Motherboard support includes ITX, Micro-ATX and ATX (no extended options here), graphics cards can measure up to 355mm in length across seven expansion slots, a CPU cooler can stand up to 170mm tall, and there are eight 120mm or six 140mm fan mounts. You never really know a case until you’ve put components inside, and our trusty Core i9-12900K feels right at home within North’s accepting interior. We normally expect to come across a snag here or there, but nope, the entire process went without a hitch. The North has no lighting features beyond the power-on indicator that glows red next to USB ports on the top panel, but any lighted internal components are easily seen through its mesh side panel or through the front filter sheet as viewed between the wooden grille pieces. A tempered-glass version is available to builders who’d like to give others a clearer view of their internal components.

Remember what we said about a slight chill in the air? The North appears to be the second-worst at feeding cool air to our graphics card, but if not for possible rounding errors may have ended in an actual tie for worst. And there’s really not much need to go faster. Curiously, our CPU sees little benefit in the case fans running at full tilt. We can attribute that to the sheer amount of mesh panelling; extra intake fan speed is of reduced benefit when there’s already a steady supply of clean air.Here’s what the top panel's cover looks like removed. It has no filter, but many people who use its fan mounts may configure those fans as exhausts. Behind the painted-steel right side panel are a dual-2.5-inch-drive tray, a passive four-fan PWM power hub, a recessed cable loop, and a power-supply tunnel with two 3.5-inch drive trays. A box for the included hardware kit is included in one of the 3.5-inch bays, and all the extra mounting holes seen in the blown-up portion allow one of the trays to be slid forward in 1.5-inch increments. Power-supply length may be limited to as little as 165mm or extended up to 280mm depending on the number of trays installed and their placement.

While the side panel on the right is an ordinary painted sheet, left panels are available in both tempered-glass and mesh-faced varieties. The mesh part is reinforced as shown. Because some of our devices round to the nearest whole number before that data is charted, it’s possible for two identical results to be shown as one degree apart due to rounding issues. The Fractal Design North appears to have the coolest CPU temperatures, but a slight chill in the air reminded us that it might actually be tied for first. Discount the front face, and the North is a fairly typical modern PC case whether in its mesh or glass side-panel variants. The other accents are nice, but it's the wood-slat portion that really sets this case apart. Performance is generally on par for what it is, with the exception of the GPU thermal testing we did. But that may be cutting it too fine for a case like this; the aesthetics are the real selling point. Dust filtration is available only for the front and bottom panels, the latter being a slide-out filter that covers the power supply air inlet. That may be enough filtration for most builds, as the dual 140mm intake fans that hide behind the front panel will tend to push air out of the case’s other holes.Though it’s also available with a tempered-glass panel similar to its competitors, the version of the North we’re testing has a mesh left side that leaks noise just as easily as air. When heard from the other side, the case sounds similarly noisy to its competitors. Facing the question of how a case could have both the best voltage regulator and second-worst GPU temperatures in its class, we looked at the North’s factory front-fan placement just above the power-supply tunnel and determined that it should be perfect for GPU cooling. We don’t like unanswered questions, but with one test point showing clearly superior performance and another showing merely acceptable performance, need we torture ourselves further?