Fractal Design Meshify 2 Review: A High-TDP Workstations Wonder

We are using the following system for our case test bed:

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For assembling our test system, motherboard slotted right into place with very little fuss. The central standoff acts as an anchor for the motherboard to hold it in place during assembly, holding it in place vertically even with the Noctua CPU cooler installed. The GPU also dropped in with ease.

To install the power supply, you need to first remove a faceplate that you install onto the power supply, and then you slide the unit in from the back of the chassis. This makes for a very easy installation, and our oversized Corsair HX750i power supply slotted into place with ease.

Cable Management

Ask me what I think of the cable management features of the Meshify 2, and I’ll tell you they’re excellent. Along the main alley there are three cable guides with Velcro straps to keep stuff in place, and on the right side there are another two straps to guide the EPS CPU power connectors. There is plenty of space behind the motherboard tray for guiding cables, and if you chuck the partition over to the other side of the chassis to make way for an array of hard drives, you’ll also end up with easy access to all their connectors. The only nitpick I had about the system is that it can be a little difficult to press the cables into their guides and fasten them when the cable count goes up. But overall, it’s a solid system, which when used as intended leads to a very tidy end result.

A small standout feature was that cable access to the lower part of the motherboard wasn’t obstructed by the power supply, unlike many other cases; there was even a rubber grommet where the chassis cables connect, which resulted in a very clean look.

Build Complete

Of course, this is a much simpler build than what this chassis is capable of, designed to streamline my process of thermally testing cases rather than utilizing the case to its fullest potential. But nevertheless, it shows that with the Meshify 2, even if you only start off with a simple straight-forward system, offers a great building experience.

But if you’re only intending on building a system like this and not using the full watercooling space or the storage configuration, the Meshify 2 is the definition overkill. This really is a case for power users, and simple ATX gaming systems might be better off with smaller and cheaper cases, unless you want the room for expansion.

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