Fractal Design’s been expanding its product lineup with some slick and clean-looking computer gear lately, such as the excellent Scape headset we reviewed last month. Falling into a similar design language mold, Fractal Design is now announcing its Epoch case, which aims to combine a “clean, contemporary design with airflow engineering.”
We have not spent any hands-on time with the Epoch, though from the product images and renders, it looks like a worthy addition to Fractal Design’s growing family of cases. From an aesthetic standpoint, the Epoch sports a more minimalist design language compared to most of Fractal Design’s other enclosures, and that is completely intentional.
“Epoch has been designed with a clean, modern aesthetic. Its minimalist look, mesh patterning, and subtle visual accents, including a fabric pull tab and laser-etched aluminum badge, make it a stylish addition to your gaming station,” Fractal Design explains.
The clean look doesn’t come at the expense of airflow, according to Fractal Design. Just he opposite, airflow is a purported point of focus. Ventilated mesh panels adorn both the front and top of the Epoch to facilitate “natural airflow,” which is aided by three “high-performance” Momentum 12 fans with LCP blades and FDP bearings.
There’s room to expand the cooling scheme too, with a total of six fan mounts (three 120/140mm in the front, two 120mm/140mm up top, and one 120mm in the rear). That also means you can fit up to a 240mm liquid cooling radiator up top or 360mm in the front (which would require relocating the front fans). If you plan to rock a CPU air cooler, it can be up to 170mm (6.69 inches) in height.
Your choice of front cooling affects how long your graphics card can be. The Epoch supports GPUs up to 372mm (14.64 inches) in length with front-mounted fans, or up to 345mm (13.58 inches) if using a front radiator.
Other features include seven expansion slots, two dedicated 2.5-inch drive mounts + two 3.5-inch/2.5-inch mounts, a PSU dust filter, and a front I/O consisting of 1x USB-C (20Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), and a 3.5mm audio/mic combo jack.
You can find Fractal Design’s Epoch case at Newegg for $109.99, or $129.99 if opting for tinted tempered glass with RGB lighting. Interestingly enough, the product page on Newegg also shows a relatively new ‘Make an offer’ option, which suggest that you might be able to score the Epoch for less than it’s listed.
