Fractal is releasing a new Era ITX PC case with a slatted wood panel

When I ordered more wood panel PC cases, I didn’t realize we’d be getting another one soon; Wednesday, Fractal, a maker of gaming PC cases, announced The next two small cases, one of which includes a slatted wood panel – but it’s also expanding its product line to include gaming chairs and gaming headsets for the first time.

Its first gaming chair, the Refine, looks much closer to a Herman Miller chair than something from Secretlab. But the mesh seat back is as tall as a traditional gaming chair, and has the same ergonomic features built into modern, high-end office and gaming chairs.

It has adjustable lumbar (lower back) support, a head pillow, and 4D armrests, or armrests that have four points of adjustment: height, swivel, forward/back, and closer to or farther from your body. The chair can also recline and lock into 13 different positions, and if you don’t like sitting on mesh fabric, there’s a solid, padded fabric version.

Refine will be available worldwide sometime this summer in five different variations: light or dark mesh, light or dark solid, and dark canvas. Alcantara fabric. The standard versions will be priced at $549.99, a similar price to high-end gaming chairs from competitors, but the Alcantara version is much more expensive at $899.99.

The most distinctive feature of Fractal’s first gaming headset, the Scape, is the included wireless charging stand. Most gaming headphone companies sell pads separate from the headset itself, but I appreciate that Fractal includes one with their headset because it takes the guesswork out of finding a compatible third-party device.

Obviously, the included stand is not enough to make a purchasing decision, as the quality of the drivers is what matters most. (If we get our hands on this headset, we’ll tell you what it’s like.) But the Scape headset does have some quality-of-life features, like a detachable microphone for muting.

It also supports connectivity through Bluetooth 5.3 and a low-latency dongle. Fractal didn’t explicitly mention it was a 2.4GHz dongle in its press release, but that’s a popular wireless option for gaming headsets. The company also hasn’t mentioned anything about battery life, but if it can last at least 30 hours to match something like the SteelSeries Arctis 7P Plus, that would be ideal.

Fractal’s first gaming headset will be available later this year for $199.99 in two colors: light and dark.

Fractal’s Era 2 is a redesign of its Era ITX case for small gaming PCs. Instead of an all-metal body, the magnetic top panel is made of walnut and has more than a dozen ventilation holes running almost its entire length. (It’s reminiscent of one of the other wood-accented cases, north.) Fractal says this new design helps keep the case cooler than the original era, which it still sells; This comes with either a solid wood panel or tempered glass, and its ventilation runs around its outer edges rather than the panel itself.

The Era 2 also has four additional vented sides, and the rest of the panels are made of anodized aluminum and slide in one piece. It can also accommodate graphics and water-cooled cards up to 12.8 inches (326 mm) long. Fractal didn’t say in its press release how wide a GPU it supports, nor how many liters by volume, but given that the previous era supported dual-slot graphics cards up to 11.6 inches (295 mm) long, and has a volume of 16 liters, I’d be Surprised if the new version doesn’t happen.

It will be available later this summer for $199.99 in three color options: silver, charcoal gray, and midnight blue.

New fractal Mood state It has a completely different vibe compared to the Era 2. It’s taller, is cloth-wrapped, and doesn’t look like a typical gaming desktop at all, but it has some of the same design features as the Era 2. The fabric panels slide out in one piece, accommodating graphics cards up to 12.8″ inch (325 mm). Again, Fractal didn’t mention the thickness of the GPU, or the liters of case size, in its press release.

There is also a 180mm fan located at the top of the case that pulls hot air up and out; Based on my experience with similar pre-designed PC cases in the past, the Mood should expel hot air just as effectively as a traditional case.

It will be available on June 18 for $149.99 in two colors: black and light grey.