Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
Just like the Fractal Design Meshify C before it, the Mini shares a lot of the same interior elements as the larger brother, though on a smaller scale. As such, the exterior side panels are made of the same materials. The left side features a dark tinted tempered glass panel held on to the case by four thumbscrews. The mounts are rubberized to ensure an exact fit. In addition, the entire piece of glass features a matte border to hide the fingerprints left when handling this panel. The top and bottom has a strip of foam on the inside of the panel to reduce the vibrations between the side panel and the case. On the right side, we have a standard side panel held on by captive thumbscrews. Once the thumbscrews are loosened, you can slide the panel out of its position to get inside. Unfortunately, there is no sound dampening material on the right side.
The internal layout on the Meshify C Mini is straightforward with a slimmed down design for a smaller footprint. Once again, compactness is the name of the game here, so optical drive bays and drive cages are a no-show in this area. As the one actual change from the larger Meshify C is the height of the case, there is no compromising its length for larger components. Like the Meshify C, this uses a dual chamber design with majority all of the components sitting in the area you can see above, including the motherboard and graphics card. Underneath the dividing shroud is where the power supply and storage drives reside. As we have alluded to, the Meshify C Mini is a micro ATX case, but smaller form factor motherboards such as mini ITX can fit inside. As such, mounting risers are not pre-installed, but instead included with the other accessories.
Starting at the back of the Fractal Design Meshify C Mini, we have the Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 120mm fan in black, at the back. This voltage-controlled fan has specifications of a maximum rotational speed of 1200 RPM, maximum airflow of 52.3 CFM, and maximum pressure of 0.88mm H2O. It boasts a mean time before failure of 100,000 hours. Below the fan are five black expansion slot brackets here, held in with a thumbscrew per slot. Finally, you can see the power supply shroud. This cover is not completely solid, with the slits revealed in the image above, allowing the air to move from the power supply chamber to the rest of the motherboard and back. In addition, several routing holes are available to connect components like the front panel I/O.
At the front, we have another black 120mm Dynamic X2 GP-12. As mentioned previously, up to a maximum of three 120mm fans or a single 360mm radiator can be placed here. However, in order to install such a long radiator, the front area has to be removed. As you can see, there is a cutout here, which allows a radiator or fans to slide through. For radiators 280mm and smaller, they should fit without needing to remove anything else, other than the included fan. Underneath this area is a storage bracket to fit your 3.5" drives. The cage itself sits on a sliding bar, so it can be moved about or completely removed if you so desire. If you want to install a triple 120mm fan setup or a dual fan radiator in the front of the Meshify C Mini, you will probably have to remove the front area and also move the drive cage back, which would affect the maximum allowable length for the power supply. One casualty of the height reduction of the Fractal Define Meshify C Mini is the lack of support for 360mm radiators here, which is not necessarily a huge deal, but should be mentioned. Once again, all of this will vary by your build, and these are reasonable sacrifices to make if you want to fit everything in a smaller package.
From this photo, you can see the opening for the back of the motherboard here. An adequate amount of room is here in order to mount any third party CPU cooler without removing the motherboard fully. The top of the case is also revealed in this photo. There is a large ventilation area, where you can attach up to two 140mm fans or a 240mm radiator at the top. The fan and radiator mounts are offset correctly to prevent it from interfering with the motherboard below. Finally, there are two routing holes located near the front side of the case, with rubber grommets flanking them for a neater cabling appearance. All of the major routing holes have rubber grommets, which is pretty typical on a Fractal Design case.
Looking at the back of the Fractal Design Meshify C Mini, we have a pretty standard picture here. In the valley near the front, you can route your cables through this area. Approximately 35mm of space between the frame and sliding panel exists here. There are three Velcro straps in the standard routing areas to tidy up all the loose cables. The full black I/O cables routed here include the USB 3.0 header, LED and power button connections, and the HD audio header. While they may not be shielded the way Fractal Design does with some of their other cases, these wires are good. In the middle are all the cabling holes with rubber grommets. To the right of the divide, we have two things to note. One is the fact this area is shallower for cabling, as the gap between the motherboard backing and the right side panel reduces to 15mm. The other is the 2.5" drive tray, capable of holding up to three drives, located at the back of the motherboard tray opening. It is held on with yet another captive thumbscrew. I cannot state enough how good this feature is, as it means you will not be hunting for more screws later on.
At the bottom of the case under the shroud, we have a spot for the power supply. ATX PSUs can fit here, with a maximum given length of 175mm. This being said, a smaller unit will allow for more room to use for cable management. The bottom has four metal risers topped with foam to hold the power supply while reducing any vibrations. Closer to the front is a hard drive bracket with sliding trays. The bracket and the trays are both made with metal, though the screw holes are lined with rubber pads to reduce vibration between your installed storage options and the bay. Two 3.5" or 2.5" drives can be installed here.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
