Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Installing my system into the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition is a straightforward process. Starting at the back, I slotted the be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200W into the back mounting plate and secured it to the North Momentum Edition. With the power supply's 18.0cm length, there is still quite a bit of space in this basement, but I had to remove one drive cage. With two cages installed, you are limited to 15.5cm in length, but this increases to 25.5cm with only one. I continued building by routing all the required cables into place. I did not end up using any of the drive cages, as I only have M.2 storage options in this system.
In the main area of the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition, I installed my ASUS ProArt X870E-Creator Wi-Fi motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X mounted inside. Beside it is a set of Crucial Pro Overclocking DDR5-6400 2x16GB memory. The cooler on top of the processor is the be quiet! Dark Rock Elite. Fractal Design specifies a maximum 170mm height for air coolers, which is sufficient for this bulky cooler. Afterwards, I mounted the EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING into the top slot of my motherboard. Its 285.37mm length is still well within the maximum 355mm length that Fractal Design specifies for any video card. Even with a front 360mm radiator, Fractal Design specifies a maximum length of 300mm. I continued by plugging the necessary cables and front I/O. As this case does not include an integrated support bracket, I used my Cooler Master Atlas ARGB GPU bracket. Otherwise, the important routing holes were in accessible spots with rubber grommets that hide cable clutter.
With everything installed, you can see the cabling situation at the back. I used the front area as much as possible to hold the thicker cables. The Velcro straps kept everything bundled here, so I did not use any more cable anchor points. The only cable that was not at the front was the two EPS 8-pin cables, which I could lead up the back side. After everything was installed, there was more than enough clearance, and I had no issues putting the side panels back in place. Overall, I enjoyed working in the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition.
Once plugged in, I powered my system on to hear and see things turned on. The tempered glass pane hides a lot of the clutter, but illuminated elements of my build, such as the CPU cooler and GPU support bracket, easily brightened up the rest of the system.
Using our standard APH Networks sound scale, where 0 represents silence and 10 indicates loudness, the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition is a 5.0/10 at full speed at closer to a 3.5/10 when the fans are properly controlled. As for noise suppression, the North Momentum Edition also does not do anything to keep noise down, as there is no noise dampening material in or around the enclosure. In terms of fan testing, when they were running full blast, I measured the three fans at 44dB(A) at a 50cm distance. A single Momentum 12 PWM fan produced a maximum airflow speed of 11.1km/h, or 6.9mph, directly at the outlet.
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The Fractal Design North Momentum Edition proves why this case manufacturer stands out from the rest. Building off the same frame, the North Momentum Edition keeps a professional appearance. The first update is the full black exterior for a stealthy look. This includes the oak slats at the front, as they are now painted over in black. The external elements, from the design of the front I/O to the uniform back, adds to the sophisticated but clean finish. Internally, the layout is the exact same with enough room for most users' components. We have support for a respectable number of storage drives, a tall CPU cooler, multiple locations for radiators and fans, and enough space for most video cards and power supplies. Prospective users should not expect to fit every and all things inside here, but Fractal Design has utilized the limited space well. The second major change is the inclusion of three retail-grade Momentum 12 PWM fans at the front. These move air efficiently without making too much noise. Moving on, the installation process is a breeze. Everything is laid out in proper areas with sufficient spacing and solutions to manage excess cables behind the motherboard. Rubber grommets are used in places where they benefit the user, while the cable tie down points and Velcro straps also keep everything organized. My suggestions for Fractal Design is to include a video card support bracket, use a single 3.5mm combination audio jack, and add one more Momentum 12 PWM fan at the exhaust. As it currently stands, the North Momentum Edition is now available with an MSRP of $180, which represents a $25 increase on the original chassis. You are free to choose from either option, or even go up to the XL size if you need more room, but the Fractal Design North Momentum Edition is built on an excellent foundation and improved with its updated fans.
Fractal Design provided this product to APH Networks for the purposes of evaluation.
APH Recommended Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 8.0/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Fractal Design North Momentum Edition is a computer case that offers an updated stealthy appearance, upgraded fans, and an easy installation process.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
