We’ve lost count of how many big PC cases we’ve reviewed, but among mainstream mid-tower models, Fractal Design’s $109.99 Meshify 2 Compact case is one of the best. It’s not what we’d call a perfect case—we’ve yet to see one of those!—but it falls short of that mark only by omitting a handful of features that we feel a perfect case should have. Don’t be fooled by the “Compact” in the name; this is not a space-saving Mini-ITX chassis by any means, but one for full ATX boards. The quirky name aside, it’s one of the strongest mainstream ATX-case efforts of recent years. It lands our latest Editors’ Choice award for ATX mid-tower PC cases.
The Design: Rumpled Metal Never Looked So Good
The Meshify 2 Compact features a Fractal-signature front panel, with contours that form a rough but geometric surface. It looks like someone grabbed a sheet of metal mesh and gave it a proper beating with a triangle-headed hammer, and its asymmetrical design makes the case look unique and a bit edgy.
As this panel is entirely built out of a metal mesh, air will be able to pass straight through into the case with ease, and a pair of Fractal Design’s 140mm Dynamic X2 GP-14 fans mounted just behind the front panel help to accelerate the flow. That’s a nice change from many recent cases from NZXT or Razer, which feature solid front panels.
The top panel also comprises a large section of metal mesh to permit air to flow in or out from that direction. It’s not entirely mesh, like the front panel, and Fractal Design opted to install the “front” I/O panel up here, which consists of two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1 Gen 2 port, separate microphone and headphone/audio-out jacks, and the usual power and reset buttons.
The panel on the right side of the case is a simple sheet of steel, while the left panel on our review unit is constructed out of tempered glass. Fractal Design also offers an alternative version of the Meshify 2 that omits the glass and has steel panels on both sides, but other than that, the two cases are identical.
Both side panels use a screwless mounting system, though they aren’t particularly easy to remove. The panels come off by simply pulling them toward you, from the top, and each panel has a rubber grip to help make this easier. Being a little hard to remove may actually be a good thing. From my experience with the case, it seems highly unlikely that these panels would ever fall off by accident, and while removing them takes a little muscle, this still feels easier than dealing with screws and keeping a glass panel stable after removing the last one.
The back of the case is also designed to permit air to flow easily out of the case. A fan comes pre-installed here, as well, though this one is a slightly smaller Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 model. Three fans aboard is generous; the much pricier Razer Tomahawk ATX linked above ships with just one.
The case also feels quite light for its size (20.5 by 9.7 by 20.5 inches, HWD) and given the glass side. Though this may just be observation bias on my part, as I’ve mostly worked with cases larger than the Meshify 2 Compact lately, the reliance on mesh for parts of the front and top definitely reduces the weight, even though the metal panels and frame are steel. Either way, the case weighs just about 17 pounds empty.
The Building Experience
The Meshify 2 Compact is pleasantly easy to build into. As someone who also reviews motherboards, ever changing boards in and out of a PC, to me this case feels extra-well-suited to PC builders who will do a lot of component-swapping, not just a one-and-done PC build (though it’s good for that, too).
The motherboard tray accepts boards up to ATX in size, and it’s easy to fit them into position with nothing in the main section of the case to get in the way. Although you can’t fit an Extended ATX (E-ATX) board into this case, Fractal Design has larger, EATX-capable versions available that drop the “Compact” from the name; they are simply known as the Meshify 2 and Meshify 2 XL.
Mounting a power supply is also quite easy. This case has a removable mounting plate for the power supply that’s held on by two thumbscrews. To add the power supply, you just remove this plate, bolt it onto the PSU with four screws, slide the PSU in through the case’s rear, and screw the thumbscrews back into place. I personally prefer this mounting system for power supplies, as it removes the need to try and position the PSU in place as you bolt it on. You can also more easily pre-route the cables from the PSU as you insert the body from the chassis back.
The case has room, in theory, to mount up to six 2.5-inch storage devices, with two of the spots able to take a conventional 3.5-inch platter hard drive instead. At the bottom of the case is a hard drive cage that can hold either two 3.5-inch drives or two 2.5-inch drives, and on the back of the motherboard tray, you’ll see mounting trays for two 2.5-inch drives.
The case has room for two more 2.5-inch drives, but the case doesn’t ship with the hardware by default. That comes in the form of Universal Multibracket adapters (about $15 a pair) that can be mounted close to the motherboard. You will need to purchase these Multibrackets separately if you want to have more than “just” four drives installed.
You can put these adapters in place of an existing fan at the case top (which can support two 120mm or 140mm fans, or a 240mm radiator), or on the case bottom, above the PSU. The latter location is the more sensible one, as you can’t mount fans here, and it leaves the top of the case free for you to add more fans or a liquid cooler later.
To make cabling easier, Fractal Design machined some holes around the motherboard tray for cables to pass through. These are lined in rubber to help prevent cables getting nicked on sharp edges of metal and to help hide wires on the right side of the case. The holes for this purpose are well-placed, and it makes getting everything in place quite easy. Also, Velcro ties are pre-installed behind the motherboard tray to help you keep wires routed neatly, though the solid panel on this side of the case does let you hide your cable troubles.
The Verdict: So Close to Perfect
Our overall experience with Fractal Design’s Meshify 2 Compact case was so positive that we had to take a break from writing this review to think critically about what truly makes a case perfect. We strongly considered giving the Meshify 2 Compact a perfect five-star score, but ultimately decided not to. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with this chassis, and we don’t have a single major complaint to leverage against it.
Case manufacturers, take notes. The Meshify 2 Compact case has a unique look, and a generous mix of fans and features. It’s not a weighty behemoth, and it’s easy to build in. We’d just like to see some tool-free drive mounts, easy enough to implement that most cases above the barest budget should have them by now (but not all do). We might quibble for a third or fourth USB Type-A port on the front/top panel, but that would be churlish considering the competition and the price.
If Fractal Design wants to make the Meshify 3 exactly the same as the Meshify 2 Compact but with these changes, we’ll likely consider stamping it with a perfect score, assuming the competition hasn’t bettered it by then. But for now Fractal, and discriminating PC builders, should be happy with a rating that is just short of that mark—and a chassis that’s not very far from the ideal builder’s case.
