Fractal North Wood good quiet case?

H

Hashiriya415

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
202
Looking at Gamers Nexus chart, it's 48c for both CPU and GPU. Is there a reason why this charted is sorted b CPU? 48c for both is good right? Looking at the first one 43cpu 55gpu, wondering is this what you don't want, GPU seems to be getting a bit too hot?
I'm looking for ITX mATX and mid ATX cases that look simple and are quiet. If any other cases you can recommend over this please post. It needs to fit my 342mm RTX4080 Aero card, I guess I shouldn't look for ITX case if I want a quiet case?
I'm pretty sure I will do a big air cooler for the 13600K CPU
Fractal Wood North.jpg
 
I wouldn't worry about it. That case has reviewed well, Fractal makes a good product, and it seems you like it. If it fits your GPU and other general needs then go for it.

A difference in CPU and GPU temperature in that particular test is mostly meaningless. As the caption notes, it's the placement of the case fans as they come installed from the factory. Playing with their placement and/or RPM (they're probably not running at full in that particular test), adding more, etc. will significantly affect those numbers.
 
BlueLineSwinger said:
I wouldn't worry about it. That case has reviewed well, Fractal makes a good product, and it seems you like it. If it fits your GPU and other general needs then go for it.

A difference in CPU and GPU temperature in that particular test is mostly meaningless. As the caption notes, it's the placement of the case fans as they come installed from the factory. Playing with their placement and/or RPM (they're probably not running at full in that particular test), adding more, etc. will significantly affect those numbers.
Click to expand...

Yup, can make getting a true picture a little hard. Just adding 1x or 2x 120mm's in the rear for venting would probably make the North perform even better.
 
I have a north. LOVE the case. Honestly, my favorite case I've ever owned. The 2 front intake 140mm fans aren't enough IMO. They ramp up and down quite often. So I just ordered Phanteks T30 3 pack. WIll be putting those in the front intake. And moving the 2x140's to top exhaust. Should help a lot with the ramp up/noise. I'm coming from a Define R5 which was WAY more quiet. But it had more fans. Thinking the additional fans should help overall. But still going to stick with the North.

edit: On AM4 with 5800X3D and amd 6800 gpu if it matters.
 
Edgar said:
I have a north. LOVE the case. Honestly, my favorite case I've ever owned. The 2 front intake 140mm fans aren't enough IMO. They ramp up and down quite often. So I just ordered Phanteks T30 3 pack. WIll be putting those in the front intake. And moving the 2x140's to top exhaust. Should help a lot with the ramp up/noise. I'm coming from a Define R5 which was WAY more quiet. But it had more fans. Thinking the additional fans should help overall. But still going to stick with the North.

edit: On AM4 with 5800X3D and amd 6800 gpu if it matters.
Click to expand...

Nice let us know how it goes. I was going to do the same thing or just put a single T30 in as the rear exhaust.

Personally I'm going to be using the Fractal NORTH to replace my Silverstone Raven 2.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Edgar
like this
Picked up the North as well. I love It. its simple and elegant looking. I cannot comment on the stock fans since I replaced them with the Noctua ones. The idle operation is 99% silent.
 
I ordered from Newegg, it was about $160 after tax/ship for black with glass. I need to buy rest of parts to start build. Linus posted a video today of North wood build
 
Great case. Great fans tbh. even at low rpm. Whats the best way I can manually change fan speeds? And how to do it properly? I've never manually messed with fan speed. If I shouldn't, let me know and I'll leave it be.
 
Edgar said:
Great case. Great fans tbh. even at low rpm. Whats the best way I can manually change fan speeds? And how to do it properly? I've never manually messed with fan speed. If I shouldn't, let me know and I'll leave it be.
Click to expand...

Use the software called Fan Control - it's free.
Can set fans manually, by temps etc, many options

here is my fan control setup for my FT02.
My system is Inaudible even when under full load on all 16 cores of my 5950x from 1m away even late at night
 

Attachments

  • fan control.png
    fan control.png
    190.7 KB · Views: 0
CoolColJ said:
Use the software called Fan Control - it's free.
Can set fans manually, by temps etc, many options

here is my fan control setup for my FT02.
My system is Inaudible even when under full load on all 16 cores of my 5950x from 1m away even late at night
Click to expand...
Is it easy to use? I've never used a fan control software and wouldn't know what a curve is.
 
Edgar said:
Is it easy to use? I've never used a fan control software and wouldn't know what a curve is.
Click to expand...
yeah, just experiment a bit with it

first you just need to match the fans to controllers and senors upon set up.
Then find the start up and shut down RPM for each fan, there is an option to do that for all the fans in the program

Then just set a temp, and use a linear curve, and put in a fan RPM at that temp etc.
Set the lower side for idle and the higher side when under max load
You can switch to manual fan speed control first to find an RPm your happy with noise wise and go from there
 
  • Like
Reactions: Edgar
like this
I have the 3 front 120 fans daisy chained. And the top 2 140 exhaust daisy chained. So I’m assuming it will detect them as 2 fans?
 
Edgar said:
I have the 3 front 120 fans daisy chained. And the top 2 140 exhaust daisy chained. So I’m assuming it will detect them as 2 fans?
Click to expand...
Yes, only one of the fans in the chain reports it's rpm to the board. The cable should have one connector with all of the pins, and the others will have one fewer (either no pin or not connected to a wire).
 
Nice case but the 4080 Aero bracket that comes with the GPU doesn't fit this case. I don't know why they made the bracket so long because it serves no purpose going beyond the GPU length so I did what any sane person would. I cut the bracket to right length. But then I realized the ITX board doesn't align the GPU with the bracket height, the bracket only works for ATX boards, maybe MATX? I found a nice old bracket from my car that is for installing aftermarket radio. It does the job.
I have a question regarding water cooling. Are there any AIO 360's that are split so 240 can be mounted to the top and a 120 to front?
PXL_20230621_053742685.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zinn
like this
Hashiriya415 said:
I have a question regarding water cooling. Are there any AIO 360's that are split so 240 can be mounted to the top and a 120 to front?
Click to expand...
Not stock, but you can do this with the Alphacool Eisbaer series. They come with a quick disconnect on the inlet side of the block/pump so you can expand it with another radiator, or a GPU block.

Alternatively, if the case has enough clearance up top, you could just get a chunky 38mm thick AIO like the Arctic Liquid Freezer II or the Phanteks Glacier One.
 
Is it possible the front USB port can cause problems for the system? I'm getting error usb message at random that I can't seem to figure out after I swapped my old mobo into this case. Sometimes my Logitech USB receiver dongle thingy doesn't work and I have to unplug and plug back in, regardless if in front or rear. Had zero issues before the case.
 
Last edited:
Hashiriya415 said:
Is it possible the front USB port can cause problems for the system? I'm getting error usb message at random that I can't seem to figure out after I swapped my old mobo into this case. Sometimes my Logitech USB receiver dongle thingy doesn't work and I have to unplug and plug back in, regardless if in front or rear. Had zero issues before the case.
Click to expand...
Check the tabs on the rear io cover. If they get inside the USB ports when you install the motherboard, they can cause issues (grounding or shorting pins). Also ensure the internal usb cable isn't damaged and the header pins are not bent, as that can cause problems as well (intermittant connection or non-functional ports).
 
IO cover looks good from the outside of the case. It's not the front USB port, I disconnected it. Unplugged all my USB devices. The device manager list keeps on refreshing which is a sign that something is connected and disconnecting. All I did was swap case and upgrade my gpu to 4080. GPU wouldn't cause the USB issue?

USB logitech with old front case USB port.jpg
 
it shouldn't, no. Do check that it has all the power connectors it requires though, and that they're seated completely. Also ensure you're PSU is up to the task.

Next I would unplug each usb device until device manager stops doing the thing. The device you unplug when it stops is likely either the culprit or connected to the port that is the problem.

If you disconnect all the usb devices and it doesn't stop, then it's either a driver issue, or the motherboard/cpu are damaged/unstable. This could be either a hardware fault (bad cap, transistor, memory, etc, or short to ground), physical damage (to the cpu/memory socket, etc), bad overclock/memory settings, or dirty/out of spec power/voltages.

I'm leaning towards a short somewhere, but it's hard to say. I'm still very suspicious of the rear usb ports. Look very carefully -- there should be nothing from the io shield going into the ports.
 
Looks like GPU is the cause. I put my 3080 Ti FE and no problems. I'll swap GPU back to 4080 tomorrow and see if problem returns. This is very strange behavior. I did wipe all nvidia stuff in safemode and installed clean drivers.
 
Hashiriya415 said:
Nice case but the 4080 Aero bracket that comes with the GPU doesn't fit this case. I don't know why they made the bracket so long because it serves no purpose going beyond the GPU length so I did what any sane person would. I cut the bracket to right length. But then I realized the ITX board doesn't align the GPU with the bracket height, the bracket only works for ATX boards, maybe MATX? I found a nice old bracket from my car that is for installing aftermarket radio. It does the job.
I have a question regarding water cooling. Are there any AIO 360's that are split so 240 can be mounted to the top and a 120 to front?
View attachment 578500
Click to expand...
I have a regular ATX board and it doesn't fit either. The bracket only seems to fit ATX motherboards with a specific PCI-e slot configuration.
 
I have a friend with the Fractal North. Her experience has been it's a bit loud with factory config (air cooled), but I believe it can be made quiet with the right tweaks & fans. And yes, a video card bracket is required. :)

Also, I believe a 360 rad is relatively close in surface area to a 280 rad, which should also fit just fine top or front.
 
djstarfox said:
I have a friend with the Fractal North. Her experience has been it's a bit loud with factory config (air cooled), but I believe it can be made quiet with the right tweaks & fans. And yes, a video card bracket is required. :)

Also, I believe a 360 rad is relatively close in surface area to a 280 rad, which should also fit just fine top or front.
Click to expand...
are the included fans just loud or is it the slats making noise?
yup a 280 is 90-something-% of a 360s performance.
 
djstarfox said:
I have a friend with the Fractal North. Her experience has been it's a bit loud with factory config (air cooled), but I believe it can be made quiet with the right tweaks & fans. And yes, a video card bracket is required. :)

Also, I believe a 360 rad is relatively close in surface area to a 280 rad, which should also fit just fine top or front.
Click to expand...
I put the fans it came with at the top. And ordered 3xPhanteks T30-120. Not very loud at all. And I'm next to it. Those phanteks are no joke.
 
I adjusted the factory front fans through MSI bios. Keep them off until it gets a little hot and then it ramps up very little but I don't have them 100% until CPU would reach 85c or something like that. It's a silent setup for me. The only thing I want to change is my 750psu for an 850w to get a little bit of lower noise as it's the loudest part.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top