Fractal Design makes some of the most aesthetically pleasing PC cases out there, and the North XL is a great pick if you’re building a massive powerhouse. Now you can do it with even more style on the inside, as it’s compatible with rear-connection motherboards that reroute power and data cables to the back of the machine.
According to the promo page, the motherboard cutouts on the North XL RC (for “reverse connector”) are compatible with disparate designs aiming for that goal, including Gigabyte Stealth, Asus Back to Future, and MSI Project Zero. You can see the accommodating holes for connections to the CPU and main connection, front case headers, SATA cables, various fans, etc., which still leave a lattice frame in place for the motherboard screw-downs and rear cable routing.
Availability for the new case seems to be limited at launch. B&H is showing the North XL RC with a glass panel in both black and white for $179.99, but it’s “temporarily out of stock” and not expected to be available for at least another two weeks. If you absolutely can’t wait, you can get it on Amazon… for a lot more. (Looks like the scalpers are expanding their operations beyond graphics cards.)
I’m wondering when—or if—the standard ATX version of the North will get the same treatment. That’s the case I’m using for my own PC and I’d love an excuse to throw it into a new one… though I’d obviously need a new motherboard, too. And if I’m doing that, I might as well get a new processor. And after sinking a mortgage payment’s worth of cash into new parts, it would be a shame not to get a current graphics card into the build… which isn’t going to happen. Guess I’ll just wait.