The Best PC Cases of 2022!

It turns out 2022 was a great year for gaming PC cases and all PC cases in general. So let's look at some of the very best cases of 2022 and see which ones are ready to also be the best PC cases of 2023.

0:00 - Lets Begin!
0:13 - Most Impressive Cases!
4:00 - Surprise you dont want to miss ;)
4:32 - Best RGB Case(s)
5:26 - Best SMOL Cases
7:00 - WTF Category
8:18 - Coolest Case Features of 2022
9:40 - CASE OF THE YEAR!

Buy items in this video from Amazon at the links below:
Fractal NORTH - COMING SOONISH

Review unit provided free of charge by Companies Listed. This video is sponsored by NZXT's H7 cases. As per Hardware Canucks guidelines, no review direction was received from manufacturer. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

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#hardwarecanucks

[ziptieracer]

Fractal Torrent/Torrent compact with the North's walnut/brass please Fractal.

[TheYuppiejr]

The Fractal North is a nice case to build in, I've used one of each style so far. The finish on the wood used in the white/blonde wood example I used was a bit uneven, but the overall fit and finish were otherwise good. On my black example the mesh side panel was warped but was fine when installed. The threading for the finger screws was all pretty tight and I ended up using a screwdriver, they could take a lesson from LianLi in fit and finish on their thumbscrews. They are beautiful cases of reasonable dimensions that take some planning to build-in, but the people I used these for were not typical "gamer" buyers and wanted these for front-of-house business use in design forward showroom spaces. I did one Ryzen 7700x with a Geforce 4080 with a Noctua D15 air cooler... and another featuring a Ryzen 7950x with a Geforce 3080ti and a 280mm AIO.

Caveats/Lessons learned:

Be aware that you need to screw the front case fans in from INSIDE the case, so place your fans or rad before you install other components unless you have a side ratcheting or stubby screwdriver.

The power supply has to slide through the BACK of the case, so if you are in the habit of pre-connecting cables and then mounting it to the case this isn't going to fly. There is a bit of play once you slot the PSU into the case, but it's pretty tight. I'd probably remove the 2 x 3.5" drive bays on the bottom panel if you aren't using them to give yourself more room to coil up your excess power cable slack.

With the mesh side panel you get the extra fan/AIO mounting cage for extra fans or even an AIO. Even without fans you get some airflow for your GPU which is good because aside from the bottom front intake fan there isn't any opportunity to give the GPU fresh air with the glass side panel installed.

The top rad mount is basically unusable with a 280mm AIO + fans (not just the thick Arctic models) due to motherboard clearance issues with the 8-pin power connector(s) and VRM heatsinks, a 240 might fly... plan accordingly.

I had no issue fitting a Gigabyte Geforce 4080 OC in mine, however the Gigabyte specific anti-sag bracket extended forward and into the fan mounting locations, luckily it fit between two of the mounting slots but it did require relocating the fans above and below which might trip up some people's OCD. Clearance to the front fans was close, if you are doing a 4090 style card you will not be able to install a front mount rad. I had no issue installing an EVGA FTW3 Ultra 3080ti in this case with a 280m AIO in front.

[pacmanrespector]

why not use the chapters feature for videos like this...

[ElijsDima]

I got the North one day after seeing your review, and I love it. It also gave me the kick to finally upgrade a few other furniture pieces and decor to suit the black and dark-wood aesthetic.

[Matthew-rpjf]

The wood paneling on pc cases looks sick! Reminds me of an old school atari or something

[SaltyAdvisor]

I’d love a mATX version of the Fractal North.

[mrgelvis]

That compartment on the Pop Air...the first thing that came to mind was, "you put your weed in there".

[exceededcircle]

I would love to get a fractal design north but unfortunately they aren't available anywhere....

[DatSuKid]

Fractal killing it for 2 consecutive years? 🤘🤘
Perfect handling of the Torrent's fan hub issue in 2021.
North, while good looking doesn't top my Torrents for both of my rigs.
Great job Fractal.

[looopyu]

A fractal black north is on its way! Looking forward to build in it.

[nrighiable]

It'd be great if Fractal made a desktop/HTPC version of the North case. That would blend in very nicely in a TV console!

[DolemiteSammich]

It is crazy how long Lian Li has been relevant in the custom pc scene. They really are a great company. I remember buying a lian li pc65 case in like 2004.

[ChesterPelle-frdr]

I love the H7 Flow. It's not the best at anything but it's pretty well rounded for my use case.

[chriswigan]

Surprised the Lancool 216 didn't get a mention. I can't decide between that or the Fractal North. GPU clearance more generous on the Lancool but the Fractal North is aesthetically more pleasing to me.

[TrynaBeCray]

A smaller MATX/ITX Fractal North would be sick!

[tomtomkowski]

I would say that JONSBO D30 and D40 are missing because of the different designs (similar to NR200) which makes them small but quite roomy at the same time.

[the_diamant]

I´m building my first ever pc and still debating whether I will go Lian Li O-11 Evo or the new Hyte Y60

[jaymacpherson]

As Dimitri is going through the cases, I kept thinking of the image of the fractal North. And I’m wondering, “which case is he gonna pick as case of the year?” I wasn’t thinking of the fractal north as case of the year, it simply is the one that kept going through my mind during the presentation!

[thirtyeighteen]

Expected the Lian Li Lancool 216 and NZXT H7 Flow to be mentioned.

[chrispittmanComputing]

The Hyte 40 will be announced at CES similar to Y60 but squared off instead of rounded edge and at a cheaper price