Fractal Design Ridge Mini-ITX Case Review

When it comes to premium PC cases, Fractal Design is by far one of the most respected names in the business. For as long as I can remember, they’ve had unique and high-end cases to entertain the enthusiast market. While they’re often known for their larger Define series, they’ve always had a range of more unique products too, and that’s what we’ll be diving into today. The new Fractal Design Ridge is a slim small form factor case which can be mounted vertically.

Fractal Design Ridge

It’s great to see a slimmer case like this hit the market, as they’re few and far between, or at least, from the big-name brands, as you can often find plenty of older and low-quality models, but premium ones? Well, they’re pretty rare. Featuring space for a mini-ITX motherboard, you would think it’s too small for a serious gaming build. However, this case will handle a triple-slot graphics card of up to 335mm, which means you can install a pretty potent GPU here. It uses a dual chamber design too, but there’s a built-in PCIe Gen 4.0 riser cable included too, making the process pretty straightforward. It’ll even handle an SFX or SFX-L PSU, and while they’re smaller than ATX PSUs, you can get some surprisingly potent units these days that can run even the most demanding modern graphics cards or CPUs, further adding to the appeal of these slimmer case designs.

Features

• Compact SFF console-type case
• All panels come off for maximum accessibility
• 6 mm anodized and CNCd aluminium front
• PCIe 4.0 riser card included
• 2x 140 mm PWM Aspect fans included
• Horizontal and vertical orientation (multiple feet configurations)
• Excellent GPU Cooling

What Fractal Design Had to Say

“Rediscover your free time with Ridge. An uncluttered, small form factor case designed to integrate seamlessly into your living space and daily rituals. With generous compatibility and uncompromising accessibility, building in Ridge is a satisfying journey. And once you’re ready to press play, ample ventilation helps keep your system running smoothly so you can focus on what you enjoy most. An evolution of the slimline format, Ridge was developed in collaboration with gaming and entertainment enthusiasts to subtly improve their homes and enhance the small form factor PC experience” – Fractal Design