Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
Getting inside the Fractal Design North Momentum is a matter of loosening the captive thumbscrews on the back and sliding off the two sides. These are held to the rest of the enclosure with metal clips. The 3mm tempered glass is attached to a metal bracket, and this doubles as a frame. You can hold the glass on the top or bottom edge to ensure you do not leave fingerprints on the inside. The glass is slightly tinted to hide a bit of the cable clutter. The opposing steel side holds to the case with a similar mechanism of metal clips. Normally, I would like a bit of padding here to prevent the glass from touching the rest of the case. However, there is a small air gap here when the glass pane is installed on the case, which means the two pieces do not normally make contact. At the front of the window, there is a steel panel, which also hides cable clutter at the front. However, with a loosening of a captive thumbscrew at the top, this portion can also slide off.
With the panels off, you can see the interior layout of the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition. The case is an open concept design with a free flow from front to back. With nonporous panels on both sides, this creates a tunnel for air to flow in one direction. The sole permanent division is at the bottom of the case, which divides up the power supply area from the rest of the chassis. The main area of the North Momentum Edition is where you can mount up to an ATX motherboard, but smaller micro ATX and mini ITX boards are also compatible. Internally, everything is the same black color, which is clean and consistent. The black paint is applied evenly and does not scratch off easily.
Removing the front wood panel is very straightforward. You can pull from the bottom and the whole thing comes off. There are no cables running between the front and the rest of the case. Behind, there are three 120mm Momentum 12 PWM fans included. This is changed notably from the original North, as these new fans are said to be both quieter and more efficient at moving air through. They are all 4-pin and connected to a 3-to-1 header for easy connection to the motherboard. These are retail-grade and Fractal Design sells them separately too. They have fluid-dynamic bearings inside with a 350 to 2200RPM fan speed, 31.3dBA noise, 67.34CFM airflow, and 2.51mmH2O static pressure. There are seven blades made of liquid crystal polymer on each unit. There are also rubber pads on the corners to dampen any vibrations between the fan and the rest of the case.
In the back corner, the first thing I would point out is the large opening under the motherboard area. This is useful when installing third-party coolers, as you can change the mounting mechanism while keeping the motherboard installed. There are multiple openings above the motherboard to route cables here. Unfortunately, there are no holes to support back connectors. At the top, there are rails to install cooling options. According to Fractal Design, you can mount up to two 120mm or 140mm fans, or a single 240mm radiator. Based on the proximity between the motherboard and the rails, it is no surprise a 280mm radiator would not fit. At the back, there is a spot to mount a 120mm fan. I wish Fractal Design would add one more Momentum 12 PWM here.
Down the back to the bottom, there is a total of seven expansion slot covers, which is typical for a mid-tower enclosure. There is no support for vertical mounting out of the box, but since the expansion slots are all connected, you could potentially rig one together. At the bottom, there is a division between the power supply basement and the rest of the case. There are ventilation holes on the top to allow air to pass through. At the back, there are more routing holes to pass through cables at the bottom, such as the front I/O or video card power.
The front of the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition is a bit hidden with the metal sides. The front has rails with the pre-installed Momentum 12 PWM fans here. This front supports up to three 120mm fans, two 140mm fans, or a single 360mm radiator. Given the size of the case, the front area is reasonable in what it can accommodate. This dips into the basement area of the North Momentum Edition. Next, there is a set of holes with rubber grommets in them. This helps with hiding cables at the back. One thing that I would have liked to see here is an integrated video card support bracket to help with lifting heavier GPUs. This is becoming a common trend, and it is an appreciated asset.
At the back, the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition continues its black color with the cables. This includes a set of front I/O pins, a USB Type-C header, USB 3.0 header, front panel audio, and a single 4-pin PWM fan header. These cables are flexible and easy to lead into place. The rest of the back tray has many cabling aids, including three Velcro straps in the front valley. Next, there are multiple columns of cable tie anchors. In terms of cabling space, there is 30mm at the front and 15mm behind the motherboard. This may make some cabling a bit tricky, but we will see what that is like when we install our system later.
Storage and drive support can be found all on the back side of the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition. First is a single drive sled under the motherboard opening. It can accommodate two 2.5" drives. The sled is held on with a single captive thumbscrew. Next, there is a pair of drive sleds in the basement. These can each hold a single 2.5" or 3.5" storage option. Utilizing these slots in the basement will limit the length of your power supply and cabling space, but thankfully, these sleds can be removed if they are not used. I would have appreciated if the sleds were stacked on top of each other instead of taking up so much room in this small space. Speaking of which, the power supply area has some padding underneath to reduce the power supply from any vibrations.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
