A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the black and green Fractal Pop Air RGB does, well, pop nicely! This is a bit of a throwback to the past with Aerocool attempts in different colors either externally or by painting specific internal components. The biggest difference is the quality of the paint job and tooling, as Fractal used their own tooling with a high-quality finish. At first sight, the Fractal Design Pop Air RGB makes a really good impression for a chassis that clocks in at $90 in this color variant.


The front of the chassis has a fine metal mesh with a surface design that reminds us of the Meshify series. It also acts as a dust filter, so you can clearly see the two retail-grade 120 mm ARGB Aspect 12 intake fans. To access these, pull off the full front cover with a firm tug. In the rear, the Pop Air RGB looks rather traditional with the PSU bay on the bottom and seven expansion slots.


The main side of the enclosure comes with a clean, clear glass panel and small metal strip, which looks great and has been done by several other brands, too. Less of the more expensive glass material is used in the process. Turning the chassis over, there is a solid metal cover, once again held in place by two solid thumb screws. The green feet are a nice touch and bring some of that bright color to the chassis exterior.


In the bottom of the Pop Air RGB is a plastic cover with a little Fractal-branded tab on the side. It is held in place by magnets and hides a little storage tray—a nifty little feature, it is rather small, so I am not sure what you could use it for. It would have been nice if the cover were made of metal, just to keep in line with the otherwise very solid build quality. The other rather unique aspect in this day and age is the tray sitting in one of two 5.25" bays. Yes, you read that right—Fractal is bringing back that external bay with the Pop Air RGB. It could be useful for a display or fan controller. The only downside is that the frame behind the cover doesn't look very nice, so odds are you would want to keep it covered up, which defeats its purpose.


In the rear, starting at the bottom, the PSU bay has two sets of mounting holes and a little Fractal logo on the left of it. Above that are the seven expansion slots, each protected by individual, reusable covers. In the very top is a third 120 mm retail-grade Aspect 12 ARGB fan, this time set to push air out the back of the case. It sits on elongated cutouts, so you may adjust its vertical position.


In the top is the vent, which will be covered by the magnetic metal mesh dust filter. Here either two 120 or 140 mm fans may be installed. For those wanting a radiator or AIO, Fractal markets the Pop Air RGB as a 240 mm capable unit and offers offset brackets to ensure motherboard compatibility. The I/O panel is the other element with a bit of the same color as the case interior. There is a blocked off USB-C port, as Fractal offer it as an additional accessory you may purchase for $10. There are two black USB 3.0 connectors, a combo audio jack, ARGB control button, and power switch with ARGB.


On the underside is a dust filter that covers the opening for the PSU bay. You may pull it out from the back of the chassis without tipping over the entire system.