Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB

[Darksaber]

The Fractal Design Focus 2 is the successor to the aging Focus G chassis. Being one of the most affordable cases from the brand, it focuses on air flow with two 140 mm intake fans, solid build quality while bringing along all those modern touches and design elements we have already seen for the first time with the Pop series.

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[wheresmycar]

As always, great review Darksaber

The Lian Li LANCOOL 215 is/was currently my favourite budget mid tower and now the Fractal Design Focus 2 contends. Not sure why FD chose to expose the cable clutter which somewhat eliminates the "shrouds" aesthetic value. Might be enough to keep me off it. Speaking of value, excellent price point!! I'm still drawn to the LL215 for those larger 200mm fans and shroud but not a big fan of that protruded (pregnant) front and larger than life LOGO in your face... glad to see Focus 2 maintains slickness with a flat front and barely noticeable dent of a logo.

still can't get my head around it... theres always something missing to complete the full package (on a personal level). In this case, NO SHROUD - aghhh!

 

[Garrus]

The Fractal Pop is great, but so expensive. Still the top micro atx case in the local store right now. The problem is this new Focus case has no shroud. That's bizarre. Otherwise I like it.

 

[MrDweezil]

Feels like Fractal has been releasing a ton of cases lately.

 

[konga]

I would've liked to see a slightly cheaper price on these since they're so basic in design (the Focus G is still being made and sold for $55), but it looks like the $70 version will still likely be the best case in that product tier.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Considering even bottom-tier no name cases have a full PSU shroud nowdays, I'm a bit baffled as to why Fractal didn't include something more than a half-assed attempt at one. When the OG Focus line came out, PSU shrouds weren't really a thing and so the fact that they didn't have one is understandable, but nowdays they are par the course for modern cases and thus expected to be there - even a basic one made out of plastic or something. I think Fractal kinda dropped the ball here with the Focus 2, especially considering the Pop series even has a PSU shroud.

 

[wheresmycar]

Considering even bottom-tier no name cases have a full PSU shroud nowdays, I'm a bit baffled as to why Fractal didn't include something more than a half-assed attempt at one. When the OG Focus line came out, PSU shrouds weren't really a thing and so the fact that they didn't have one is understandable, but nowdays they are par the course for modern cases and thus expected to be there - even a basic one made out of plastic or something. I think Fractal kinda dropped the ball here with the Focus 2, especially considering the Pop series even has a PSU shroud.

totally agree!!

I had to come back and stress a little more "what on earth were they thinking???"... if they wanted to cut cost, build a case using cardboard for the frame and tracing paper for glass but dont remove the bloody shroud. FD is lucky for my 5-year-on appreciation for the Meshify C and others (one of the best ive owned) hence I won't be reporting them for this criminal insane act.

 

[Minus Infinity]

After seeing this I have already lost interest. Having to pay to unlock usb-c port is a bit of a joke and middle of the road performance. I prefer the other FD cases recently announced. Don't really care if they cost a bit more, a case is a long term proposition.

 

[wheresmycar]

I would've liked to see a slightly cheaper price on these since they're so basic in design (the Focus G is still being made and sold for $55), but it looks like the $70 version will still likely be the best case in that product tier.

maybe they'll have a non-RGB variant for less

The Fractal Pop is great, but so expensive. Still the top micro atx case in the local store right now. The problem is this new Focus case has no shroud. That's bizarre. Otherwise I like it.

mate i just saw the pop for the first time. The pop mini stole the show for me!! Almost perfect... although i would have fancied less depth for an air cooled build. Thanks to you, ive got the white variant bookmarked for a potential upgrade. Its either one of these mid towers or im going smaller @ NR200P

 

[konga]

maybe they'll have a non-RGB variant for less

There is a non-RGB version. That's the $70 version I mentioned. There's also a version with no glass side panel, but it costs the same as the glass version. IMO, for such a simple case, $70 is more than I would've expected, even in the current market conditions. That price doesn't account for shipping, either, which will be $10 - $15 more in the US. The Pop Air is $80 + $15 shipping, so for $10 more you're getting a lot more features. There are also other budget cases on the market that probably aren't as nice as the Focus 2 but are considerably cheaper. I'll still recommend the Focus 2 to budget builders, but it's a bit more bare than I would've liked for $70 plus shipping.

 

[Mussels]

I know these are budget lines, but they've lost the fractal magic
So many shortcuts that harm the user experience

Always open tops that make noise reduction impossible, with flimsy magnetic dust filters
No PSU shroud??
Those weird pegs for mounting... how would mech drives handle that? Or non-standard things that use the mounts, like some ARGB controllers and custom water accesories do?

During the assembly process, the SSD we used simply came off these pins several times.

Oh. Mechs would just be destroyed, got it.


I truly loathe cases with no option to seal the top. It gives you zero control over where your airflow goes in the case, with "straight up" being the only option.
You cant push airflow in through the case to blow over every component, and it makes the cases flawed unless used with an AIO, and useless at containing any noise.

 

[Luke357]

I built a machine for my brother in the Focus G and it is an excellent case for $50 (with the cheapest case in this series being 60). This one while probably better lacks some features the Focus G had like the 5.25" bay and a spot for the HDD that doesn't suck. This one does have the option for a solid steel panel and that is always welcome (to me atleast I don't want a flashy machine).

 

[wheresmycar]

I truly loathe cases with no option to seal the top. It gives you zero control over where your airflow goes in the case, with "straight up" being the only option.
You cant push airflow in through the case to blow over every component, and it makes the cases flawed unless used with an AIO, and useless at containing any noise.

Although i prefer the top mounts I'm totally with you with options to maximise airflow across the board. Partly why I'm looking to downsize to a mini-ITX (NR200p) in hopes of throwing in a couple of fans at the bottom whilst maintaining the top exhausts. Nowadays with GPUs munching a ton of power i'd prefer this type of airflow orientation with fans feeding cool air directly to the GPU (and hopefully more effective airflow for the rest of the components).

 

[konga]

To me, there's nothing wrong with the way they've designed the case. This is probably how I would've designed a case not too long ago when I wanted everything to be as cheap as possible while still maintaining the essentials of good performance. But the price just doesn't reflect that. Newegg listed these now, and you add $10 for shipping. So $80 for the non-RGB version and $90 for the RGB version (no discount for solid panels instead of glass). So to me, this product doesn't feel "price-optimized," it just feels barren and greedy.

Meanwhile, I can walk into my local micro center and buy a Montech X3 for $65, which is a case that comes with a full PSU shroud, an HDD cage, and six RGB fans. Sure, everything in that case is cheap as hell (and the fans are molex), but if Montech can do that, then surely Fractal could knock $15 off the price of its bare metal box with two fans. I said I'd recommend this case to budget builders, but after thinking about it more, I don't know if I actually will.

 

[Garrus]

maybe they'll have a non-RGB variant for less


mate i just saw the pop for the first time. The pop mini stole the show for me!! Almost perfect... although i would have fancied less depth for an air cooled build. Thanks to you, ive got the white variant bookmarked for a potential upgrade. Its either one of these mid towers or im going smaller @ NR200P

Nice! I've built several micro ATX Pop Minis since the case released already. My favorite by far, everyone is super pleased. I have a bunch of friends with modern computers but old cases that have been upgraded sometimes multiple times, and they are all buying it. All happy. It is like a virus!

We don't get good micro ATX cases often. The WHITE one is crazy good looking. The NR200P I've also built one computer in, but it isn't that great looking and it's a hassle compared to micro ATX. You'll be happier with micro ATX imo, it is small enough. I built this one, this week. $930 USD plus tax with a used RTX 3060 (from Facebook).

I hope we'll get a Focus 2 Mini soon. The ONE thing you should spend money on is the case imo, get a good one, it determines what your computer looks like. In the past I just used very cheap cases but now that there are REALLY good looking ones with built in fans (save $40 on fans) I say good for either Fractal RGB version, the Focus 2 or Pop Mini, both good.

 

[Chrispy_]

One of my pet hates is 140mm fans obstructed down both sides and further obstructed by large slotted tabs for radiator mounting.

Why can't those be on snap-off tabs like cheap-case expansion slot covers? If you have a 140mm fan, don't ruin it by smothering half of its airflow (yes, the vast majority of the airflow comes from the perimeter of the blade sweep - the part of the blade closer to the hub does almost nothing).

 

[Garrus]

And so far the pricing for the Focus 2 sucks and there is no micro ATX version, hope that is coming.

In Canada it is $120 for the Focus 2 RGB and $130 for the Pop RGB. Just a $10 savings. Would like to see the Focus 2 RGB for $99 CAD before I even consider it.

 

[Sybaris_Caesar]

Kinda feels like a bad value compared to Montech Air X I bought after looking at TPU review.

Though iirc all kinds of pc parts blew up in price since I bought the case. Here's the review. I got the white version. No complaints other than my two hard disks and stiff power supply cables are literally fighting for dominance inside that shroud.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Kinda feels like a bad value compared to Montech Air X I bought after looking at TPU review.

Though iirc all kinds of pc parts blew up in price since I bought the case.

I felt this. Bought a Phanteks P500A about a year ago. I got the non-digital variant, which was - at the time - a whopping $50 USD cheaper than the digital version. Fast forward to present, and that same non digital version is going for what the digital version used to cost - $150 USD. I know part of the reason is tariffs, but c'mon! There's just no reason why that particular case should be $150 when it literally has no RGB on it. What's weird though, is that the next one down the Eclipse line, the P400A (both the digital and non digital) hasn't seen such a dramatic price hike. It's still around $100 to $110.

 

[konga]

I felt this. Bought a Phanteks P500A about a year ago. I got the non-digital variant, which was - at the time - a whopping $50 USD cheaper than the digital version. Fast forward to present, and that same non digital version is going for what the digital version used to cost - $150 USD. I know part of the reason is tariffs, but c'mon! There's just no reason why that particular case should be $150 when it literally has no RGB on it. What's weird though, is that the next one down the Eclipse line, the P400A (both the digital and non digital) hasn't seen such a dramatic price hike. It's still around $100 to $110.

The P400A being $100 to $110 is a dramatic price hike. It debuted at $75, so that's a 33%+ price hike, similar to the P500A (which debuted at $110). These numbers come from PCPartPicker and include shipping, by the way.

The biggest factor is that the cost of international shipping has gone sky-high, and PC cases are some of the bulkiest, most inefficient things you can ship due to how large they are relative to their actual value.

 

[Gmr_Chick]

The P400A being $100 to $110 is a dramatic price hike. It debuted at $75, so that's a 33%+ price hike, similar to the P500A (which debuted at $110).

Ah, I see. Thanks for that clarification.

 

[AsRock]

Awesome review but the case...

Boring...

 

[konga]

To explain the prices of PC cases better:

http://imgur.com/qoXqIwE

Even though the cost to ship a container is under $10k again, it's still over three times what it used to be. At its peak, it was over ten times. Since cases are so large and bulky, they cost more to ship than other PC components. Shipping suddenly became a very large percentage of the cost of a case.

That said, I do feel like Fractal can do better here. This case still costs too much for what it comes with (which is basically nothing)

 

[omerfak]

Website says

• Top radiator
  Up to 240 mm (max 46 mm RAM height)

What does that mean actually?

Edit: Got it now, dumb question. So the memory used in review are shorter than 46 mm? @Darksaber

 

[Assimilator]

@Darksaber these are not PWM fans, 3-pin connectors cannot be PWM.

The Montech Sky One Lite that TPU just reviewed costs $10 less than this case and comes with a USB-C port and 3 fans (granted, only 120mm fans versus 140mm here, but still).