The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact Lite RGB case test

Interior

There is no let up in the downsizing of cases and it goes on. Now Fractal Design has worked on a simpler version of the Meshify 2 Compact, to which we gave a rare editorial award a while back. The skeleton of the case has remained the same, the materials used have not changed, but in some places, cuts have been made. And in other places, improvements have been added. In our analysis we have looked at the case in the Lite RGB variant.

Interior

The case is designed for ITX, M-ATX and ATX motherboards. Mounting positions (for boards) are properly marked. Surprisingly, there are also changes in the maximum possible dimensions for the graphics card on the same chassis. With the Lite version, it is possible to fit a graphics card with a maximum length of 345 mm where it has improved by four millimeters compared to the full-fledged Compact. The largest possible size for the tower-shaped CPU cooler has not changed from 169 mm (maximum height). The cost reduction has also been reflected in the structural design. The wiring grommet covers are only vertically on the side. Neither the top nor the bottom grommet has them, but this is not something that would hurt the case. What I missed the most was the removable ceiling, which made installing hardware into the case much easier. Even though there is 40 mm from the motherboard to the ceiling, connecting the cables to power the CPU is trickier than with the ceiling removed.

Alternatively, two 2.5″ storage units can be placed on the perforated part of the tunnel via brackets. I may be repeating myself but why not also use this part as additional positions for fans under the graphics card? There are two plastic caps next to the fans. These will allow you to either gain space for a water cooling radiator or open up space for a fan to be placed on the bottom of the tunnel.

The only thing the back is lacking compared to the full-size Compact is three pieces of Velcro strips. The Lite has tightening strips vertically located in the main cable tray. There’s 28 mm of space for them. The other 13 positions are ready to attach cables, for example via the strips in the accessories. Only one thicker cable, namely the one for the CPU power supply, is routed along the back. The 18 mm allotted for this is sufficient. In addition to cable management, the tray also holds two brackets for 2.5″ storage. These are the ones that can also be placed on top of the tunnel.

Inside the tunnel, a compartment with two hybrid drawers for 2.5″ or 3.5″ storage is mounted via screws. The structure can be moved if necessary or completely removed and a single 120 mm fan can be placed in its place. With the compartment, the power supply has 220 mm of space for the body and cables, without it 360 mm.

The entire structure and all components are held together by metal sheets 0.85 – 0.90 mm thick, depending on the measuring point. These are solid as it was the case with other models of this series. There can be no question of bending.

The installation of the components itself was relatively simple and intuitive. Most of the time is spent managing the cabling. There are two cables coming from each fan, one for the motor power and the other for the backlight. These connect to each other to make only one line. I remember assembling the original Meshify 2 Compact case, there “tidying up” the cables was quick and easy.

   

• Contents
• Exterior
• Interior
• Test methodology
• CPU and GPU cooling tests
• Motherboard cooling tests
• SSD cooling test and temperature underneath the ceiling
• Conclusion

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