Fractal Design Arc Midi Black Case Review

The Fractal Design Arc Midi

In the past few years I have experienced great things in the USA that came from Sweden. I have read the “Millennium series” with the first book, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and have seen the movies. I have also enjoyed “Let the Right One In” as well, both the book and movie. Both series are thought provoking pros and pieces of cinema. Many also enjoy the products of Ikea. Why, you may ask, do I bring up these items in a computer case review? Because I am being introduced to another item made in Sweden for the first time. Fractal Design, a Swedish computer component company, states on their page they are “to provide products with an extraordinary design level, without compromising the important factors of quality, functionality and pricing.” Today I will be looking at the Arc Midi model so let’s see if it will meet the lofty expectations preceded by other imports from Sweden.

The Fractal Design Midi Tower (FD-CA-ARC-BL) claims to make its own niche in the PC builders’ world. The merging of cooling options, high performance, and Fractal’s known minimalistic looks makes this an elegant piece. The case comes in black with a nice brushed metallic look. No other color options are available. The Fractal Design Arc is designed for the PC enthusiasts looking for a minimalistic look. Other novice builders or corporate computer builders may enjoy this mid-tower. The mid-tower case comes with a 1 year limited warranty. The case is a steel chassis with plastic components. Fractal Design support says they will cover warranty replacement parts (doors, fans, fan controller, etc.) but not the chassis itself. The Fractal Design Arc Midi is available at Newegg for $99.99 plus $9.99 shipping.

Fractal Design notified me of a video from newegg.com that goes into detail about the Arc Midi that you can see below.

Fractal Design Arc Midi Features:

• Stylish, minimalistic front panel with alu-look
• Optimized for performance, massive cooling and water cooling support
• A total of 8(!) fan slots (2x 140mm in front, 3x 120/140 in top, 1x 120/140 in bottom, 1x 120/140 in rear, 1x 140/180mm in side panel)
• 3x 140mm fans included (1x in front, 1x in rear and 1x in top)
• Support for dual 120mm radiator in top, even thicker radiators up to 60mm in thickness
• 8x white painted HDD trays, with silicone mounting
• Upper HDD cage is removable and rotatable
• USB3 support in front panel
• Easily removable front panel with clip on fan slots
• Extra, vertically mounted expansion slot, suitable for fan controllers or non-input expansion cards

Fractal Design Arc Midi Cooling system:

• Fan controller for 3 fans included
• 1 front mounted Fractal Design 140mm fan @ 1000rpm included
• 1 top mounted Fractal Design 140mm fan @ 1000rpm included
• 1 rear mounted Fractal Design 140mm fan @ 1000rpm included
• Additional 5 fan slots available for optional fans; one 140mmin front, one 120/140mm in bottom, two 120/140mm in top and one 140/180mm in side panel
• Top panel can mount either 3x 120mm fans, 3x 140mm fans or 1x 180mm + 1x 120/140mm fans

Fractal Design Arc Midi Addition Features:

• 8x 3.5 inch HDD trays, compatible with 2.5″ SSDs
• 2x 5.25 inch bays, with 1x 5.25×3.5 inch converter included
• On top of front panel: 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 and Audio I/O
• No PSU included (removable filter below PSU)
• M/B compatibility: Mini ITX, Micro ATX and ATX
• 7+1 expansion slots with sleek white painted brackets
• Supports graphic card lengths up to 290mm when removable HDD-Bay is in place
• Supports graphic card lengths up to 470mm without removable HDD-Bay
• Supports CPU coolers with height of 180mm
• Supports PSU’s with a depth of maximum circa 170mm, when using bottom 120/140mm fan location. When not using the bottom 120/140mm fan location, the case supports also longer PSU’s, typically 270mm
• Case size (WxHxD): 230x460x515mm with front and top bezel in place
• Net weight: 10kg