Fractal Design's gorgeous new Terra PC case vindicates my disdain of the cyberpunk aesthetic

Table Of Content

• Services options - 5 groups of items - 13 total selections
• Top Deals options - 6 groups of items - 24 total selections
• Build Experience With the Fractal Design Terra
• Sign in for the best experience
• Clearance options - 2 groups of items - 18 total selections
• Fractal Design Terra Mini-ITX Chassis - Jade
• Fractal Terra (Jade) / 4090 / 7800X3D

But as this is a tiny case that's clearly designed to sit on your desk, the audio jacks on the motherboard aren't much more than a foot away at the back of the case. Part of me wants to see more USB ports up front, but again, those are within fairly easy reach around the back.One other thing of note about the Fractal Terra is that I don't love the matte finish on the aluminum front and sides. It looks nice out of the box, but feels a bit rough rather than the smooth metal you might be expecting – a bit like an old chalkboard. As such, at least with the black model I tested, it has a tendency to pick up and show smudges or small bits of material or fibers from paper towels or cloths you might use to wipe it down (or even just my own fingers). This is fairly minor, but in a case that's so obviously geared toward pretty design, the fact that the front is a bit hard to keep clean feels like an oversight.

Services options - 5 groups of items - 13 total selections

The Terra is built mostly from aluminium, with a solid wooden slab on the front, surrounding the USB ports. One of which is a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C with fast charging and 10Gbps transfer speeds. The wood panel is unique on each one, so no copy paste for my fellow Scandi design lovers. At just 343 x 153 x 218mm it's truly dinky, with a gorgeous minimal aesthetic and soft, rounded corners. Both sides have folding gull-wing doors, and a top panel that slides back and pops off with the help of a little leather tab. It's a little difficult to take off when there are no components in there keeping the case sturdy, and a loud clattering sound that interrupted my chat with the team has me thinking someone else had a little trouble too.

Top Deals options - 6 groups of items - 24 total selections

You can also use the longer standoffs but the two bottom ones will require some sanding down as they interfere with the central spine. If you need help with products purchased from Micro Center, please contact one of our knowledgeable tech support reps using the online chat button below, or visit our Tech Support page for additional options and helpful information. While I didn't have the time to put together a full review before heading off to Computex, Fractal did send the case ahead of the launch date and, space constraints aside, there's a lot I like about it. We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell with a full refund in accordance with our return policy – no receipt needed if you have a Micro Center Insider Account.

Build Experience With the Fractal Design Terra

While Founders Edition RTX 4080 and 4090 cards should fit, plenty of partner cards will either be too big or may push right up to the absolute limits of the case. And CPU cooling options are far more limited, so don't expect to install a 7950X3D or a 13900K here, unless you like paying for performance you can't actually get. It slots in vertically to the other end of the riser cable and gets anchored to the slot mounts at the back with screws.

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I'd say in most instances, you should expect to fit most 4070-class cards in this case – as long as it's not one of the crazy thick overbuild models. Higher-end Nvida FE cards should also fit, but then you're going to need a larger SFX-L power supply, and I don't feel great about all that heat-generating hardware going into a cramped case with, at best, a single intake fan. Again, Fractal could have made this case just a little bigger to accommodate more powerful cards. But as it is, it's probably good that you can't quite fit the most powerful, most overclocked cards in this case, no matter how vented all the panels are. More specifically, it supports SFX and SFX-L power supplies and graphics cards up to 12.68 inches long and a maximum of 2.83 inches wide.

Clearance options - 2 groups of items - 18 total selections

Oh and it comes with a PCIe 4.0 riser cable, too, which is a necessity when you're kinda forced into vertical mounting. There's a little trick inside the case too, with a side sliding motherboard plate that has seven integers of movement. That counts for 30mm of flexibility altogether—a nice touch, especially when some people are going to want to prioritise space for the humongous RTX 4090 even in a smaller case. And yes, in case you were wondering, it does fit in there; the founders edition does, anyway. Granted, there's not much room, but it looks like there's more than enough ventilation to accommodate for the lack of space.

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All in all, the Fractal Terra is a striking and mostly well-thought-out Mini-ITX case. I doubt it will have as wide an appeal as its larger North cousin since component and airflow options are far more limiting here. Once the motherboard is in you can wedge the connector for the pre-installed Gen 4 GPU riser cable into the slot on the motherboard, which is at the top here. Since the motherboard installs on what traditionally would be the rear side of a PC case, it's rotated 180 degrees from the typical orientation. If you are using the same mobo+cooler combo, the stock back plate works fine using the smaller stand-off screws, however there is barely enough thread left to tighten, but to my eyes and experience there was enough.

With that done, I turned the case back around and installed the power supply. And while all sides of the Terra are amply vented (albeit without any dust filters), fan support is limited to a single 120 mm spinner at the bottom rear. In my building experience with the case, detailed below, even with a modular SFX power supply, that bottom area is going to be very occupied by cable slack. Plus, if you do put a fan there, you lose one of the two mounting places available for 2.5-inch drives.

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Anyone is welcome to seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop. Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been demystifying tech and science—rather sarcastically—for three years since.

Similarly, the top panel pulls back (via a stylish and handy faux-leather tab) and lifts off, giving you full access to three sides of the case for the build process. Late last year, Fractal's mid-century-inspired North PC case won all kinds of awards (including case of the year from us here at Tom's Hardware). So it's no surprise that the company is back with another wood-accented chassis here at Computex.

But unlike the mind-tower North, Fractal Design's $179 Terra is a surprisingly small, 10.4-liter Mini-ITX case. It looks great in your choice of three colors and takes up a small amount of space, but its 8.58 x 6.02 x 13.5-inch frame means you'll have to choose your components very carefully. Free assistance is available for the first 60 days on new purchases, excluding internal hardware installations or networking support.

It features a built-in PCIe 4.0 riser cable and a moveable central spine for customisation of hardware clearance, accommodating GPUs up to 322mm. While a 120mm radiator is technically supported in the Terra, that's only with a short (8-inch) graphics card. The clearance for CPU coolers wavers between 1.89 and 3.03 inches, depending on how you adjust the "spine," or the central plate that holds the Motherboard on one side and the GPU on the other. Inside, Terra hides smart features such as a stepless slidable central wall, allowing users to adapt the space ratio between compartments by up to 30 mm. This gives builders the freedom to design their small form factor gaming PC around their component choices, including the option to incorporate a in a space-saving 10.4 L case.

From building through to daily use, Terra was designed with user interaction in mind. Whether someone rotates open the aluminum side panels, slides open the top with the integrated tab or presses the laser-engraved aluminum power button — every interaction with Terra is designed to feel smooth and enjoyable. Would like a sanity check for the CPU cooler, and the motherboard and GPU combination. It should all fit in for sizes from the other builds I've been checking out on this case, but if I made some big mistake would absolutely love to be saved from my own incompetence. I think it should be quiet enough here as well, but please let me know if I accidentally built a jet engine. I was looking at the GN case review and I don't think I'll run into that with the CPU cooler clearance I have.

For new PowerSpec computers, this free assistance is extended to one year from the date of purchase. Your invoice reference number will be required for free assistance. If you need to return an item, simply bring it back to any Micro Center store for a full refund or exchange.

I've been complaining about my hatred of the Cyberpunk aesthetic, and from that you'd probably guess I'm not so into PC cases heavy with RGB lighting. Thankfully, as Fractal's Head of PR, Victor Elveljung, told me today at the product launch event, "We have your back on that one." The braided Corsair 12v cable allows the top panel to close without bulging, but most other cables will not let it close. Join the experts who read Tom's Hardware for the inside track on enthusiast PC tech news — and have for over 25 years. We'll send breaking news and in-depth reviews of CPUs, GPUs, AI, maker hardware and more straight to your inbox. Search the Micro Center Job Access site to review our latest Openings.