Fractal Design has just released a classy-looking new case that's ideal for a mini gaming PC build. The new Fractal Era 2 features a similarly curvy design to the Era ITX case the company launched in 2020, but with a walnut on the top as standard, and some more room for components.
In fact, there's technically just enough room to squeeze an best graphics cards you can buy right now.
This doesn't include the RTX 4090, but there's guaranteed compatibility with a number of Nvidia GeForce best PC case for a small-but-mighty build, then this could well be it.
Sensibly, the case also includes a PCIe 4.0 riser to link the graphics card to your motherboard's PCIe 4.0 slot. Even now, some SFF cases still come with PCIe 3.0 risers, which cause problems if you run your motherboard's slot in PCIe 4.0 mode.
Cleverly, the Fractal Era 2 has a movable motherboard wall, depending on which components you want to install in it. That means there's room for up to 70mm of U clearance if you want to use a two-slot graphics card, but you could install a triple-slot graphics card with a smaller cooler, or indeed one of the best AIO coolers. You can even install a decent one of the latter, with room for a dual 240mm radiator in the roof.
Meanwhile, a large opening in the front of the interior cage enables you to install large graphics cards by ing them through the front. At its limit, the case can hold a graphics card up to 326mm long, 137mm wide, and up to 63mm thick. Space efficiencies are also introduced by the PSU , with the case having room for either an SFX or SFX-L power supply, but not a full-size ATC unit. You can get seriously powerful SFX PSUs these days, though, with 1,000W models available from Corsair, and Cooler Master even offering a 1,300W model.
I was also happy to see the case's front ports being genuinely mounted on the front, rather than the top, which is where you want them on a PC that's going to be sat on your desk. What's more, one of them is a full-fat USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port with a full 20Gbps of bandwidth, which is great if you want to plug a speedy external SSD into your rig.
Building a PC in the Era 2 looks like quite a fiddly and involved affair, but Fractal has made it as easy as possible by providing easy access to the interior. You pop off the top walnut , flip a switch, and then lift off the four main walls (made from aluminum) in one go.
All in all, this looks like a great piece of mini-ITX case design to me, but I'll reserve my final judgment for when I've tested it for myself. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best mini gaming PC, where we run you through all our favorite SFF and compact rigs right now.