Fractal Design Era modding: can I improve cooling efficiency with a new base socket?
26/12/2020
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Early reviews of the Era are clear as day: a bold and successful design meets poor airflow. But instead of pumping out yet another samey review, I’m going to try and improve the airflow of the Fractal Design case.
It was love at first sight. The Era had stolen my heart back in spring. A simple, yet bold bite-sized design. The wooden top is especially eye-catching. I simply had to use it in my next PC build. However, I quickly realised that the case wouldn’t meet my airflow needs. Is there any way I can make up for that flaw?
A slightly wooden performance
In my quest for better airflow, I quickly notice the base socket. The Era is mostly made from aluminium. The base, however, is made out of plastic. Fortunately, it can be removed. Perfect, now I can replace it with a wooden one. That way I’ll also continue the wood theme from the top.
I cut and routed a new base pedestal in which to place two 120-millimetre fans. These convey fresh air into the housing from below. I screw 18-millimetre feet onto the new base. Thus, the Era is a bit taller than originally, but the fans can blow a lot more fresh air into the case. Check out how I did it and other interesting titbits in the video above (only available in German, sadly).
What my mod is capable of
Why even put in all that effort in the first place? Well, let me show you. I run two stress tests, HeavyLoad for the CPU and FurMark for the GPU. They’ll go for 20 minutes while recording the temperatures of the components with HWInfo64. For a better comparison, I also perform the test with the original base and different fan combinations.
The installed components:
As you might expect, more fans mean lower temperatures. Surprisingly, the CPU temperature on my mod is higher than the stock configuration with two exhaust fans. That’s probably due to the fact that the fans at the bottom transport the hot GPU air upwards. The CPU fan is therefore supplied with warmer air and cannot cool as efficiently.
What now?
Although the CPU does run a bit warmer with the mod than without, I consider my attempt a success. The average case temperature fell when compared to the configuration with two exhaust fans.
And I’m not done with the Era quite yet. I want to improve the case even more and cool the CPU and GPU using water. I noticed that there should be room for a very thin 240 millimetre radiator under the GPU with a water block. I could then cool it with the fans in the base pedestal. I know: since the fans aren’t directly attached to the radiator this way, I’ll lose some cooling efficiency. With a 20-millimetre thick radiator, however, this should play a rather subordinate role.
At the top I’d then place another 240-millimetre radiator, there’s room for one after all. All in all, that’s a total of 480 millimetres. And maybe I’ll craft another new top with wood accents. Let’s see if it works. Don’t want to miss out? Then make sure to hit «Follow author».
Kevin Hofer
Senior Editor
kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.chFrom big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.