Outside
So the Era ITX comes in at 325 mm deep 166 mm wide and 310 mm tall. SFF cases are normally compared by their liters for simplicity and the Era ITX comes in at 16 liters which isn’t in the same range as some of the community designed cases like the Sentry 2.0 at 7 liters. Even the NCase is 12.5 liters but 16 liters isn’t bad for a commercially produced case that also has support for a 240mm radiator. Most of Fractal Designs cases are boxy and black with a focus on noise or with a few of their cases they have full mesh fronts for better airflow. The Era ITX is a big departure for them aesthetically but it does still somehow have the same clean and simple design that they are known for. It is an aluminum case with some slight sweeping curves, especially at the top and bottom where it curves out. On the color front, other than the optional mesh fronts for their Meshify C Fractal doesn’t use much color other than their normal black with lots of white accents. The Era ITX comes in a few different colors. The black is called carbon then they have a silver for relatively normal colors. Then they have a gold which I have been seeing more of lately, the titanium grey that I have here, and an amazing looking cobalt blue. All of the color options look great and I think the Cobalt is my favorite but this Titanium Gray is my second favorite. I am surprised they didn’t also include a white as well when that is a relatively normal color and white finally has traction for getting matching components like motherboards, video cards, memory, and even water coolers or heatsinks.
The side view of the Era ITX does show how it bows out at the top and bottom but in addition to that, you can see a bend in the middle along with ventilation holes cut into the side panels along the same angle as the bend. There is also ventilation at the bottom of the case on both sides as well. Without a window option, there isn’t any way to see what is inside and the aluminum side panels also have no visible screws or mounting holes.
The front has a really cool wavy look that shows how the left side has its main curve out at the bottom and the right has it's at the top. The front also has that same angled bend from corner to corner as well. Front panel I/O is all on the left side starting from the middle down. The top is a power button with a status LED at the top. Below that is a proper USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connection for speeds up to 10GBps assuming your motherboard has the header for it. Then below that are two normal USB 3.1 Type-A ports. The audio is combined into one 3.5mm headphone and microphone port.
Around on the back, you can see the waviness as well with the same lip on the bottom left and top right as the front. I love that even the back panel matches the same titanium gray color and back here is where you will find our first Fractal Design logo as well. It sits below the fan vent which goes next to the rear I/O hole. This is an 80mm fan mount and as you can see with the vertical slots it can be moved up or down depending on where you need it. Below the Fractal Design logo is the power plug, as you can see the PSU is mounted inside of the case so they run a cord to the back. Then below that are just two PCI brackets which are black with vents in them. They are held in place with two screws along with a color matched bracket that has one screw holding it. The lip that goes around the back is plastic and near the PCI brackets there is one gap for screw access, there is another above the bottom screw as well, but it is a hole, not a slot so it isn’t visible.
Without a doubt, one of the most unique parts about the Era ITX is the top of the case. I mentioned earlier than depending on what color of case you get that the top is different. Well, they use magnets for swappable top panels. You get a full mesh panel for proper airflow, especially if you are using a top-mounted radiator. Then there is also a wood or tempered glass panel for styling. The titanium gray model comes with a wood panel, specifically a maple which looks amazing. Silver comes with white oak and the rest all come with a blacked-out tempered glass top panel. The wood, in my opinion, is unique and looks much better than the glass. The wood panel has a metal plate on the bottom that allows it to stick to the top with the magnets and it does have a little raise to it to still allow for limited airflow. Under the top panel, the top also has a removable filter as well which is also held in with magnets.
The bottom of the Era ITX, on the other hand, is a lot simpler. This is a plastic panel and it is also color-matched to the color of the case. There is a sticker on the one end with your model and serial numbers. Beyond that, they went really basic for the feet which are wide foam feet.
