A New Best: Fractal Meshify 3 Case Review, Thermal Benchmarks, & Noise
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Date: 2025-05-16
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Comments and reviews: 20
user-oe3mo6vq8b
The front and top filters are gone
The fans and fan hub are proprietary.
The case size and storage support are disappointing.
Fractal Design is cutting manufacturing costs.
Very disappointing. The old is the new.
I heard they moved the factory to China or Taiwan, but the manufacturing cost reduction is getting worse and the quality is getting worse.
I'm not American. Tariffs are not my concern.
The only compliments I can give this case are that it allows for fan installation anywhere in the back and that it finally solved the front fan noise problem I had with the mesfhiy 2. The cause of the fan noise was the case fan frame.
GN's reviews are always awesome.
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The front and top filters are gone
The fans and fan hub are proprietary.
The case size and storage support are disappointing.
Fractal Design is cutting manufacturing costs.
Very disappointing. The old is the new.
I heard they moved the factory to China or Taiwan, but the manufacturing cost reduction is getting worse and the quality is getting worse.
I'm not American. Tariffs are not my concern.
The only compliments I can give this case are that it allows for fan installation anywhere in the back and that it finally solved the front fan noise problem I had with the mesfhiy 2. The cause of the fan noise was the case fan frame.
GN's reviews are always awesome.
reply
toddheartsound5451
Until not too long ago, I was building my own cases because companies just couldn't design cases that made 100% sense. There'd always be some F-up.
I am glad I no longer have to do this and can buy cases that are actually made by professionals and perform better than my work.
One thing I'd like to add is that air flow shaping is going to increase, or at least I hope it will - this is where the remaining performance of air cooled systems is at!
On my current case, I got a 3D printed air duct from the front intake directly connecting to the cpu. It gave me another 4 degrees (Cel) reduction, without increasing noise, power or changing fans!
reply
Until not too long ago, I was building my own cases because companies just couldn't design cases that made 100% sense. There'd always be some F-up.
I am glad I no longer have to do this and can buy cases that are actually made by professionals and perform better than my work.
One thing I'd like to add is that air flow shaping is going to increase, or at least I hope it will - this is where the remaining performance of air cooled systems is at!
On my current case, I got a 3D printed air duct from the front intake directly connecting to the cpu. It gave me another 4 degrees (Cel) reduction, without increasing noise, power or changing fans!
reply
Djoki1
One other benefit of the scoop for the bottom front fan is that it prevents the fan from blasting dust into the HDD and PSU compartment which is straight up harder to clean than a GPU.
Anyway, i have been thinking about replacing 6 of my arctic P12 ARGB fans (the entire blade portion is lit) with blacked out P12 max or even P12 Pro fans to cut down on RGB and add some Phanteks neon RGB strips for much more simplistic lighting. I have also been thinking about getting a better case. This one is a great contender as i like the design and its RGB implementation.
Until i heard the price. 220 bucks Hooolly...
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One other benefit of the scoop for the bottom front fan is that it prevents the fan from blasting dust into the HDD and PSU compartment which is straight up harder to clean than a GPU.
Anyway, i have been thinking about replacing 6 of my arctic P12 ARGB fans (the entire blade portion is lit) with blacked out P12 max or even P12 Pro fans to cut down on RGB and add some Phanteks neon RGB strips for much more simplistic lighting. I have also been thinking about getting a better case. This one is a great contender as i like the design and its RGB implementation.
Until i heard the price. 220 bucks Hooolly...
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eniojurko
i like fractal products, i have 2 of meshify 2 xl-s, but this new meshify 3 is just a north with different front. they are going cheaper with their cases it seems. top of this case is disappointing. plastic is holding the top together, and the plastic clips which go into case will brake eventually and render the top cover useless, it is a bad design. dont even get me started on less and less hdd and ssd space.. the whole point of the case is to fit stuff in it.. but this modern crap, you have a case that cant fit anything in it.. talk about iphone effect, that removed all connectivity from a phone.
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i like fractal products, i have 2 of meshify 2 xl-s, but this new meshify 3 is just a north with different front. they are going cheaper with their cases it seems. top of this case is disappointing. plastic is holding the top together, and the plastic clips which go into case will brake eventually and render the top cover useless, it is a bad design. dont even get me started on less and less hdd and ssd space.. the whole point of the case is to fit stuff in it.. but this modern crap, you have a case that cant fit anything in it.. talk about iphone effect, that removed all connectivity from a phone.
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travis4798
I wonder what is up with fan speed and temperature differences across different software and bios Seems pretty strait forward but I am running across this issue as well between Speedfan, Cpuid, and an Gigabyte bios. Maybe it will be a future video That scoop at the front of the case is a seller for me. I never bought this style of case in-part because of that front fan being partly blocked. Glad to see there's a factory solution! Not too many, if any cases these days using ducts or diverters anymore, I think they should be brought back.
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I wonder what is up with fan speed and temperature differences across different software and bios Seems pretty strait forward but I am running across this issue as well between Speedfan, Cpuid, and an Gigabyte bios. Maybe it will be a future video That scoop at the front of the case is a seller for me. I never bought this style of case in-part because of that front fan being partly blocked. Glad to see there's a factory solution! Not too many, if any cases these days using ducts or diverters anymore, I think they should be brought back.
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gamersnexus
I always marvel at how cheap cases are. Especially those stuffed to the gills with fans, lighting, cables and controllers. And with well-produced nice material. It has been decades since I last bled to death building a PC. The blood sacrifice was very real and I hadn't had that happen to me in ages. And sometimes I wonder if the air in the case is the most expensive material since moving volume around is not cheap and those are not small boxes. We have come a long way since the beige box and the black box and the puddles of blood.
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I always marvel at how cheap cases are. Especially those stuffed to the gills with fans, lighting, cables and controllers. And with well-produced nice material. It has been decades since I last bled to death building a PC. The blood sacrifice was very real and I hadn't had that happen to me in ages. And sometimes I wonder if the air in the case is the most expensive material since moving volume around is not cheap and those are not small boxes. We have come a long way since the beige box and the black box and the puddles of blood.
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lunchie80
Good to see case manufacturers are finally all figuring out that having holes around the intake fans is bad and that closing most of the gaps stops hot air recycling and forces cool air in from the front.
This is also a big reason cases with restricted inlets do so poorly in thermals. It's not so much that the inlet is restricted, it's that air is more preferentially recycled due to the gaps everywhere vs the smaller intake.
Get amy case, seal the intake side around the fans and marvel at the difference.
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Good to see case manufacturers are finally all figuring out that having holes around the intake fans is bad and that closing most of the gaps stops hot air recycling and forces cool air in from the front.
This is also a big reason cases with restricted inlets do so poorly in thermals. It's not so much that the inlet is restricted, it's that air is more preferentially recycled due to the gaps everywhere vs the smaller intake.
Get amy case, seal the intake side around the fans and marvel at the difference.
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mad_mario_
On one of optimum 's vids he 3d printed air ducts that cover the face of gpu and another duct directly goes through to cpu tower. Like direct air cooling...
Temps lowered 10c on gpu but didn't change for cpu until he removes the side cover to dissipate the hot air that cumulated, but it seems in here that slight air direction also works for gpu.
So, would ducted direct air cooling on an open testbench setup be the best solution for temps
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On one of optimum 's vids he 3d printed air ducts that cover the face of gpu and another duct directly goes through to cpu tower. Like direct air cooling...
Temps lowered 10c on gpu but didn't change for cpu until he removes the side cover to dissipate the hot air that cumulated, but it seems in here that slight air direction also works for gpu.
So, would ducted direct air cooling on an open testbench setup be the best solution for temps
reply
ErynTzun
Great review as usual. I still cannot decide on what to get, a fish tank or a more standard case. I'm tired of having to cream everything behind the motherboard so perhaps a larger case, I went to take a look at the Fractal site to check out the XL version of this for size comparison. They have animation of the airflow that is tinted a just a bit too blue, and it makes it look like it's on fire. It's good to know that no two cases are not on fire.
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Great review as usual. I still cannot decide on what to get, a fish tank or a more standard case. I'm tired of having to cream everything behind the motherboard so perhaps a larger case, I went to take a look at the Fractal site to check out the XL version of this for size comparison. They have animation of the airflow that is tinted a just a bit too blue, and it makes it look like it's on fire. It's good to know that no two cases are not on fire.
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gamersnexus
i have anorth xl and the quality is not that high in my opinion...the thumb screws are a pain to turn ..some captive one came off and at least on my the top perforated panel is stamped wrong since the perforations are not straight with the edge of the case case
also it came in one box with a lot of free space and holes in it with no full protection on all sides...for the 200 euros i payed i expected more
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i have anorth xl and the quality is not that high in my opinion...the thumb screws are a pain to turn ..some captive one came off and at least on my the top perforated panel is stamped wrong since the perforations are not straight with the edge of the case case
also it came in one box with a lot of free space and holes in it with no full protection on all sides...for the 200 euros i payed i expected more
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blrblr1
Fractal is my favorite case manufacturer. I am using their cases for years now. And I am glad they still make also cases that does not look like neon show. Dont get me wrong, I know many people like those, but I like clean and minimalistic design and therefore currently both my PCs are sitting in Fractal Design Define 7 Black cases. Both with full side panel so no light is coming out of it. And they are great!
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Fractal is my favorite case manufacturer. I am using their cases for years now. And I am glad they still make also cases that does not look like neon show. Dont get me wrong, I know many people like those, but I like clean and minimalistic design and therefore currently both my PCs are sitting in Fractal Design Define 7 Black cases. Both with full side panel so no light is coming out of it. And they are great!
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n0n4me-h2h
SO even less metal and more plastic for more money...
Fractal is losing touch with reality and especially with its competitors, who keep their prices at competitive levels.
Yes, it might have stellar product support, however there is a big BUT - that support is usually helping with the same repeating problems, which means they ignore problems at their factory/factories instead of solving them.
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SO even less metal and more plastic for more money...
Fractal is losing touch with reality and especially with its competitors, who keep their prices at competitive levels.
Yes, it might have stellar product support, however there is a big BUT - that support is usually helping with the same repeating problems, which means they ignore problems at their factory/factories instead of solving them.
reply
mightychev
Not a fan of that upsell charge for lights lol. That's a whole lancool 216 in cost just for RGB. Saw jay's review of the 217 and still not seeing anything better than the 216. It's the perfect case. Obviously aesthetics are subjective but from a cost function and quality perspective it's in a class of its own. I've used about 20 in builds and am waiting for something to replace it. Not yet.
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Not a fan of that upsell charge for lights lol. That's a whole lancool 216 in cost just for RGB. Saw jay's review of the 217 and still not seeing anything better than the 216. It's the perfect case. Obviously aesthetics are subjective but from a cost function and quality perspective it's in a class of its own. I've used about 20 in builds and am waiting for something to replace it. Not yet.
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gamersnexus
Looks like a good case--good testing scores, not too big, no glass panel on the Black Solid version, and no wood trim. Almost makes me regret ordering the Antec Flux SE yesterday, but I couldn't pass up a $110 deal with free shipping and it already shipped. Hopefully, the Flux SE is almost as good as the Flux Pro, but I might color over its wood trim with a black Sharpie...
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Looks like a good case--good testing scores, not too big, no glass panel on the Black Solid version, and no wood trim. Almost makes me regret ordering the Antec Flux SE yesterday, but I couldn't pass up a $110 deal with free shipping and it already shipped. Hopefully, the Flux SE is almost as good as the Flux Pro, but I might color over its wood trim with a black Sharpie...
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KaMil-gw2qr
I dont like the fact in all of these new cases, regardless of manufacturer, space is wasted inside the case that could be used to attach hard drives or ssd's. Mounting holes should be strategically spaced in the case so user can install various things in different positions. But I guess if some one made a near perfect case, they would mess up the entire PC case market lol.
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I dont like the fact in all of these new cases, regardless of manufacturer, space is wasted inside the case that could be used to attach hard drives or ssd's. Mounting holes should be strategically spaced in the case so user can install various things in different positions. But I guess if some one made a near perfect case, they would mess up the entire PC case market lol.
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DustinHarms
I've had 2 Fractal cases so far, and both have been absolutely excellent. Both, unfortunately, had one of the two from USBs break, though. One took years, the other within the first year.
From my experience with their CS, I know if I reach out to Fractal, they will make it right. But tbh, I don't care so much and mostly just look forward to my next Fractal build.
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I've had 2 Fractal cases so far, and both have been absolutely excellent. Both, unfortunately, had one of the two from USBs break, though. One took years, the other within the first year.
From my experience with their CS, I know if I reach out to Fractal, they will make it right. But tbh, I don't care so much and mostly just look forward to my next Fractal build.
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gamersnexus
Funny story. I bought a thermalright frozen prism and I kinda thought it was faulty cause the cold plate wasn’t flat!
I don’t recall any documentation about that feature.
It did perform well though. I ended up getting a silent loop 3. I’ve had it in for like 3 days and so far it’s performing worse than the thermalright and cost about 100 bucks more!!
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Funny story. I bought a thermalright frozen prism and I kinda thought it was faulty cause the cold plate wasn’t flat!
I don’t recall any documentation about that feature.
It did perform well though. I ended up getting a silent loop 3. I’ve had it in for like 3 days and so far it’s performing worse than the thermalright and cost about 100 bucks more!!
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EmblemParade
I really love my Meshify 2. I was considering the Torrent at the time, but didn't like its looks very much, while I thought the Meshify was very handsome indeed. Kinda looks like a high-end hifi speaker. :) Nice to see improvements with the Meshify 3, though honestly the 2 is also terrific. Fractal cases in general are a joy to work with.
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I really love my Meshify 2. I was considering the Torrent at the time, but didn't like its looks very much, while I thought the Meshify was very handsome indeed. Kinda looks like a high-end hifi speaker. :) Nice to see improvements with the Meshify 3, though honestly the 2 is also terrific. Fractal cases in general are a joy to work with.
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cloudstrife7083
I am unsure which of these three full-tower cases to choose: Fractal Design Define 7 XL, Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL, or Corsair 7000D Airflow. I would prefer not to jump to the Corsair 9000D. What do you recommend My build would include a 9950X3D, 96GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30, an RTX 5080 or 5090, and an ASUS X870E Hero AM5 motherboard.
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I am unsure which of these three full-tower cases to choose: Fractal Design Define 7 XL, Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL, or Corsair 7000D Airflow. I would prefer not to jump to the Corsair 9000D. What do you recommend My build would include a 9950X3D, 96GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30, an RTX 5080 or 5090, and an ASUS X870E Hero AM5 motherboard.
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Dishonored_One
So apparently Arctic quietly released Liquid Freezer III Pro 360. It comes with P12 Pro fans that have 3 times the static pressure and 40% higher CFM of the regular P12s(7 blades instead of 5 3000 max RPM). Arctic claims 2-10C lower temperatures depending on test conditions. Any chance of you reviewing it in the foreseeable future
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So apparently Arctic quietly released Liquid Freezer III Pro 360. It comes with P12 Pro fans that have 3 times the static pressure and 40% higher CFM of the regular P12s(7 blades instead of 5 3000 max RPM). Arctic claims 2-10C lower temperatures depending on test conditions. Any chance of you reviewing it in the foreseeable future
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