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Fractal Design Epoc XL

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Key specifications

• Motherboard compatibility:
• Front facing connectors: E-ATX up to 275mm
• Rear facing connectors: ATX / mATX
• Graphics card (max length): 425 mm
• PSU max length: 1 HDD Tray: 290 mm max - 2 HDD Tray: 175 mm max
• CPU cooler max height: 176 mm
• Cable routing space: 37 mmm
• Top radiator: Up to 280/360mm
• Front radiator: Up to 280/360mm
• Total fan mounts: 7x 120 mm or 5x 140 mm
• Fans Included: 3x Momentum 14 fans included

The Fractal Design Epoc XL is available in a few different versions. We have been visited by the Black TG RGB Light Tint version but it is also available in these variants:

• Black Solid
• Black TG Light Tint
• White TG Clear Tint
• White TG RGB Clear Tint

A tour around the Fractal Design Epoc XL

If you've already seen the Epoc cabinet, you'll immediately recognize this one. Fractral Design hasn't changed the recipe, but just as the name suggests, they've made the Epoc XL bigger.

The previous version of Epoc measured 447 x 215 x 469 mm, while the XL version now measures 503 x 240 x 509 mm. So it's not a huge jump, but enough to be noticeable and makes sense if you have larger hardware to make room for, or perhaps have ambitions for custom water cooling and would like a little more space to work with.

The design is exactly what Fractal Design is known for, stylish and subdued with clean Nordic lines and without a lot of flashy frills and unnecessary details. Personally, it's the style I prefer, but it's of course a matter of personal taste.

There's a bit of flair in our RGB version in the form of the three included Momentum 14 fans with RGB, which are mounted in the front.

The color is listed as black, but I would say it is a very dark gray. When I hold up other black objects next to the Epoc XL, it is very clear that it is not a completely black color.

I think the color is very nice, but it does annoy me a little that it is described as black when it is clearly not completely black. For me it doesn't matter much, but if you have a clear desire for a black cabinet, then that is not what you get with Epoc XL.

In line with the latest cases from Fractal Design, this one also has a very open design. There is mesh material on the front which allows for reasonably good airflow.

The entire front panel can be easily removed, giving you free access to the three fans behind it. Overall, it is easy to access the interior of the Epoc XL, as all panels can be easily and quickly removed. This includes both sides, the top and then the front, which I already mentioned.

This means that you quickly have plenty of space to work on when you need to get your hardware in place.

The top panel is made of the same mesh material as the front, creating a nice seamless connection there. It's a design element we've also seen on Fractal Design cases in the North series.

The interface is located on top of the chassis in the front, where we get a power button along with two USB Type-A 5 Gbps, a single Type-C 20 Gbps and finally an audio/mic combo jack.

Looking at the interior, there is plenty of space in the Epoc XL. It is an open design with no divisions in the main chamber other than the division down to the power supply and cables at the bottom.

There is room for E-ATX motherboards up to 275 mm and graphics cards up to 425 mm, unless you have a radiator mounted in the front. There is also support for rear-facing connectors on your ATX and mATX motherboards.

The panels at the bottom and back are made with large ventilation holes, so there is a reasonable amount of open space on all sides.

There is room for a 280/360 mm radiator at the top, but it is a fixed panel, so you cannot remove it and install hardware outside the case. However, this is compensated by the fact that there is plenty of space at the top of the case from the top panel down to the motherboard, which makes installation easier.

If you are planning on custom water cooling, Fractal Design has also made room for a Fill port at the top.

Looking at the back, there's also plenty of room to work with. There's a total of 37mm of space for cables between the side panel and the back of the motherboard. We also get plenty of flexible mounting points for cable management. It's in the form of Velcro straps that can be moved around between a selection of attachment points. This provides good and flexible options for keeping track of your cables if you're not the type to just stuff everything behind the side panel.

The lower chamber comes with two mounting slides. They can each be used for either a single 3.5” or 2.5” hard drive. They are easy to remove and if they are not needed, there is space along the full length of the case for the power supply and cables.

The two at the bottom are supplemented by two additional 2.5” mounting sleds, which are located on the back of the compartment divider.

Materials and build quality are all around good and beautifully crafted. There are no sharp edges or anything to be seen anywhere.

Assembly with Hardware

The ample space in the Fractal Design Epoc XL also means that it is super easy to assemble your hardware. This will of course vary depending on how much you need to squeeze in.

In my case, it was our standard ATX AMD based system that was used without water cooling.

It didn't take me much more than 40 minutes to get everything in place. As I usually do, I removed all the panels, which gave me plenty of space to work on.

The extra space on all sides meant that both hardware and cables were easy to get into place. The space at the top was especially nice to have when routing the CPU cables to the motherboard.

With all the hardware in place, there was still plenty of room around the motherboard, which clearly shows the possibility of E-ATX motherboards.

The three included Momentum 14 fans must be connected directly to the motherboard via a PWM and an RGB connector. There is no fan hub included with the Epox XL, as we saw with the RGB version of the Fractal Design Meshify 3, for example.

It wasn't a problem though and everything was quickly connected and up and running. From there, it was just a matter of controlling it via the software used with your motherboard.

Price

Since the Fractal Design Epoc XL is launching on the same day as this review, I have prices from online stores at the time of writing. However, Fractal Design itself states an expected retail price of just under $130. 

Conclusion

With Epoc XL, Fractal Design has met a request from users for the same stylish and beautiful design that we got with Epoc, but now with more space.

Epoc XL is a beautiful and well-designed cabinet with plenty of space and great flexible details that make it easy to assemble a system.

It doesn't have many of the smaller "nice to have" details, like mounting brackets for radiators, etc., that we see on other, more expensive cases. As I said, it's nice to have, but unless you take your system apart on a weekly basis, it's not worth much once the system is assembled.

With the ample space in the Epoc XL, it can also be said that it may not be as necessary as it might be in a smaller cabinet.

We land with a final grade of 9, for a well-built cabinet with good materials, plenty of space and flexible options, all at a good price.

Benefits

• Good space
• Subdued design
• Good materials
• Flexible options
• Good price

Disadvantages

• The black color is not black but dark gray