Fractal Design ERA ITX chassis review

PC Cases and Modding 227 Page 10 of 10 Published by

teaser

Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The new ERA series look sick, I mean just look at it. On the inside, however, it can be a Chinese finger trap when it comes to installing components. You need to pick and choose carefully. The guys and gals that need something small and sexy for that function as a net-top, HTPC or the coolest looking NAS/file server ever. When mounted with high-end processors and the enthusiast-class graphics card you'll run into airflow issues to a certain extent. Add top fans or an LCS and that problem however is solved. In fact, applying an LCS nearly is mandatory due to CPU cooler spacing restrictions. Fact remains that if you can find a Mini ITX motherboard with a fast enough processor then really there's nothing holding you back to create a more powerful beast thanks to the fact you can insert a dual-slot graphics card even.


So is it any good?

The inside of the chassis does what it needs to do and that is to create an environment for components. Overall the compact chassis offers decent space for the Mini-ITX motherboard, even an ATX (but preferred SFX) PSU, and reasonable storage options (but who doesn't use M.2 SSD storage with a high-end PC these days? As shown in the article, you can even insert a dual-slot dedicated graphics card. There is a compromise to be made though if you want to do that in combo with an ATX PSU you forfeit in HDD/SSD space. Another thing we need to mention is cable management, it'll be all over the place in the chassis as you really cannot route stuff properly. It's a closed chassis though, nobody will see the spaghetti of wires of course. We strongly recommend a modular power supply with a maximum length of 15cm to ensure that things will work out.

   

 Img_0092

      

Aesthetics

Personally I think the looks are fantastic. And you have choices as well in colors and topside wood or Tempered glass finish. Yes, the looks are just pretty darn fancy, it's a little box with an all-aluminum finish. Taste obviously differs per person though, but the word I tend to use with Fractal Design PC cases seems to be 'subtle'. And yeah the word subtle certainly does apply here as well. No screaming logo's, LEDs and mismatched colors. It's all done just right, but again .. taste differs per person and thus makes this a subjective rating.

The Noise and airflow

This one will be more tricky. First off the 80mm fan is freakishly brilliant, silent and it offers good airflow. However, that airflow needs to pass through 80mm of real-estate. If you keep the PC specs to TDP friendly components, you'll likely be fine. My recommendation, however, is to install a top side LCS with a 240mm radiator. The two added fans will create proper airflow then for even high-end gear + you get the benefit of proper cooling and heat exhausting the CPU though that radiator at the top side. The air intake for the graphics card is a bit of a conundrum, a blower-style could draw heat from the outside, however, most AIB graphics cards blow heat from the cooler design downwards, and that is exactly what you do not want to happen if you want to create a chimney airflow effect. So that does not necessarily need to be a problem, but it can be. 

  

Guru3d-approved

 

 

The Verdict

So if you are in the market for a classy compact chassis to house your Mini ITX motherboard that has flexibility, features and great looks then yeah, the Fractal Design ERA series sure does offer a lot of fun. We made some remarks though, as I likely we would not mount this chassis with high TDP components, then again if you pick them right, it could be enough cooling wise. The LCS route pretty much is a must in that situation. Esthetics wise you'll get plenty of choices, and yeah it does look nice man. However again, select your components wisely (that's enough disclaimers right?). If you do so you'll have a fantastic build. The installation, however, is a bit more complicated, especially wiring, while enough space, can be tricky. The PSU extension cable also is a bit tricky to route and the PSU mounting itself, well a little odd maybe. The elephant in the room we need to discuss though is the price, as that one is tagged at 160 USD, which is an eye-popping amount of money for this chassis. I cannot justify that price, to be honest, but perhaps you can. Overall you are looking at a quality build, the ERA really is sturdy, armed with USB 3.0, one silent fan. It probably is among the best compact chassis we have ever tested for this form factor. For that alone, we can approve it but price-wise have a rather hard time recommending it as honestly I expected it to be half that amount of cash. 

 

Share this content
Twitter Facebook Reddit WhatsApp Email Print