Fractal Design Arc XL Full Tower Chassis Review

Exterior

The chassis features a black exterior with a powder finish, giving the case a slightly understated look despite its large size. The left side features a large tinted perspex window that allows a nice peak of the interior and the side panel is held in place by a pair of quick release thumb screws at the back of the case.

The right side panel is also held in place with a pair of thumb screws.

The front panel features a brushed metal finish to the plastics and curved edges on the left and right sides to give it a more flowing design. There are four removable covers for the 5.25″ drive bays and below that you’ll find a large ventilation panel for the front intake fans.

The vent easily clips in and out of the chassis, it features a foam backing which will act as a great dust guard but cannot be washed clean, however a soft brush will do the job nicely. There is a single 140mm fan installed in the front, with room for another 140mm below it. The front of the chassis is compatible with thick and slim water cooling radiators up to 280mm, but you will need to remove or reposition the hard drive bays accordingly.

At the top of the front panel you’ll find the fan controller toggle switch, this supports three fans and allows you to toggle between 5v, 7v and 12v. You’ll also find HD audio connections, power and reset buttons, 2 x USB 3.0 and 2 x USB 2.0 ports.

At the top you’ll see there are two thumb screws for removing the top panel. Further down there is a 140mm fan pre-installed, but you could swap this out for a 120mm if you wanted. There are 9 expansion slots, all fitted with reusable ventilated metal covers and there is also a little extra ventilation to the right side of the slots.

The top panel features a huge ventilated section, perfect for providing airflow for any top mounted cooling, but we’ll take a look underneath it in a moment.

The bottom of the chassis is also heavily ventilated, with a huge slide out and washable dust filter that provides clean airflow to the PSU and the bottom 120/140mm fan / radiator mount.