Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
Getting inside the Fractal Design Summit Ambience Blackout TG is a matter of pulling the two panels off from the top. They are held with metal pins at the top and clips at the bottom. The 3mm tempered glass is attached to metal frames on the top and bottom, which doubles as a frame. As such, you can hold the panel in this area to ensure you do not leave visible fingerprints on the inside. The glass is lightly tinted to hide a bit of the cable clutter, but you do have a clear view inside. The opposing side steel holds to the case with a similar mechanism of metal pegs and clips. I would like a bit of padding here to prevent the glass from touching the rest of the case.
Removing the front steel panel is very straightforward. There is a small latch at the top, and you can push the panel in here until you hear a click and the front is released. I did not attempt to remove the wood portion, since there are cables running between the top and the rest of the case. Removing the front pane is enough to get full access to the front cooling options. There are three 140mm Momentum 14 PWM fans included. They are all 4-pin PWM-controlled and connected by a daisy chain of cables. A single extension PWM cable is also included, which you will need for these fans. These are retail-grade with fluid dynamic bearings inside. Each fan runs from 350 to 1800RPM and produces a maximum 31.9dBA noise, 79.79CFM airflow, and 2.26mmH2O 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.
With all panels off, you can see the interior layout of the Fractal Design Summit Ambience Blackout TG. The case is an open concept design with no obstructions from front to back. With non-porous panes on the sides, this creates a tunnel for air to move 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 Summit is where you can mount up to an extended ATX motherboard up to 277mm in width, but ATX, micro ATX, and mini ITX are also compatible too. Internally, everything has the same black color as the rest of the case, which is clean and consistent. The paint applied on these internal elements is even and resistant to scratches or peeling.
In the back corner, the first thing to note 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 is one long opening above the motherboard to route cables here. As well, there are multiple holes at the back to support back connectors on your motherboard. At the top, there are rails to install cooling options. The manufacturer states you can mount up to three 120mm or two 140mm fans, or a single 360mm radiator. Based on the proximity between the motherboard and rails and the extra-long enclosure, I am quite happy to see such compatibility. These rails are also held in place with captive thumbscrews and can be removed for easier installation. At the back, there is a spot to mount a 120mm fan. I wish Fractal Design added one more Momentum 12 PWM fan here.
On 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. At the bottom, there is a division between the power supply basement and the rest of the case. There are long ventilation holes on the top for air to pass through. At the bottom, there is one more long routing hole to pass through cables at the bottom, such as the front I/O or video card power.
The front of the Fractal Design Summit Ambience Blackout TG has several areas to look at. The front has rails with the pre-installed Momentum 14 PWM fans here. The front supports up to three 120mm fans, two 140mm fans, or a single 360mm radiator. At the bottom, there is a scooped air guide to ensure the bottom fan's airflow remains in the main area of the Summit. This air guide means the maximum length clearance at the front for radiators is reduced to 405mm instead of 435mm without. One thing to note is a swinging arm that sits near the front fans. This is a steel GPU support bracket. It sits on a sliding rail and has an adjustable rubber peg on top. This ensures only a non-conductive area touches the GPU. Finally, there is a single long hole to pass cables through the back. It is lined with a rubber grommet to hide excess cables.
At the back, the Fractal Design Summit Ambience Blackout TG has all the black front I/O cable organized here. This includes a set of front I/O pins, USB Type-C header, USB 3.0 header, front panel audio, 4-pin PWM fan header, and an RGB header. You might be wondering what the addressable RGB header is used for, especially as I have not mentioned any lighting elements. As we have the Ambience variant of the Summit, there is an illuminated frame that goes all around the front panel and hides under the mesh frame. The cables are quite flexible and easy to lead into place.
The rest of the back has many cabling aids, including two plastic claws that Fractal Design calls quick fit Cable Aligners. Each one is made of two parts and a plastic button to release the top portion. When you do this, you can gather the cables here, and push the top portion into place and secure all the cables within the created loop. This is a proprietary feature and looks much cleaner than cable ties or Velcro straps. This also creates a cable area at the front, even if there is no valley in the Summit. Around the back, there are no other cable tie down points, but there is a set of Velcro straps at the back edge. I may not be a fan of losing anchor points, but I think Fractal Design has supplemented enough other options for me to forgive this omission. In terms of cabling space, there is 34mm around the back, which is more than enough space for even bulky cables.
Storage support can also be found on the back side of the Fractal Design Summit Ambience Blackout TG. There are two pairs of drive brackets under the motherboard opening. Each of them can accommodate two 2.5" or one 3.5" drive. Since they are separate pieces, you just need to adjust how wide the pieces sit apart from each other. Next, you can put two more 2.5" options at the bottom of the front-area basement. In total, the Summit can hold up to a maximum of six 2.5", two 3.5" drives, or a combination of the two sizes. Moving to the power supply area, you can mount a unit up to 277mm in length, including its cables, and still have space to spare. There is some padding underneath to reduce the power supply from making any vibrations.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
