This case is a breath of fresh air! - Fractal Pop Air
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
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Fractal released their new colourful Pop Series cases, so we had Plouffe build a budget-friendly PC in his favourite colourway -- Cyan (Cian? Cayenne?)
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Plouffe's case emporium
0:35 Unboxing
1:08 Fan compatibility
1:23 Different Pop case types
1:42 Back impressions and features
2:08 Colour accent thoughts
2:56 Magnetic drive bay and storage spaces
3:47 Fan filters
4:18 Sponsor - Vultr
4:51 Building in the case!
13:56 Overall thoughts and recommendations
15:35 Outro - Наука та технологія
the cd drive bay legitimately makes this way more compelling and stand out from other competitors, it's very useful to have one for those ripping CDs for lossless audio or ps1/2 games for emulation
Fractal is incredible in that regard, a nice number of their cases have a drive bay. Often it’s hidden behind a door at the front to keep the design clean, but it’s still there. One of the main reasons I personally love them.
Not just CDs, you can add hot-swap HDD bay, or various peripherals from 5.25" era. I miss 5.25" lol
That was the whole reason I got the fractal define 7, there's dozens of us who want our 5.25 bay.
It looks like it’s a dual bay. Hotswap bays up front. Hell yeah!
@@thentil Dozens you say?!
I love the storage drawer. I actually 3d printed a storage drawer for my empty disc drive slot. I use it all the time for memory cards, usb sticks, couple cable ties, a key puller, and some random stuff.
That's actually a dope idea for a disc drive slot.
I love practical and slightly scuffed solutions like that.
I glued a magnet to my headphone splitter so I can store it. The drawer would come in handy for this.
use to have 50 computers running, id keep usbs and info for that computer in these types of draws
I have the Fractal design focus G with an aftermarket sliding drawer I got from Amazon. I also store USBs there and in addition all the driver disks and documentation for my computer components, like guarantee docs. Also my Arctic MX-4. Finally 3" X 5" index cards with my passwords to all different services. My computer is in my bedroom no one has physical access to it but me.
and you can put your weed in it!
The storage drawer is actually an amazing idea to put a USB stick collection in
I'm pretty sure that's where the bitcoin comes out. Kinda like tapping a maple tree for syrup.
Or candy!
usb, or screws for drives and other things
My first case had a drawer (Antec LanBoy Air), and I had tons of stuff stashed away in there.
got to hide that hent... ah i mean homework somewhere
I recently got one of these, it's a fantastic case.
Really genius of Fractal to put 2x 5.25" bays at the bottom and have a magnetically attached panel to not break aesthetics.
Also seems like not many people realize this but you're not limited to optical drives with 5.25" bays, did you know you can get hot swap HDD/SSD cages that fit in there?
Wouldn't it be cool to have that in your rig?
yep, my current rig has a icydock with two ssd drives and a bluray burner, all in one 5.25 bays, the ssds even have there own on / off switches .. and my second 5.25 bay is used for holding thumb drives, ect.
@Anonymous I used a Supermicro case that has a bunch of hot swap bays and really liked it. It was just too inpractical with it's dimensions to be used at a desk. Makes much more sense for a server.
You can also put a 5.25" floppy drive in there.. for reasons
@@blueberry1c2 I guess for using in emulators for old games and VMs for old OSs could be a use case if you enjoy that. I mean many old games and OSs came in discs and floppy discs, so if you like retro stuff and have a collection of copies it's pretty useful. Otherwise I guess I agree with you, it's quite niche though.
*laughs in SFF case under 10L*
5.25" bays are _really_ underrated in terms of utility. Everything from hotswappable 3.5"/2.5" bays to FP I/O to fan controllers and more (there are even reservoir/pump combos you can put in 5.25" bays) can be put in there. Put enough 5.25" bays on a case, and you just don't need another one. Ever. As for the storage drawer, SD cards and USB drives go in there, as well as any other bits of kit you might want to have by your computer at all times.
Heck, I'd put a needle and some button thread in it so I could repair my shirts while watching UA-cam videos.
I am switching to an old Corsair 780T with 2 5.25" drive. At least I can use one of the drive as a front panel IO if the top fails.
I think the storage is great for USB flash drives or external drives.
You can also put things like the PCI slot covers there.
The storage draw is great for any spare ties, screws, accessories, etc you're not using in the case. That way it's always with the case and you don't lose them somewhere else.
please don't put screws in there, you're gonna forget and kill your PC if you transit it somewhere
@@Mr1und2 how would screws in a drawer separated from the rest of the components kill the pc in transit?
@@SeanWithaFada it's open in the back so you can put the cable for the discdrive in.
this is the first case in a long time that has caught my attention my current case, has been through 3 builds just because i dont wanna let go of the disc drive, a lot of people find them quite useless, but i still use physical media for a lot of things, such has movie watching, and both the ps2, and ps1 emulators allows you to use your physical discs which i find nice, because i already have the games, why take up drive space for something i already have lol
there is also a micro atx version of this case for those who care to know, i prefer my self micro atx builds, i dont need that many pcie and m.2 slots 2 each is all ill ever need, 1 for graphics card, one for capture card, one of os drive other for game drive, and if i need more space, ill just add some slower sata ssds
Which emulators do you use?
not just that, but every motherboard I've bought in the last few years for different builds have come with a cd for installing drivers. Most recently the Asus Prim z690-a. I actually needed a cd drive to get the onboard ethernet to work. Yea most people probably have a laptop or something they can just download the driver to and then install from there but at the time I didn't and a cd drive would've come in handy. Luckily my neighbor had an external cd reader he let me borrow.
@@mithril1584 If you plan ahead a bit you can download the drivers to a thumbstick (or just have a thumbstick with a driver utility on it that you can just install from if you let it download its library), but yes, I've been in that position too, not having access to either at that moment.
lol CD's are still so useful its insane. I know we can theoretically do everything on USB sticks now but it's really really hard for me to let CD's go. imo they last longer than USB's if you take care of them and they were burned well.
3:11 As long and I buy physical copies of my favorite movies, I'll always need a blu ray drive to rip them for playing on my movie drive and protecting the precious physical copy from any damage in usage.
yup
It's actually great they sell versions without the window, It allows modders to cut their own side panel windows and fans.
Honestly once my computer is together I don't bother looking at it unless I need to change/fix something, so I love non-rgb windowless options in a quality case
True modders cut holes for fans in their window version... 🤣🤣🤣😉
I LOVE the idea of still having 5.25. I use a dual 5.25 3 bay HDD reader, just slide a drive in and turn it on to read it instead of having them always running in the case. I know SSD is getting alot cheaper but still not as cheap as 8TB spinning rust.
whats the brand of that drive reader just wondering thanks :)
“You’re not going to get many bugs crawling through this.”
WHAT? IS THAT A PROBLEM MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING??!!?
This gonna be my new case. I looked so long for a case with the clean modern look, but still some slots for my bluray and dvd drive, which I just need for work and some older media. This just seems perfect.
i have this in the white rgb XL version and its beautiful for my all white build. also that tray is super sueful. i keep a few cable ties in there since i like to tinker with my pc alot which often means i gotta redo some cable management. i also keep a little keyboard brush, alcohol wipes for cleaning dead skin off my mouse, my usb sticks for when i need new windows installation media for new builds, my other usb stick for college work files and the remote for my speakers. very handy indeed.
I LOVE that LTT is doing this type of content and I really can see the vision Linus is trying to convey with the new warehouse and stuff. Good job guys, it's all really coming together for me at least!
I love the inclusion of a 51/4in bay, it makes it stand out. Even something like one of those super retro 9-in-1 card readers could be a cool addition to an editing PC build.
5.25"' bay. I'm one of the few people left who still crave this feature, and having them in a modern high-airflow case that doesn't look terrible could single-handedly convince me to buy one.
Those 5.25" bays are useful for alot more than just Optical drives. So many things can be puts there from fan controllers, water cooling gear, hot swap bays etc etc. You have to look at them as configurable Front IO.
I could see that storage tray being ok for storing thumb drives.
Yeah for sure
Especially as a mechanic, we use a bunch of thumbdrives to download updates and fixes for the touchscreen radios you see nowadays.
Although the case itself isn't quite mechanic-y lmfao
@@doodlecaboodle9298 that is exactly my most common used for a thumb drive these days. I have some back ups of stuff in 128gb ones but have several 4gb ones fornupdating headunits.
I have this case. Can confirm its been amazing. extremely easy to cable manage. great air flow. Have really good temps with a 12gb 3080 tuf and 12600k processor. The one complain i have is a that the included rgb controller is limited. but tbh its fixed by just running the fan cables to the mother board rather than the case.
I have a Meshify S2 and it's the best case I've ever owned. Super nice to build in, tons of airflow. The filter catch every spec of dust, I hardly ever need to clean the inside. I have two long haired cats who shed like crazy and it's not an issue. I'm a Fractal fanboy now.
3:37.what do you mean? I got ~5" drawer instead of drive for some flash drives, SD cards and other tiny things.
Fractal forever has my business because their customer support is just incredible. Was vacuuming my room and mindlessly vacuumed the top of my case, sucking off the power button. The builder I bought it from (pre-built) wanted me to buy the whole front section of the case for like 25 quid, contacted Fractal and they sent me everything i needed completely free without even any proof of purchase, next day delivery.
For $80, Thats a really nice case. and a very honest and in-depth review. the only use I can think of for that storage tray is putting all my various usb sticks/dongles and adapters in. least i wouldnt have to hunt for them when ever i need to re install an os.
The storage drawer is actually a great idea. Years ago I had an Antec 900 and it had a little tub on top where I'd keep USB drives, chargers, my banking authenticator and stuff like that. I would for sure use that storage drawer to store a bunch of stuff I need at my desk regulary. Even a rolled up USB cable would fit in there by the looks of it.
"I'm a big Fractal Fan" I don't know if this was intentional but I loved it
Absolutely right about M.2 drives not really needing cooling. That being said my M.2 is just above my first PCIE slot and I have a downdraft cooler. So my M.2 and my VRMs and one stick of ram have constant airflow from it. The front intake fan blows on the other ram stick. G100m Cooler Master CPU cooler. Not very good cooler but I bought it for looks.
Oh and Fractal, next time make the drawer bigger and use it to hold all the case hardware. Little ziplock bags for the screws etc, but in the drawer not a cardboard box.
I hope Fractal keeps making at least one case where it offers plenty of hard drive storage space. Not too many cases offers this anymore...
As someone with a storage drawer in one of their 5 1/4" bays, it's the best place to keep USB thumb drives, card readers, and all the various bits and bobs you need once every 10 months.
If this came out a year ago I would have bought it as a case for my secondary server. The drive bays are actually what compels me most about it. Super useful for ripping BRs. While it's a lot easier just to download them, with the drive it would be at least more legal.
The 3 slot 3060 is a relic of the GPU shortage where card makers had more coolers than GPUs
unless you oc the hell out of that 3060, you're just wasting money
@@BigPandaGamer I would be amazed if any amount of overclocking would hit thermal limits before stability issues or power limitations with that big a cooler
@@BigPandaGamer Nah, 3 slot cooler should be way quieter.
I love this case. I just wish I knew it existed before I started my second PC build!!
I like the drive Bays! You could easily fit a 2x 5.25" drive bay pump-res combo in there and you would have a great clean custom loop setup. 280 rad up front and 240 up top and you could shove some serious parts in there.
I was doing a video on them at my job... they are amazing! Love the og 5.25" for CD/DVD drive tho :) also great video man!
I think the intention of the 5.25 bay is if someone wanted to build a home server they could use those bays for an IcyDock.
@@gettingmitches1323 Well yea.. maybe, but I am glad that it is here and it doesnt confront your airflow :)
those front drawers are nice! had a cm case with a drawer, perfect for lan parties. Good place to hide keys, wallet etc. Also great place for extra screws or other stuff u might want to keep with your pc (dongle or stuff)
I have the fractal design define 7xl Excellent case , lots of space ... and the 2 x 5.25" has a Mesh pullout or you can get additional addons
The cold stop at the start about whether or not he said cyan right was hilarious. I'm glad yall left that in
"Got hair everywhere else except for my head" - ouch that hurts me on a personal level lol. All jokes aside Plouffe is becoming one of my fav host!
Also storage drawers in the case are nice for things like USB thumb drive.
I can't help but think of this, not as a $90 case, but $125 case - since you have to buy that USB 3 front panel cable for around $30-$35, and have to get it from Fractal. Fractal even went out of their way to make a blocking plug for it instead of just ... including what's a common front panel connector. It's just really frustrating.
That said, I picked it up to do my first Intel build in a while, since that Cyan matches - well, not Intel, but it looks so old-school-mainframe color I had to. RGB can do weird things to the colors, though, or just plain overwhelm it.
And yes, that tray is handy. Those spare screws and zIpties, a USB cable for my phone and a USB drive? All tucked away in that drawer. And I'm debating either an optical drive or card reader in front, as well. I did move the SSD tray to the front, since the Corsair commander is in back where the tray itself normally goes.
So. Yeah. Loved building in it, it looks nice, but Fractal either has to include that cable or make it *really* blunt that a single USB 3 port up top is going to add *that* much to the price of the case.
Been looking for a new case for a while as my old antec p180 super midi case. As it's a bit chungus. I still need room for spinning rust as well as 2.5 SSD and the 5.25 bad would be super handy as the ones in my current case have been removed to tit a front aio so to have that back would be super handy. And the little draw for usb storage, brilliant.
Every PC I've ever built for myself has at least one optical drive in it.
The 5.25" bay is nice to see. I burn retro games to disc pretty often so I have to use an external drive with my 4000d airflow
I specifically bought a storage drawer for my InWIN 707 and it is my drawer for usb sticks, especially recovery ones. No matter where my PC is, there is a recovery stick and another one for sharing files. Yeah, I can see why you would not want it for most users, but it's kinda nice :)
Those front DVD drive bays are great for card readers, front USB hubs, or external fan controllers. Its actually kind of a chore finding good cases with front drive bays that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
That storage tray seems like a great place to store your thumb drives, spare connectors or adapters and that kind of stuff.
Nice job man. I’ve got an older Blue Fractal case myself. Love the look of it. Though I do wish it had some slightly more up to date features.
Always love Fractal Designs cases, but these look really nice. They definitely should continue this style of colored cases, I'd LOVE to buy a colored Torrent variant.
I could see that storage drawer totally being useful when going to lans you could put all your usb bluetooth dongles in there since companies still cant be bothered to make storage for them in the actual peripheral
I bought a multi USB/Card reader hub that mounts in a front 5.25" bay. Hooks up to a USB 3.0 header on the motherboard.
Really handy to have those extra connections on the front of the panel.
The storage drawer is genius. Keep your OS install flash drives in it. Or put your wireless/bluetooth, controller wireless adapters in it when moving it, or going to a LAN.
Even keep a couple tools in there. I'd stick some of my watercooling tools in there for when I do maintenance. Bulkhead drain port adapter, allen key for the cap.
I've been tempted to get one of those cases and then make a 3d-printed cover for the drive bays with a 3.5in lcd screen to show system info. Seems like a good use for that space.
it should be noted that the mini and the xl pops don't come in these colorways (they only come in black and white) only the medium atx pop air has these colorways
I think the “ashtray” as it is being called is better than just another bag or box to hold case parts that said they should give a lid that clips closed and put the screws etc in a segmented case in it that is re usable in the next revision. Some past companies did this and it was nice and in this case a actual storage container not just a tray would really lean into the LAN party vibe.
The front fan blades a blue plastic would have been great! Reminds me of my case the NR600. I love having the DVD drive for some of my older games with discs.
I want a Pop Air Mini. Main reason I want the mini is that I’m in an apartment and don’t think I’d have the room for a bigger case.
I totally want something to use those two front 5.25” bays for. Maybe a combo media reader and a 3.5”/2.5” hot-swap bay just for shits and giggles.
storage drawer for tools specific to the case would be a great use for it
OMFG DRIVE BAYS!!!!! I have the Meshify C by Fractal and am IN LOVE with the airflow. Not so much the CM; my 24 pin cable BARELY fits behind the metal door on the back and BARELY through the hole above the MOBO. Surprised they didn't Include the grommets on this one, my Meshify did.
Want this case for my VR rig specifically for the drive bay. Now I can get a 3d printed drive bay for my VR inputs. Exciteddddd
Just saw this video right after I ordered a silent pop mini. Can’t wait to build in it.
So I am glad to see 5.25" Drive bays. I've been able to use the same case for close to like 10 years now because I can just swap out the the 5.25" bay with the latest IO so I wasn't like oh I need a new case because usb 3.0 came out or USB-C Not to mention I can have an "integrated" card reader so less dongles and cables on my desk. The drawer is great too. I can keep my charging USB cables in there out of the way. My only complaint is the the limited water cooling potential. I want Fractal to do some of their more premium cases with this level of color customization.
Another man of culture I see. I had the meshify C before I got the Torrent also.
I recently built a system in their Meshify and it's a great case. Definitely recommend any of Fractal's cases.
Got the meshify 2 compact recently and love it, just wish there was a little bit more powersupply space with the hdd cage in
I absolutely love the fact that this case has room for a 5¼" disc drive. As someone who still likes having physical copies of movies or games, I really appreciate that. (Especially for old games that require the disc to be in the drive to play.)
The storage drawer seems so nice for like spare screws, maybe extra sata cables, cable ties, flash drives.
Drive bays also serve as a space to put a hardware fan controller. Lots of their cases have at least one. This one has two, which is nice!
I can't even consider a case that doesn't have 5-1/4 drive bays, so it's nice to see them included. Though, having them on the bottom isn't very convenient for usability. I still think the Phanteks Enthoo Pro TG is the best available case at present, but it's nice to see other options and this looks like a decent case overall.
OMG I love this blue. I think I might need to buy this case.
Wow, that front tray is super cool!
would totally buy for my next build. probably the cyan one, but the orange looks cool too.
Ha! I got one of the solid black one of these about a week ago. The inside is pure black though :D (I wanted absolute discretion - and this totally fit the bill).
BIG fan of building in Fractals - and this was absolutely no exception. Daily drive is in a Define S… :)
When a different color is a "breath of fresh air!" it just goes to show how slow the design of computer components evolve in aesthetics.
The colors in computers (and just about everything else) these days are basically "if it's not black, it's white. If it's not white, it's silver." Because, for a reason I don't know, everyone wants their devices to be black, white, or silver.
omfg a stealth cd drive bay. I would absolutely buy that if i was looking for a case right now. I hate the thought of a random external I'll rarely use, but I need one for those one off situations. I love how they designed that.
I like the design of this, but I think the best option for the front of the case pop of blue would be the metal frame you mount the front fans and radiator to. That would fit the rest of the design, with the outside being flat black, and the inside being the pop of color.
Cool case. I am between those cases and 1U drawers, mostly for media storage and backup. Doesn't take that much to make those parts run.
I wish there were more USB-C ports on the case, but I understand that it comes down to motherboard compatibility.
and cost too
If you were to add additional fans on the top, would you have both as intake or exhaust, or maybe one intake and the other an exhaust? I have this case in orange, and I like most everything about it, but I found the fan cables were just too short to daisy chain together and then connect to the motherboard. Fractal should have included an extension cable for this.
The 5.25 bay sold me. This is my next case. My PC is also my media center, so I need a disc drive to watch all my physical movies.
The Define R6 has a drivebay too. Not sure about the other Define cases, but you have to appreciate it's there :)
I think the storage draw is a great idea, a place to put your usb keys where they won't get lost.
Wow. I kinda want the XL if it supports a 360 rad. Love the spot for a blu ray drive and the storage tray. If it can take a 360 i can just transplant my build into it, might add another rad just for good measures. XD
I've run into space issues with the h710. I love how this looks and i'd like to do a build with this, but its just not big enough for me.
Plouffe: "I'm a big Fractal fan."
Me: "... so an 180mm?"
You could've run the USB3 cable through the big slit on the side of the motherboard where you pulled in the rest of the power cables.
Holly crap, I looked at a few comments here and a lot of people are stoked about the 5.25" bays. I've had to skip getting a case for years because of this. I'm still using the 760T and 750D only for the drive bays and the 140mm fan support.
I love the drive bays. I don't want to have to dig out a USB disc drive when i could've just put one in there.
it's also useful for people who want things like an ungodly amount of USBs on the front, or want to have hot swap drive bays (useful for linux dualbooting)
I like the door/cubby, before buying and building my pc I never thought I would need a cuby but I got some old USB’s and battery power banks and extras
So what I'm wondering is if if the "cooling" aspects of the m.2 slot covers is not so much to improve performance, but rather to prevent it from actively hurting it (like if you just covered the SSD without anything to help move the heat away). Could it perform worse under those conditions? If so I could understand the need for the thermal pad and simple cooling design if the company wants to still have it look "nice"
I didn't know I would come out of this video with a case recomendation but here we are. I'll definitely keep an eye on this case and I'll check out more of what they have.
Just built my first PC with the Pop Mini Air. It’s a great case!
The drawer could be used for many thing's like micro sd adapters, screws for mounting drives, money to save up for your next pc or upgrade etc
Last year I had to search really wide for a "nice" budget case WITH room for a 5.25" drive bay.
Corsair saved me then, but I'm really glad Fractal made this one with drive bays!
Literally just bought the white torrent today. A sick case.
I have a cd-rom and a lil draw. Very satisfying combination!
Hey maybe you guys should try reviewing established case brands in the south asian region like Tecware and Dark Flash. Yeah, they arent that flashy and their cable management is somewhat super basic but should make an interesting price point.
They used to make chonky front I/O panels that slotted in a 5 1/4” bay and had their own pcie cards.
Built in this case for my GFs brother.
Used the storage drawer for the extra supplies i might need incase i need to upgrade it for him.
Also Thermal paste and usb
Storage space would be awesome for screws, cables and extras which are case related. You know the stuff you want to have in 1 to 3 years time for an upgrade or what ever and most likely have already tidied up into non existence.
they coulda made the fan blades accented, would give it something on the front
3:33 I've been saying FOR DECADES that PC cases need a storage drawer. They're the perfect spot for stashing your expansion slot covers.