Fractal Design Arc Midi Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Fractal Design have their sights set on the glory that other case manufacturers have achieved. Their product lines continue to grow while they frequently keep their case range fresh. Offering a case for almost every segment of the market, Fractal Design have experienced healthy growth in their popularity and prestige since they first emerged onto the consumer market. Sleek and elegant design with performance to flaunt has been the concept behind many of their successful cases such as those of the Define series. Today we will be looking at one of their latest cases which continues this trend and builds on it, the Arc Midi.

The goal of Fractal Design’s Arc Midi case is to combine “stellar performance” with “stylish, minimalistic looks” which create an understated elegance. The stellar cooling performance comes in the form of 3 140mm fans supplied and mounting locations for another 5. No fewer than 8 2.5/3.5″ HDD/SSD mounting trays form the drive expansion options in conjunction with a pair of 5.25″ bays, one of which can be converted to an external 3.5″ bay. The removable upper drive cage clears the way for gargantuan graphics cards up to 470mm in length while CPU cooler clearance is ‘slightly’ more limited at 180mm. Utilizing 5 cable management grommets with numerous routing options, Fractal Designs make it easy for users to keep their system internals neat and tidy.

The Arc Midi’s aluminium-resembling exterior creates an extremely elegant appearance. Interior contrast of white PCI shields and HDD trays in comparison to the all black structure ensures that elegance isn’t lost upon entry. Even the fan’s design coincides with the black and white style. Front panel USB 3.0 makes an appearance proving that elegance and performance aren’t the only offerings with the Arc Midi; functionality is also present.

Priced at around £69.41/$100/€85 Fractal Design’s Arc Midi could be a serious contender in an elegance-driven, performance-orientated, price-conscious consumer market.