The well-known housing manufacturer Fractal Design presented the new Fractal Design Terra at Computex. With a volume of approx. 10.4 liters, the small case uses the Mini-ITX format and wants to impress visually with a wooden panel on the front.
Cases from Fractal enjoy a good reputation in our editorial office because the manufacturer has expanded the in-house range of different cases from year to year. Above all, the minimalistic, chic, and at the same time spacious Define 7, the airflow miracle Torrent in different sizes, or the small, stylish Era. Most recently, the Swedish manufacturer Fractal Design North hit the nerve of many PC freaks, because the midi tower with the chic wooden front and the practical details also offers perfect airflow. Not without reason, the case was hard to get long after the market launch and is still in great demand.
Graphics cards with a maximum of 32.2 x 6.2 x 14.5 cm are possible
With the Terra, Fractal seems to combine the advantages of the Era with the material wood, whereby the Era with a volume of 16 liters actually appears relatively large compared to the Terra, which has a capacity of just 10.4 liters. Specifically, the Terra relies almost exclusively on perforated aluminum side panels and a steel substructure. The closed front is flat and has a wooden panel on the underside, in which both the start button and a USB A and C port are framed.
Despite the very compact dimensions of 34.3 x 15.3 x 19.8 cm, the Terra can be equipped with a 3-slot graphics card. However, hobbyists have to put their configuration preferences on either the processor or the graphics card, because the Terra comes with a mainboard slide that can be moved horizontally. This means that there is either more space for the CPU cooler or larger graphics cards. CPU coolers with a maximum height of 77mm and graphics cards with dimensions of up to 32.2 x 6.2 x 14.5 cm are possible.
| Fractal Design Terra | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainboard format: | Mini-ITX, Thin Mini-ITX | ||
| Chassis (L × W × H): | 343 × 153 × 198mm (10.40 liters) | ||
| Material: | steel, aluminum | ||
| net weight: | 3.10kg | ||
| I/O ports / Miscellaneous: | 1 × USB 3.1 (USB 3.2 Gen 2) Type-C, 1 × USB 3.0 (USB 3.2 Gen 1) | ||
| Insertions: | 2 × 2.5″ (internal) | ||
| Expansion Slots: | 3 | ||
| Fan: | Floor: 1 × 120mm (optional) | ||
| Dust filter: | – | ||
| Compatibility: | CPU cooler: 48mm GPU: 322mm PSU: 125mm SFX form factor |
||
| Price: | $180 | ||
A 120mm fan can be installed on the underside to cool the remaining components. The slot can also be equipped with a radiator, but the maximum length of the graphics card then shrinks to 20 cm. Alternatively, a second SSD can also be attached. Mesh or dust filters, on the other hand, are not provided in order to ensure the best possible airflow in the small case.
Terra is available in three colors for 214.90 euros
The Fractal is now available in the colors Jade, Graphite, and Silver. It comes with a PCIe 4 riser cable and costs €214.90.
I get my fingers twisted in most regular cases, so Terra would probably be my case-building boss. How about you, are Mini-ITX cases just the right format for your PC?