The image of the gamer and their gaming rig are intrinsically tied to an aesthetic defined by dark cyber-neon colors, LED backlighting, and an abandonment of the subtle. It’s a stereotype that isn’t completely without merit. But just like any subculture, a counter-culture of PC gamers has arisen committed to designing and building rigs delivering the gaming performance that want with the decor-conscious details they need. Fractal Design is one of the more noteworthy brands representing this balance between seemingly disparate communities.
The Mood’s fabric outer body is wrapped in a Kvadrat-style acoustic textile, available in gray and black hues.
The last time we checked in with Fractal Design’s offerings, we found ourselves impressed with their pair of North and Terra PC cases, both which evoked images of Alvar Alto or Arne Jacobsen as an avid gamer building their very own gaming machine. Those machines embodied a Scandinavian aesthetic with a slat adorned front face made with real oak or walnut wood. Their latest edition, Mood, uses a textile wrapped vertical case allowing gamers 360-degree access with a minimal footprint. If those earlier editions were Arne and Alvar, the Mood is reminiscent of Bang & Olufsen in its functional technology draped in a layer of thoughtfully chosen textile that whispers rather than screams.
The vertical PC case design allows for a compact interior layout for the CPU and GPU of the gamer’s preference (if you’re wondering, the Mood can accommodate for a 325 mm graphics card). The Mood is topped with a 180 mm fan, drawing air up through its pillar-shaped body from the bottom, up, and outward to keep the interior temperature at an optimal number.
The Mood isn’t the only new product from Fractal Design designed to harmonize with the home. The Swedish gaming design studio also has released the Era 2, a compact case featuring ventilation across five sides and topped with a solid walnut magnet-fastened ventilation panel up top.
Both Mood and Era 2 are currently available at fractal-design.com, with Mood coming in at $149.99 and Era 2 at $199.99.
