Fractal Design Flex B-20 Vertical Riser Bracket

Fractal also provided us with their latest riser bracket to showcase in this review. Unlike their Flex VRC-25, which is just the flex cable with mounting hardware, the B-20 comes with a metal structure that allows you to use it with cases that don't have dividing elements in their rear expansion slots. The box is fully colored and lets the user know what attributes their enclosure needs to provide for it to be compatible.


You get a well-built, Fractal-branded PCIe 3.0 x16 riser cable alongside the separate parts for this entire setup, as well as a simple pamphlet with instructions on how to piece it together. A PCIe 4.0 cable would have been nice, setting this kit apart from the competition while offering slightly better longevity. That said, such a cable tends to cost around twice as much, which would have resulted in a much higher price tag for end users as well. Thus, it is simply not worth it at this stage, especially as the $46 MSRP makes this a fairly attractive option.


Once constructed, you may install your GPU outside of the case before placing the whole contraption inside the enclosure. While a case like the Fractal Meshify 2 already offers vertical expansion slots, the B-20 setup gives your GPU a lot more breathing room, and even big 2.5 or 3-slot cards will easily fit as long as their I/O plate is at the most dual-slot.