The Fractal MOOD Review - All Hype?

The Fractal Mood has been designed to be not only the best ITX case but also one of the prettiest. I mean this thing is SO GOOD LOOKING and it blends in to every environment. But did Fractal sacrifice on things like thermals, build quality and ease of use to launch something that's form over function? Let's find out!

Buy items in this video from Amazon at the links below:

Timestamps:
0:00 - NEW MOOD SPACE!
0:59 - Is the fabric DURABLE?!?
1:27 - BRILLIANT top exhaust
2:10 - Airflow Optional?
2:50 - CPU Temperatures
3:34 - GPU Compatibility
4:23 - ACOUSTICS...ouch
5:08 - GPU Temperatures (OK WOW!)
5:48 - Interior ISSUES and Concerns!
8:41 - Price $$$

Review unit provided free of charge by Fractal Design. This video is sponsored by Arctic. 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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[Jimbahiya]

I don't usually comment on videos but I wanted to say that Hardware Canucks is a channel I have been watching for years and wanted to share my appreciation for you all. Thank you for your honest reviews. I trust you all fully for everything.

[reheapification]

I am so glad that I did not replace my Fractal Terra with this. I'd probably be in bad Mood.

[technewb]

If Fractal didn't sacrifice GPU thickness for air cooler clearance, this would be my next case. But my gpu wouldn't fit without a waterblock, and there's not enough radiator support for an open loop build. I'll be going with the A3 instead

[vailpcs]

Gosh, I feel sorry for Fractal. They make some amazing products and I guess not all can be performance-oriented. I don't know if this was a swing and a miss or simply a departure and conscious choice to pivot away from performance and into form-based design. Given the potential acoustic issues in the Terra, perhaps they need to focus more on testing or maybe they have a specific use-case / market segment they are targeting?

[drewnewby]

Lint rollers are essential PC maintenance tools. Soft touch plastics, mesh filters, and definitely fabric cases, laptop covers, etc. clean up best with them.

[alangoldhammer]

This would be a perfect HTPC case for a nice living room. You don't need top end components for this application and the styling looks great. If I didn't already have a nice case, I would consider this one.

[teethashaquan]

Wait for version 2 with hopefully better GPU compatibility

[ccayco]

The moment I saw the previews of this case, I figured it would be a nice case targeted at non-gaming and non-workstation use cases. You know, something you'd use to build a nice casual pc for your aunt or something, no dedicated gpu or anything that runs hot. But to hear it's LOUD is crazy. So it's too loud to be a cozy living room pc, it has a big footprint, and it can't be repurposed for high demand setups, and it's expensive. Weird miss from FD.

That said, it does look like an air purifier haha.

[XiaOmegaX]

2 slot GPU lock is DOA. if this was 3 or 3.5 slot GPU and less room for CPU cooler it would be perfect. I can live with bad airflow for the cpu since i always buy low power cpus for itx builds anyway. 7800X3D should run cool here regardless.

[varshaiyer]

Very pragmatic! It's not the review we want but the one we deserve. Good job as always guys!

[sullmcintyre]

Great review with proper detail, thank you!

[Senrab]

I was looking forward hearing great news about the Mood but you cant all be wrong. Thorough review as always 🐈👍

[Erelyes]

Great review - justified and honest. A real ball-drop from Fractal.

[directhex]

Thanks so much for this brutal review. I had reconsidered my plans to build around a Fractal Ridge when I saw this in the Computex coverage, but those noise and cooling performance numbers are absolutely unfit for purpose.

[eldoherz]

WTF are all these bot comments?

Also surprised to see Fractal missing the mark so badly when they've been killing it for a while.

[flyingpj]

Pretty much what was expected. Any plans for a review of the Lian Li Dan Case A3-mATX?

[mmoak]

These videos need thermal camera footage. It would be great to see how the air enters and leaves the case. Loved the detailed description.

[MrMilkyCoco]

Formdt1 the smallest itx case that can fit a 4090 fe comes in at 9.9 liters. Fractals previous itx cases are smaller in size and can also fit a 4090 fe. This one being bigger than all of them has no excuse to not be able to fit larger cards.

[georgejones]

My son turns one next month. I started working from home after my parental bonding leave. I have to stop for diaper changes and feeding him, or checking on him. It's been fun, but he can be quite the distraction sometimes.
I love the concept of this case, but it seems like it'll need a revision and improvements made to the design. I'd rotate the mobo so the I/O faces out of the back of the left side. Allow the bottom to push air up through it and the top pull air out. Give the movable spine for GPU/CPU variability.

[tarfeef_]

If this is so focused on cpu cooling choices and compatibility... Why did you use an L12S????