Fractal Design Era 2 / Lian Li LANCOOL II MESH Performance

Fractal Design Era 2: Era 2 Mini-ITX case; Silver (FD-C-ERA2N-01), Midnight Blue and Charcoal Gray. The original Era is a separate model.

Lian Li LANCOOL II MESH Performance: LANCOOL II MESH Performance (black; the Performance-X version adds USB-C). The LANCOOL II MESH RGB with RGB fans, the white colour and the glass-front LANCOOL II are separate versions; the LANCOOL III and 216 are different cases.

SpecificationFractal Design Era 2Lian Li LANCOOL II MESH Performance
Release year20242020
Motherboard and form factorMini-ITX; 18.97 L volume

A small-form-factor case that accepts only Mini-ITX motherboards.

Fractal Design		—
Graphics cardUp to 326 mm long, 137 mm tall, 48 mm thick; 3 expansion slots; pre-installed PCIe 4.0 riser cable

Fractal says the slidable central wall gives 15 mm of internal flexibility. GamersNexus notes that in wall position 3 GPU thickness rises to 63 mm (3.1 slots) while the CPU cooler limit drops to 55 mm.

Fractal Design		—
CPU cooler and radiatorAir cooler up to 70 mm; 120, 140, 240 or 280 mm radiator on top

The 70 mm limit means low-profile coolers; for more powerful CPUs a 240/280 mm liquid cooler on top is more suitable.

Fractal Design		—
Fans2 × Aspect 12 PWM installed at the bottom; mounts for 2 × 120/140 mm on top and 2 × 120 mm at the bottom Fractal Design—
Power supplySFX or SFX-L

GamersNexus says SFX-L significantly reduces cable space and recommends standard SFX.

Fractal Design		—
Storage4 × 2.5-inch drive mounts

There is no 3.5-inch hard drive support.

Fractal Design		—
Front I/O2 × USB-A (5 Gbps); 1 × USB-C (20 Gbps); combo audio/mic jack; illuminated power button

The 20 Gbps USB-C runs at full speed only if the motherboard has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header.

Fractal Design		2 × USB 3.0; 1 × USB 3.1 Type-C; TRRS audio jack; fan speed button

The USB-C port is on the Performance-X version; other versions add it with a separately sold kit.

Lian Li
MaterialsAnodised aluminium exterior and side panels; FSC-certified walnut top panel; bottom dust filter Fractal DesignSteel; 4 mm tempered glass on both sides

The glass panels and PSU covers are hinged doors that close with magnets; the cable-side glass comes with covers that hide the cables.

Lian Li
Size and weight366 × 165 × 314 mm; 4.6 kg net Fractal Design—
Colours and warrantySilver, Midnight Blue and Charcoal Gray; 2-year warranty Fractal Design—
Case type and motherboard—Mid-tower; E-ATX (under 280 mm wide), ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX Lian Li
Dimensions—478 × 229 × 494 mm (D × W × H) Lian Li
Included fans—2 × 140 mm PWM at the front (600–1200 rpm, 60.56 CFM, 25.8 dB(A)); 1 × 120 mm PWM at the rear (600–1500 rpm, 54.6 CFM, 26.1 dB(A))

PWM fans are 4-pin fans whose speed can be controlled by the motherboard or the case controller.

Lian Li
Fan support—Front: 2 × 140 mm or 3 × 120 mm; top: 2 × 120 mm or 2 × 140 mm; top of PSU chamber: 2 × 120 mm

The built-in hub supports up to six 3- or 4-pin fans; the four-mode button selects fan speed.

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Radiator—Front (multi-way bracket): 360/280/240 mm; top: 240 mm (aligned to the left)

The multi-way bracket places a radiator closer to the motherboard or the front panel; Lian Li warns not to mount a 140/280 mm radiator on the inner side of the bracket.

Lian Li
Component clearances—Graphics card 384 mm; CPU cooler 176 mm; PSU 210 mm; 7 expansion slots Lian Li
Drive bays—3 × 3.5″/2.5″ in the cage; 2 × 2.5″ behind the motherboard tray; 2 × 2.5″ behind the right flip panel; 2 × 2.5″ above the PSU chamber

There is room for up to 9 drives; the drive cage slides on a rail without tools.

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Dust filters—Magnetic top filter, tray-type bottom filter

No separate dust filter is listed for the mesh front panel.

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Optional kits—Vertical GPU kit (PCIe 3.0 riser); hot-swappable back plate; anti-sag GPU bracket

When using the PCIe 3.0 riser with a PCIe 4.0 motherboard and graphics card, the slot must be set to Gen 3 in the BIOS.

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