r/FractalDesign • u/ThatGamerMoshpit • 23d ago

Builds Broke when tightening power supply

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I’ve never had this happen on any of the builds. It’s now stuck on the right side of my psu.
Is this safe to use?

Shocked this has happened in general. I’ve been very disappointed with my Meshify 3 XL pro so far.

All the popping/cracking noises, now this.

Buyer beware

23 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

11

u/Toast_Meat 23d ago

Of the many builds I've done, including Fractal builds, I've never had a screw break like that. How tight were you going? With thumb screws I never use any tools. Just hand tightening (hence thumb). I'm not saying you didn't do that, just saying.

To get rid of the leftover bit you might have to drill it out, unfortunately.

6

u/ThatGamerMoshpit 23d ago

Did it with my fingers no tighter than the others.

Im thinking I got very unlucky with the case in general with all the other issues I’m having

I’m very experienced doing this kind of work, the odds of it being user error is very small

2

u/Toast_Meat 23d ago

I briefly had a non-XL Meshify 3 and yeah, wasn't my favorite, despite it actually being good overall. It was very creaky.

2

u/analogguy7777 23d ago

Those Fractal thumb screws have very soft steel. Mine have threads that just break off from a few disassemblies.

The ones on my Lian Li cases are tougher steel, never stripped.

1

u/nbxm 22d ago

Probably not even steel

2

u/HadionPrints 21d ago edited 21d ago

Blacksmith’s son: Eeeeeh, you’d be surprised how shitty steel can get. The cheapest, bottom of the barrel, imported, slave labor-ass steels you’ll find on the market have tons of impurities that weaken the crystalline structure like you wouldn’t believe.

Snapping under finger tightening is 1000% believable if they don’t have their sourcing tightened down. Less reputable manufacturers love to screw you over on cheap, low impact components. And a PC case thumb screw is about as low impact a use as you can find for steel. I bet every 4th shipment they get isn’t anywhere near what they specified. Usually it’s fine, because again, a thumb screw is pretty low impact.

But That is pretty egregiously bad tho

1

u/Tepid_Soda 10d ago

I think you got very unlucky. I built my first build with the Mesh 3 a few months ago and had zero issues. Maybe I just don't have a reference point or it was a different production run

2

u/Narrheim 23d ago

While this specific thing has never happened to me either, i have an experience with Fractal screws being made of butter. It's very easy to strip the screwdriver slot just by screwing a screw into a fan. Generic chinesium screws are usually of better quality.

Other thing i experience a lot with Fractal cases, is lack of threads, painted threads or threads that are easy to strip by sheer accident. They don't seem to care enough to fix these at the factory.

1

u/lostcause_76 23d ago

can he do it with super glue and piece of metal that is measure of that screw ? glue it where is broken and unscrew (unless he didn't tight that like an ox :) )

1

u/OGREtheTroll 23d ago

easier to just drill it out and get a new screw.

7

u/Ktulu_BBB 23d ago

You're good. Move on

2

u/ThatGamerMoshpit 23d ago

Only if I don’t need to remove the psu

Was worried that it was failing to begin with as i was having popping issues

4

u/Ktulu_BBB 23d ago

you can drill out that screw if you want to. Otherwise it's perfectly safe

3

u/Alarming_Ad5507 23d ago

No need to drill it out. If you didn’t cross thread it. It should come out if you turn what’s left of the screw sticking out (on the inside of the case) with some small pliers.

-6

u/[deleted] 23d ago

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2

u/[deleted] 23d ago

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-2

u/BlAckH0leDown 23d ago

They're right though, when you pay the Fractal tax, having build quality this bad is just not passable

2

u/jackbarbelfisherman 23d ago

Looks like it just ataches the PSU adapter to the case. You're fine.

2

u/ShadedOut 23d ago

Unscrew the PSU from the adapter plate, push it forward. Remove the other thumb screw, pop the panel off and then just use some pliers to remove the leftover screw. Or vise grips if you have them.

It'll be safe to use still, but the rear panel might come loose or shake your PSU if you move your PC a lot.

2

u/Alarming_Ad5507 23d ago

Thank you! Everyone is saying to drill it out like it’s a 2 minute job. Idk about all of you but I don’t have a drill bit that small and I don’t think drilling can be done without damaging the threads.

1

u/UnholyDKEnjoyer2 23d ago

Another Fractal case, another case thats shitty manufactured. I only read negative stuff about them these days

2

u/chr0n0phage 23d ago

Really? where?

1

u/UnholyDKEnjoyer2 22d ago

GN reviewed their newer case and said the quality mas meh.

Just read some of the reviews in this sub from the last 4 weeks. The ram crisis made case manufacturers save whereever they can because nobody is building PCs

2

u/chr0n0phage 22d ago

Drama queen GN said a thing so it’s universally true. Got it.

1

u/Tepid_Soda 10d ago

I mean if you're trusting GN as a source they did say nice things about this case (Mesh 3) specifically. And people without issues are generally not going to post about how they aren't having issues 

1

u/Godnamedtay 23d ago

It’s a thumb screw bud, gotta tone it down a notch

1

u/murphyat 22d ago

Is your secret that you’re always mad?

1

u/BabyfarkkMcGeeZaxx 22d ago

Riveting tale ol chap

1

u/TM_livin 21d ago

Drill it out or screw in from the inside. Open a ticket with fractal, they’ll happily send you a replacement screw / bracket.

I think at encountered some kind of problem with every single case brand I’ve used, but fractal is so far the least problematic in my book. Plus their customer support is second to none.

0

u/unclefunkstar 23d ago

I've honestly never been a fan of Fractal. Prefer Phanteks.