Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB Case Review

The Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB is a solid budget chassis that builds on the design of a prevalent case from a few years ago known as the Focus G. With a similar mesh design and a revised set of modern features; the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB aims to provide a solid PC building experience, at an affordable price point. To see if this case is a good option for budget builds, we tested the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB with an assessment of its features, design and build quality.

The Focus 2 RGB is Fractal Design’s newest addition to the Focus range of cases. It prioritises thermals and airflow and provides more robust support for coolers and fans while accommodating larger graphics cards and SATA storage drives. However, the budget case market has become increasingly bountiful over the years, making it a highly competitive space that makes it difficult for new case options to stand out, something that we’re keen to see the Focus 2 overcome in this review.

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Specification

At a glance, the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB is pretty basic in terms of specs. This case is a mid-tower chassis supporting Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and ATX motherboards. While it would be nice to see space for E-ATX boards based on the size of the Focus 2 RGB, it’s no surprise to see this exclusion. The Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB comes in white and black, with additional variations that come with non-RGB fans for those who prefer a minimalist approach to lighting.

The Focus 2 RGB offers 170mm of height for CPU air coolers and 405mm of space for long graphics cards, which is more than ample for most NVIDIA RTX 4000 and AMD Radeon 7000 graphics cards.

Drive support is an interesting point to touch on, as Fractal Design claims the Focus 2 RGB can house up to six 2.5-inch drives or two 3.5-inch drives. While the case only comes with two mounts for 2.5-inch storage, I’d be curious to see how cable management would work with six drives installed, as cable management space is quite restrictive.

In terms of cooling support, this chassis offers space for up to six fans, two 140mm and four 120mm. Alternatively, those with liquid AIOs can install a 360mm cooler at the front, 240mm on the top panel, or a 120mm cooler at the rear, which is pretty accommodating despite its size.

Pricing-wise, I think the $79.99 MSRP for this case is exceptionally reasonable. Very few other cases below the $100 mark offer this level of build quality and support, making the Focus 2 RGB a solid option for those sticking to a budget.

Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB Design

As a stark contrast to the fish-tank-crazed cases we’ve seen over the past few years, the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB is a more traditional mid-tower chassis with one chamber. This case adheres more to the ‘metal box’ style but offers some nice design qualities, such as the metal mesh front panel and tempered glass window spanning the side of the chassis.

The Focus 2 RGB is definitely a step up in design compared to the Focus G. The mesh front panel, for instance, is entirely built for airflow, compared to the Focus G, which had drive bay/disk bay space at the top. The increased airflow space improves thermals while providing more room for coolers and fans, accommodating modern build configurations.

The rest of the case is pretty simple on the design front, with black colouring on the metal, including the top and opposing side panel. While the overall aesthetic is simplistic, the build quality feels solid and sturdy.

The top panel of the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB has a cutout towards the left side of the case with a mesh covering. This provides airflow for fans or radiators while acting as a dust filter, minimising the risk of dust blockages.

A noteworthy element of this case is the strange PSU shroud design. Fractal Design has opted to cover only the height of the PSU, so the top half of the PSU shroud remains open. This shroud is also attached to the case’s glass panel. While this won’t impact airflow in any way, those looking to minimise cable clutter might not be a fan of this approach, as your power cables will be pretty visible when looking at the case. Despite this, it does make cables more straightforward to install.

You’ll find cable management options and space for any SATA drives on the opposing side panel. The Focus 2 RGB initially comes with four drive mounts: two for 3.5-inch drives and two for 2.5-inch drives. You can purchase more mounts for 2.5-inch storage as an additional accessory, but we are concerned that this will make cable management tricky.

Furthermore, cable management does look quite tight from a design point of view. Because the motherboard tray is pushed so far back to the edge of the case, there’s very little clearance between it and the side panel, so you might have to be more careful with cable management.

Building in the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB

The Focus 2 RGB is a budget case designed to provide an easy and hassle-free building experience with ample room for modern component configurations. We put together an incredible $1200 PC build with this case to find out what it’s like building in it.

Internal Space

Despite being a smaller mid-tower case, the Focus 2 RGB has plenty of room to play around with, supporting Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and ATX motherboards. The board we used for our Focus 2 build was the Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX, which also has an integrated IO shield. The board fit snugly in the case and was secured down by the included motherboard screws.

Installing the CPU cooler was a breeze. The DeepCool AG400 had around 20mm of clearance before hitting the tempered glass. However, the 170mm clearance doesn’t allow for larger designs such as the DeepCool AK620 or Assassin IV, so you’ll be slightly more restricted regarding air cooler choices.

Clerance for the graphics card, however, was much more forgiving. The Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB has 405mm of clearance, about 50-60mm more than the largest cards we’ve looked at, such as the Gigabyte RTX 4080 AORUS Master. The card we installed in this system was the Sapphire Pulse RX 7700 XT, which has a length of 280mm. After installing the GPU, there was plenty of additional space beyond the length of the card, so clearance issues with fans or a 360mm radiator are not a concern.

Radiator and Fan Mounting

The amount of space for radiators and fans needs improvement. Out of the box, the Focus 2 RGB can support up to a 360mm radiator at the front, a 240mm radiator at the top, and 120mm at the rear. Alternatively, this case can house up to six 120mm fans or four 140mm fans.

I’ve said there’s room for improvement because the Focus 2 RGB has a panel on the side of the case reserved for drive mounting, which could be removed to open up more room for cooling. While the increased drive space is welcomed, we feel most gamers would appreciate additional space for fans or another radiator, especially as SATA drives are not as popular as they used to be.

Removing this side panel or redesigning it to provide mounting points for cooling would significantly increase the value proposition of this case, as it could allow future upgrades. I don’t think the amount of SATA drive space the Focus 2 RGB offers is entirely necessary, especially in a market where NVMe SSDs have become so cheap.

The Focus 2 RGB comes with two 140mm RGB fans mounted at the front, which provide additional airflow while saving you some money. However, I feel this case would be a more substantial offering with an extra pre-installed fan at the rear, but despite this, the included 140mm fans are a nice value-add.

Ease of Building

Overall, the Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB offered a relatively easy build experience, which was refreshing considering this is a budget case. Installing all the components was simple, and we felt there was plenty of clearance to accommodate larger builds with more fans and bigger graphics cards.

The main chamber is pretty spacious, and the lack of a top cover on the PSU shroud made adjustments to the cables hassle-free. There are ample cutouts to thread through any wires, and the panelling can quickly be removed to install fans and coolers.

We feel that cable management is the main area most first-time builders and those who haven’t upgraded in a while will struggle with. Because the motherboard tray is positioned so close to the opposing side panel of the case, there’s very little clearance for cables and headers. This means you have to be quite picky with cable placement to ensure there’s no bulging when the panel goes back on.

Moreover, adding any SATA-based drives would complicate cable management further, as the right-angled SATA power connectors tend to jut out, which could cause potential issues when installing the side panel.

Features We Like

Decent IO Selection

The Focus 2 RGB has a reasonable set of IO, including two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and dedicated 3.5mm audio jacks for headphones and a microphone. We often see manufacturers make sacrifices to the IO with budget cases, offering USB 2.0 ports instead of higher-speed options. It’s great to see that Fractal Design still includes USB 3.0 ports despite this being a cheaper case.

Fractal Design offers an additional USB-C upgrade kit, which can be purchased separately from the case. At $9.99, this upgrade seems worthwhile, especially if you’re more likely to use the front IO ports.

Two Pre-Installed Fans

Generally, manufacturers often have to sacrifice some element of the case design or extra features to make it more affordable. However, Fractal Design has made the Focus 2 RGB a highly well-rounded chassis while maintaining a competitive price.

One notable feature is that this case comes with two pre-installed 140mm RGB fans. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Focus 2 didn’t come with fans, a typical quality of other budget cases. Regardless, it’s nice that Fractal Design is saving the end user some money by providing a set of pre-installed fans.

Features We Don’t Like

Restrictive Cable Management

As discussed in the building section, cable management is tighter than in other cases. There’s not much clearance between the motherboard tray and the opposing side panel, limiting how many cables and wires can be tied up and secured in the channels around the back of the chassis.

While the lack of a full PSU shroud does make cable management slightly more accessible at the front of the case, Fractal Design could have done a better job of accommodating those who aren’t veterans when it comes to cables and wiring. Deeper channels or more cutouts towards the bottom of the case would make cable management much easier.

Conclusion

Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB

Product Name: Focus 2 RGB

Brand: Fractal Design

• Features
• Design
• Versatility
• Value For Money

4

Summary

The Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB is a welcome addition to the budget case market. It offers PC builders a high-airflow design that caters to various component configurations. The Focus 2 RGB is one of the strongest budget chassis on the market, coming in well below the $100 mark while providing a build quality and design that we feel is unrivalled at this price point. It has ample clearance for large components, including support for a 360mm radiator and graphics cards up to 405mm long.

My only pet peeve about this case is that cable management could be better. There isn’t as much clearance on the opposing side panel for cables, which restricts the amount of managing you can do behind the motherboard tray to keep things clean and tidy. But despite this, I think the Focus 2 RGB is a well-rounded case. It doesn’t particularly stand out in its set of features or design, but I don’t think it needs to, compared to other cases at a similar price point. If you want a solid, affordable PC case that provides excellent build quality, picking up the Fractal Design 2 is a no-brainer. But if you’re looking for more features or a better design, other cases will suit your preferences if you’re willing to pay slightly more.

Pros

✅ Competitive pricing

✅ Ample component space

✅ Solid airflow design

Cons

❌ Restrictive cable management

❌ Unoptimised cooling space

❌ No pre-installed rear fan