Fractal Design Ridge Build - Step by Step Guide

[@none0109]

This is why I watch. The amount of detail is 2nd to none.

[@Oceanborn712]

I just came across this specifically looking for something in more detail to prepare building in this case once my PSU arrives in the mail here and I have to agree. This is so incredibly detailed, I absolutely love it.

[@philfrankly]

Thank you so much for this guide. I just finished my build yesterday and my inner monologue had a Northern Ireland accent throughout!

[@ahnoy6992]

Amazingly done! First video that made me understand not only the case but specs of what will be going in THANK YOU!

[@321findus]

For the CPU cooler, I went with the Noctua NH-L9x65 with a 5mm spacer from the Noctua Fan Duct Kit (NA-FD1). This cooler is slightly worse than the one used in the video, but when equipped with the fan duct it dominates everything else in its class.

[@electronica009]

thanks for the tip

[@BretComnes]

Interesting idea, and it would pull in more fresh air from the outside into the CPU chamber, a challenge with this case. In your experience how does it compare to the NH-L12S? With the shroud, does it work better?

[@BretComnes]

Looking into this more, the NH-L9x65 seems to run baseline about 5c hotter than the L12S in nearly every benchmark I find. Baffles are great when you can use them, but they generally report a 5c difference, maybe 8 if it's a very effective use of them. It seems like the trade off here would be additional noise/rpm for maybe a 1-2c improvement, and only if the L12S isn't performing well for some reason (bad venting maybe?). Seems like improving airflow around the L12S could also close this gap, if there even is one. It also seems like the L12S is the most widely chosen cooler for the ridge. I just can't seem to find anyone with a design to backup alternative ideas.

[@PeteyCarcass]

This was the perfect guide for building in the Ridge. Tossed a 7800x3D and a Proart 4080 Super in mine and the details regarding thermals were super helpful!

[@juliosalguero4638]

I put a 4080 super fe it's beautiful .

[@lobsterboywonder]

I've had my eye on this case for some time, I'm very excited to try it

[@mikemouse40]

Have the same parts and just ordered this case. Your content and awesome detailed, thank you mate

[@Noodlepunk]

What do you think of the case? I want to build a Lan pc.

[@keliangchan]

very good inform from this build, i'm downsizing my pc from matx to this, because i wanna take my pc out when travelling, just bought it and waiting some other parts to complete the build, my build is: 5700g + 3090(palit gaming pro), also got a 15.6'' 4k portable monitor, use the magnet to stick it on the half mesh back of it, perfect portable build.

[@Nullwares]

Curious - how did your build turn out?

[@keliangchan]

@@Nullwares kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKWln6tvjb-nn80

[@Kenjeet]

Thanks so much for this vid. I have the exact same CPU, Mobo, and Cooler so this vid was immensely helpful to make my build process smooth.

[@jamesreeve6465]

My build. Asrock A620i lightning, 7800X3D, RTX 4080 Super FE, corsair SF1000L. idcool is67xt. Works great. Temps are way better than expected . Very happy.

[@juliosalguero4638]

What temps are you getting on your cpu.

[@melkyriakou1555]

Thanks!!! I built this, same MB and cooler. I have seen a few different variations in the Ridge, but this is the only one that seems to be listed as compatible by Noctua for this case with its 70mm clearance and the 7000 3d series. My build has a 7800x3d and a gigabyte windforce V2. I also have s SFX-L (850w Loki) power supply. So far so good. Been a long time since my last build, so found your videos super useful and informative.

[@gamereplixer8521]

How are your temps with the 7800x3d and the NH-L12S?

[@wcg66]

I use the PBO temperature limit in all my ITX builds. It's a great feature that means you can keep your performance unless the CPU is maxed out, which is rare for most people anyways.

[@ralph1628]

Subbed, the amount of detail and explanation in the video are amazing, excellent job Sir!

[@Lethalwick5673]

awesome as always

[@ChristopherFlannigan]

Thanks

[@ioandragulescu6063]

@0:28 it's funny, even noctua says that the NH-L12S is barely compatible with this CPU ("Recommended with good case ventilation only.") An AM4 mobo with a 5600X would probably be perfect for this case/cooler combo.

[@smorfar7506]

yeah would probably go with a 5700x. A 7600x or 13600k should work as well if I am not mistaken.

[@Balvz123]

here in my country (brazil) we are so limited by the offer of cases, fractal design doesn't exist, the lian li that arrives are outdated models, some brands only exist here and they are most on the budget and standard type, at least we are favorite of winning this world cup FeelsGoodMan

[@stevens1041]

Hope some more equipment comes to Brazil

[@DRod268]

Unreal attention to detail . Thank you

[@splendidescapist301]

Is the dual vent panel able to be mounted on either side of the case? If so, I wonder how thermal performance would change with two of them as opposed to just one. Also, was the CPU fan pushing or pulling?

[@sweeleangloh]

Now heading to watch case review🎄

[@amongstourselves6203]

i wanted to downsize from a nr200 to this case and i have a 5800x3d but it seems like im going to to run into thermal limitations . thanks for the video!

[@juliosalguero4638]

You'll be fine. I have 5800x3d in the ridge with axp120-x67 cpu cooler. I have pbo enable in bios with negative 30 on all cores. Most games are 60- 70.

[@Daedy]

I suspect the CPU temps got so high so quickly is because the 120mm fan on the L12S cooler was oriented as exhaust instead of downdraft in your set up. So the CPU cooler's heatsink is soaking up system heat from other components like the GPU in addition to of course cooling the CPU itself. I reckon the temps would improve by a fair bit if you set the CPU cooler fan as intake, so that it's able to draw cool air directly through the side panel, instead of regurgitating internal hot air into the already heated up CPU cooler heatsink and then venting all of that heat through it. Having the cooler as downdraft may also afford the added benefit of cooling the chipset components like the VRMs underneath, thereby bringing overall system temps down even further.

[@ioandragulescu6063]

interesting ...

[@chrisvanhorn]

I’m sorry, but most of what you say here makes no sense. The cpu cooler should definitely not be setup in reverse. That would have all fans on this case as intake. You never want that as a config.

[@Daedy]

@@chrisvanhorn It makes way more sense than setting the CPU fan as exhaust, THAT's the reverse setup and THAT's what you'd never want as a config like I explained. If having no active exhaust is what you're worried about, it's what the vents around the case are for, so that hot air can be expelled via convection from all the case and component fans. In fact this case has the added benefit of having the front panel which is also vented, a feature most console cases don't even have. And those 80mm fans will help with that even more. Sure the GPU temps could rise by a few degrees, that's hardly an issue when it's already the coolest part of the system due to the case's design and those 140mm intake fans. Go watch Hardware Canucks' review of the Ridge where they mentioned having a CPU fan as exhaust raises CPU temps by 20C! That only proves my point of what a terrible idea that is. You wanna make that trade off just so the GPU can run a few degrees cooler?? It's simply counter productive to blow hot air into a CPU cooler thinking you get to push all of that heat through it and out of the case, when in fact it's like I said you're heating up an already toasty CPU heatsink and making CPU temps even worse BEFORE all of that heat is then carried out of the case and the cycle repeats. Best to let convection do its work than using your CPU cooler as a heat exchanger for your entire system.

[@chrisvanhorn]

@@Daedy Hardware Canucks review says no such thing about setting CPU cooler as exhaust causing a 20 degree delta in temps. You should rewatch it. The only exhaust comments refer to a 80mm fan at the GPU chamber. The largest change in temperature is when they set it to horizontal.

[@Daedy]

@@chrisvanhorn Dimitry mentioned it in the comments CPU temps jumped 20C when someone suggested to him to flip the fan to exhaust. EDIT: Here, saved you the trouble - Idun Redstone 3 weeks ago You say no exhaust for CPU, but couldn't you do the CPU fan as exhaust with the noctua foam things to stop blowback? Hardware Canucks 3 weeks ago These small CPU coolers perform the best when set to intake cool air. The difference between intake and exhaust can be upwards to 20C. What you need is additional fans to help exhaust air after the CPU gets hit with the cool intake, for best perf. -D. ZRG 3 weeks ago It seems cpu temps is the main concern here, probably with Noctua NH-L12S it should be much better, as it throws hot air outside, not sure however, how it compares to 120 aio, which is probably would be even better for cpu, but limits gpu cooling on the other hand. Also lacking of air filters highly disappoint for fractal case. Hardware Canucks 3 weeks ago Intake is the best option, even for the L12S. Exhausting for such tiny CPU heatsinks is terrible for temperatures. -D.

[@digitalfriday]

Nice review. Did you perceive the PSU fan to be noisy?

[@ellypsis603]

Very nice and detailled, thanks a lot 👍🏻

[@supersonicman4353]

Is the cable extension for the power supply included or do you have to buy it seperatly? (14:45)

[@하얀팬티검스안쪽]

Most newbie builder friendly channel. What a video!

[@christood]

Would a PCIe 5 motherboard work with this case, or should I look for a PCIe 4 motherboard? Also the GPU I am considering is PCIe 4

[@Fromatic]

No conerns with all those wires up against all the metalwork of the CPU cooler?

[@adeelio]

I'm assuming you ran the ram in EXPO profile in your bios? If so, did you experience slow boot up times?

[@OldDolio312]

Is it possible to mount the fans on the motherboard side of the case? I don’t see the point of putting fans next to already existing gpu fans, also my second m.2 drive has a heatsink on it as well, will that fi?

[@ErrorInvalidName]

The two fans if you can fit them with a GPU sorta supercharge a GPU airflow wise so it's pushing big-time air through the GPU keeping it silly cool. I have a 4090 fe in mine doing the same with slim Noctuas and it stays in the 65-75c range gaming.

[@cgomes1607]

I'm also wondering for the heatsink on that second M.2 ssd. Does it fit with a heatsink ? Any clearences to be aware of ?

[@Gabriel2.0]

hi. are the top and bottom panels interghangeble? to basically have the front io on the top of the case

[@jeremytan1051]

Where is this part installed? TEAMGROUP T-Force CARDEA A440 PRO Aluminum Heatsink 1TB

[@warnacokelat]

Please flip the L12s fan the other way round.

[@QuestionTheTruth]

I have a Define 7 with a ASUS Prime motherboard, and When I saw this chassi, I felt DAMN I WANT THAT! I wonder if a AM4 build wouldn't be better. "/ If fractal made it a bit wider it might be possible to have a AIO in it. "/

[@zoiks6631]

I’m here in hopes of him talking about “cable combs”.

[@JamesTodd]

Why havent i seen anyone ur the Noctua L9x65 cooler in this case? Isnt the TDP higher?

[@alidasoo6654]

Im planning a build soon in this case, and this video is an absolute godsend!

[@dibu28]

Please test in games performance, temperatures and noise. And record noise while gaming.

[@TheBohoushek80]

You can put extra fans .

[@notgesund]

Which way would you install 80mm fans on the top? Intake or exhaust?

[@superstaples]

Hmm. It says 3 80mm fans can be installed in the top. I wonder if anyone has tested this and if it's better to intake or exhaust them

[@Diogenes77]

Are the top 140 fans used as intake or exhaust?

[@johnsmith-qz4bv]

pretty cool case it would be great if you had minimum space ..

[@ttv_stryker_xxv-1469]

could i possibly fit two 2.5 hdd's in the side where the ssd go?

[@matthewrezuke8130]

I think this case will be great for the new 7800x3d coming out, the higher end sku runs pretty low temps and does not draw a lot of power. That CPU plus my 4080... dream. Ultimate SFF setup.

[@AndreiKovalev1]

Thank you!

[@bernum5804]

I got an issue with my ridge. I can not press the power button because the front panel attached too tight . Does anyone has the same issue? or does I missed some steps for it?

[@mohd5rose]

I wonder if we could mod the front panel to install a couple of 92mm or 80mm fans.

[@BretComnes]

Airflow through the fabric is restricted significantly. Everyone I've seen try it says they can't tell a difference. You can fit 60mm fans below the motherboard though.

[@fen1kz602]

Any idea if I could just put the stand on the top and pull in cool air through the bottom?

[@BretComnes]

You can mount the feet to the top, by swapping the panels. Just tested this, though it makes the system top heavy.

[@simonecastellaneta8044]

The problem with this case is that it the motherboard area has NO airflow..! The case is divided in two parts: the upper part where you put the graphics card that has 2 nice large fans (+3 optional little fans) that blow air against the gpu and that's fine... BUT there is nothing for the motherboard! The cpu, ram etc are only cooled by the cpu fan. Fractal could perhaps have fixed this problem by putting some fans on the lower part of the case. The frontal mesh part of the case is purely aesthetic, you can't put fans behind there and they would blow air against the psu, so, no point. Perhaps the best way to lower the temperature without loosing graphics power is by using a liquid cooler: 2-fan graphics card and a single fan liquid cooler...

[@poggorseel]

Temps are still really good with a 7800x3d for such a small case

[@TELEVISIBLE]

Is it possible to build 4090 with this case ?

[@markaschenbrenner6965]

Hmm. I'm using the same build except an R7 7700. I'm idling at 70c

[@Berlinticket]

fits the RAIJINTEK PALLAS ?

[@bwcreations7776]

Is it gen 4 riser or gen 3? Website says gen 3

[@MrKrampyHands]

With what he’s put in this it’s gonna be a straight up toaster

[@danielaguirre5949]

pretty much. can't expect to get low temp when you're stuffing in high end parts into a slim case. sff pc are already known to have high temps, regardless of the case and parts used.

[@lonesoldier2485]

The case looks like a better air flow version of the Wii U.

[@BullFrog96]

Why use a 3060ti when you’re using a ryzen 9 7900x that’s a major GPU bottleneck for that CPU.

[@BassManStrikes]

Anyone add a HDD led?

[@GPUid21]

pcie riser with 2x bridges, I really question the bandwidth speed ?

[@TraceguyRune]

Anyone use the Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7900 XTX GPU for this?

[@Yoshi278]

Pretty sure that won't fit. My gigabyte 7900 xtx 24gb oc has about 1mm of clearance without fans or ssd length wise lol

[@kamm3021]

RX 7900 XT is possible kzbin.info/www/bejne/enyQn4ifYs90r6csi=u4ZIlqhl81uUsRUa

[@cgomes1607]

It fits perfectly

[@cgomes1607]

Yes. It fits very well

[@timcleary6339]

"Into place"

[@MobileDecay]

The Fractal air purifier.

[@a9udn9u]

Hot oven

[@CIPHERFLEX]

Sorry but this case is absolutely terrible to work inside of and the power cable to the PSU would not sit flush with the case

[@bemindful924]

A Ryzen 9 7900X with a Noctua NH-L12S? Err, no thank you.

[@LazyDataBookClub]

What about a Noctua NH-L9a-AM5 for a AMD Ryzen 5 7600?