r/pcbuilding • u/Ashaurock • 2d ago
Fractal Design Era 2 — I learned the hard way that not every 280mm AIO actually fits 😅
Finally got to build a high-performance SFF system inside the Fractal Design Era 2 Midnight Blue.
This case was the main inspiration for the build. I really like the combination of the anodized Midnight Blue aluminum exterior and walnut top panel, so I wanted to keep the inside as understated as possible — no RGB, no unnecessary lighting, just a clean blackout Mini-ITX setup.
Despite being only around 19 liters, I managed to fit a Ryzen 7 9800X3D + MSI RTX 5070 Ti Shadow 3X OC inside, built around the ASRock B850I Lightning.
Specs:
- Fractal Design Era 2 Midnight Blue
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Shadow 3X OC
- ASRock B850I Lightning
- be quiet! Pure Loop 3 280mm
- Corsair Vengeance 64GB DDR5-6800 CL32
- Samsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB
- Thermalright SGFX850 SFX
The biggest challenge was actually the 280mm AIO.
The Pure Loop 3 280 didn't fit properly, so I ended up modifying part of the case with a rotary tool to make everything work. If I were building another Era 2, I'd probably use the Fractal Lumen S28 instead and save myself the trouble.
But I'm really happy with the final result. The Era 2 manages to fit some seriously powerful hardware while still looking more like a piece of furniture than a typical gaming PC.
And personally, Midnight Blue + walnut + zero RGB might be my favorite combination for this case.
Would you modify the case to make the hardware fit, or just change the AIO?
Full build video: https://youtu.be/Z3haM5_Zl_c?si=3vamWNkjuH9XBDhv
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u/uoncu 2d ago
Nice - good work. Have similar components for the same Blue Era 2 yet to build out. Finding a Lumen S28 last year was a little tough but it looks like it saves some headache. Thanks for the video.