Fractal Design’s North cases have already shown that a gaming PC can look subtle and classy, while still offering great performance, and the veteran case maker has now taken the design one step further. Fractal has just scaled up the North to make a massive new XL version, which has room for a huge graphics card and two big radiators for liquid cooling. Like the existing North design, the Fractal Design North XL features a stylish wooden front panel, with options for brass details.
The original Fractal Design North is already a favorite case of ours, with its stylish good looks earning it a place on our best PC case guide. The new XL case builds on this foundation to accommodate a serious rig in its interior. Not only can you fit a graphics card that measures up to 413mm long, so you’ll be able to get any Nvidia RTX 4090 card in there, but there’s also plenty of room for cooling gear.
That extra size gives you room for a colossal 420mm water cooling radiator with three 140mm fans in the front, as well as a 360mm radiator or AIO cooler in the roof. Comparatively, the original North can only squeeze a 240mm radiator in the roof, and a 360mm model in the front. Not only that, but you get three of Fractal’s 140mm Aspect fans included with the North XL as standard, compared with just two on the standard North case.
The extra space in the North XL also gives you room for an E-ATX motherboard, whereas you can only get a standard ATX motherboard in the North. In fact, Fractal says you could even put a pair of 180mm fans in the roof of this titan of a case. There’s also room for seven expansion slots in the North XL, along with a pair of 2.5/3.5-inch bays for hard drives or SSDs, plus two extra dedicated 2.5-inch SSD bays.
As with the original North, though, it’s the styling that’s key here. Your gaming PC doesn’t have to look like an aquarium filled with flashing lights, or like it came from a cyberpunk movie, it can also fit in stylishly with your living room furniture.
The North XL is available in both black and white versions, with a choice of mesh or tempered glass side panels. What’s more, there is a choice of walnut and oak front panels for the North XL, as well as options for steel or brass buttons and feet, plus a faux leather tab at the back.
If you’re looking to build a new gaming rig with a touch of class, make sure you also read our full guide on how to build a gaming PC, as well as our tutorial on how to water cool your PC where we take you through each part of the process step by step.
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