TweakTown’s Score: 94%
The Backside Line
Having a look at what you get with the Fractal Pop Air, for its $116 value level, it is a fairly compelling possibility. Tempered glass, verify. Addressable RGB followers, verify. Clear ahead pushed design, verify.
Professionals
- + Air flow in all the proper locations
- + Progressive hidden storage compartment, with assist for 2 5.25
- + Enjoyable vibrant coloration choices
- + Comes with three aRGB 120mm Side followers
- + Nice cable administration
Cons
- – Restricted AIO/radiator assist past 280mm
- – Restricted storage choices
- – Entrance I/O is missing, should purchase a separate USB-C cable accent
Do you have to purchase it?
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Introduction, Specs, and Pricing
Fractal Design, identified for its minimalist Scandinavian designs just like the Outline, Torrent, Meshify, and Focus sequence, has launched a brand new line of circumstances dubbed Pop. The brand new Pop sequence is armed with a fusion of fashion and performance. The Pop sequence has two variants, the Pop Air and the Pop Silent. Fractal was so variety to ship over the Pop Air in inexperienced for us to evaluation as we speak.
The Pop Air is accessible in varied colours, with or with out a facet panel. Pricing for the mannequin we have now for evaluation as we speak, the Pop Air, is about at $116 (on the time of this evaluation), which is fairly aggressive. The Pop Air comes with three 120mm Side aRGB followers or three 120mm Side non-RGB followers for the non-RGB variations. Fractal additionally presents two different sizes, XL and Mini, if these would fit your wants higher.
Fractal Design Pop Air Mid-Tower Chassis
At present | Yesterday | 7 days in the past | 30 days in the past | ||
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* Costs final scanned on 9/12/2022 at 11:14 am CDT – costs might not be correct, click on hyperlinks above for the most recent value. We might earn an affiliate fee. |
Packaging
The Pop Air arrived in the usual Fractal brown cardboard field. The entrance facet has an image of the case with some product specs on the left-hand facet. Every of the opposite sides has the Fractal brand. The bottom exhibits us a blown-out picture of the Pop Air with among the fundamental options.
The opposite facet of the field exhibits a blown-out picture with all of the “doorways” open.
The one indicator of which mannequin was despatched is within the higher right-hand nook on one facet, which reads out RGB Inexperienced Core TG Clear Tint on a inexperienced sticker.
Opening up the field, you will notice there are two styrofoam finish cap items that defend the Pop Air throughout delivery. The Pop Air can also be wrapped in a plastic bag to make sure additional safety.
On high can also be the highest mesh filter, enclosed in a neat part of bubble wrap, which exhibits the eye to element that Fractal Design places forth.
The Pop person information is stuffed with good illustrations of the completely different configurations.
Additionally included is an prolonged radiator bracket which helps offset a top-mounted radiator nearer to the facet panel permitting for additional motherboard VRM warmth sink clearance.
Right here she is, all pulled out of the field. As acknowledged earlier than, we obtained the RGB Inexperienced Core with TG clear tint.
Contained in the Lian Li Lancool III
The Pop Air is comprised of largely metal, some components of abs plastic, and a tempered glass facet panel. Dimensions of the Pop Air’s profile are 548mm lengthy, 207mm large, and 537mm tall.
So like most of the newer chassis launching these days, mesh is what everybody and their brother desires. The Pop Air isn’t any completely different with its largely full mesh entrance panel, other than its “secret” compartment. The highest fan/radiator location additionally has a positive mesh mud filter, which finishes the look of the Pop Air, however begs to vary if a high filter is definitely wanted if an exhaust fan/radiator is about up.
Again to the entrance panel once more, which has positive mesh with no mud filter, permitting for 2 of the three included 120mm aRGB Side followers to breathe in comfortably.
The underside of the entrance panel is a small compartment that’s held in with two magnets. As soon as eliminated, reveal a small tray to maintain varied objects. If one was so inclined, one may mount a few 5.25in drives within the two included places.
Pulling off the entrance panel, now supplying you with entry to these two aforementioned 120mm aRGB Side followers, exhibits that as much as a 280mm radiator or two 140mm followers are supported. Sorry, no 360mm AIO assist right here.
The Pop Air’s I/O panel is positioned on the highest proper facet nook, operating alongside the bottom. A small skinny energy button, an RGB button, separate mic and headphone 3.5mm jacks, two USB 3.0 Kind-A ports, and a blanked-out USB Kind-C location, which could be added in later for a further $10.
Cooling configurations are barely restricted, with any radiator bigger than 280mm. Nonetheless, air cooling has the potential capacity to have the ability to accommodate as much as a 170mm tall CPU cooler and as much as 405mm in whole GPU size with the entrance fan mounted. Motherboards bigger ATX want to use elsewhere, however the Pop Air does assist all the things under EATX with ease.
Transferring to the enterprise facet of the Pop Air is the clear tempered glass that doesn’t lengthen the complete top of the case. As an alternative, it stops about 2 inches shy from the underside, which then a 2-inch metal panel that has notches minimize in, has the tempered glass relaxation in. It is a artful method to economize, tempered glass is dear, and the much less glass you’ve got, the cheaper a case is.
Taking the tempered glass off, you get entry to the within of the Pop Air. The PSU basement shroud, motherboard tray, toes, and again wall are all coloration matched. This will differ in a number of completely different colours, orange, inexperienced, magenta, and cyan. White is obtainable, simply not with any complimenting coloration.
Storage within the Pop Air can accommodate two 3.5″ HDDs in both of the 2 included drive sleds, with choices for mounting on the again wall or of their default location, contained in the PSU basement, which is accessible from the bottom.
Wanting on the rear of the Air Pop, tons of triangle patterns are current to offer ample exhaust out of each crevice.
The bottom of the Pop Air is just laid out. It is fully practical, with just a few cable tie-down factors right here and there, however nothing so far as rubber cable grommets to hide seen cables from the opposite facet. A detachable twin 2.5″ HDD/SSD tray is mounted to the again of the motherboard tray and could be relocated to the entrance if desired.
Talking of cable administration, the principle cable raceway, which has two Fractal branded straps, retains the principle bunch of cables in verify and in place.
The cables from the entrance I/O are comparatively easy with a single USB 3.0 header, a SATA energy connector for the included aRGB controller, an HD audio header, and a single energy header, which makes for an easy set up.
The connections for the entrance I/O are fairly easy, contemplating there’s aRGB concerned. An HD Audio header, a single SATA energy connector, a USB 3.0 connection, and a single two-pin energy change.
Check System, Set up, and Completed Product
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS PRO (INTEL Z690) – Purchase from Amazon
- CPU: Intel Core i5 12600K – Purchase from Amazon
- Cooler: be quiet! Pure Loop 280mm – Purchase from Amazon
- Reminiscence: SK Hynix DDR5-4800mhz 2x16GB
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 2080 Tremendous – Purchase from Amazon
- Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB NVME PCIE 4.0 M.2 SSD – Purchase from Amazon
- Case: Fractal Design Pop Air
- Energy Provide: bequiet! Darkish Energy 12 750w – Purchase from Amazon
- OS: Microsoft Home windows 11 Professional 64-bit – Purchase from Amazon
- Software program: AIDA64 Engineer 6.32.5600, and CPU-z 1.94.0 x64
The construct contained in the Fractal Pop Air was tremendous straightforward to construct in. It is the identical Fractal high quality everyone knows and love, inside and outside. I did, nonetheless, have to put in the 280mm AIO within the entrance of the Pop Air for the reason that roof doesn’t assist something bigger than a 240mm radiator or AIO, which in the direction of the entrance is lifeless house, which is loads of room to increase assist for a 360mm radiator or AIO. If one wished assist for a 360mm radiator or AIO and wished E-ATX assist, then a step as much as the XL is your ticket, sans a lot of the enjoyable colours.
On the 280mm AIO, I put in two of Fractal’s Side 140mm aRGB PWM followers I had from one other undertaking. That mentioned, I moved the 2 120mm Side followers that had been in entrance to the roof of the Pop Air, which I feel compliments the construct higher.
Slotting in NVIDIA’s RTX 2080 Tremendous was so simple as it may very well be, which I’m happy to report that idle temps had been at 30C with load temps hitting 71C. The CPU, an Intel Core i5 12600K, idles at 24C, with a load at 62C. The CPU and GPU had been stress examined with Aida64 Excessive’s System Stability Check for 20 minutes with an ambient temperature of 64F or 18C.
Cable administration is on level. Having a cable raceway, in addition to utilizing the three.5″ drive sled as a secondary raceway for the 24-pin and PCIe cables, was actually useful.
The cash shot, sure, the Pop Air in inexperienced is trying purdy good.
Closing Ideas
Fractal Design over time has modified loads from its Scandinavian minimalist roots whereas nonetheless managing to have a clear design, and the Pop Air isn’t any completely different. Taking cues from just a few different circumstances in Fractal’s lineup, for instance, the diagonal entrance panel sample from the Meshify sequence, the considerably acquainted internals of the Focus 2, together with different design components that Fractal has carried out all through the years.
The Pop Air can also be Fractal’s first foray into completely different vibrant case colours for the reason that mITX Period was launched. The Period at its core was a black body with varied colours exterior, whereas the Pop Air is black or white with a number of accent coloration variations.
Working the Pop Air by its paces, which it handles in good strides. The 12600K and the RTX 2080 Tremendous ran cool because of the ultra-fine mesh that Fractal determined to placed on the Pop Air. These are all nice issues that the Pop Air has going for it. Negatively, the highest radiator/AIO assist is slightly missing, however all in all, a extremely strong providing from Fractal.
In the long run, the Pop Air from Fractal is a recent look on a tried and true design that simply works. Having the choices it has, on the value level it is at, is nicely exceptional in as we speak’s markets. The humorous factor about Fractal circumstances is that you simply at all times know will probably be a enjoyable construct.