Fractal Design Terra: 10 litres for high-end GPUs as well

Exterior

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Basic parameters

Exterior

The Terra came packaged in a cardboard box with a cloth sleeve inside. There is also cardboard padding inside for safe transport. The cardboard version does not make a mess, as is often the case with polystyrene. In addition to the actual hardware installation accessories, an envelope with a sketch of the case is included. Not forgotten is the comprehensive manual, in which everything about the case and its options is detailed.

The whole case has a simple yet elegant look in the shape of a cuboid. The anodised aluminium with a three-colour finish (black, white and jade green) in combination with the wooden element also makes the case a piece of furniture for the modern home. The majority of the case is perforated, which makes it easy to draw air from its surroundings. This is also helpful when already heated air escapes outside.

Both the right and left side panels are held in hinges directed horizontally. The advantage is that they can be easily swung upwards by pulling them from the bottom. They will go through more than 180 degrees, so they can hold open. A plastic stop at the back of the side panels serves to support them and also prevents unwanted collision with the top of the case when opening. The closing method is the now well-known ratchet mechanism from Fractal Design. By overcoming the resistance, the ball tabs fit into the holes on the structure. In this way, they are held firmly in place until you open them again.

   

The side panels can be removed from the hinges for better access during installation. Simply pull the lever at the back of the hinge from the inside and the side panels can be removed. Hitting the rod back into the hole was rather a matter of luck on the first attempts, but later it goes pretty easily.

There are the same milled holes in the top panel as in the side panels. Of course, this part can also be easily removed so that components can be fitted inside. Pulling the panel backwards removes it and, conversely, sliding it forwards makes it snap in with the rest of the case. As it holds firmly in position, there is a faux leather handle at the back for easy removal.

The full front panel catches the eye at first glance. While much of the case is just machined aluminium, you can feast your eyes on the walnut wood incorporated into the case at the bottom. The case’s I/O panel is also precision-fitted into it. If you were expecting extensive connectivity from a case priced at over 200 euros, you will be disappointed. Aesthetics takes precedence with Terra. The panel offers only two USB connectors, one type A and the other the faster type C. The power button is also made of aluminium with a polished company logo. It is activated by a short track accompanied by a weaker tactile but instead strong acoustic response.

   

On the back of the case, you will find slots for the motherboard I/O panel and the graphics card. They are complemented by a power input and the handle.

The front and back are complemented by non-slip pads on the underside to hold the case firmly in place. There are also grille holes all along the bottom of the case. In addition to bringing in ambient air, the grilles will serve you well for cable management.

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Interior layout

The inside contains more cables than it may appear on the outside. Two are routed from the front I/O panel and the other two are extensions. One is for power and the other is for PCI Express, which is for the graphics card. The latter interests us the most though, due to a recent issue with the PCIe extender in the Ridge case. The connector extension had a problem working in PCI Express 4.0 interface. The extension in Terra should be equipped with the same standard. I hope nothing like this will happen again. If for no other reason than that the problematic piece was composed of two parts. Here the extension cables are from one piece.

   

The tray located in the centre of the case is also the most adaptable part of the case. Longitudinal holes on the case floor allow the tray to move in a precise 29 mm range to the left or right. This creates the necessary space for the graphics card or CPU cooler, unfortunately not both at the same time. This span is divided into seven positions to which the exact height of the graphics card or CPU tower cooler is defined.

The orange clips ensure that the tray is stable during transport, even if only in one position. If you don’t have the tray with the components in the position marked with the number four, then only well tightened screws will help.

   

The maximum height of the graphics card can be 62/72 mm (depending on its depth). The height of the CPU tower cooler is 77 mm. Both values are dependent on each other – while one is gaining millimeters, the other component is losing them. Thanks to this, even with such small case dimensions, you are not completely limited to certain hardware and can combine them with each other.

The entire case can be disassembled even more than necessary for installation. The thickness of the aluminium side panels hovers around two millimetres, while the steel tray is thicker. Specifically, 2.6 millimetres. This makes even such a small case sturdy. Slight bending occurs when pressure is applied to the perforated parts. Because of the holes there, they are weakened, so this is acceptable.

   

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Mounting

For easier installation, be sure not to skip the step of fitting the graphics card into the removed frame with an extended PCI Express cable. I ignored this step and mounted the graphics card into this extension when it was bolted to the case. I was prevented from installing the graphics card 100 percent by the chassis structure – couldn’t fully tighten the locking screws for the card. You can fit a Mini-ITX motherboard right away, it won’t interfere with anything.

   

You can place a 2.5″ storage drive behind the front panel. Two Velcro pull-tabs simply grab it and won’t let go. Simple yet effective. Care must be taken to ensure the correct orientation of the storage connectors. From the back, on the right side, the power cable is routed. You won’t be able to plug the storage through that.

Another position for 2.5″ storage is on the floor of the case. The storage screws onto the bracket from the accessories. You then secure it into the holes in the floor with the hook and screw in the pre-prepared hole. It’s easy to hit the right one even with more holes. If you just need one storage drive in the position directly behind the front panel, you can also use the floor for a 120mm fan. There are pre-made holes for it as well.

   

To complete the installation, the only thing missing is to install the power supply, or the graphics card. Due to the compactness of the case, it is possible to fit only SFX or larger SFX-L format power supply. The placement of the connector in the power supply played in my favor. It was on the opposite side to the front panel and so the extension from the case plugged in without difficulty. If the power supply connector had been closer to the panel, plugging in the power extension would not have been a cakewalk. Its stiffness and cable length would not have been helpful.

You can mount a graphics card into the case only up to certain dimensions. Its maximum length can be 322 millimeters, which is still a great value for such a small case. The bigger limitations come when it comes to the depth of the graphics card, which changes with the position of the tray depending on its width.

On the graphics card side, there is also an option to place a 120 mm liquid cooler radiator. However, in this scenario the graphics card cannot be longer than 200 mm and also the 2.5″ storage drive can’t be installed on the bottom side.

   

You need to be patient with the installation, especially with the cable management. Even if the case is open when mounting, every inch counts when closing it. Thanks to the three Velcro pull-tabs and the holes in the floor, even longer cabling can be secured as needed. But I can’t imagine what the cabling would look like if an additional 120-millimeter fan was placed under the power supply.

   

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Test methodology

The case is not equipped with any fan that could help with cooling. But it does have one dedicated position for it. Right under the power supply, on the side where the cables come out of it. But the large vents on the side panels, bottom and top provide ambient air directly to the fans mounted on the coolers. Their disadvantage is that they significantly increase the noise level for fans mounted close to the perforations.

Since it doesn’t have system fans, the noise is measured on the CPU cooler.

Testing is done in a home environment where I strive for the most accurate results possible. In the room during testing, the air temperature in front of the case is 23 degrees Celsius and the minimum noise level I can measure with the Voltcraft SL-100 noise meter is 32.4 dBA. The sensor of the noise meter is aligned to the center of the top of the case at a distance of 10 cm, for the best measurement of the speed difference of the fans, which I change using the motherboard. For easy comparison to other cases, they are always regulated to fixed noise levels.

Individual components are heated for 10 minutes in FurMark synthetic stress tests and with Prime95 (custom settings) at the same time. This time is long enough to allow all components to warm up sufficiently. There are then 15-minute cooling breaks between tests, during which the component temperatures (and the case air temperature as well) are brought back to default.

Noise mode levels:

• 36 dBA
• 39 dBA
• 42 dBA

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

CPU and GPU cooling tests

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Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Motherboard cooling tests

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Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

SSD cooling tests

Well, here we have something from Fractal Design to test again, something that goes beyond the usual formulas. The Terra case falls into the SFF (small form factor) category, but unlike many similarly sized solutions, there is room for a large graphics card. This makes the Terra an attractive small case for a gaming PC or a workstation reliant on the power of the GPU. But all this is traditionally discussed in more detail.

Conclusion

Test results for such specific and small cases will vary considerably. This is also the case when comparing the Ridge and Terra cases. The newcomer did lag behind significantly, which is partly due to the vents. At higher speeds, these also increase the noise level of the case significantly. When the side panel was moved away from the CPU cooler fan, the noise level was reduced by 3.5 dBA to 38.5 dBA at the 42 dBA level tested.

But the worse test results are compensated by the high level of build quality of the case. Carefully machined aluminium and walnut wood make up the exterior, which makes the case captivating at first glance. The thickness of the panels, both outer and inner, is more than double what is usual for sheet metal cases. Inside, there is an elegantly designed tray with the ability to adapt to a graphics card or a CPU cooler.

Fitting the components was relatively easy and would have been easier if I had followed the procedures in the detailed manual. The only thing you don’t learn there is how to efficiently solve the cable management. You have to figure that out on your own. But it is greatly simplified by the ground floor of the case with the grille holes. Combined with the Velcro pull-tabs, you can tailor your cable management to suit your needs.

With its unique modern look, Terra is an elegant case but also a decorative accessory in the home. The high build quality also makes it one of the premium cases. The vents along almost the entire exterior give it the space not to need system fans, albeit at the cost of weaker cooling performance. The perforation is also its shortcoming, for which we gave the case the rating “Approved”.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

• Contents
• Exterior
• Interior layout
• Mounting
• Test methodology
• CPU and GPU cooling tests
• Motherboard cooling tests
• SSD cooling tests
• Conclusion