Custom PC - UK (2021-05)

A

s the cheapest case on test this
month, the Fractal Design Meshify 2
might appear to be at a
disadvantage when it comes to features, but
this unassuming case is sizzling with useful
bits and pieces that will both aid your build
process and help you create a cool, tidy PC.
It’s much more grown up than its aging
predecessor – the original Meshify – and the
first feature we loved about it was the pull-
open mesh door on the front, which reveals a
filter and fan mounts behind it for easy access.
We were also glad to see the return of the
lift-out roof section we saw with the Define
7, which makes installing your hardware
incredibly easy. Here, the roof section pops

FRACTAL DESIGN

MESHIFY 2 /£129 inc VAT

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk

off with minimal

force, again

revealing a large

removable filter

and fan mounts.

However, as its

name suggests,

there are no solid

swap-out panels

here, as this case

is all about mesh

and airflow. The side

panels are also pop-off

and are tool-free, bettering every other case

on test in terms of their simplicity.

Three 140mm fans are included, with two

in the front and one at the rear – that’s easily

enough fans to handle a high-end system.

However, if you plan on water-cooling your

PC, there’s space for up to 360mm radiators

in the roof and front, plus either a 240mm or

280mm radiator in the base, making it one of

the most water cooling-friendly cases on test.

CPU cooler height is ample at 185mm, and

if you’re happy with a pair of hard disks in the

base and a third secured using a bracket that

can also secure pumps and SSDs, there’s

space for up to 467mm-long graphics cards,

with this figure shrinking to 315mm if you

employ the quartet of hard disk trays that

mount next to the motherboard. The latter

brings the total of 2.5in/3.5in mounts to an

impressive seven in addition to two dedicated

2.5in mounts.

Cable tidying is excellent, with numerous

large Velcro anchors with guides and plenty of

routing holes too. Fractal Design also includes

a fan hub that offers six 3-pin fan headers and

three 4-pin PWM headers powered by your

motherboard, making it straightforward to

build a tidy system, although it could do with

more 4-pin connectors here.

The Meshify 2 also did a good job of

containing noise, and despite our additional

fans being installed in identical locations, it was

3dBA quieter than the Corsair 5000D Airflow,

although it still couldn’t match the be quiet!

Silent Base 802 here. Cooling was exemplary,

though, being only one of two cases to dip

under a CPU delta T of 47°C and posting

consistently good GPU delta Ts too. However,

as there are already two front 140mm fans,

our two additional fans failed to improve

cooling any further.

Conclusion

Apart from slightly bland aesthetics, the

Fractal Design Meshify 2 strikes an excellent

balance of price, features and cooling. It

maintains Fractal Design’s superb form

following on from the awesome Define 7 and

Define 7 Compact, and it also packs a punch

considering it’s one of the smaller cases here.

If you have around £130 to spend on a PC

case, it’s a great choice whether you plan on

water-cooling or air-cooling your PC.

VERDICT

A brilliantly designed, feature-rich case for

both air-cooled and water-cooled systems.

FRACTAL

• 
  

  Simple hardware
  installation

  
  


• 
  

  Great water-cooling
  support

  
  


• 
  

  Plenty of
  storage options

  
  

FRACTIOUS

• Comparatively
  bland design


• Only three 4 -pin
  ports on fan hub

SPEC

Dimensions (mm) 240 x 542 x 474 (W x D x H)

Material Steel, plastic, glass

Available colours Black

Weight 13.8kg

Front panel Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 1 x USB

3.1 Type-C, 1 x stereo jack, 1 x mic jack

Drive bays 7 x 2.5/3.5in, 2 x 2.5in

Form factor(s) E-ATX (up to 285mm

wide), ATX, micro-ATX

Cooling 3 x 120/140mm front fan mounts (2 x

140mm fans included), 1 x 120/140mm rear fan

mount (140mm fan included), 3 x 120/140mm

front fan mounts (fans not included), 2 x

120/140mm base fan mounts (fans not included)

CPU cooler clearance 185mm

Maximum graphics card length 467mm

(315mm with optional hard disk mounts)

COOLING

28 / 30

DESIGN

29 / 30

FEATURES

17 / 20

VALUE

19 / 20

OVERALL SCORE

93 %

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