Fractal Design Meshify C Case Review

By Thomas Soderstrom
published

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Benchmarks & Final Analysis

The Meshify C’s front panel appears to do an excellent job of letting the air in, dropping CPU temperature a full 8 Kelvin below the Define-C. It handily beats the NZXT and Bitfenix samples as well.

Mesh front panels aren’t just great for letting air in, but also for letting noise out. The Meshify C lets nearly 3db of extra component noise out compared to the Define-C, while the S340 Elite and Aurora beat both Fractal Design cases in this metric.

Although it didn’t have the lowest temperatures, a comparison of temperature to noise puts the S340 Elite in the winner’s circle. Yet the ideal I proposed at the beginning of this article is confirmed: The Meshify C’s extra cooling and noise are almost exactly proportional in comparison to the hotter and quieter Define-C.

The big shocker comes in our bang-for-the-buck chart, where the Meshify C, Define-C, and S340 Elite finish in a virtual tie. Then again, by now everyone knows that the performance-value equation doesn’t measure features, and there are a few differences between these cases.

The Define-C for example doesn’t have a tempered glass side panel, so buyers trying to decide between the S340 Elite and Meshify C probably aren’t even considering the elder product. The S340 Elite has more ports (an HDMI pass-through and two USB 2.0), a magnetic headphone hanger, and a steel face panel skin to allow the headphone hanger to be stuck on the front. However, the Meshify C has better radiator support. The S340 has a nylon screen front filter that’s easier to clean than the Meshify C’s embedded open-cell foam; but the Meshify C allows its bottom-panel filter to be removed from the front, whereas owners of the S340 Elite must turn their cases around and pull the filter from the back. The one killer feature NZXT has that’s unmatched by Fractal Design is support for oversized motherboards, just in case you’d like to stick a $350+ board into your $100 case, even if you’re not likely to do so.

Though it may not be a world beater in either performance or price, good quality and support for additional cooling make the Fractal Design Meshify C worthy of your consideration.


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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • poochiepiano
    Good article, Thomas. Now that the Define C TG has been released, it seems like if you want glass, you can choose between the Meshify and the Define for either cooling or silence. Would love to hear if there are any plans to review the Define C TG and make those comparisons as well?
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    Holy crap. 'Asphalt based'... Maybe this is why I've had lung problems within the last few years after getting 2 of their XL cases? lol.. This freakin world... I mean really, 2 new pieces of large asphalt with 200 CFM of air movement through the case.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    20042301 said:
    Holy crap. 'Asphalt based'... Maybe this is why I've had lung problems within the last few years after getting 2 of their XL cases? lol.. This freakin world... I mean really, 2 new pieces of large asphalt with 200 CFM of air movement through the case.
    They did put cloth over it so it wouldn't be sticky or get gouged as easily... :)

    Reply
  • daglesj
    I just love the USB sockets on Fractal cases. They are neat and complete metal surrounds. Not those cheap looking split petal ones. Hate those.
    Reply
  • zippyzion
    When I first saw the front of this my mind immediately went to acoustic rooms with their odd angled walls. I thought that maybe they FINALLY incorporated some sonic wizardry to help quiet down mesh front cases. It seems I was wrong and I'm actually quite disappointed. I can see how it would help airflow though. More surface area means more open space and the angled mesh provides more surface area... but man, I was hoping for that sonic wizardry.
    Reply
  • envy14tpe
    Finally, 2years late to the party, Fractal adds glass. Jokes aside, can anyone tell me which case has a similar front design? I know I've seen something similar before.
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    They state it in the article. I also found a comment by fractal in another site, they refer to it as bitumen based.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    20045069 said:
    They state it in the article. I also found a comment by fractal in another site, they refer to it as bitumen based.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AsphaltWe could call that "using tech lingo to obscure the basics."
    Reply
  • therogerwilco
    I took the sides of the cases off last night, smelled closely, still very fresh after a couple years. Coincidentally, my headache got worse last night after smelling them. I think it's mostly odorless hydrocarbons though. All in all, 2 XL cases and the mini ITX case, and it's several square feet of asphalt that's been spewing gasses into the room until equilibrium is reached. Easily done given that I have about 200 CFM in each big case and 100CFM or so through the other. 500CFM of air passed sheets of asphalt into my living quarters. WTH WERE YOU THINKING FRACTAL. Now I have to rip those things out of my cases. I thought it was awesome when I got them, but if someone would have told me what it was, I would have never bought them. Now I have COPD symptoms. Thanks. Jerks.
    Reply