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Yes, Fractal’s Pop Air supports optical disk drives, up to two of them! While this is uncommon for modern PC cases, it is a useful feature for those who still value their optical drive bays.
The right image indicate how you change the mode and colors on the controller. By pressing and holding in the button for 2 second, you can change the mode in which it lights up. By just pressing and releasing the button straight away, you change the color of the LEDs. Note that the Northern Lights mode disables any color change, as it has its own color theme. If I am honest, after the triumph that was the Fractal Torrent ( review here), I was excited to hear that we had a new Fractal case to grace our offices. Better still, the case had Air in its name, signifying that airflow was a priority and that we should expect staller cooling performance. Expectations were here, and hearing that this case was a more budget-oriented offering from Fractal potentially signalled great things for the low-cost PC market.Make sure that the SATA-cable coming from the RGB controller is properly connected to the PSU SATA connector. If this isn't connected or loose, the fans can act up. With the launch of the Pop line, Fractal is truly going all in with the attempt to capture the budget-minded market segment, offering three general sizes: the Pop Mini, Pop, and Pop XL—each with some variations. In this review, we will be looking at the Pop Air RGB, which ships in a slew of bright internal colors. There is also the Pop Silent SKU with a solid front and toned down looks using the same body. As mentioned before, the Fractal Pop is available as the Pop Silent and the Pop Air, with the Pop Silent coming without top fan mounts and with plain front panels while the Pop Air features a mesh covered front panel and top fan mounts to enable additional airflow. If you want silence, the Pop Silent is the case you should look at, and if airflow is what you want, you should look into the Pop Air, at least in theory.
One of the nicer things that we can say about the CPU temperatures we measured (after mounting our platform into the Pop Air RGB) is that they’re only a few degrees worse than average. In fact, they’re right beside the premium-market O11 Dynamic EVO from Lian Li. The top panel features a mesh panel with magnetic tape on its periphery covering a dual fan mount that, like the front panel, supports two fans of 120mm or 140mm sizes. Since space is very tight around the top panel’s 140mm fan mounts, Fractal Design recommends using nothing larger than a dual-120mm (aka 240mm) radiator here.
If the controller isn't working as intended, as in if the fans are dimmed or just don't light up/change color when using the controller, please follow the below steps. Make sure that the fans are properly connected to the fan hub. Note that since this isn't connected in any way to the motherboard, the fans will not change color if connected directly to a motherboard RGB header. If you have done that, you would need to use an RGB software instead or connect the fans to the controller. We'll map the results against some recently tested large ATX cases, some of which have at least a modicum of EATX-board support. Among them are Cooler Master's HAF 500, Corsair's iCUE 5000T RGB, Lian Li's O11 Dynamic EVO, and In Win's N515. Experience a fusion of style and function with Pop Series. Pop Mini Air melds precision engineering with dynamic design, while saving desk space with its smaller footprint. Vividly colored motherboard plate, drive trays and exterior accents (Pop Air RGB TG Cyan/Magenta/Green/Orange Core)
Pop Silent combines quiet performance with a sleek, minimalist design aesthetic. It features a sound-dampened closed front, side panel, and top to help deliver an all-round quieter experience. Its clean appearance and sound-dampening functionality allow Pop Silent to serve as a quietly stylish case for mixed use, productivity, and lighter gaming. Indicates that the fans should be chained together with each other before connecting the last connector to the RGB controller. You then connect the SATA-cable to your PSU. Note that this is only relevant if you are using the controller. If connecting the fans to the motherboard instead, note that the SATA-cable still needs to be connected to the PSU since the power-LED is powered through this. Experience a fusion of style and function with Pop Series. Pop Air brings attitude to airflow, melding precision engineering with dynamic design. USB 3.0* (* USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C add-on available separately), Audio, RGB controller (RGB Versions only)Builders who would rather use the case’s RGB controller will find an ARGB header on the underside of the switch panel... Each of the three RGB fans includes ARGB inputs and outputs, plus three-pin fan inputs and outputs. All outputs are designed only to enable daisy-chaining of these devices, with the original connection leading to a motherboard header. In sum, all this isn’t an argument of poor performance, by any means, but rather that the case doesn't distinguish itself for doing especially well on our thermal and acoustic trials.
We have seen some issues with the RGB controller in combination with the Arctic P12 and P14 A-RGB fans. It seems like no matter how these are connected, if you connect two of them in a row, the third fan will not light up. If you have a mix of these fans in combination with other models, we would recommend mounting the other fans first in the chain and keep these two fans last in the chain for all to function. Pop Air brings attitude to airflow, melding precision engineering with dynamic design. This includes a range of cases with vividly colored motherboard plates, drive trays and exterior accents for a fresh, expressive feel. The functional focal point of Pop Air is at the front, where a honeycomb mesh provides access to fan-powered cooling. As with all Pop Series cases, the front also introduces a neatly concealed storage drawer which can be used to stow away desktop clutter or be replaced to host up to two optical drives.
The Design: A Throwback to Old-School Bays?
If the two above steps are done, you can try and disconnect the fans that are chained together and connect them separately to the controller. If one fan in the chain is faulty, it could lead to all fans in the chain having issues with lighting. In addition to fan cables, the Pop Air RGB includes a SATA-style power input, and header cables for a motherboard power button, HD Audio, and first-gen USB 3. The SATA-style cable powers both the Pop Air RGB’s ARGB controller and its power-on indicator light. (As for the USB 3 lead, most case manufacturers call these "USB 3.0" despite USB-IF’s "USB 3.2 Gen 1" nomenclature.)
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