Performance Analysis

The front and rear fans in the Meshify C Mini seemed to dish out a similar amount of air to those in other Fractal Design cases we've looked at recently, and noise-wise it was on par too, creating a low hum that was easily drowned out by our CPU and graphics card coolers. As a result, it wasn't surprising to see identical results to the Focus G Mini.

The ample ventilation did allow some noise to spill out of the case, but the benefit to cooling was obvious. Despite their low noise levels, the fans saw off similar albeit slightly smaller cases such as the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX and Antec P50, which have closed fronts. That said, the Define Mini C also performed well, although it was a little warmer on the CPU delta T.

Conclusion

We suspect that, kitted out with more front fans or a large all-in-one liquid-cooler in the same area, the Meshify C Mini would outperform the likes of the Define Mini C thanks to better ventilation. However, out-of-box performance sits on par with its sibling, and thankfully so does price, meaning that if you're after a sub-£100 micro-ATX case, Fractal Design has some compelling options.

However, there's not a whole heap of innovation going on. The case is really just a scaled-down Meshify C, and the fact it's not that much smaller does raise the question of why you'd bother with the Meshify C Mini when the Meshify C costs the same, isn't much bigger, and has better radiator support as well as being slightly easier to build a system into. There are also other ATX cases to consider, that are cheaper, such as the Phanteks' Eclipse P300, which is fairly compact and costs less than £60.

Ultimately, the Meshify C Mini TG Dark Tint looks good and has plenty of scope for high-end cooling options while still offering good out-of-box cooling. It didn't wow our pants off, but the snazzy front section, tempered glass, and ability to house a high-end system mean it should at least make your shortlist if you're looking for a micro-ATX case.