Fractal Design Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB

[Darksaber]

Fractal's Meshify series is long due for an upgrade, so it is no surprise that Fractal Design is launching the Meshify 3 in seven different SKUs, with an updated design, some cool new features and unique tooling. Paired with three brand new Momentum 14 RGB fans, the Ambience Pro RGB variant of the case is fully loaded with a new Hub and 100 embedded LEDs.

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[Chaitanya]

Other than 20Gbps USB C port on front IO, that front Io is quite castrated(additional pair of Type A ports should become the norm at this point and missing reset button + drive activity led). Else that ARGB hub with web based controls is a great way forward to add RGB software while not adding extra bloatware on users system.

 

[Knight47]

No reset button? How's the build quality/engineering? My Meshify 2 is quite bad. Like the 15 years old NXZT Tempest 410 is better designed.

 

[Makaveli]

As a Meshify S2 user which came out in 2019 and is older than the Meshify 2 which came out in 2021 I'm not liking the look of this case. Something about it seems less premium looking than previous models.

And as pointed out in the conclusion it just looks way too small and compact compared to previous models.

If I were to ever move from my case but still wanted to stay with Fractal I would actually buy the Meshify 2 over this new model.

 

[Hecate91]

No reset button, and a lot of compromises with managing cables for a $200 case.
There is something cheap looking about this case, maybe it's the front panel. I don't care about the RGB fans so I'd probably buy a Meshify 2 compact over this case.

 

[Ruru]

There's 100EUR too much cost for what this case offers.

Other than 20Gbps USB C port on front IO, that front Io is quite castrated(additional pair of Type A ports should become the norm at this point and missing reset button + drive activity led). Else that ARGB hub with web based controls is a great way forward to add RGB software while not adding extra bloatware on users system.

I use the power LED as a drive activity LED on my Corsair 4000D since who needs a power LED, it's pretty easy to know if your system is powered on.

 

[Chaitanya]

I use the power LED as a drive activity LED on my Corsair 4000D since who needs a power LED, it's pretty easy to know if your system is powered on.

This particular case as reviewed doesnt have separate power LED connection just singular Power button so that not possible with ARGB versions only non-ARGB versions include that connection(according to manual). My current Deepcool case has drive activity led and no power led.

 

[Ruru]

This particular case as reviewed doesnt have separate power LED connection just singular Power button so that not possible with ARGB versions only non-ARGB versions include that connection(according to manual). My current Deepcool case has drive activity led and no power led.

Ah, missed that, my bad.

 

[wheresmycar]

Thanks for the review

'Fractal Design Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB' - blimey, could the product title get any longer?

I'm chuffed to see more compact ATX cases these days with all the modern bells and whistles, opposed to the bulky tanks which dwarf everything else on the desk. Shame the price on this bugger doesn’t share the same enthusiasm.

I was kind of hoping more cases would take a leaf out of NZXTs book and shape the PSU shroud to help guide airflow. But wasn’t a huge fan of how NZXT pulled it off by blocking off the front with just two fans for intake and sticking the third on the bottom with that weird looking toilet shaped duct thing, or whatever they call it. Fractals nailed it, the design is nothing short of what I had in mind for NZXTs next attempt - the proper way! Actually i'm surprised how much of a difference it makes with GPU thermal performance. eg. GN sealed off the bottom fan PSU shroud air passage and saw a 4c difference in GPU temps. So its not just a gimmick but a performance-driven feature!

Another +1 for the side PSU dust filter removal... its these little conveniences which make otherwise above standard looking cases special.

More importantly - the chart topping performance, both in the CPU and GPU charts = Thats how you do it in 2025!


@Darksaber we're seeing the Lian Li 217 in the charts but no published review for the case? Or did i miss something?

 

[Fuzzi0n]

These all seem overpriced, even the cheapest one is £130 over here which puts it around a Torrent or North from Fractal, or 2x a bunch of other cases that pretty much match it feature wise. Temps look good though, maybe if it comes down in price a little it'll look a lot more appealing.

 

[_roman_]

I bought the very expensive, very expensive Fractal Design Meshify 2 Dark Tink (they mean the sideglass panel).


It seems the meshify 3 has not a Mesh - Front - door like the meshify 2 has.

Luckily I did not wanted the be-quiet pure base 500 case. Someone else from my family wanted it because it's cheap 80€. What I hate the most about the be-quiet pure base 500 is that i have to forcefully with a lot of force I have to rip off the front cover to clean the mesh. This meshify 3 seems to have the same bad construction.

After checking this picture alone - I lost my interests. I tried to quick check the text but there was no comparision on that picture page about the meshify 2. I assume there is no door anymore.
Only in the 60€ sell price region inlcuding tax and shipping internationally such a front panel is acceptable.

I wanted to buy the Fractal Torrent but it uses non standard fans. I think they were 160x160mm ones.
I wanted to buy the North but price and nearly no improvement.

I wish fractal would make something proper in the price region up to 120€ with a proper mesh sidepanel instead of the glass one, a little bigger as the meshfiy 2 without fans and I would consider buying it.

this looks more like the cheap - very cheap but very expensive sell price - fractal design meshify c.

200€ - hell no. https://www.fractal-design.com/prod...fy-3-xl/ambience-pro-rgb-black-tg-light-tint/

The meshify 3 does not have a Reset button. See this review and also the homepage.
The ASUS Priume X670-P mainboard needs here regularly quite often Reset. Just today I needed 3 times the reset button to get the box booting. Another firmware fault when swichting off the box sometimes since may 2023. I do expect htese days even two buttons on top. RESET / CMOS Reset (or RGB) / Power on Button.

Marketing hoax - read it yourself please: https://www.fractal-design.com/prod...fy-3-xl/ambience-pro-rgb-black-tg-light-tint/

Accessible IO - no RESET
Easy accessible - Rip off with force the front panel to change the fans or clean.

Saved money on building the front I/O with "1x Audio Combo Jack". One 4 terminal headset and mic connector. All my existing headsets are two connectors with 3 terminals each.

 

[vvkvvkvvk]

I wanted to buy the Fractal Torrent but it uses non standard fans. I think they were 160x160mm ones.

140 mm used to be non-standard but in time it got normal. Tbh, 180 mm ones are easy to come across and the case has mounting plates for std 140mms. It's more about the thickness of fans that give their special oomph, but alas, the market is thin (pun intended) with 38 mm fans altogether.

---

Could the reviewer please measure how thick the fans are? The marketing copy doesn't mention that at all.

 

[wheresmycar]

I bought the very expensive, very expensive Fractal Design Meshify 2 Dark Tink (they mean the sideglass panel).


It seems the meshify 3 has not a Mesh - Front - door like the meshify 2 has.

Luckily I did not wanted the be-quiet pure base 500 case. Someone else from my family wanted it because it's cheap 80€. What I hate the most about the be-quiet pure base 500 is that i have to forcefully with a lot of force I have to rip off the front cover to clean the mesh. This meshify 3 seems to have the same bad construction.

After checking this picture alone - I lost my interests. I tried to quick check the text but there was no comparision on that picture page about the meshify 2. I assume there is no door anymore.
Only in the 60€ sell price region inlcuding tax and shipping internationally such a front panel is acceptable.

I wanted to buy the Fractal Torrent but it uses non standard fans. I think they were 160x160mm ones.
I wanted to buy the North but price and nearly no improvement.

I wish fractal would make something proper in the price region up to 120€ with a proper mesh sidepanel instead of the glass one, a little bigger as the meshfiy 2 without fans and I would consider buying it.

this looks more like the cheap - very cheap but very expensive sell price - fractal design meshify c.

I think a hinged front panel (door like function) would be nice providing its easily removable. I often remove mine and take it outside to brush off the dust. Or, absent of door like functionality, if the panel removal process is simple and doesn't require much force, i'd be happy with that too.

... but I see what you mean - those plastic pegs in the image are definitely unsettling. I've had a few cases that use the same method. In fact, I still have my NZXT S340 Elite and removing the front panel, which requires quite a bit of pressure, always feels risky and you end up being overly cautious to avoid breaking off/damaging the pegs. Reviewers (video content - i check a few before pulling the trigger) on the most part, make it look easy but my personal experiences suggest otherwise. The good stuff: to-date none of the pegs have snapped off, so its fully functional but an unnecessary nerve-wrecking experience each time.

 

[Chrispy_]

The original Meshify was a $90 case. You can still buy it direct from Fractal at $99 today, so why is this $220?

It's competing on spec with $100-125 offerings from Corsair, NZXT, Phantekx, Lian-Li, and it looks cheaper and more plastic than most of the competition, but also cheaper and more plastic than its older variants. I particularly despise this type of rear panel with the plastic protruding slot cover on anything costing over $100. It's flimsy, it's annoying to use, and it forces the PSU forwards by 10-12mm, which inevitably robs you of clearance to get your hand in there and change out modular cables.

It's not really that compact, either. So many "regular" ATX cases are this sort of size, The H5 Flow, for example, looks cleaner than this, looks more premium than this, is smaller in EVERY dimension than this, supports longer GPUs than this, supports larger radiators than this, and costs a lot less than this. You need to really like this dated, copied, plasticky styling to want to buy this in 2025.

 

[Sunny and 75]

Sexy looks but the price is out of sorts.

 

[wheresmycar]

Sexy looks but the price is out of sorts.

I agree. I'm kinda digging the white one... looks slick! This guys already posted up on PCPP with a completed build: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/b/cgLscf

The price is definitely problematic. I can't see myself forking out sweat-free $220 (£210) for a PC case. But ive made some crazy decisions in the past

You do get cheaper options. Fractals rolled out a number of variants with premium quality 140mm fans (apparently x3 RGB packs retailing at $80 according to Darksaber)

$140 - Non-RGB (solid panel)
$140 - Non-RGB (TG panel)
$160 - RGB variant
$220 - RGB + Ambience pro (throws in additional case lighting + Adjust Pro hub)

And, $170-$250 for the same number of variants with their larger XL line-up offering broader compatibility (incl. support for 360/420mm rads).

Pulling away from the Ambience Pro offerings and depending on the quality, performance and value of the pre-installed fans, perhaps not the worst investment to consider. On top, excellent chart topping stock performance and i'm digging a couple of those other previously mentioned features. In both offerings, the standard and XL line-up, its the last of the 4 models with lighting across the PSU shroud and around the front panel and with the inclusion of a lighting HUB undesirably drives the cost by another $60. In the least, they should have included the hub and case lighting in all of their RGB variants, simplifying the number of available SKUs and dropping the price across the entire stack. For me its the case lighting combined with the RGB fans that grabs my attention from an aesthetics POV - its a shame the barrier of entry here requires shifting north of $200.

 

[Sunny and 75]

This guys already posted up on PCPP with a completed build: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/b/cgLscf

Even sexier

I'm kinda digging the white one... looks slick!

Count me in!

perhaps not the worst investment to consider.

Yeah, sure.

For me its the case lighting combined with the RGB fans that grabs my attention from an aesthetics POV - its a shame the barrier of entry here requires shifting north of $200.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[NRANM]

The price does seem a bit disproportionate, 140 USD for the non-RGB version isn't cheap but I can give it a pass (personally) as it is still a well designed case overall. Fractal Design have not reinvented the wheel but there is some innovation here. For example, the dual-purpose fan bracket for the front, and the side-sliding PSU dust filter are both great. In a sea of cases that use your bog-standard dual rails for the front fans and rear-sliding PSU filter, this one is one of the few/not many that are different. I'd rather pay a bit of a premium but know that the people who were designing the case actually put some thought into it.

I do acknowledge that the RGB variants are a bit too expensive for what they offer, especially the ambient one, but since I hate RGB, I couldn't be bothered to care all that much.

The dealbreaker here, in my opinion, is the GPU length support. For a modern design that demands this much of a price premium, I would have expected that it would support all available graphics card on the market (i.e. at least 360 mm of clearance). It boggles the mind that Fractal Design put so much thought in this but ultimately fumbled one of the core requirements. This is still a high(-ish) end case so it would make sense that it would be paired with a high(-ish) end GPU, some of which are quite long.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Oh, oh no. FD, why?

Spoiler: Meshify 2

Though I don't love that the tab for the VGPU mount still needs to stick out.

 

[Chrispy_]

Oh, oh no. FD, why?

View attachment 399923

Because charging much higher prices for something is only one of the ways to increase profits.
Another way to increase profits is to reduce the quality and manufacturing costs of the thing you're selling.

Fractal exist to make profit, so they've taken both approaches, padding out the higher cost with RGBLED which we all know is incredibly cheap to implement if you're the OEM. They seem less concerned about competing for market share than they used to, which is why you should avoid them and move on to a company that is actually still trying to give you a product that's decent value.

Less than an hour ago I just moved a workstation from an old Coolermaster Silencio that was destroyed in shipping into a brand new Phanteks XT Pro. That's a £50 or €50 case and it's well designed, has good airflow, and check out the rear panel, at a quarter the price of this Meshify 3...

 

[wheresmycar]

The dealbreaker here, in my opinion, is the GPU length support. For a modern design that demands this much of a price premium, I would have expected that it would support all available graphics card on the market (i.e. at least 360 mm of clearance).

The XL model supports 360/420 rads and GPUs up to 500mm in length but starting at $170 for the non-RGB version https://www.fractal-design.com/prod...fy-3-xl/ambience-pro-rgb-black-tg-light-tint/

Too long for my personal desk space with that massive 575mm case length and a bit hard on the wallet for the price.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Because charging much higher prices for something is only one of the ways to increase profits.
Another way to increase profits is to reduce the quality and manufacturing costs of the thing you're selling.

Fractal exist to make profit, so they've taken both approaches, padding out the higher cost with RGBLED which we all know is incredibly cheap to implement if you're the OEM. They seem less concerned about competing for market share than they used to, which is why you should avoid them and move on to a company that is actually still trying to give you a product that's decent value.

I understand all that, and reserve the right to be sad about it.

 

[Sunny and 75]

at least 360 mm of clearance

This^

Too long for my personal desk space with that massive 575mm case length and a bit hard on the wallet for the price.

Hmm, mid-tower is more than enough.

 

[Onasi]

I wanted to buy the Fractal Torrent but it uses non standard fans. I think they were 160x160mm ones.

180mm and it doesn’t matter - it comes with a bracket for the front so that you can throw whatever standard 120 or 140 fans in there you could want. It’s great. The Torrent is by far the best case Fractal has ever released.

 

[wheresmycar]

Hmm, mid-tower is more than enough.

Yep Micro-ATX and ATX mid-towers is my sweetspot (of late). But I'm a mess... i like them 360mm rads too - sometimes compromises have to be made in the name of aesthetics and more moving parts lol