[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
Fractal Design is a Swedish manufacturer, and their products are easy to find in the US. The Arc Midi is a mid-tower case that comes with eight 3.5”/2.5” bays, three 140 mm fans, and an analog fan controller. Let’s see if it is a good product.
Figure 1: Fractal Design Arc Midi case
Figure 2: Fractal Design Arc Midi case
The left-side panel has a mesh where you can install a 140 mm or 180 mm fan, which doesn’t come with the product. There isn’t an air filter for this mesh.
Figure 3: Left-side panel
[nextpage title=”The Front Panel”]
The front panel of the Fractal Design Arc Midi has a very sober look, with only two external 5.25” bays, which allowed more space for internal bays. The front panel looks like it is made of aluminum, but it is actually made of plastic. The external bays use solid covers, and the bottom one comes with an adapter for you to install an external 3.5” device.
Figure 4: Front panel
Internally, the case has two hard drive cages, and it comes with a 140 mm fan on its front panel, cooling the top hard drive cage. You can install a second 140 mm fan to cool down the bottom cage, or you can move the fan to the bottom if you prefer to cool down the bottom cage instead of the top one. This fan spins at 1,000 rpm and comes with a three-pin connector, and it can be installed on the fan controller that comes with the product. There is an air filter for these two fans.
Figure 5: Front panel
Figure 6: Front fan
[nextpage title=”The Top Panel”]
The top panel is completely meshed, with an air filter. It supports three 120 mm or 140 mm fans at the same time, or one 180 mm fan with one 120 mm or 140 mm fan. The Arc Midi comes with a 140 mm fan installed, which is identical to the front one, spinning at 1,000 rpm and using a three-pin connector. It also can be installed on the fan controller that comes with the product.
Figure 7: Top panel
In Figure 8, you can see the top panel with the top cover removed, where you can better understand the fan configuration.
Figure 8: Top panel
The case comes with two USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0 port. The USB 3.0 port uses an internal connector, so make sure you install a motherboard with an internal USB 3.0 header. They are located on the front part of the top panel.
Figure 9: Buttons and connectors
[nextpage title=”The Bottom and Rear Panels”]
The bottom panel allows the installation of one 120 mm or 140 mm fan, and the case comes with an air filter that covers this fan and the power supply fan. This filter is easily accessible from outside the case.
Figure 10: Bottom panel
The rear panel and the interior of the Fractal Design Arc Midi are painted black.
The power supply is installed on the bottom part of the case.
The Fractal Design Arc Midi comes with another 140 mm fan installed on its rear panel, identical to the other two 140 mm fans that come with the product. It also spins at 1,000 rpm and can be installed on the fan controller that comes with the product.
There are seven expansion slots, all with white, vented covers. An eighth slot placed perpendicularly to the expansion slots can be used for installing the fan controller that comes with the product.
This case has two holes using rubber covers for hoses of liquid cooling solutions.
Figure 11: Rear panel
Let’s now take a look inside the Fractal Design Arc Midi.[nextpage title=”Inside the Fractal Design Arc Midi”]
Both panels are attached to the chassis using black thumbscrews. The motherboard tray has a huge hole for you to access the backplate of the CPU cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case, several holes protected with rubber covers for you to route cables behind it, and several metallic clips for you to fasten cables using cable ties.
Figure 12: Overall look
Figure 13: A
view behind the motherboard tray
In Figure 14, you have another overall look inside the case. Expansion cards are fastened using black thumbscrews. The Fractal Design Arc Midi supports video cards up to 11.4” (290 mm) long, but if you remove the top hard drive cage, this clearance is increased to 18.5” (470 mm). The case supports CPU coolers up to 7.1” (180 mm) tall.
Figure 14: Overall look
The power supply is installed at the bottom of the case. Note that it can be installed with either its bottom fan facing up or facing down, so you can decide if you want the fan of your power supply pulling air from inside the case or from outside of it.
If you install a power supply up to 6.7” (170 mm) deep, you can install a 120 mm or 140 mm fan on the bottom panel, but if you install a power supply up to 7.1” (180 mm) deep, only a 120 mm fan will fit. As already discussed, the case comes with a single air filter for the power supply fan and for this optional fan.
Figure 15: Power supply compartment
The fan controller, shown in Figure 16, must be installed on an expansion slot. It is a single-channel, analog controller supporting three fans, which means that all fans are controlled through a single potentiometer.
Figure 16: Fan controller
[nextpage title=”The Disk Drive Bays”]
The Fractal Design Arc Midi has two external 5.25” bays and eight internal 3.5”/2.5” bays, and you can convert one of the external 5.25” bays into an external 3.5” bay. They don’t have tool-less installation mechanisms, but the case comes with several black thumbscrews for you to install the disk drives, which is terrific.
Figure 17: Disk drive bays
The eight 3.5”/2.5” bays are available inside two hard drive cages. You can remove the top cage in case you need to install longer video cards, or in the event that you want to increase air flow inside the case.
Figure 18: Top hard drive cage removed
Figure 19: Hard drive cage
Each 3.5”/2.5” bay is actually a small drawer, each one featuring rubber rings to absorb vibrations from 3.5” devices.
Figure 20: One of the 3.5”/2.5” bays
[nextpage title=”Main Specifications”]
The main specifications for the Fractal Design Arc Midi include:
- Style: Mid-tower
- Application: ATX and smaller form factors derived from this one
- Material: Zinc-coated steel (SECC) body
- Power supply: Doesn’t come with the product
- Available colors: Black
- Side panel: Meshed
- Dimensions: 18.1 x 9 x 20.3 inches (460 x 230 x 515 mm) (H x W x D)
- Net weight: 23.5 lbs (10.6 kg)
- Gross weight: 28 lbs (12.8 kg)
- Bays: Two external 5.25” bays, one external 3.5” bay converted from one 5.25” bay, and eight internal 3.5”/2.5” bays
- Expansion slots: Seven
- Maximum video card length: 11.4” (290 mm) or 18.5” (470 mm), if the top hard drive cage is removed
- Maximum CPU cooler height: 7.1” (180 mm)
- Fans: One 140 mm fan on the front panel (1,000 rpm), one 140 mm fan on the top panel (1,000 rpm), and one 140 mm fan on the rear panel (1,400 rpm)
- Optional fans: One 140 mm or 180 mm fan on the left panel, one 140 mm fan on the front panel, two 120 mm or 140 mm fans or one 180 mm fan on the top panel, and one 120 mm or 140 mm fan on the bottom panel
- Extra Features: Single-channel, analog fan controller
- More Information: https://www.fractal-design.com
- Average Price in the US*: USD 110.00
* Researched at Newegg.com on the day we published this review.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
The Fractal Design Arc Midi provides virtually all features the savvy user is looking for on a case. It could cost a little less, but we believe that the user who buys this case will be making a good choice.
Strong Points
- Air filters for the power supply, bottom, top, and front fans
- Support for eight fans, comes with three
- Analog fan controller for the three fans that come with the product
- Vented slot covers
- Support for eight 3.5”/2.5” storage devices
- Support for long video cards up to 11.4” (290 mm) or 18.5” (470 mm), if the top hard drive cage is removed
- Thumbscrews for fastening the expansion cards
- Thumbscrews for fastening disk drives
- A huge hole in the motherboard tray for accessing the backplate of the CPU cooler
- Holes protected with rubber covers for routing cables behind the motherboard tray
- Metallic clips for fastening cables using cable ties
Weak Points
- No air filter for the left-panel fan
- Only one USB 3.0 port