Fractal Design Mood

[Darksaber]

The Fractal Design Mood is a very stylish case and provides a small footprint enclosure using an upright form factor to accommodate good cooling and modern GPUs. With its unique cloth wrap and color options, the Mood is not simply another case from Fractal, but will fit seamlessly into your environment.

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[Shrek]

I always worry about an open top because of the chance of spills and wonder if the mesh top resists spills. I would treat it with something that repels water.

 

[ymdhis]

I always worry about an open top because of the chance of spills and wonder if the mesh top resists spills. I would treat it with something that repels water.

Don't use your PC as a drink tray and this won't be a problem.

 

[Onasi]

I am not sure if I am sold on fabric wrap as a material choice for a PC case. That WILL collect dust and, unlike metal or plastic, isn’t cleaned as easily as just wiping with a wet cloth.

 

[theglaze]

Damn that case is loud at full load.

I'd rather have a larger chassis that I cannot hide, but has no audible change between idle and gaming.

Than a small chassis I've hidden, but screams under duress.

 

[Chrispy_]

Looks nice but it's so frickin' huge for such limited internal compatibility and that's a problem Fractal have always had which is why they're not good at SFF systems.

• Mini ITX only,
• SFX only,
• CPU clearance issues that rule out almost all tower coolers, even the Silver Soul 110 doesn't actually fit!
• GPU clearance limitations at a time when even mid-tier GPUs are both longer and wider than this now...

Those limitations are forgivable in some of the tiny sub-10L cases on the market, inexcusable in the 10-20L cases, and this >20L Fractal is just a joke. Hell, >20L isn't even classified as SFF!

 

[Berfs1]

Damn that case is loud at full load.

I'd rather have a larger chassis that I cannot hide, but has no audible change between idle and gaming.

Than a small chassis I've hidden, but screams under duress.

So um, there's something called fan curves, and um... you connect the fan to the motherboard, and control the speed through the BIOS or software. You can, and always have been able to for the last 15 years, set the fan speed to a static % or keep it running at the slowest speed possible when temps are low (idle scenario), and ramp them up to the fastest speed before you can start to hear it (full load scenario). Unfortunately, TechPowerUp tests fans in such a weird way I don't even understand how they are testing them, most case fans actually CAN be super quiet if the user manually set the fan curves. If you are using auto fan curves, seriously stop doing that, and more importantly stop judging cases based on the included fans' performance UNDER AUTO FAN CURVES.

 

[notanin]

I really like how it looks but the noise, the fact that fabric will become dirty and limited GPU support kinda puts me off

> If you are using auto fan curves, seriously stop doing that, and more importantly stop judging cases based on the included fans' performance UNDER AUTO FAN CURVES
Right, it could be silent if you remove all fans altogether, dead silent.

 

[KellyNyanbinary]

The manual recommends using a lint rolling to clean the front. Never seen a lint roller used on a PC before.

 

[theglaze]

So um, there's something called fan curves, and um... you connect the fan to the motherboard, and control the speed through the BIOS or software. You can, and always have been able to for the last 15 years, set the fan speed to a static % or keep it running at the slowest speed possible when temps are low (idle scenario), and ramp them up to the fastest speed before you can start to hear it (full load scenario). Unfortunately, TechPowerUp tests fans in such a weird way I don't even understand how they are testing them, most case fans actually CAN be super quiet if the user manually set the fan curves. If you are using auto fan curves, seriously stop doing that, and more importantly stop judging cases based on the included fans' performance UNDER AUTO FAN CURVES.

Exactly.

I'd rather my larger chassis where I set all fan speeds to slow and (almost) static, so there is no acoustic change, and also no thermal issues because of the space and airflow from 5 chassis fans.

Compared to this design with a single exhaust fan, which is (probably) incapable of holding a static speed at the same noise level (or anything close) to a full chassis without creating thermal issues.

My user preference is NO curve. Gaming is just as 'loud' as a browser.

 

[Vario]

Combine the fabric case with the original 12VHPWR cables for added pyrotechnic fun!

 

[BSim500]

I'd rather have a larger chassis that I cannot hide, but has no audible change between idle and gaming.

Just buy a compact MATX put it under the desk like normal and it more or less is hidden. More usable desk space + better choice of motherboards + lower price premium + fans are further away from the ears = lower perceived noise for the same fan curves are exactly why after doing one Mini-ITX build, I just went back to MATX under the desk. A lot of oversized ITX on the desk trying to "save space" by taking up desk space and claiming to be "small" whilst being designed for 2ft long GPU's + radiators are "solution looking for a problem" absurdities...

 

[_JP_]

You'd think that with that height, they could have just raised it a bit more to include a bottom 180mm and a dust filter, close to the floor and below the cable exit, to improve thermals.
I wager the dual 140mm would help, but being a bit ineffective without ducting. Only if the idea is to turn the chamber pressure-positive.

I am not sure if I am sold on fabric wrap as a material choice for a PC case. That WILL collect dust and, unlike metal or plastic, isn’t cleaned as easily as just wiping with a wet cloth.

The manual recommends using a lint rolling to clean the front. Never seen a lint roller used on a PC before.

That is how one would already clean the fabric covers on speakers. Same same.

 

[Chrispy_]

Just buy a compact MATX put it under the desk like normal and it more or less is hidden. More usable desk space + better choice of motherboards + lower price premium + fans are further away from the ears = lower perceived noise for the same fan curves are exactly why after doing one Mini-ITX build, I just went back to MATX under the desk. A lot of oversized ITX on the desk trying to "save space" by taking up desk space and claiming to be "small" whilst being designed for 2ft long GPU's + radiators are "solution looking for a problem" absurdities...

Yup.

For most people, desk space is premium real estate and floor isn't. The only reasons most people have to build an SFF is so that they can travel with it occasionally, or because they want a rainbow light show next to their monitor on their desk, but don't have enough desk space to achieve that with a regular sized case.

This Fractal Mood satisfies neither of those demographics, and it's restrictive, and it's loud.

 

[colossusrageblack]

Bought my daughter a Fractal Pop Air Mini to upgrade the janky case she had. I was shocked at how quiet it was with the preinstalled fans, a Phantom Spirit 120, and a RTX 3080, even under full load. My PC is much louder and my case, NZXT, is much larger.

 

[Chrispy_]

Bought my daughter a Fractal Pop Air Mini to upgrade the janky case she had. I was shocked at how quiet it was with the preinstalled fans, a Phantom Spirit 120, and a RTX 3080, even under full load. My PC is much louder and my case, NZXT, is much larger.

Pop Air Mini is a pretty decent mATX case in terms of price/cooling/noise levels.

Like most Fractal stuff, it's still worryingly large for what it is though. Why is a MicroATX case 432mm long front to back if it doesn't have side-mounted radiators, front-mounted PSU to save on height, or front drive bays? Nobody is trying to squeeze a 390mm GPU onto mATX because those GPUs are the >$1000 flagship GPUs and mATX boards squarely serve the low end of the market. Try buying a high-end mATX board in 2024 and you'll probably come up empty.

This case (just finished a build in one this week) is smaller in every dimension and it's a full-sized ATX case that has the same pitiful four-drives support that the Pop Air Mini has:

Mesh Pro – IONZ

ionz.co.uk

I'm not saying the Pop Air Mini is bad, it's just typical Fractal Design in that it's much bigger than it needs to be, and doesn't that defeat the whole point of Micro ATX?!

 

[scottslayer]

I just can't believe that the noise level is 54.2 decibels under load (almost as loud as an average refrigerator at 55). INSANITY.
For comparison my dishwasher is rated for 33 decibels...

 

[theglaze]

I just can't believe that the noise level is 54.2 decibels under load (almost as loud as an average refrigerator at 55). INSANITY.
For comparison my dishwasher is rated for 33 decibels...

That's a nice dishwasher

 

[Chrispy_]

That's a nice dishwasher

I replaced my old Bosch dishwasher a year ago and the new Hotpoint one has made me realise how whisper-quiet the Bosch one was

Getting back on topic, I don't really understand why this Fractal Mood is so loud under load. @Darksaber, was it the AIO fans (being suffocated by the fabric side panel) making all the noise, or was it the 180mm top fan that's just loud? I can't really see why this case would be so loud based on the design - all the components seem to have plenty of room to breathe and it's far less cramped than quieter cases, so either that top fan is just loud and ineffective (since system and CPU temps are so high) or the choice of fabric panels really is the downfall of this case.

 

[sLowEnd]

I replaced my old Bosch dishwasher a year ago and the new Hotpoint one has made me realise how whisper-quiet the Bosch one was

Getting back on topic, I don't really understand why this Fractal Mood is so loud under load. @Darksaber, was it the AIO fans (being suffocated by the fabric side panel) making all the noise, or was it the 180mm top fan that's just loud? I can't really see why this case would be so loud based on the design - all the components seem to have plenty of room to breathe and it's far less cramped than quieter cases, so either that top fan is just loud and ineffective (since system and CPU temps are so high) or the choice of fabric panels really is the downfall of this case.

GN found that the shell produces undesirable resonant sounds and is very restrictive to airflow