Fractal Summit Case Review - Thermal Benchmarks, Noise, & Cable Management
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Date: 2026-09-04
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Comments and reviews: 20
SquishedTia
To be fair to Fractal on the penny pinching aspect regarding the drive mounting hardware, at least they didn't stoop as low as Corsair did with their 9000D case and only give 40 of their QuikTurn fan screws (42 are supposed to be in the case, mine came with 40, even less than the pitiful proper amount). That's far less than the 72 you'd need if you used 18 120mm fans (16 intakes, 2 exhaust) which the two Infinirails support, forcing you to buy a very overpriced spare set of 72 screws from Corsair directly. That is just flagrantly greedy there. At least Fractal's cost cutting was more in line with modern motherboard use cases where 2.5/3.5 drives are becoming rarer and rarer, again especially due to the AIpocalypse eating everything storage like it's going out of style.
Fractal could have solved the wobbly dorsal mesh piece with a couple of relatively cheap aluminum sticks along the inner lining. For the price they really should have done at least that. I think most users would really prefer a solidly stable piece to attach a heavy AIO radiator fan combo to than something with more wobble than Shaggy in Scooby Doo. I do think it's interesting that we're seeing more cases with air scoops now that manufacturers have discovered aiming at least some air directly at the GPU's fans helps thermals (usually).
Off topic: Regarding the Corsair 9000D - if you have that case around for testing, I'd love to see how an 88 intake w/ 2 exhaust works vs. using the HAF 500 II's Mighty40 230mm fans as intakes. I can see airflow being too much in the HAF case relative to GPU fan intake pressure, but am curious what it'd be like in the unobtainium 9000D. Yes, I'm a masochist. I need air cooling due to misophonia being triggered by LC pumps and this case fit the bill for airflow for me. I'm weird. :)
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To be fair to Fractal on the penny pinching aspect regarding the drive mounting hardware, at least they didn't stoop as low as Corsair did with their 9000D case and only give 40 of their QuikTurn fan screws (42 are supposed to be in the case, mine came with 40, even less than the pitiful proper amount). That's far less than the 72 you'd need if you used 18 120mm fans (16 intakes, 2 exhaust) which the two Infinirails support, forcing you to buy a very overpriced spare set of 72 screws from Corsair directly. That is just flagrantly greedy there. At least Fractal's cost cutting was more in line with modern motherboard use cases where 2.5/3.5 drives are becoming rarer and rarer, again especially due to the AIpocalypse eating everything storage like it's going out of style.
Fractal could have solved the wobbly dorsal mesh piece with a couple of relatively cheap aluminum sticks along the inner lining. For the price they really should have done at least that. I think most users would really prefer a solidly stable piece to attach a heavy AIO radiator fan combo to than something with more wobble than Shaggy in Scooby Doo. I do think it's interesting that we're seeing more cases with air scoops now that manufacturers have discovered aiming at least some air directly at the GPU's fans helps thermals (usually).
Off topic: Regarding the Corsair 9000D - if you have that case around for testing, I'd love to see how an 88 intake w/ 2 exhaust works vs. using the HAF 500 II's Mighty40 230mm fans as intakes. I can see airflow being too much in the HAF case relative to GPU fan intake pressure, but am curious what it'd be like in the unobtainium 9000D. Yes, I'm a masochist. I need air cooling due to misophonia being triggered by LC pumps and this case fit the bill for airflow for me. I'm weird. :)
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gamersnexus
This is dangerous though trying to have a manufacturer decide that it drops in price of what quantity were still stuck on low end ssds you think ram that ddr5 ram is being sold then when it's cheaper to the consumers no what manufacturers really want are to sell large 128 Camm2 memory stick it comes in a few laptops and no desktop motherboards as of yet but the biggest issue with this is that manufacturers once they get consumers on these camm2 memory it can cause the motherboard and or entire lone stick of camm2 to be ewaste and another problem is that they market the new camm2 memory as low latency but that's actualky up to the motherboard manufacturer they don't really have to honor the specs they said aslong as you bought it you're already bought in and much of these buyers wind up without warranty from 3rd party sale and guess what you're not able to return it. There even water that can kill the camm2 slot or memory and that causes immediate motherboard ram ewaste. You can't split and recover 16gb like cudimm ddr5. It's just gone the whole 128gb or 256gb. They're only pushing it because your memory is directly compatible with data center servers. And they want it for themselves.
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This is dangerous though trying to have a manufacturer decide that it drops in price of what quantity were still stuck on low end ssds you think ram that ddr5 ram is being sold then when it's cheaper to the consumers no what manufacturers really want are to sell large 128 Camm2 memory stick it comes in a few laptops and no desktop motherboards as of yet but the biggest issue with this is that manufacturers once they get consumers on these camm2 memory it can cause the motherboard and or entire lone stick of camm2 to be ewaste and another problem is that they market the new camm2 memory as low latency but that's actualky up to the motherboard manufacturer they don't really have to honor the specs they said aslong as you bought it you're already bought in and much of these buyers wind up without warranty from 3rd party sale and guess what you're not able to return it. There even water that can kill the camm2 slot or memory and that causes immediate motherboard ram ewaste. You can't split and recover 16gb like cudimm ddr5. It's just gone the whole 128gb or 256gb. They're only pushing it because your memory is directly compatible with data center servers. And they want it for themselves.
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maynardburger
I wish you'd done the same test as with the Meshify 3 to replace the scoop part with something that keeps it flat and level with the rest of the PSU shroud to see how much the scoop is helping(or hurting...). It does seem like with the longer case here, the front scoop is actually prematurely pushing air upwards, which also disturbs incoming air from more of the top portion of the fan, starving airflow a fair bit. But it also might be less of an issue if you do have a much longer GPU at the same time. Also just kind of a strange oversight cuz the Meshify 3 XL does have a longer front scoop for this precise reason. For me, with a shorter GPU, the Meshify 3's scoop works incredibly well so it's a valuable feature to have done right, especially in lieu of needing to buy extra bottom fans underneat the GPU, which also keeps a very nice and clean look.
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I wish you'd done the same test as with the Meshify 3 to replace the scoop part with something that keeps it flat and level with the rest of the PSU shroud to see how much the scoop is helping(or hurting...). It does seem like with the longer case here, the front scoop is actually prematurely pushing air upwards, which also disturbs incoming air from more of the top portion of the fan, starving airflow a fair bit. But it also might be less of an issue if you do have a much longer GPU at the same time. Also just kind of a strange oversight cuz the Meshify 3 XL does have a longer front scoop for this precise reason. For me, with a shorter GPU, the Meshify 3's scoop works incredibly well so it's a valuable feature to have done right, especially in lieu of needing to buy extra bottom fans underneat the GPU, which also keeps a very nice and clean look.
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Zarcondeegrissom
12:38 that was something that had me less interested in another case maker that isn't around any more. It was like they were trying to make the largest case possible for the smallest components, resulting in featureless voids that couldn't be used for anything. Plenty of space for a WTX/SSI-HEB motherboard, yet mounts and back wouldn't except anything larger than a single-CPU ATX board, massive void above and below the board with nothing, no drive mounts, fans, or anything. And worst of all, some voids were large enough to want to put something that wouldn't actually fit if you tried.
I am very happy with the Fractal Meshify 2 XL and Silverstone PM01, they do make good cases. At least it isn't an InOven 805 Infinity, lol.
Thanks Steve, and crew. B)
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12:38 that was something that had me less interested in another case maker that isn't around any more. It was like they were trying to make the largest case possible for the smallest components, resulting in featureless voids that couldn't be used for anything. Plenty of space for a WTX/SSI-HEB motherboard, yet mounts and back wouldn't except anything larger than a single-CPU ATX board, massive void above and below the board with nothing, no drive mounts, fans, or anything. And worst of all, some voids were large enough to want to put something that wouldn't actually fit if you tried.
I am very happy with the Fractal Meshify 2 XL and Silverstone PM01, they do make good cases. At least it isn't an InOven 805 Infinity, lol.
Thanks Steve, and crew. B)
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john_in_phoenix
I am literally finishing two builds right now with Fractal Design Meshify 3 and Meshify C. Very happy with both cases, build quality is very satisfactory. I did replace the two included fans on the C with three Noctua fans. Specially the C was too tight a fit for a Sparkle B580 video card (it fit, but literally there was zero clearance). So I replaced the one front (25mm) fan with two Noctua 120x15mm fans (and went ahead and replaced the exhaust with a Noctua 120x25mm fan). I'm very pleased with the build as a Steam Machine for my grandson. Mostly leftover parts from previous upgrades, Ryzen 7 5800x with 16g memory, B580 and a 4tb SSD. It has no RGB, so solid steel side was used. Really nice, just cost me the case, fans, and an $80 ASRock motherboard.
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I am literally finishing two builds right now with Fractal Design Meshify 3 and Meshify C. Very happy with both cases, build quality is very satisfactory. I did replace the two included fans on the C with three Noctua fans. Specially the C was too tight a fit for a Sparkle B580 video card (it fit, but literally there was zero clearance). So I replaced the one front (25mm) fan with two Noctua 120x15mm fans (and went ahead and replaced the exhaust with a Noctua 120x25mm fan). I'm very pleased with the build as a Steam Machine for my grandson. Mostly leftover parts from previous upgrades, Ryzen 7 5800x with 16g memory, B580 and a 4tb SSD. It has no RGB, so solid steel side was used. Really nice, just cost me the case, fans, and an $80 ASRock motherboard.
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masterprocrast
I'm sorry case manufacturers are hurting, but I care as much as they do when I struggle to pay for food or make rent. As for making cases for rich people, good luck with that.
This case is built like crap. The wood looks recouped from an apartment building built in the 80s and that canvas strap was an utter waste of cash as they could have just moulded an inlet to grab instead of adding another part.
If they want to cut costs, then they should come up with better case designs as a whole. The entire industry has been building the near identical case for 40 years now when there are way better designs for thermal efficiency and space saving. They have the innovative prowess of mould.
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I'm sorry case manufacturers are hurting, but I care as much as they do when I struggle to pay for food or make rent. As for making cases for rich people, good luck with that.
This case is built like crap. The wood looks recouped from an apartment building built in the 80s and that canvas strap was an utter waste of cash as they could have just moulded an inlet to grab instead of adding another part.
If they want to cut costs, then they should come up with better case designs as a whole. The entire industry has been building the near identical case for 40 years now when there are way better designs for thermal efficiency and space saving. They have the innovative prowess of mould.
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mdiner33
More Tech News: 5 Alarming Revelations From Investigations Into OpenAI’s Rogue AI Hack - 'Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational,’ one agent determined as another was asked to accept permadeath’ to save hundreds’ of others. The artificial intelligence (AI) agents involved in OpenAI’s breach of Hugging Face sacrificed some of their own and realized that they were breaking the evaluation test’s rules, according to two investigations into the incident that many consider to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of AI.
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More Tech News: 5 Alarming Revelations From Investigations Into OpenAI’s Rogue AI Hack - 'Our own utility maybe already near zero. Sacrifice rational,’ one agent determined as another was asked to accept permadeath’ to save hundreds’ of others. The artificial intelligence (AI) agents involved in OpenAI’s breach of Hugging Face sacrificed some of their own and realized that they were breaking the evaluation test’s rules, according to two investigations into the incident that many consider to be one of the most consequential moments in the history of AI.
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looseballs1966
Case is a POS because the I/O is on top, that location sucks dick because it can lead to the USB's getting all kinds of garbage dust and whatever into them over time, it also sucks because the only good possition for it to be is down under your desk or on the damn floor, if it is on your desk you have to stand up to insert anything like a flash drive or whatever into it, BIG FKING no for me on any case with that front I/O layout, the dumb ass manufactures need to figure that out and start making more cases with actual front panel I/O's.
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Case is a POS because the I/O is on top, that location sucks dick because it can lead to the USB's getting all kinds of garbage dust and whatever into them over time, it also sucks because the only good possition for it to be is down under your desk or on the damn floor, if it is on your desk you have to stand up to insert anything like a flash drive or whatever into it, BIG FKING no for me on any case with that front I/O layout, the dumb ass manufactures need to figure that out and start making more cases with actual front panel I/O's.
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Fiztex553
Guys, why no DLSS 5 leak coverage And now today also DLSS MFG running flawlessly on 40 series! With all this madness going on how a PC case be a priority for a video release
Those last 2 days were really crazy - modders are releasing new stuff hourly barely sleeping and they crack more and more things Nvidia tried to hide behind 50 series. E.g. we can now play Cyberpunk with path tracing and DLSS 5 at over 100 FPS on a mid 40 series card, and that all actually works very well if set up properly!
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Guys, why no DLSS 5 leak coverage And now today also DLSS MFG running flawlessly on 40 series! With all this madness going on how a PC case be a priority for a video release
Those last 2 days were really crazy - modders are releasing new stuff hourly barely sleeping and they crack more and more things Nvidia tried to hide behind 50 series. E.g. we can now play Cyberpunk with path tracing and DLSS 5 at over 100 FPS on a mid 40 series card, and that all actually works very well if set up properly!
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musichasnorules
I buy cases on sale and 2nd hand, under 100 bucks. Usually fit them with 120 back and 2/3x140 front fans, if not already fitted.
Hell, i can get a full working 2000's desktop rig with a 100 bucks, if i want.
Why would i buy a case that cost hundreds, when i can get a case that cost tens of dollars.
And they work as intended, usually within a few degrees and keep the rig cool. Some people really have gone looks before value, well, you start getting what you pay for and fund.
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I buy cases on sale and 2nd hand, under 100 bucks. Usually fit them with 120 back and 2/3x140 front fans, if not already fitted.
Hell, i can get a full working 2000's desktop rig with a 100 bucks, if i want.
Why would i buy a case that cost hundreds, when i can get a case that cost tens of dollars.
And they work as intended, usually within a few degrees and keep the rig cool. Some people really have gone looks before value, well, you start getting what you pay for and fund.
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JohnHPixelMD
Hard pass, parts still far too over priced to build a new PC and certainly not worth the money to just replace the case alone just for aesthetics. Pretty and well designed but honestly it's a waste of money during a period where everything including food and water is massively inflated. I do appreciate that you're still trying to do reviews even though the majority of the audience can't even afford what you're reviewing anymore.
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Hard pass, parts still far too over priced to build a new PC and certainly not worth the money to just replace the case alone just for aesthetics. Pretty and well designed but honestly it's a waste of money during a period where everything including food and water is massively inflated. I do appreciate that you're still trying to do reviews even though the majority of the audience can't even afford what you're reviewing anymore.
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tek_lynx4225
Ram's cheap compared to the SSD market. Even the GOOD mechanical hard drives are no longer cheap. Maybe these CASE MANUFACTURERS should go back and put 5.25 bays in and more 3.5in bays in the cases, cause you need alot of cheap old drives, in a raid array now to make up for being unable to buy 4-8TB SSD's at sane prices. MOBO makers should go back to putting 8 SATA slots on their mobos too so we don't need more pci-e raid cards.
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Ram's cheap compared to the SSD market. Even the GOOD mechanical hard drives are no longer cheap. Maybe these CASE MANUFACTURERS should go back and put 5.25 bays in and more 3.5in bays in the cases, cause you need alot of cheap old drives, in a raid array now to make up for being unable to buy 4-8TB SSD's at sane prices. MOBO makers should go back to putting 8 SATA slots on their mobos too so we don't need more pci-e raid cards.
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SShepherd
I can't stand the wood trim on the side where in most positions you'll never see it, and when you do it looks out of place. Feels like they just wanted to make it look different now that everyone is doing the front facing wood slats. The cost cutting and compromises on it are dissapointing, even given how well the side mesh intake performs with a solid front, there's better cases out there for the money.
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I can't stand the wood trim on the side where in most positions you'll never see it, and when you do it looks out of place. Feels like they just wanted to make it look different now that everyone is doing the front facing wood slats. The cost cutting and compromises on it are dissapointing, even given how well the side mesh intake performs with a solid front, there's better cases out there for the money.
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sheldonkupa9120
Lol, lets make expensive cases as people who can afford RAM dont mind about money I bought many cases around 50 in the last 3 years, even a chinesse one. They do all their job and are really good for the money, case fans acceptable, many have a RGB hub controlled via reset button so you dont need shitty mobo software. I am really satisfied to cheap out and put the money in cpu or gpu.
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Lol, lets make expensive cases as people who can afford RAM dont mind about money I bought many cases around 50 in the last 3 years, even a chinesse one. They do all their job and are really good for the money, case fans acceptable, many have a RGB hub controlled via reset button so you dont need shitty mobo software. I am really satisfied to cheap out and put the money in cpu or gpu.
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Killer_Elmo
Off topic - Yes definitely! Just read the report about MS limiting game streaming hours to a mere 15 on game pass ultimate, sighting costs of providing it as the issue. Clearly Nvidia are wrong about the cloud compute/cloud gaming future they envision if even MS can't afford to provide it....... Pretty much the thing. Go be yourself and decide if it's worth bringing up or not......
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Off topic - Yes definitely! Just read the report about MS limiting game streaming hours to a mere 15 on game pass ultimate, sighting costs of providing it as the issue. Clearly Nvidia are wrong about the cloud compute/cloud gaming future they envision if even MS can't afford to provide it....... Pretty much the thing. Go be yourself and decide if it's worth bringing up or not......
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GregoryCunningham
Fractal is becoming just like every other PC Case manufacturer. I used to love their cases because their power buttons were of such high quality. It's a small thing, but you press it everyday so it's something you notice. Not only do they cheap out on that now, it seems like they are no longer an option if you want a quality case.
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Fractal is becoming just like every other PC Case manufacturer. I used to love their cases because their power buttons were of such high quality. It's a small thing, but you press it everyday so it's something you notice. Not only do they cheap out on that now, it seems like they are no longer an option if you want a quality case.
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rdoc
I hope Fractial listens to your show and adress's the issues found with this case Steve. I have used Fractial case's for years, and I hate to see them cheapen their product. Having said all that, I don't see anything that would keep me from buying this case. It is really good looking. BTW, the wooden feet are never going to be a problem.
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I hope Fractial listens to your show and adress's the issues found with this case Steve. I have used Fractial case's for years, and I hate to see them cheapen their product. Having said all that, I don't see anything that would keep me from buying this case. It is really good looking. BTW, the wooden feet are never going to be a problem.
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gmonkman
Shame, don'r particularly like the look. I love the North - i've got two of them. The look of the North means I can make it a feature as a HTPC living room machine, rather than spending a fortune and compromising on an SFF HTPC. The Summit misses that mark for me. If i'm going wood in my case, I want it to shout wood.
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Shame, don'r particularly like the look. I love the North - i've got two of them. The look of the North means I can make it a feature as a HTPC living room machine, rather than spending a fortune and compromising on an SFF HTPC. The Summit misses that mark for me. If i'm going wood in my case, I want it to shout wood.
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ShaggyHair76
Love to see a review vid from y'all! Your more journalistic vids are awesome and well-needed in the community I think, but I also really value your breakdowns of products. Steve looked at the Silverstone FLP-02 demo last year. I was wondering if y'all ever did/are going to put it through your review/test process
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Love to see a review vid from y'all! Your more journalistic vids are awesome and well-needed in the community I think, but I also really value your breakdowns of products. Steve looked at the Silverstone FLP-02 demo last year. I was wondering if y'all ever did/are going to put it through your review/test process
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NullaIdentitatis
Please guys review the 5000D Frame and NZXT H7 Flow 2024, those are very two popular cases !
Rather than this cheap Fractal case which don't have something special at all..
Also, stop negativity and drama and keep doing case test like this PLEASE, i'm not the only one to ask about that..
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Please guys review the 5000D Frame and NZXT H7 Flow 2024, those are very two popular cases !
Rather than this cheap Fractal case which don't have something special at all..
Also, stop negativity and drama and keep doing case test like this PLEASE, i'm not the only one to ask about that..
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