My Fractal Terra Build 2023

[wykydtronik]

Hello LTT community! Over the weekend my girlfriend gave me a Fractal Terra as a birthday present! I’ve wanted a SFX case for as long as I’ve known about Dan’s Case… My only complaint about Dans case (me being in the US) was availability and how long the design process took… I watched the C4 case go through a lot of iterations from 2017-2023…

 

Needless to say, I never built a SFX build before. Until I heard about the Fractal Terra, announced at Computex 2023! I actually caught GNexus video about it the week of Computex, and immediately started obsessing over it. My girlfriend got the hint.

 

 

I’m glad she chose the black color, as it goes with my normal aesthetic… I tested out my MSI RTX 3080 Trio, which required removing the riser cable and mount from the case. It was a tight squeeze. While I put it back in, I managed to get the Fractal Terra spine to adjust to the 3rd position. According to the manual, this should allow for up to 67mm of clearance for the CPU cooler…  originally I thought I’d only be able to have the spine set to the 4th position, with the allotment of 62mm of clearance…

 

For CPU cooling, I opted for the Noctua L9a-AM4, which only takes up 37mm of space… I could have gone with a Noctua NH-L9x65 which would have filled that space… Oh well! I already ordered the smaller of the two

 

 

I currently have an open bench frame as a case using a micro ATX mobo… so I had to order a mini itx mobo. I will be reusing much of the components from my original PC, such as the Ryzen 3600, 32GB of DDR4, and the m.2s and 2.5GB SSDs.

 

Also, since this is a new SFX build, I opted for the Silverstone SX1000 Platinum… a bit overkill, but I wanted to future proof this build in case I find a deal on a 40 series RTX card.

 

I’ll update this thread when I receive components to install. Feedback is welcome, I’m mostly writing this build thread for anyone curious about this case.

Edited June 20, 2023 by wykydtronik

[Blqckqut]

5 minutes ago, wykydtronik said:

Hello LTT community! Over the weekend my girlfriend gave me a Fractal Terra as a birthday present! I’ve wanted a SFX case for as long as I’ve known about Dan’s Case… My only complaint about Dans case (me being in the US) was availability and how long the design process took… I watched the C4 case go through a lot of iterations from 2017-2023…

 

Needless to say, I never built a SFX build before. Until I heard about the Fractal Terra, announced at Computex 2023! I actually caught GNexus video about it the week of Computex, and immediately started obsessing over it. My girlfriend got the hint.

 

 

I’m glad she chose the black color, as it goes with my normal aesthetic… I tested out my MSI RTX 3080 Trio, which required removing the riser cable and mount from the case. It was a tight squeeze. While I put it back in, I managed to get the Fractal Terra spine to adjust to the 3rd position. According to the manual, this should allow for up to 67mm of clearance for the CPU cooler…  originally I thought I’d only be able to have the spine set to the 4th position, with the allotment of 62mm of clearance…

 

For CPU cooling, I opted for the Noctua L9a-AM4, which only takes up 37mm of space… I could have gone with a Noctua NH-L9x65 which would have filled that space… Oh well! I already ordered the smaller of the two

 

 

I currently have an open bench frame as a case using a micro ATX mobo… so I had to order a mini itx mobo. I will be reusing much of the components from my original PC, such as the Ryzen 3600, 32GB of DDR4, and the m.2s and 2.5GB SSDs.

 

Also, since this is a new SFX build, I opted for the Silverstone SX1000 Platinum… a bit overkill, but I wanted to future proof this build in case I find a deal on a 40 series RTX card.

 

I’ll update this thread when I receive components to install. Feedback is welcome, I’m mostly writing this build thread for anyone curious about this case.

very nice, what an awesome girlfriend

[wykydtronik]

16 hours ago, Blqckqut said:

very nice, what an awesome girlfriend

I gotta return the favor, perhaps she needs an upgrade to her rig  

 

Just received the Silverstone SX1000 Platinum and the Noctua NH L9a-AM4 in chromax.black. Size comparison to a GamersNexus coaster.

 

Still waiting on the GIGABYTE B550 Mobo… 3 days and it hasn’t shipped yet… not sure why, but it’s expected to arrive later this week.

 

[wykydtronik]

This PSU doesn’t work. Big sad. Even flipping it, I’d need to take the fan grill off. 

 

[wykydtronik]

I wouldn’t recommend this PSU if you want the fans to face the CPU side of the case. The power cord receiver is too close to the edge for this right angle. I managed to flip the PSU to get the cord to work.

 

 

Unfortunately, the PSU inlet has to face the back of my MSI RTX 3080 TRIO… the cord might need to be repositioned to clear the corner of the GPU. Again, I’d look up the ShortCircuit video of this Fractal Terra case and go with the PSU that Adam Sondergard uses in his build.

 

[wykydtronik]

Had to remove the grill, it was pushing up against the bracket and causing it to misaligned.

 

[Blqckqut]

1 hour ago, wykydtronik said:

Had to remove the grill, it was pushing up against the bracket and causing it to misaligned.

 

sad to hear it doesnt work

 

what are u thinking for an upgrade for ur gf?

[wykydtronik]

1 minute ago, Blqckqut said:

sad to hear it doesnt work

 

what are u thinking for an upgrade for ur gf?

I’m going to work with what I got, this PSU should “work” but not in the ideal configuration.

 

As far as gf’s upgrade, I know she needs a gaming monitor and/or new case. She would benefit with a monitor, even if it’s a 1080p 144hz. Her bday isn’t until March, so perhaps Christmas is the next opportunity  

 

So the motherboard finally shipped after 3 days… Thankfully it’s coming from Sacramento, CA. That usually means it will get to Portland in a few days.

 

I went ahead and took my lesser used 2.5 inch 1TB SSD out of my old rig and installed it in its new home. 
 

 

I went ahead and routed the cables and installed the PSU to see how everything fit.

 

 

One drawback from buying an SFX-L in this case is you loose the area below the PSU that allows for an additional 2.5 inch drive or a 15mm fan. I will bottom mount some slim 15mm fans on this case for updraft configuration.

 

[wykydtronik]

 

Update, I received the motherboard in the mail. I decided to start installing the SSD and realized I ran into a little roadblock.

 

 

The SSD wasn’t sitting properly, and I realized that this small nut or offset screw needed to be removed before installing the SSD. The instruction manual, for the motherboard, didn’t specify this. So if you found this page via Google SERPs, this is how you install an m.2 SSD onto your GIGABYTE AORUS B550I PRO AX motherboard.

 

step 1: find a 3/16th socket

 

None of my iFixIt Tool kits contain to 3/16 socket. My tool kit contained the closest metric 4.5mm and 5mm attachments. I ended up having to pull out my Mechanic Gearwrench Toolset that I use for my car to find a 3/16th socket that fit this odd offset screw/bolt. Below are photos of the install procedure:

 

[wykydtronik]

The backside m.2 slot has a similar sized 3/16th offset screw. I had to tighten it down slightly to back off the mounting screw. Just figured I’d make note of that.

 

 

 

Next I plopped in the old Ryzen 3600 into its new home. The old mobo and components will be repurposed for a separate build I have planned in the future.

 

 

The CPU power plug was a difficult one to get, so I had to remove the motherboard and plug it in before placing it back into the case.

 

[wykydtronik]

Next up was shoehorning I’m the MSI TRIO RTX 3080. The clearances for this card are very tight. I even noticed the end of the card barely touched the SSD mounted on the front plate. I had to organize the spaghetti in a way where it could be folded and also not push out against the side panels. This was a challenge, nothing some massaging and/or light heat couldn’t solve.

 

[wykydtronik]

Now that the side panels are on, I plugged in all the peripherals and booted her up. For some reason, I can’t get HWMonitor to launch. It gets stuck in the updating screen at 80% and I can’t End Task…

 

[wykydtronik]

I decided to install Noctua NF-A12x15 fans on the bottom. There isn’t much room between the table surface and the fans. If I had a 3d printer, I’d totally craft little feet to lift the Terra case up maybe 10mm?

 

 

[wykydtronik]

An issue I ran into after the the build, I realized my Front panel USB-C wasn’t working. Only the USB-A port worked. I didn’t realize the front panel Type-E male cable was dedicated to the USB-C front panel. The motherboard I have doesn’t have USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Gen 2x2. It only has the USB 3.2 Gen 1 header. It looks like there is Gen 1 to Gen 2 adapters, but then I’d sacrifice the USB-A front port.

 

Theres all sorts of adapters I could try… I know this Motherboard has a USB 1.1 header… I could sacrifice speed for functionality… Below are some screenshots of adapters I’ve found.

 

[wykydtronik]

Just found a Reddit post from 3 years ago. /u/Hotrodgreyhound needed additional ports for his Asus Rog Helios case. /u/cf18 suggested using an internal USB hub that takes SATA power and enables additional USB 3.0 headers to be added.

 

The first one he suggested is from modDIY and the second is from SABRENT.

 

After digging around on the modDIY website, I discovered the first option that /u/cf18 suggests is at end of life. modDIY actually sells a newer version for USB 3.2. I found this option has various configurations, and the ideal one I could use for my case would be the "19-Pin to 19-Pin + Type-E" configuration! Unfortunately, I won't be utilizing the full potential of the front USB-C header, as Fractal lists it as "USB Type-C 20Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2)"

 

Link to the internal USB 3.2 hub for anyone curious: https://www.moddiy.com/products/USB-3.2-Gen-1-Motherboard-Header-19-Pin-Internal-USB-Hub-Controller.html

 

[wykydtronik]

Today I picked up a 5800X3D based on feedback regarding bottle necking with the Ryzen 3600. I’ve been wanting to upgrade from the 3600 since I built this original AMD system a few years ago. I figured I can repurpose the 3600 and old mobo into a media server or second PC for a dedicated Assetto Corsa setup. Since the price dropped, it made it a good move to utilize the most out of the AM4 platform.

 

 

Also while I was watching Gear Seekers follow up on the Fractal Terra case, he mentioned that the Production release of the Terra included PSU offset spacers. I decided to install these to allow the PSU a little bit more room to build a negative pressure above the fan intake. Below is before:

 

 

And now after:

 

[wykydtronik]

After realizing my FPS was capped in Valorant and Apex, I went ahead and tested them out. The CPU temps were a bit spicy at the stock clocks with boost up to 4.5GHz. I decided to risk it and order the NH L9x65 and cram it in.

 

 

Previously I had the adjustable spine set to “4” but I went ahead and risked it and moved the spine to “3” position. 
 

I also flipped the orientation of the bottom fans to pull air out of the case.
 

This time around, I spent time organizing the wires a bit better and used Velcro cable ties to fold the cables up neater then before.

 

[wulftone]

If you want to flip that PSU around, there are many adapters for power cables available to get it going in the right direction. Or even a replacement cable.  Just gotta get one going the direction you want. See attached screenshots.

[wykydtronik]

20 hours ago, wulftone said:

If you want to flip that PSU around, there are many adapters for power cables available to get it going in the right direction. Or even a replacement cable.  Just gotta get one going the direction you want. See attached screenshots.

Thank you for this suggestion! After looking around at these types of cords, I found a "C13 to C14 Left Angle Power Cord" (left hand 90 rather then right hand 90) which might be perfect for the scenario I'm currently in! When I have time, I will double check measurements before ordering the cord.

[wykydtronik]

Based on wultones feedback, I looked into a few options for the internal power cord. Unfortunately, a left hand C13 to C14 won’t work because Fractal uses a mount design that differs from the standard. 
 

My only option was to try a short turn down extension.
 

If you’re here doing research, I’d highly recommend going with a normal SFX PSU (verses SFX L). I also wouldn’t recommend this Silverstone SX1000 Platinum PSU for this case due to the right hand power cord clearance. This was a tight squeeze, and very unnecessary.