Fractal Design Arc Midi desktop tower PC case

You'd be forgiven for not knowing this manufacturer's name – Fractal Design hasn't been around for very long.

However, the case manufacturer has already made quite an impression in a crowded market with well-designed, well-engineered and quiet PC cases.

The Arc Midi, as the name suggests, is a ‘midi tower' case, which means it's roughly in the middle, size-wise – it's not too big and not too small. It demonstrates good attention to build quality and design on the part of the manufacturer. There's nothing particularly fancy about the design of the case to look at but its minimalist, stylish design does appeal to the eye.

The case, with the exception of the front panel, is made of steel, with both side panels held in place by thumbscrews. The front panel itself is made from plastic but its brushed black finish blended in well with the rest of the case.

Despite the Arc Midi being a midi-tower case there is an impressive amount of case cooling – either from fans that come with the case or supplied as mounts to build in your own choice of fan. Fractal Design provides three 140mm cooling fans with the case, which are mounted behind the front panel, on the back panel and in the roof.

Besides these pre-mounted fans there are spaces for another six, which are all 120/140mm dual mounts with the exception of the one in a side panel, which is 140/180mm. All the fan blades, expansion plates and 3.5in drive bay trays are finished in white, which makes the Arc Midi stand out from the crowd.

The Arc Midi can support an impressive number of disks for a smaller case: two 5.25in bays sit in the top of the case while eight 3.5in bays are provided for internal storage. In addition to taking hard disks, the trays for the 3.5in bays also support the fitting of SSDs, which are smaller in physical size.

The eight drive bays are spilt into two cages with the top one being completely removable, and if you don't plan to use it, it's worth removing just to allow better air flow through the case – removing it will also allow the fitting of the longest of graphics cards.

Overall, the Fractal Design Arc Midi, while not cheap, is an impressive case that worked well.