Fractal Ridge is console layout Mini-ITX case at 12.6L in volume. The case uses steel construction and comes in black or white variants. The Ridge is priced at US$129 / £129 and available from numerous retailers, including Amzn (paid link).
SPECIFICATIONS
| MODEL | Ridge |
| DIMENSIONS | 374×110×395.4mm (including case stand) |
| VOLUME | 12.6 Litres (excluding case stand) |
| MATERIALS | Steel |
| CASE I/O | – 2x USB 3.0 Type-A – USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C – Audio/Microphone (combo jack) |
| MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT | Mini-ITX |
| CPU COOLER CLEARANCE | 70mm |
| EXPANSION SLOTS | 3 |
| GRAPHICS CARD COMPATIBILITY | 335×82x137mm (L×W×H) |
| RISER CABLE | PCIe 4.0 (included) |
| LIQUID COOLING SUPPORT | 120mm (w/ 175mm GPU) / 280mm (without GPU) |
| POWER SUPPLY SUPPORT | SFX / SFX-L |
| CASE FANS SUPPORTED | – Top: 3x 80mm (125mm GPU height with 15mm thick fans) – Side: 2x 120/140mm (57mm GPU thickness thickness with 25mm thick fans) |
| 2.5″ / 3.5″ DRIVES SUPPORTED | 4x 2.5″ |
BUILD #1
| MOTHERBOARD | Rog Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi (paid link) |
| CPU | R7 7800X3D (paid link) |
| CPU COOLER | Noctua NH-L12S (paid link) |
| GPU | RTX 4080 Super FE (paid link) |
| PSU | Extreme 850R / Corsair SF750 (paid links) |
| CABLES | Unsleeved (CableMod), 400mm EPS, 220mm 24pin, 300mm PCIe, 380mm 12VHPWR |
| RAM | 32GB Gskill S5 DDR5, 6000MHz, CL30 (paid link) |
| STORAGE | 1TB + 2TB NVME (paid links) |
| CASE FANS | N |
BUILD #2
| MOTHERBOARD | Rog Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi (paid link) |
| CPU | R7 7800X3D (paid link) |
| CPU COOLER | Noctua NH-L12S (paid link) |
| GPU | RTX 4080 Super FE (paid link) |
| PSU | SilverStone Extreme 1200R (paid link) |
| RAM | 32GB Gskill S5 DDR5, 6000MHz, CL30 (paid link) |
| STORAGE | 1TB + 2TB NVME (paid links) |
| CASE FANS | 2x SilverStone Air Slimmer 140’s (paid link) |
CONCLUSIONS
We found that the Fractal Ridge wasn’t particularly effective at CPU cooling. This is a limitation of the console layout and not its size. This is evident with CPU cooling performance compared to other small cases like the FormD T1. Large graphics cards may also restrict the use of top 80mm case fans and GPU side intake fans. 140mm side intake fans can have a noticeable impact on GPU temperatures. It’s still remains a capable case, despite some drawbacks. The NH-L12S is by far the best CPU cooling solution for Fractal Ridge. It performs on par with other 70mm class coolers like AN600, but has noticeably less turbulence, due to the fan being located below the heatsink. The Ridge is widely available, reasonably priced, and will beautifully fit into most setups. While it’s arguably the best console layout ITX case, we do wish it was a little more space optimised and dense to reduce the overall size.