Fractal Design Ridge Black - PCIe 4.0 Riser Card Included - 2X 140mm PWM Aspect Fans Included - Type C USB - m-ITX PC Gaming Case

Been in IT for over 20 years and this has been one of the most thoughtfully designed cases I've worked inside of.They didn't just rivet everything into place, it's actually screwed together and can be torn down pretty much completely. Cable management is thought out and serves it's purpose well. The PSU mounting solution keeps everything very tidy and gives the exterior a pretty nice minimal feel all around.I liked working with it so much that I ended up getting a Torrent (also by Fractal Design) for my personal build. Again, another very nice case to work in.Fractal seems to consistently offer very well designed and manufactured cases. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an ultra-compact performance build in a heartbeat.

I bought this to replace a fractal node 202. I liked the original node, but hated having to take the entire chassis apart for maintenence.The Ridge improves upon the original design in several ways. Instead of a monolithic frame it can be taken apart on each side. Top and bottom of the case have 4 screws, and the sides have a captive screw and pop into place.Super easy to access the inside of the case if you make a mustake or need to access the mobo.I HATE the new middle gpu bracket! I had to remove it 3 times before getting my gpu to seat properly.Im not sure if its supposed to but my case did not include an external power cable. Luckily i had a spare.The form factor can be intimidating, but i really like the new design, and it was a very easy build overall.For comparison, i also own a Cooler Master NR200, and found this easier to assemble.

pretty cool design and slim. takes a little work to snuggly fit everything in it but all n all it fits and works.

- Can support triple fan gpus of decent length.- Good ventilation for downdraft CPU coolers and pass-through gpus- You can fit slim 80mm fans to help exhaust for hot gpus- Interior volume after you put parts in will make managing cables tricky. If you can try to get custom length cables for your power supply to reduce slack you need to manage.

This was a great case to build in, very pleased with the results. My only complaint is the backside behind the motherboard is super tight on space so if you have excess or extra cables you want to hide for aesthetic purposes, it's super tight space to do so. For the same reasons, if you have a backside mounting m.2 slot on the motherboard, your only option for adding a heatsink is the bottom of the barrel "rubber banded on" heatseats because they are the only ones thin enough.Great design by fractal otherwise. This case is super compact while supporting high end hardware.

Update 1 month later: The RX 90709 XT I was using with this quit working (no video output), after I had GPU graphical artifacting. I RMA'd my GPU thinking it was the problem, since my system booted without the GPU. I bought a second identical GPU 2 weeks later and it also didn't have video output... Apparently the GPU riser card in this Fractal Ridge was the problem, and it wouldn't work in PCIe 4 or 5 mode, despite it originally working for a week or two. I'm thinking my original GPU wasn't defective after all, and the case GPU riser was the cause. The case is nice.. but the GPU riser is a major issue and also has a concerning fit regardless. Won't be using this case anymore, but it will be a nice case if you have an older and smaller GPU I guess.Original: Great quality SFF case. Airflow is good (I removed the stock fans, just running it with GPU fans and CPU fan.) The parts are easy to work with, power supply and board is easy to put in and screw down. The vertical stand is plastic but is good quality. Running a 16c/32t Ryzen BD795i SE with a RX 9070 XT in this with no problems at all with cooling.

Well built, beautiful. The power cord does not clear any GOOD cpu coolers. And the case slimness already limits the few slim high quality coolers available to fit. And then when you get a cooler that fits the case itself, the power cord mount is completley in the way.I designed and 3d printed a power connector holder which rotates the plug 90 degrees and puts it out mostly outside the case to work.Other than the power cord problem, I totally recommend the case. But if you want to use any cooler that's not the tiny stock freebie that comes with the cpu the be aware you will modding something to fit it.Do your own forum searching on coolers, cpus, and power cord clearance, BEFORE you commit to purchase this case.

The heat dissipation is favorable for the GPU, but the CPU has limited space for cooling. I was able to solve this by flipping the case, swapping the positions of the CPU and GPU.There was more space for cable management than I expected, and the manual was well-organized and easy to follow.Overall, it's a great SFF case.