Fractal Design Mood
The Fractal Design Mood case, unveiled at Computex 2024, is already in our testlab. And while we won’t look at the cooling results just yet, let’s take a look at the key design elements. Based on these, you’ll get an idea of the broad features of the case, which is designed for Mini-ITX motherboards. This then leads to a focus on maximizing space savings on a desk or elsewhere.
Disclaimer: This article does not contain any tests, but we are preparing for them and they will come.
The vertically oriented Fractal Design Mood, including the stand/feet, is 453 mm in the dominant axis (i.e. in height). In depth and width it is 212 mm.
The dimensions allow for the smallest possible footprint while allowing for a relatively larger space in height. This means that, on the one hand, there is a considerable saving of space where the case is placed, but it can be restricted from above by, for example, a shelf that is too low. And it shouldn’t be too cramped either, because the exhaust of the case is on the ceiling. There should be some headroom at the top, at least several centimetres, to prevent the warm air from coming back in.
On top of the case there is a perforated mesh screen through which the air is dynamically pushed by a fan. The holes in the cover are relatively small (approx. ø 1.4 mm) considering that it is not a typical dust filter. Although yes, for catching free-falling dust when the PC is switched off, the denser structure of the screen is useful.
The dust filter, which is supposed to counteract dust sucked in, is only at the back of the case, behind which the graphics card can be installed vertically. It has a slightly finer sieve (approx. ø 1.1 mm), which can still be described as quite loose. It is not a nylon filter, but holes in a plastic plate. The latter is still decorated from the front with a cover with large circular holes on an approx. 0,85 mm (together with the paint) thick plate. The plate is quite strong, also thanks to the folds around its perimeter.
Perhaps the central element of the exterior is the textile lining. It too partially fills the role of a dust filter – from the front of the case, which is perforated through-and-through. On the remaining two sides (with full metal sheets) it has only a decorative purpose. The fabric here is dense and unless you put it against a light, it is not transparent.
You can get inside the case by removing the back panel. This is held in place from the bottom of the case by two push-pins and from the top, across the width of the shorter side, the panel is held in a trough. Disassembly is simple – you pull the push-pins (from the bottom) out with a tug and you’re done. The top cover behind the fan can be “got rid of” in a similar way.
The fan here is really worth paying attention to. In proportion to the rest of the case, it looks huge. And that’s what the 180mm Dynamic X2 GP-18 actually is. Not only in terms of cross-section, but also in profile. It is as thick as 38 mm. The airflow should be high enough for efficient system cooling even at low/quiet speeds. But this will only be revealed later in the tests.
Before installing the components, the side panels, or one-piece fabric-covered tunnel, must be removed from the case. To do this, you have to remove it from the bottom by removing a pair of screws. After that, the “U” tunnel can be conveniently slid out and you can pop off wiht the components.
We started by installing the motherboard, which also had a Noctua NH-L12Sx77 cooler pre-installed. However, its fan had to be moved up from the bottom, because in its default position (under the fins) it already collides with the PSU cables, which need some space. The position for the PSU (SFX) is close to the 24-pin (ATX) connector.
In height, a cooler can be a maximum of 114 mm, unless you use a liquid cooler (with a radiator up to 280 mm, i.e., possibly 240/140/120 mm). This is also a possibility. But mutually exclusive with installing an adapter for inch format storage.
A PCI Express ×16 (4.0) riser routed underneath the motherboard reaches the slot (PCIe ×16), but it is also nice and convenient to mount the graphics card, which is “in the next chamber”, parallel to the PCB of the motherboard. However, beware of the maximum length of the graphics card (up to 325 mm) and also its thickness, which must not exceed 56 mm.
If you follow the Fractal Design manual, you install the PSU so that it draws heated air from the graphics card cooler. It is actually pushed into the PSU quite aggressively by it (the cooler). And it is worth considering whether to turn the PSU in the opposite direction for the sake of the longest possible lifetime, so that it does not heat up more than is appropriate.
You have to connect the wall power supply to the case first – internally – and then you go from the socket to the bottom of the case. It’s implemented through… a kind of a little extension cord.
And we can also take a look at the connector panel, which includes the power button. All connectors (both USB and 3-pole 3.5 mm headphone jack with microphone) are on the front. This will please those users who are bothered by dust falling into the connectors, which tend to be on the top of cases. In this case, however, there is less to worry about.
Later, the Fractal Design Mood will also appear in tests. But first we have to finish the work on the upcoming test methodology. Hopefully, we will also publish an article with an in-progress draft at the end of the month, which you will be able to revise, and join the debate around what would be appropriate to add to the tests.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
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