Why the Fractal Design Terra is Almost a TERRAble Fractal Design // Fractal Design Terra ITX Review

I don't mean to be overly cynical here, but as interesting as some of the features of this case are, the rest feels like an afterthought, which really drags the overall impression of the Fractal Design Terra down.
There's a lot of hype for this case, but on first principles, it's not all that great. Not Terrible, just not great. But that's just my thoughts on it.
Amazon Associate Link (I earn through qualify purchases):
amzn.to/3DR4WAt - Fractal Design Terra
00:00 - Start
01:01 - It's Expensive!
01:52 - It lacks cooling (and airflow enhancement options)
05:37 - It's not THAT well designed (Under-engineered)
07:19 - 2.5" Drive positions (Give your head a shake!)
08:05 - The AIO Position isn't for fans
08:48 - Graphics Card bracket
09:54 - Performance
12:55 - Build Quality, Installation, and Compatibility Scores
15:20 - It gets a bonus point!
Tags:
Fractal Design Terra Review, Fractal Terra Review, Fractal Design Terra Unboxing, Fractal Terra Unboxing, Fractal Design Terra Performance, Fractal Terra Performance, Fractal Design Terra, Fractal Terra, fractal design, Best case 2023, Worst Case 2023, Best ITX Case 2023, Best ITX Case, Smallest ITX Case, Wood case, Why the Fractal Design Terra is Almost TERRAble // Fractal Design Terra Review (also, I'm sorry)

[@stefensmith9522]

I love this case! I got a 9900k, 32gb ram and a rx6800 in it with an 850 watt PSU AND a noctua fan under the PSU (you have to use a fan grill) all this and temps are mid 60's under load for both CPU and gpu. I was able to use this get my PC off the floor and on the desk. There are no filters which does suck but the build quality feels substantially better than most other cases out there. Highly recommended for small form factor build.

[@pengasus]

You can install 2x120mm fans at the bottom where you said the holes are useless.. they sit in between the case legs and can install with fan grills. They'll be out of sight and perfectly capable of exhausting hot air and pushing in cool/room temperature air... It works like a charm

[@MarceloTezza]

Great graphics to show airflow, agreed, this a cute niche case and the value is not a thing about it, it really is somewhat of a dream come true for mini itx + wood + beautifull design + high quality materials and refined construction. The emotional aspect is bangs really high on this case. Agreed with most points it passed the test, just not with flying colors.

[@AVTechy]

My thoughts exactly. I know some people are going to love this thing, and good on them. It's got its place, it's just not the most amazing end result. I think a Rev.2 could make this a real contender for best sandwich ITX case around. But not this one unfortunately.

[@Doobie3010]

With an APU 5600g/5700g and m.2's this could be a cool,compact nice-looking general rig.Still far to expensive for what it delivers though.

[@Ellorando]

The price is high, but it does include a gen 4 riser which is pricey in it self :)

[@denisnatera3633]

I got this case and as you stated its not the best for airflow BUT its not bad either (coming from a coolermaster nr200 wich for me its the best mini itx case for airflow) anyways I really love my terra its just too beautiful

[@-opus]

Terra = earth, it is meant to represent the usage of metal and wood in the case

[@AVTechy]

Good point, and I guess they did use a lot of material from the earth to make such a small case so if it's relevant to any case, this would be a good one. I wonder if they're going to delve into a using stone in the future, like a slate wall plate. Could be interesting. If anyone's going to do it, it's Fractal.

[@s4sukesharingan]

where is the test you said in the beginningg with changing the power supply facing the GPU???

[@vascovalente3929]

Hello. What is the cpu and mb?

[@TheSickness]

Nice talking head background angle 👍 Fair review. That left/right split twin AV shot, cool idea

[@AVTechy]

Thanks man, always good to get your feedback! I'm thinking of giving this whole YT thing a bit of a push for a bit to see what I can do. Fingers crossed something happens :D

[@STRET24]

I live the Jade…beautiful. Thanks for solid review which given the price point gives most of us solid points to contemplate. Well done bro.

[@funknugget6334]

with the platinum SF600/750 i could easily fit a slim exhaust fan underneath the power supply- and you can fit a 2.5 inch drive. i think you just don’t really understand what sff cases in this price bracket are about… sacrifices are knowingly being made in the name of aesthetics and/or portability.

[@austinoz10]

I couldn’t resist, it was too cute 😍

[@AVTechy]

It's a fun case, no doubt about that :)

[@MarceloTezza]

Nice! Watching now!

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

The cabling at 05:04 could possibly be helped by splitting the cores (like we use to did with IDE cables) and binding them into a round shape. That said the design of the sata cables with their plugs sticking out doesnt help. it does need looking at by the manufacturers to tweak the design to allow fitting and removal of the plugs. Plus why thy didnt design it with the GPU the other way up (09:25) to remove the need for all that cabling seems strange.

[@shaneeslick]

G'day, Yeah splitting the PSU cables to single wires would help with their Flexability to allow more room for a fan at the bottom under the PSU. 🤔 but not sure "Plus why thy didnt design it with the GPU the other way up" not sure exactly which "other way up" you are refering too ??? My thought is that is the natural orientation for the GPU when upright so the I/O matches the Motherboard I/O at the back & the GPU Cooler gets Fresh Air through the side Panel Vents, If you put the GPU PCIe at the top the Cooler would be up against the Moveable Spine & blocked by the Mobo so no direct or cool air... Otherwise to keep the Cooler access to the side panel vents with I/O at the top the only other way would be routing the GPU DP/HDMI through the case to the rear or through the Front Panel.

[@cammedred8624]

Good review. I would say i agree with your thoughts. I do have a couple suggestions for your video formating. I would say the graphs are really nice but keeping them on screen for just a little longer would be better i feel. I felt like they weren't on screen long enough for me to really read them. Other that. Awsome review.

[@AVTechy]

Thanks man. Yeah I struggle with the timing of graphs. I feel I have too many, but then if I don't show them I feel I'm not showing enough evidence of my thoughts on the case. I'll see what I can do about keeping them visible for longer. Maybe I need to rethink some of them a touch to make it a little easer to understand too. My score based sorting is good to do, but I always have to explain it because it comes out looking weird. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts on that, much appreciated, I'll see what I can do.

[@user-wi3uo6jl7j]

Just use the pause button.

[@latinlowrider59]

That cable management is very poor - temps will improve considerably with proper management. You can fold the flat cables up and tuck behind psu.

[@AMXTomzo]

Great video, i do very much like your deep dive on cases, don't stop, i like how you look at soooo much more than some others, sorry that i don't subscribe , but i try to check in daily and appreciate your attention to detail, hello from USA👍👍👍👍

[@AVTechy]

Thanks very much :)

[@reallukki]

Hey, this video was actually a pretty good find amidst all of the reviewers who only sing praises about this case. I do plan building in it soon, but listening about the negatives and other opinions is just as important, thank you.

[@spvvk3621]

I think you should be able to slap 2x slim 120mm fans underneath the case (outside) using the mounting holes and use that either as an intake or exhaust (fighting against hot air dynamics but well). Standard fans are too thicc for this hack - I already tried.

[@SonLe-kc7vw]

How does it work for you so far? Did you use it as intake or exhaust

[@jonnyfontane3607]

@@SonLe-kc7vw 2x fans on the bottom intake dont work as good as you think, theres not much difference with or without 2x fans on the bottom as intake

[@reheapification2]

I put 2 120x120x15mm fan on top. It does not look all the bad but it does improve the air flow a lot. I can feel cool air coming in on the side and hot air coming out on top.

[@AndrewJensen-dx1bp]

Can you even fit a Cooler Master MLX-D24M-A18P2-R1 MasterLiquid ML240 Illusion cooler inside the Fractal Terra case? What about in the Fractal North case? Haven't seen anyone fit a cooler inside this case before, just curious

[@shaneeslick]

G'day AV, 🤔Expensive, 😲$329AUD here & while it does look nice I'd rather a cheaper ITX case with an extra $200AUD for GPU/CPU purchase. Glad you went back & added a Bonus for the Movable Spine, I think in this size of case it is a VERY good feature because it allows you to have a wider choice of CPU + GPU Coolers with your choice to priorotise between bigger CPU or GPU Cooler, while not an "Every Day Feature" (other than Power Switch & Mobo I/O is any feature "Every Day") it is not just a "Only Use Once Feature" either as it will come in handy if you choose to upgrade to newer parts later while keeping the same case as many people do.

[@AVTechy]

Uber expensive for sure! You've got to be able to overlook the issues and have deep pockets for this thing. Yeah I had some time to reflect on the bonus score, and that moveable spine is a feature that is useful. If it wasn't there, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't bother with it because it can't fit their GPU, or a big enough CPU, or somewhere in-between. So yeah, totally agree with you, and glad I did it.

[@richardfarmer6570]

First off the Terra is not a dust magnet. I had a Louqe Ghost S1 (pronounced Loki) that was much worse, dust seems to just blow through the case. This is a SFF case so cable management is called customs cables. Not sure what you thought that fan behind the motherboard was supposed to accomplish and why on earth are you using a fan controller with 2 fans. This is a sandwich case with large ventilation slots, it intakes through the side panels and exhausts through the top and bottom and the bottom fan as exhaust helps expel hot air. Comparing this case to anything made by Geeek with the cheap plexi side panels is a crime.

[@chibiribiri]

My hardware (6750 XT, 5800X3D) works pretty well. Coming from an DAN A4-H2O. The temperatures and loudness is actually the same. Yeah. The gpu is a tad higher caused by the fact, there are no more 120x25mm fans in the top to take the air out... But its pretty okay. The fact around the aio. I think its more they try to sell it, that u can put an radiator inside this thing. But they sureley know, its no case for watercooling. Atleast internal watercooling.

[@szabolcsnyiraty]

Why did you change from an A4-H2O? I guess it was the look, I am also tempted by it as a current A4-H2O owner. But the price should not be higher than the DAN's.

[@ryanwong4025]

The best GPU, also the most powerful, for this case is the Asus 4080 Proart, so you can use a much better 67mm low profile CPU cooler like Noctua Ghost S1, Id cooler xt67, Rev B version of Big Shuriken 3. Get a better ATX3.0 SFX PSU with 12VHPWR so you won't need many cables for GPU and able to mount a 15mm x 120mm fan underneath for exhaust(not intake).

[@Pieteros21]

If they make it just a little bigger and with mATX support may be fabulous

[@g-rip529]

Had the green one myself. One of my side doors didnt sit fully flush (for the price i paid that annoyed me) and the lack of filters. I changed my mind and sold it. Now have the nr200p. Il see how long that lasts im a case whore lol.

[@AVTechy]

That's what happened to me. One side had plenty of clearance, but the other was a tight fit. 100% agree, when you charge this much for a case it should all be smooth sailing.

[@laszlosarkozi1385]

I agree with you. I like this case, but it seriously lacks in CPU cooling and case cooling too, so I won't buy it.

[@vladsta3833]

Lancool 216 review waiting room

[@earlgrey8611]

We would only buy this case if we can’t get the Formd T1.

[@k12rising]

"Terrable" review... I don't think he "gets" artisan SFF cases at all.

[@Doobie3010]

Prefer m-atx mobos + PSUs in my itx,form -factor cases! lol Cant go back for personal builds.Building for clients and vids are different though.

[@0mnikron702]

This review kind of off I mean if your going itx . Then you know your gonna lose space for HD and case fans also those of us who are into itx case know that there what’s called. A itx tax for all parts itx. The case is well designed are flow is good not bad when comparing it must be to just itx cases. I have this case 7900x3d rtx 4090 one case fan for exhaust 850 psu. Under gaming load gpu never hits 80c stays mid 60c to 70c . CPU high 60c to mid 80c and noise is almost nonexistent with a good fan curve. This case isn’t perfect but it’s it very good case if you pick your parts right and that’s the thing with going itx cases btw I’m using custom psu cables to make things just bit easier.

[@anggamusin]

Bro got mad cuz didt get the jade one

[@AVTechy]

Hope I didn't ruffle too many feathers with this one. It's one of those cases that I was expecting a lot from. It's a £180 case after all. And there just seems to be loads of afterthought design decisions, and just poorly thought out elements that leave me scratching my head. They clearly think very highly of it with the fancy card, but adding standoffs to make room for some airflow for an AIO? A fan position right beneath the PSU away from the primary GPU and CPU positions? Velcro straps and an patch job bracket for drive support? These aren't the decisions of a "form follows function" approach. It's all backwards. It looks great, is initially well designed, but the more you peel back the layers, you begin to realise it's a bit of a stinky onion.

[@mugencillo]

The fact you don't know how to build it propperly or care to ready about it and doing propper research doesn't make it a bad case, just a bad review. - Standoffs are not for a non-recommended AIO, it's for flow-through cards. The AIO is possible, not viable and as it's not the best option, Fractal recommends air cooling only. - A fan position beneath the psu AS EXHAUST is the recommended thing to do, specially for the GPU, proved thermal testing says so. And same as any SFF case of this volume, custom cables are recommended if you don't wanna have a living hell cable managing all that. - Your choices as "nice" CPU coolers are awful. None of them are good nowadays where things like the AXP90-X47 Full copper or AXP120-X67 are the considered best options. Again, lack of research or knowledge of the current ITX scene. We can keep this for the entire video, but it's pretty clear from start you just simply didn't watch a single review or read any info about the case and why it is, in fact, one of the best choices right know for a sff case in the market

[@prefontaine2790]

I was about to build in this because of the hype, then I realized how bad it's actually designed. It's beautiful, but lacks features.