. However, the reduced height might allow the case to more neatly slot under a desk, or below a low shelf where it couldn't go before. For this reduction in height, you're losing ATX support and 360mm space in the front, but retaining the vast majority of what the previous case had. I happen to think that the loss of 360mm support isn't a big deal, either. It all comes back to 'appropriate' components, after all, and 360mm in an mATX case just doesn't make sense, nor do I actually think it would be practical. I, therefore, have zero hesitation in giving the chassis our 'Recommended' award. If you want a good looking, high end, feature rich case that lacks really nothing I would deem 'essential,' then the Meshify C Mini is a great option.

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