Fractal Design North XL Overview
Fractal Design will be offering the North XL in two different colors, black and white. As you can see we have the white version. They will also be offering two different panel options, tempered glass and mesh. We do have the tempered glass version.
When it comes to actual size, the official dimensions of the North XL are 503 x 240 x 509mm, which is a 36% increase in size over the original North. To give you an idea here are some shots of the North and North XL side by side.
As I said what really sets this case apart from others is the front panel, which features wood paneling. This is real wood, the white version of the case has a lighter wood, while the black will be darker. The wood paneling is spread out enough to allow for proper airflow into the case.
The front panel of the case can easily be removed. Once we removed we can see that it does include a removable filter. Behind the front panel is a cooling bracket where Fractal has installed three of their 140mm Aspect PWM fans. These rifle bearing fans will spin between 500-1700 RPM, have a max airflow of 78 CFM, max noise level of 35.5 dBA, and are rated for 90,000 hours. The front cooling bracket does support three 120 / 140mm fans as well as radiators up to 420mm.
Moving up to the top of the case you’ll find your buttons and connections. From left to right you have a large power button, headphone and microphone jacks, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 3.2 gen 2 Type-C ports, and a power LED.
The rest of the top of the case is ventilated. Just like the original North there is a faux leather tab at the back that allows you to pull the top panel of the case off. With the top of the case removed we find another cooling bracket. This cooling bracket will support three 120mm, two 140mm, or two 180mm cooling fans as well as radiators up to 360mm.
This time we have the tempered glass version of the case, so our main side panel is tempered glass and will take up about 80% of the side of the case. Like I mentioned, if tempered glass is not your thing you can get a mesh panel. The opposite side panel is just your standard steel panel.
Moving on to the back of the case we have a pretty standard design with lots of ventilation, our motherboard mount, and then a power supply mount at the bottom. While it may look like this is just ventilation, you can install a 120/140mm fan back here. There is a small filter that pulls out from the bottom of the case for the power supply. Fractal has added a velcro strap on the back of the case to help guide and organize the cables coming out of your system.
