The manufacturer Fractal Design has become an indispensable part of the case market. With the focus on simple and timeless cases, whose main feature is noise reduction, Fractal Design has been able to celebrate many successes with the Define series. This is also reflected in the fact that the series is already in its seventh generation. But the airier Meshify has also been able to celebrate great successes so far. In the summer of 2022, the manufacturer took this as an opportunity to shrink the Meshify 2 to the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini, which we have in review for you today.
Visually, the Meshify 2 and the Meshify 2 Mini are hardly distinguishable at first glance, as Fractal Design has hardly changed the look of the new mini tower. Otherwise, the airy design with a mesh front, a side window, and the choice of a black or white variant remain as well. One big difference, however, is the form factor. As you can already guess, the Meshify 2 Mini is a mini tower. Where other differences lie, you will learn in the next chapters.
Technical details
| Model: | Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini |
| Case Type: | µATX/ Mini Tower |
| Dimensions: | 205 mm (W) x 406 mm (H) x 396 mm (D) |
| Weight: | 6.62 kg |
| Material: | Steel, plastic, tempered glass |
| Color: | Black |
| Front connectors | 1x USB 3.1 Type-C, 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, 1x headphone, 1x microphone |
| Drive bays: | 2x 3.5″/ 2.5″ 2x 2,5″ 2x 2.5″ (optional) |
| Expansion slots: | 4x horizontal |
| Form Factors: | ATX, mATX, ITX |
| Ventilation: | Front: 3x 120/ 2x 140 mm Rear: 1x 120 mm Lid: 2x 120 / 2x 140 mm Bottom: 1x 120 mm |
| Radiators: | Front: 1x 240/ 280 mm Rear: 1x 120 mm Lid: 1x 240 mm |
| Max. CPU cooler height: | 167 mm |
| Max. Graphics card length: | 331 mm (with front fan), 306 mm (without front fan) |
| Max. Mains length: | 200 mm (without HDD cage), 165 mm (with HDD cage) |
| Cable management space: | 15 – 25 mm |
| Price: | € 111.36 * |
| Features: | Dust filter, Cable management, 2 (1x 140 mm, 1x 120 mm) pre-installed fans, Tempered Glass |
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini review: The package contents
Fractal Design packages the Meshify 2 Mini in a box made of plain brown cardboard. In addition, technical drawings, elementary features and all technical specifications have been printed on the outer cover of the box using black ink. Inside the packaging, the manufacturer uses two blocks of conventional Styrofoam and a protective film to protect the mini tower from damage during transportation.
Fractal Design stows the mounting accessories in a small box placed inside the HDD cage inside the case. This includes a pouch with all the necessary screws as well as some cable ties, detailed mounting instructions, a card with warranty information, and a microfiber cloth. Also, the included accessories include three pre-installed dust filters and two pre-installed case fans.
Exterior impression
In terms of body, the Define 7 Mini and the Meshify 2 Mini are identical. Where this does not apply, however, is clearly in the design of the front panel. Typical for the Meshify series, this consists of a large mesh grille, into which a dust filter has been incorporated. The grille is surrounded by a slightly protruding frame made of black plastic. If you pull on the silver logo plate in the lower area, the mesh grille can be opened and removed like a door. Behind it, the pre-installed 140 mm case fan is revealed.
Of course, as befits a meshify case, the lid also features a large mesh grille. The remaining part of the lid is made of steel and can be pulled upwards if necessary. It is locked in place via a push-pin mechanism. Without the lid, you have a clear view of the fine textile filter as well as the mounting area for fans or radiators. To simplify the assembly, this frame can also be completely removed by means of two screws.
Also in the lid we find the I/O panel. This has a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, a headphone and microphone jack, respectively, as well as a power and reset button. Compared to the Define 7 Mini, the Meshify 2 Mini lacks two USB-A 2.0 ports.
The left side panel of the Meshify 2 Mini is made of a tinted Tempered Glass with a thickness of 2.9 millimeters. Again, it is attached to the body via push pins. A small handle on the upper back still allows for easy removal. The panel can be additionally secured for transport via a screw on the front. The right side panel is made of a 0.8 millimeter thick steel and also has push pins as well as the handle at the back.
The back of the Meshify 2 Mini shows a typical appearance for a current mini tower. The PSU is placed at the bottom and slides into the body from the back over a modular steel frame. Above it, we find four ventilated PCI slot bezels and another ventilation opening to the right of the bezels. In the upper area of the back, we can also discover the second case fan with a frame width of 120 millimeters.
The bottom of the Meshify 2 Mini is dominated by a huge dust filter made of a fine mesh fabric, which can be easily removed to the front for cleaning. It is supposed to filter the air for the PSU as well as an optional 120mm fan in the bottom, which you can mount when the modular HDD cage is removed.
Interior impression
For those who have already read our review of the Define 7 Mini, the interior of the Meshify 2 Mini should look very familiar. As mentioned earlier, both mini towers have an identical layout.
Thus, we also find a large main chamber with room for µATX motherboards as well as a smaller PSU chamber. The mainboard tray is, with the exception of the cable channel on the right side, flat and has four rubberized cable management openings. Furthermore, there are no HDD cages in the front area, so the front fan can move air into the interior unhindered. Fractal Design also uses the obligatory cutout for backplates here again.
The power supply chamber at the bottom is separated from the main chamber by a steel bezel. In addition to a stamped manufacturer logo, the bezel has two more cable management openings, one of which has a rubber sleeve, and more ventilation openings. The latter allow the power supply to be oriented with the fan facing upwards. The front area of the panel is not made of steel, but has two modular plastic plates that can be removed. This is necessary, for example, if a radiator is to be mounted in the front.
Below the cover in the PSU tunnel we logically find the mounting place for the PSU. However, the PSU is mounted from the back via the modular mounting frame. Additionally, the manufacturer equips the support surfaces with small rubber elements to achieve a decoupling effect. Furthermore, you can see a modular HDD cage made of steel, in which two steel frames have been fixed.
On the back of the motherboard tray, the manufacturer completely omits eyelets for cable ties. Instead, six Velcro cable ties are used. These are reusable and thus save the environment and your nerves in case you forget a cable harness. On the left side we also find a recess, which is supposed to serve as a cable channel for the 24-pin ATX and I/O panel cables.
As with the Define 7 Mini, the Meshify 2 Mini can also mount up to four data carriers. For this purpose, we find two 2.5″ frames for SSDs at the back of the motherboard tray. Furthermore, the HDD cage offers space for two 3.5″ or two 2.5″ SSDs via larger frames. In all cases, tools are necessary and only the 3.5″ data carriers are decoupled. Optionally, the top of the PSU bezel offers two more mounting points for 2.5″ SSDs. However, corresponding frames have to be purchased additionally or shipped from the back to the front.
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini review: Workmanship
As we are used to from Fractal Design, the build quality is on a very high level and does not leave much room for criticism. Thus, there are no sharp edges on the outside or inside where you could cut yourself and the paint is also without flaws in all places. Almost all components, with the exception of the dust filter and smaller attachments, are made of steel with a decent thickness. The same goes for the tempered glass and the steel side panel. The implementation of the push-pin mechanisms for the side panels as well as the top cover also work smoothly and make a durable impression.
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini Review: Component Installation
Now we come to the system installation in the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini review. For hardware, we’re using a AMD Ryzen 5 1400 on a ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus with 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT gray DDR4-2666. The Ryzen is cooled by a Alpenföhn Brocken 4 and is overclocked to 3.8 GHz (1.175 V). A GTX 1060 6GB from Gigabyte AORUS is responsible for the image output. The power supply is handled by the fully modular LC-Power LC550 V2.31 Platinum.
Installation and cabling of our test system was simple and quick. Especially the modular lid made cabling and screwing in the upper part of the motherboard much easier. Furthermore, the pre-installed spacers as well as the cable ties on the back were very helpful. However, due to the rather small depth of the body as well as the PSU cover, the working space is somewhat limited. Especially the HDD cage in front of the PSU made cabling a bit more difficult. In the end, however, we were still able to create a decent system.
Although the Meshify 2 Mini is not exactly big, quite a bit of hardware can be installed in this mini tower. Thus, the CPU cooler may be up to 167 millimeters high and the graphics card up to 331 millimeters long, if no fan is installed in the front. The PSU should not exceed a length of 165 millimeters, otherwise the HDD cage has to be removed. Otherwise, there is 200 millimeters of space for the PSU. There are also mounting options for a 240 or 280 mm radiator on the front. Alternatively, another 240 mm unit can be mounted in the lid.
The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini also comes with two pre-installed Fractal Design Dynamic X2 case fans ex-works. One with a 140 millimeter frame width (Dynamic X2 GP-14) was placed at the front and the version with a 120 millimeter frame width (Dynamic X2 GP-12) at the rear. Both fans are completely black and rotate with a maximum of 1000 (Dynamic X2 GP-14) or 1200 (Dynamic X2 GP-12) revolutions per minute. The connection is made via a conventional 3-pin cable. The use of the PWM variant would have been desirable for the price of the case.
Lastly, we come to the temperatures reached in the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini. During the stress test, Prime95 and FurMark were run for 15 minutes at a room temperature of 20 °C. In addition, the test was performed with two different fan speeds.
Scenario |
Temperature |
| CPU: 50% PWM (950rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) Open-air benchtable (no additional fans) |
CPU: 59.3 °C GPU: 58.2 °C |
| CPU: 50% PWM (950 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) 1x 140 mm 7V (530 rpm) + 1x 120 mm 7V (770 rpm) |
CPU: 66.2 °C GPU: 67.7 °C |
| CPU: 50% PWM (950 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) 1x 140 mm 12V (900 rpm) + 1x 120 mm 12V (1280 rpm) |
CPU: 61.0 °C GPU: 62.7 °C |
The Meshify 2 Mini can easily cool our test system with its two pre-installed fans, and remains pleasantly quiet as long as the fans stay at a maximum of 7V. Overall, there should also be enough headroom for stronger components. Compared to other, already tested mini-towers, the temperatures are a bit higher at reduced fan speed.
What the measured values also show, however, is the potential cooling performance of the pre-installed fans. Both temperatures could be reduced by about 5 degrees at maximum speed. Unfortunately, this also increased the noise quite a bit. At maximum speed, the pre-installed fans are nothing for silent fans.
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini Review: Conclusion
If one is looking for a mini tower that offers a good airflow and space for plenty of hardware, the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini would be a good candidate. Furthermore, the compact Meshify 2 Mini can convince with an excellent workmanship, the Tempered Glass side window and a basically very good equipment (rubber sleeves, modular HDD cage, modular PSU cover, modular lid frame, modern I/O panel).
However, the space conditions under the PSU cover as well as behind the motherboard tray are not quite as good. With a slightly longer PSU as well as mounted PSU cage, a modular PSU is definitely recommended and a bit more patience to be able to stow all cables so that you can close the side panel. The cable ties with Velcro can be very helpful, though.
Due to the Mini-Tower’s shallow depth, front fans or radiators also severely limit the maximum length of the graphics card, so it can be difficult for high-end graphics cards.
The purchase price is € 111.36 * on a similar level as the Define 7 Mini. In return, you get a slightly better airflow, but you have to do without two USB ports in the I/O panel as well as the sleeker look with a closed front made of aluminum. Ultimately, the Meshify 2 Mini is a very good case, but the Define 7 Mini seems a bit more flexible overall. In the end, it’s your own preferences that decide.
Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini
Workmanship
Structure
Features
Cooling
Value for money
91/100
The Fractal Design Meshify 2 Mini is an excellently manufactured mini tower that can convince with a good cooling performance, two pre-installed case fans and a very good equipment package. However, the compact design limits the options for cable management as well as compatibility with long graphics cards.
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