System construction
As is the case with most ITX cases, the Ridge can be made pretty “bare” thankfully. Besides the obvious things like the side panels, the multi-part lid and base can also be separated from the skeleton of the case with a few screws.
This way, you can easily get to everything and the installation of the components should go without major difficulties. I have installed and removed everything several times (more on that in a moment), the following is the order I would recommend:
- Remove center brace with riser card
- Install CPU, RAM, M.2 SSD and processor cooler from the motherboard
- Connect the EPS cable for the power supply of the CPU to the mainboard
- Install mainboard
- Connect front IO cable
- Install power supply unit
- Cable management with cable ties on the various eyelets
- Reinstall center brace
- Install graphics card
I chose the upright position, but you can also run the case lying on one side. Offers well for systems in the home lowboard under the TV and also looks chic.
Overall, it was surprisingly easy and painless to turn the Fractal Design Ridge into a little powerhouse. I have struggled a lot more with other ITX cases. However, with a volume of around 16.3 liters including the stand and in the upright position, the case already belongs to the larger representatives among the ITX options here.
This is how my finished system looks like, the following hardware is installed here:
- Processor: Ryzen 7 2700X (120W limit)
- Cooler: Noctua NH-L12S
- Mainboard: MSI B550i Gaming Edge WiFi
- Memory: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport
- Memory: 512GB Kingston A2000 M.2 SSD
- Graphics card: Asus GTX 1060 6GB Strix
- Power supply: Fractal Design Ion SFX 650G
Unfortunately, the whole thing was not quite problem-free, because the motherboard used here has a slightly higher CPU socket than other ITX motherboards, as shown here:
This in turn results in the NH-L12S, and at the same time the largest air cooler that fits in this case, protruding a bit above the motherboard and colliding with the power cable holder.
I have communicated this problem to Fractal Design in advance, so I would like to see the reference to this motherboard-cooler combination on the manufacturer’s site as well. However, by letting the extension cable hang out of the back of the case like a little tail, you also avoid the problem.
But you should also pay attention when choosing the power supply so that the connection fits. My bequiet! SFX L Power, for example, has the power connector in an orientation that makes it impossible to use this model in the case. However, with most popular SFX power supplies like the Corsair SF or Cooler Master V-Series, it fits. And the models from Fractal Design themselves do not cause any problems either.
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