Fractal Design Era 2

[Darksaber]

Fractal Design's Era 2 stands out in the SFF case market with its stylish, flexible design and included fans. Priced at $200, it offers a balance of aesthetics, functionality, and active cooling. The well-designed interior allows easy management of cables and components, which makes the case a great choice for small form factor enthusiasts.

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[HBSound]

Outside looking in, I love this case. It would have been nice to be a little deeper and have a dual 120=rad/fan combination at the top. OR an option for at least a 50% vented front panel just to keep the fresh air!

 

[Chaitanya]

Funny how fractal finds space to provide LED on front IO while their larger cases have been excluding that and reset button.

 

[jak_2456]

I think this case looks pretty cool. It's a bit pricey and I realize that it wouldn't be easy to do an air-cooled build in the PC, but I like it; I just don't want to spend that much cuz I'm a cheapskate .

 

[bonehead123]

I like it overall, especially the wood top panel, the side vents (yee haw, no GLASS/Pukefest) and the front I/O, but I would have preferred to have another wood panel on the front. But still a pretty good effort & probably another winner from Fractal

 

[Makaveli]

Love fractal design cases this one looks good price abit high.

 

[HBSound]

I want to see a well-thought-out water-cooled support for both the GPU/CPU.

 

[aktpu]

Nice, I like it so I ordered one in blue

 

[phanbuey]

Beautiful case. Nice layout. Well done fractal.

 

[MrDweezil]

Looks really nice. My main quibble would be that I don't understand the decorative wooden top when the position of the front controls make it clear this is meant to sit on your desk, not beside it. Seems like you won't really spend much time seeing the top.

 

[mashie]

Nice looking case.

 

[HBSound]

I really like this case—it's nice, simple, and clean. I'm into water cooling, and I'm curious to see how much-cooling potential there is with a single 280 radiator at the top. I'm also wondering if it's possible to install another radiator and fan at the bottom of the case.

Also, could it be beneficial to add some more holes across the small portion of the front of the case...

 

[wheresmycar]

Love the way Fractal almost always gets the wood design element spot on without compromising on modernised style, premium materials and overall build quality. North, Terra and now the ERA. Expensive i agree, but its this type of innovation which deserves every bit of support it gets. One of these days i might fancy having a crack at the terra/era (i already have a North in the office) or perhaps a subsequent Fractal wood incorporated offering. Glad the GPU temps are better (vs the terra). The underside restricted airflow is a bit of a bummer, no biggie, the Era still gets a big thumbs up from me.

 

[Gigaherz]

Why would anyone get this over an IM1 Pocket that fits standart components at less than a third of the price? Is it really all because of the wood?

 

[_JP_]

This should have been Era 1 and I'm not even mad of $/£/€50 price increase.
Era 1's biggest issue was airflow (to justify the wood top lid) for any workload above 400W, before the internal assembly logistics. Heat could not escape fast enough, even with convection build-up.

 

[wheresmycar]

Why would anyone get this over an IM1 Pocket that fits standart components at less than a third of the price? Is it really all because of the wood?

Its more than just getting a woody (lol). Its the overall aesthetics/design, build quality (incl. premium materials) and fractals special attention to tool-less user experience/build flexibility. You get a bunch of additional perk with a 4.0 riser included, decent quality fans preinstalled, compared to the IM1 the Era-2 is little smaller, etc. On the face of it, its an innovative design (through in and through out) and distinctively stands out when compared to the IM1 or similar type boring boxes. Some of us value "design" as much as "functionality" and are willing to splurge on that sort of thing.

 

[NPe]

But it's a 18 liter case and a ssupd 'meshroom' is only a 14 liter one with an atx motherboard !

 

[wheresmycar]

But it's a 18 liter case and a ssupd 'meshroom' is only a 14 liter one with an atx motherboard !

Not sure why that matters. If you want the smallest case possible, there are plenty of other options available. You also have the Fractal Terra with 10L volume. Era 2 also fits the SFF category but a step-up for more flexibility, more room for components, etc. Terra or other similar ultra-compact designs are more restricting or a better fit for those who prioritise minimalism whether its a requirement for small desk space, portability, the minimalist aesthetic, etc. One thing is certain, the Era 2 class of cases were not intended to compete for the smallest volume.

 

[NPe]

Another aspect is that it weighs empty as much as a fully filled ssupd Meshroom with less component compatibility. Esthetic is the more appeling criteria for the Terra.