I don’t know why, but it continues to astonish me just how foolish politicians can be – and how easily persuaded they are by really bad advice from smart but tin-eared advisers. In less than a year, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have squandered the gift of the huge majority won at last year’s General Election on one key issue after another: their response to the genocide in Gaza; wantonly cruel cuts in disability benefits; failing to find creative ways of taxing wealth; dealing with the water companies – and, now, on the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill. On 23 May 23, the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB (with a combined membership of more than 2 million) launched a devastating attack on Labour’s whole approach to streamlining the planning system through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.Advertisement Part 3 of the bill will make it possible for developers to ignore existing environmental protections by paying money into a so-called ‘Nature Recovery Fund’, which will be used to pay for environmental projects elsewhere. Starmer and Reeves have gone out of their way, time after time, to claim that it’s these environmental safeguards that are responsible for delays and blockages in the planning process, even though they know this is completely untrue. According to the Wildlife Trusts, roughly 3 per cent of proposals for new housing are delayed for environmental reasons. As The Guardian reported: ‘the data from analysis of 17,433 planning appeals in England in 2024 found that newts were relevant in just 140 (0.8%) planning appeals, and bats were relevant in 432 (2.48%).’ ‘They pursue this path even though are no polls to show that this is what matters to Labour voters tempted by Reform’ So what makes Starmer and Reeves both stupid and totally dishonest? By all accounts the rationale of their tin-eared advisers is to demonstrate to ‘Reform-friendly’ Labour voters that the environment is as unsafe in their hands as it would be in Nigel Farage’s. That economic growth is all that matters. That caring for the natural world is a middle-class self-indulgence (‘the well-to-do prioritising the nice-to-have’ over the interests of working people). And that pouring as much concrete as possible is self-evidently the best way of achieving that growth. And they go on pursuing this ideological path even though there are no supporting polls to show that this is what really matters to Labour voters tempted by Reform’s populist bullshit.Advertisement So they lie. They dig in. They break promises left, right and centre, ready to die, apparently, in this self-constructed ditch of developer-led deceit. That’s why every single amendment put forward through the committee examining the bill was summarily dismissed by the loyal but lumpen Labour MPs on the committee. These included an amendment tabled by veteran Labour MP Barry Gardiner requiring all house builders to provide a specially designed brick (costing £35) to help cavity-nesting such as swifts, house martins, sparrows and starlings – a measure that Labour in opposition enthusiastically supported! And there’s huge public support for this one small, cost-effective biodiversity regulation. To get a measure of this government’s subservient obedience to the demands of the volume housebuilders, just listen to the words of housing minister Matthew Pennycook: ‘We are not convinced that legislating to mandate the use of specific wildlife features is the right approach, whether that is done through building regulations or a freestanding legal requirement'. It’s all so demeaning. So unnecessary. And now that the mainstream environment movement, urged on primarily by the Wildlife Trusts, has realised just how high the stakes are with this Planning and Infrastructure Bill, it’s reasonable to assume that there will be a much more serious debate in the House of Lords, bringing down on ministers’ helmeted heads the righteous outrage of the entire movement. As we’ve learnt, in less than one deeply depressing year, this is a government that needs to be kicked harder and harder until they get desperate enough to make the pain go away. P.S. If you want to read a brilliant summary of ‘reasons to be outraged’ (and what to do about it), check out George Monbiot’s take on this. Jonathon Porritt is a campaigner and author and co-founder of Forum for the Future This article first appeared on his blog 2025-06-06 Jonathon Porritt comment and share

Launch week is finally here, and though I would love to be bringing you a proper review of the Nintendo Switch 2 right now, I still don’t have one at the time of writing. In its wisdom, Nintendo has decided not to send review units out until the day before release, so as you read this I will be standing impatiently by the door like a dog anxiously awaiting its owner.I have played the console, though, for a whole day at Nintendo’s offices, so I can give you some first impressions. Hardware-wise, it is the upgrade of my dreams: sturdier JoyCons, a beautiful screen, the graphical muscle to make games look as good as I want them to in 2025 (though still not comparable to the high-end PlayStation 5 Pro or a modern gaming PC). I like the understated pops of colour on the controllers, the refined menu with its soothing chimes and blips. Game sharing, online functionality and other basic stuff is frictionless now. I love that Nintendo Switch Online is so reasonably priced, at £18 a year, as opposed to about the same per month for comparable gaming services, and it gives me access to a treasure trove of Nintendo games from decades past.But here’s the key word in that paragraph: it’s an upgrade. After eight years, an upgrade feels rather belated. I was hoping for something actually new, and aside from the fact that you can now use those controllers as mice by turning them sideways and moving them around on a desk or on your lap, there isn’t much new in the Switch 2. Absorbed in Mario Kart World, the main launch title, it was easy to forget I was even playing a new console. I do wonder – as I did in January – whether many less gaming-literate families who own a Switch will see a reason to upgrade, given the £400 asking price.Brilliant … Mario Kart World. Photograph: NintendoSpeaking of Mario Kart World, though: it’s brilliant. Totally splendid. It will deservedly sell squillions. Alongside the classic competitive grand prix and time trial races, the headline feature is an open, driveable world that you can explore all you like, as any character, picking up characters and costumes and collectibles, and getting into elimination-style races that span the full continent. All the courses are part of one huge map, and they flow right into one another.Your kart transforms helpfully into a boat when you hit water, and I found an island with a really tricky challenge where I had to ride seaplanes up towards a skyscraper in the city, driving over their wings from one to the other. Anyone could lose hours driving aimlessly around the colourful collection of mountains, jungles and winding motorways here. There’s even a space-station themed course that cleverly echoes the original Donkey Kong arcade game, delivering a nostalgia hit as delightful as Super Mario Odyssey’s climactic New Donk City festival.Pushing Buttons correspondent Keith Stuart also had a great time with another launch game, Konami’s Survival Kids, which is a bit like Overcooked except all the players are working together to survive on a desert island. (Be reassured, if you generally find survival games hard work: it’s very much fun over peril.)However: I would steer clear of the Nintendo Switch Welcome Tour, an almost belligerently un-fun interactive tour of the console’s new features … that costs £7.99. Your tiny avatar walks around a gigantic recreation of a Switch 2 console, looking for invisible plaques that point out its different components. There are displays with uninteresting technical information about, say, the quality of the console’s HD rumble. One of the interactive museum displays shows a ball bounding across the screen and asks you to guess how many frames per second it is travelling at. As someone who aggressively does not care about fine technical detail, I was terrible at this. It’s like being on the least interesting school trip of your life.And it felt felt remarkably un-Nintendo, so dry and devoid of personality that it made me a little worried. Nintendo Labo, by contrast, was a super-fun and accessible way of showing off the original Switch’s technical features. I had assumed that Welcome Tour would be made by the same team, but evidently not.I couldn’t wait to get back to Mario Kart World, which, once again, is fantastic. I’m excited to spend the rest of the week playing it for a proper review. And if you’ve pre-ordered a Switch 2, you’ll have it in your hands in the next 24 hours. For those holding off: we’ll have plenty more Switch 2 info and opinions in the next few weeks to help you make a decision.What to playArms akimbo … to a T is funny and weird. Illustration: Annapurna interactive/SteamLast week I played through to a T, the beautifully strange, unexpectedly thoughtful new game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi. It is about a young teenager who is forever stuck in a T-pose, arms akimbo. As you might imagine, this makes life rather difficult for them, and they must rely on their fluffy little dog to help them through life. It’s a kid-friendly game about accepting who you are – I played it with my sons – but it is also extremely funny and weird, and features a song about a giraffe who loves to make sandwiches. I love a game where you don’t know what to expect, and I bet that if I asked every single reader of this newsletter to guess how it ends, not one of you would be anywhere close.Available on: PS5, Xbox, PC Estimated playtime: What to readTake chances … Remy Siu (left) and Nhi Do accept the Peabody award for 1000xRESIST. Photograph: Charley Gallay/Getty images 1000xRESIST, last year’s critical darling sci-fi game about the immigrant experience and the cost of political resistance, won a Peabody award this week. From the creators’ acceptance speech: “I want to say to the games industry, resource those on the margins and seek difference. Take chances again and again. This art form is barely unearthed. It’s too early to define it. Fund the indescribable.” Keith Stuart wrote about the largely lost age of midnight launch parties – for the Switch 2 launch, only Smyths Toys is hosting midnight releases. Did you ever go to one of these events? Write in and tell me if so – I remember feeling intensely embarrassed queuing for a Wii on Edinburgh’s Princes Street as a teenager. The developers of OpenAI are very proud that their latest artificial “intelligence” model can play Pokémon Red. It’s terrible at it, and has so far taken more than 80 hours to obtain three gym badges. I’m trying not to think about the environmental cost of proving AI is terrible at video games. When Imran Khan had a stroke last year, he lost the ability to play games. I found this essay about the role that Kaizo Mario (super-difficult hacked Mario levels) played in his recovery extremely moving. skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Pushing ButtonsFree weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gamingPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionWhat to clickQuestion BlockSoothing … Unpacking. Illustration: Humble Games/SteamReader Gemma asks:“At this moment I am cuddling my three-month-old as he naps on the sofa while I’m playing Blue Prince. It might be the best postnatal game: it has very little background sound or music; can be paused any time; is very chill with zero jeopardy; but also has a fascinating storyline and incredible puzzles. I also find myself narrating the letters and talking out loud for the maths puzzles. (Do three-month-olds understand algebra?) Your article [about Nintendo at naptime] made me feel less guilty, so thank you. Any other updated tips for similar games that you’ve discovered in the last eight years for postnatal gaming?”In the small-baby years I played two types of games: five-hour ones that I could complete in a couple of evenings, or endless Stardew Valley/Animal Crossing-type games where you could just drop in and zone out for as long as you needed, and it didn’t matter whether you were “achieving” anything. I couldn’t play anything with a linear plot because my brain was often mush and I’d simply forget what had happened an hour ago. It’s different for everyone, though – my friend Sarah was obsessed with Grand Theft Auto when her baby was wee.I became hooked on a couple of exploitative phone games that I won’t recommend – don’t go near those in a vulnerable brain-state, you’ll end up spending hours and £££ on virtual gems to buy dopamine with. Something like Unpacking or A Little to the Left might be soothing for a puzzle-brain like yours (and they’re short). I’ll throw this out there to other gamer mums: what did you play in the early months of parenthood?If you’ve got a question for Question Block – or anything else to say about the newsletter – email us on pushingbuttons@theguardian.com.

Miniaturization is not new to computers and rigs. We have seen our share of devices with unfathomably small form factors, skimmed down all the way from room-sized mainframes of the yesteryears. Now, someone’s taken things a step further by creating a fully functional miniature classic Macintosh complete with a display that’s only two inches diagonally. While it’s a nostalgic little Mac, it is not what we are waiting for in the AI-driven world. We’ve got our eyes fixed on what Apple’s former design chief Jonathan Ive’s cooking up with the creators of ChatGPT. It is not evidently clear what, but whatever they are working on is definitely going to take things to a new level of minimalism. Reportedly, the project is an AI-powered personal device rumored to be screenless. It will be designed to deliver assistance in a truly pocket-friendly form, focusing on voice rather than visual interaction. Back to the Mac, it’s a definitive min version Apple’s never going to attempt, but you can secure files to 3D print this tiny tot for yourself. Designer: 1-bit Rainbow Before you get to that: the tiny classic Mac is created by 1-bit Rainbow, an online seller of spares and parts of vintage Apple products. Instead of offering out parts, the retailer has taken matters into its own hands and created a miniaturized replica of the original Macintosh that measures 2.4 inches (62mm) tall and houses a miniature 480×640 pixel LCD display. 3D printed chassis looks like the real Macintosh and behaves like one from the ‘80s, but of course, it’s in a very petite form factor. Before you start to wonder, yes, the little Mac is powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, which lends this guy its name: the Pico-Mac-Nano. The Raspberry Pi has enough power to emulate a Macintosh’s authentic OS flavor, but things are not going to be as stable for obvious reasons. Yet, if you choose to own one of these tiny desktops, you can plug in your USB mouse and keyboard and play – whatever it would – on this little guy in the real world. It should be able to pull off the Dark Castle courtesy of its 512MB storage, microSD card slot, and a three-volt CR2 battery that can keep the system going for a while. Since it is functional, the Pico-Mac-Nano is also available for purchase. You can buy it for $59, fully assembled for plug-and-play. And if you want to try it your way, 1-bit Rainbow is also providing 3D printing files to print your own chassis. To gauge the scale of what you are committing to, a photo of the miniature Mac is released alongside a Coke can, need I say more about how small it is? The post This miniature of the original Macintosh has 2-inch display and it’s fully functional first appeared on Yanko Design.

I started writing my own film scripts when I was ten, and I basically wanted to be Indiana Jones. Well, I wanted to be Indy, the director and the guy who did the stunts and the storyboards after seeing Temple of Doom with my dad at the Harrogate Odeon. He'd bought me the Official Souvenir Magazine – I knew it was important – which was full of colourful costume sketches, storyboards detailing some of the action I'd just seen, and glossy pictures of cast and crew in glamorous locations. I think that was the first time I had an inkling of what I wanted to do with my life, but growing up in a small Yorkshire town wasn't exactly conducive to being Indiana Jones: the most useful film locations there were my buddy Richard's back garden and the local woods, but we endeavoured and made a three-minute epic where I, as Indy, swung across imagined alligator-infested swamps and ran through not-so-dense forests pursued by invisible tribesmen. Growing up in the Eighties was a fertile time for the imagination of anyone, particularly anyone who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Lucas and Spielberg. By the time I'd left school prematurely at sixteen and worked as a film assistant (when TV used to be shot on film) before returning to higher education, my friend Derek had already worked on the new Star Wars film, rubbed shoulders with Robert Altman and Tim Burton, and slept on a lot of mates' sofas. That, I thought, was my next goal. Not the sofas part – the working on big movies part. World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo But again, there's this persistent myth that one has to "break into" the film industry, as Spielberg himself did; all one has to do is occupy an empty office at a film studio and pretend one works there until one does. The sad truth is that the film industry doesn't want you. I mean, it might do – but it just doesn't know it yet. Either way, you hear all kinds of motivational and anti-motivational stories in the press: everything from "Just pick up a phone and make a film" to "You can't just pick up a phone and make a film." Or "don't ask permission: be a rebel and just do what you want" but then also "make friends with producers and nurture working relationships" to get your films made. So which is it? I'm here to tell you it's both. I had years of making my own feature films (four to date) where I didn't ask permission to do so, just found private investors and gathered a cast and crew each time, to different levels of ambition and difficulty. There's a Spielberg quote in the Official Souvenir Magazine of Temple of Doom that I always remember, and it's something like: "You look at the script and think, how are we going to do all this? But somehow or other, it gets done." That's been the driving force of every movie I've made to date: we found the money, we gathered the crew, we did everything. Sure, some of them played in cinemas and then didn't do anything else (my first was deemed "too cheap" for a home release), but some won awards, and one even made it to Blu-ray. Score! But then came the pandemic, and I'd be lying if I didn't say it punctured the ambitions of just about everyone. It was not just the personal crises, loss, and fear it faced us with, but also the seemingly insurmountable heights to scale to get films made – which was already a challenge. In 2020, you might have thought things were picking up speed: we released our latest lo-fi feature film – the zombie comedy Zomblogalypse, which ended up on the aforementioned Blu-ray – in cinemas and film festivals, and I met with producers to sign a script deal for my ambitious action-horror. And then came about two years of "the market is dead" and "no one's making anything at the moment" and a hundred times the usual cliched setback talk of "it's not a good time right now…" except it was painfully, abundantly clear that this was in fact true. Zomblogalypse So during this time, all the while trying in earnest to get any movie off the ground (and we're talking baby budgets here), somewhere during the process, I decided to stop thinking of myself as a producer and director and just be a writer for a while. This was partly due to the amount of times I was told in producer meetings – both in TV and film – that they'd find a director for my script. And a co-writer. And a development executive. Now, I knew who all these people were because I'd read my Indiana Jones Official Souvenir Magazine, but the key point was that I needed to stop trying to do everything and focus on the scripts. A director, unless they're Mr Spielberg, can only direct every few years, while a writer can always write on a notepad by the bed, on the Notes app on their phone (which is how I'm writing this), on their laptop with half an hour to spare, and so forth. And yes, you're saying, but what if a writer doesn't have half an hour to spare because of their job or their family? And to that, I say yes, noted, but… you have to write. Find the time. In every minimum wage job I ever had, I wrote scripts. Sorry, former employers: you were all funding my screenwriting habit. I actually left secure and (under)paid employment fifteen years ago this very week and haven't looked back – but that's another story... Steven Spielberg (around 1995) – Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo The point (finally) is that I decided to double down as a writer and pen a movie trilogy. Why, you ask? As if it isn't hard enough getting one screenplay written and submitted to a producer. And it is hard: I submitted my action-horror to my producer five years ago, after five years of scribbling and re-drafting and working with a co-writer and trying to get the damn thing self-financed and finally getting an industry producer to read it… why would I now, while I wait for that one to bear fruit – through strikes and fires and other Hollywood nonsense – go and do something stupid like write a trilogy? It comes down to that rebellious notion of not asking permission. I've got a trilogy in me (after years of working out several individual scripts and realising they're all linked thematically), so why not go for broke and write all three? Advice from my peers so far is a mix of "just write one and sell that first" because that's hard enough, and "f^&k yeah, go for it! No one else is writing a trilogy!" So, having written what has now evidently become the middle chapter, I've set to work on writing the first and drafting out the third. They're a mix of genres, but each one does stand alone, just in case I'm only able to get one into production (they're action thriller, sci-fi romcom, and action horror, in case you wondered). I don't know how wise it's going to prove to write three films at once, but so far, I'm enjoying the challenge. Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo I'm a huge fan of the Back to the Future trilogy (who isn't) and how Bobs Zemeckis and Gale wrote the second and third as back-to-back projects, so I'm inspired by that and other well-made trilogies like Ginger Snaps and the more recent Fear Street. I like the format, and I've never written this way before. But after five years of stalled production and juggling one-off ideas (there are currently about twenty in my In Development folder), I'm doubling down for what, at age fifty, is my most ambitious project to date: writing a trilogy that may never get made, but which I'll do everything to try and get made. I'd rather make up for lost time than not make anything again. And as a writer, it's the ultimate project. Who doesn't love a trilogy? Hopefully, one day, a producer will agree with me that being this insanely ambitious is the way forward. Because I've been hiding in the shadows for too long as a struggling director, it's time to be a writer!

Nintendo Switch 2 OLED Model is happening if Samsung gets its way GameCentral Published May 20, 2025 3:14pm Updated May 20, 2025 3:47pm How long till we get an OLED Model? (Nintendo) Nintendo has teamed up with Samsung to boost Switch 2 production but their long term hardware partner also wants to help them make an OLED Model. At £395.99, the Nintendo Switch 2 is considerably more expensive at launch than its predecessor, which started out at £279.99. That’s not unsurprising, given inflation and the more powerful innards, and, unlike game prices, has not been the subject of much consternation amongst fans. What has been though, is the fact that the new console is back to only having an LCD screen. It’s bigger than any previous Switch console but a lot of fans have got used to the superior quality of the OLED Model. However, using the same tech in the Switch 2 would’ve pushed it over the £400/$450 mark. Nintendo evidently doesn’t think that’s a good idea but following the signing of a new partnership with Samsung, for the first time the prospect of OLED Model for the Switch 2 has been brought up. Officially, the deal is for Samsung to make the main processor chips for the Switch 2, as part of Nintendo’s attempt to increase production. The console has already begun to run out of stock in Japan but while some companies would consider that a positive thing, Nintendo’s original plan was to have plenty of stock available from the start. According to a Bloomberg report, the new goal is for Nintendo to hit 20 million console sales by March 2026, which is higher than its initial projections of 15 million. It’s rumoured that Samsung is working on an 8 nanometre custom chip for the Switch 2, rather than using their more advanced 5 nanometre technology. This is apparently Nintendo’s idea, because it’s quicker and cheaper to manufacture. Korean company Samsung has worked with Nintendo before, especially in terms of providing NAND flash memory, but sees the deal for the Switch 2 as a chance to compete with Taiwanese firm TSMC. More Trending As a result, it’s suggested that Samsung is pushing for Nintendo to use OLED panels in a Switch 2 refresh in the future. This would presumably be the equivalent of the current OLED Model, which is more expensive than the other two. An OLED Model does seem inevitable at some point but, naturally, Nintendo has made no mention of it so far. The Switch 1 OLED Model was released in October 2021; the same wait would mean a Switch 2 OLED Model in January 2030. The implication is that Samsung is pushing for a release much earlier than that, but it’s still unlikely to be any quicker than the 30 months it took the Switch Lite to be launched, following the Switch 1’s initial release. Analyst predictions for the Switch 2 were already higher than Nintendo’s, with many expecting it will be the fastest selling console launch in history. One recent report has even suggested it will overtake the PlayStation 5 as the primary third party format. The Switch OLED Model is bound to have a Switch 2 equivalent (Nintendo) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: What is Rockstar Games’ best game? GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Spotify announced earlier this month that podcast creators and listeners would get a new data point: how many plays an episode has gotten. The idea, according to Spotify, was that listeners could discover new shows they hadn’t heard of, enticed by this new public measure of fandom.Podcasters did not see it that way.Since the announcement, podcasters, especially those with smaller audiences, have been upset at the new public play count. The chief complaint was that some podcasters actually don’t want listeners to know how many people are listening to their podcast, because it might have the opposite effect: it could turn people off to know a show only has a few dozen plays. Some Spotify users in the chorus of opposition also noted that plays would only show a slice of listenership, since people use platforms besides Spotify.The sustained backlash evidently hit a nerve: on Friday, Spotify announced it was partially rolling back the feature. Now it will only publicly display plays once an episode crosses the 50,000 plays threshold. When an episode hits that benchmark, it will get a “50K plays” marker instead of an exact count; the marker will update when an episode crosses other milestones, like 100,000 and 1 million plays. Podcasters will still be able to see exact play counts in their private analytics dashboards — but will be spared the embarrassment of having those figures broadcast publicly. The company is also vague about how exactly plays are counted, saying only that the metric represents “how many times people actively tried your content.”Podcasting historically has been hard to quantify: a download doesn’t necessarily mean a listen. There are public charts, but those tend to favor the biggest shows. Across mediums, there’s the awkward growing stage for content creators just starting out: you have to post as if you have a million followers even if it’s just for your 10 actual fans. Is displaying podcast plays something nobody asked for? Absolutely. But also, the jokes write themselves, unfortunately.See More:

The Canopy Pavilion by the Canal / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studioSave this picture!© Timeraw StudioCommunity Center•Tai Xing Shi, China Architects: AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio Area Area of this architecture project Area:  2400 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2024 Photographs Photographs:Timeraw Studio More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! Urban Regeneration by the Canal - Taixing, situated in the south-central region of Jiangsu Province, stands as the convergence of Huai and Wu cultures. Established in the first year of Shengyuan during the Southern Tang Dynasty, it is a millennium-old city with a rich history. Historically, Taixing County was characterized by an intricate network of waterways, thriving alongside and in harmony with the water, and its fortified walls were constructed in the shape of a turtle's shell. Encircling the city were two moats, both inside and outside the walls, with several winding watercourses resembling snakes in between, forming a pattern reminiscent of the Black Tortoise and White Snake, commonly known as the " City laid out in the shape of a turtle and snake." In recent times, with the city's growth, a new urban layout gradually emerged to the north and east of the old city, intersected by the Rutai Canal and Qiangxi River. Notably, the Rutai Canal, linking the Yangtze River in the west and the Yellow Sea in the east, has served as a pivotal regional waterway spanning Rugao and Taixing since ancient times.Save this picture!In 2023, Taixing City embarked on the "Double Water Nourishing City" supporting facilities project, utilizing the Rutai Canal and Qiangxi River as the foundation. The project involves renovating the disorganized factories, wharves, and shacks along the rivers to create a riverside scenic zone for leisure activities. This scenic zone encompasses numerous cultural squares, parks, and small ancillary garden buildings. The question arises: how can these unused buildings be put to good use? On the one hand, they can enhance services for citizens' riverside leisure activities; on the other hand, the operational revenue generated can alleviate the maintenance costs of public green spaces. This represents the trend towards operational management of urban assets against the backdrop of urban renewal. Consequently, Taixing City has decided to revamp and repurpose six idle ancillary buildings scattered along the parks by the two rivers, endowing them with commercial attributes to leverage their footfall-drawing potential and infuse more vitality into the riverside scenic zone.Save this picture!The value of architectural assets and waterside living - In the northwest direction of the north gate of the old county town, there lies a junction formed by the Rutai Canal and other waterways. Following partial rerouting of the canal in modern times, the construction of urban highway bridges in the vicinity and the development of high-rise residential areas have enclosed this area, transforming it into a relatively spacious waterfront spot within the community. The site features a children's playground beloved by residents, making it a must-visit destination for citizens taking strolls and engaging in fitness activities along the Rutai Canal.Save this picture!The site originally housed two independent two-story buildings with concrete frame structures. One building features a V-shaped floor plan, while the other boasts a zigzag floor plan. Together, these two buildings, along with the river channel, enclose an approximately triangular plot of land. To address the elevation differences within the site, stairs and flower beds have been incorporated into the current design.Save this picture!At the onset of designing this project, the owner's requirement was to impart operational capabilities to these idle urban assets. Often, this is mistakenly interpreted in isolation as necessitating a "tailor-made" design based solely on operational demands. The business needs appear to be prioritized in the design brief, with a tendency to conflate building renovation and interior refurbishment, which represents an all-too-common shortcut in urban renewal. Building renewal constitutes a vital component of urban revitalization: it aids in realigning the site's traffic and spatial connections with the city through renovation and reconstruction, and employs functional integration to reintegrate the building into the city's fabric. Additionally, renovation extends the lifecycle of buildings and enhances their adaptability to a broader range of business types. Furthermore, it delves deeper into the site's unique attributes and leverages them to boost the building's appeal.Save this picture!To capture the cultural and geographical essence of a site, one must revert to the perspective of the city. In this water-laden town, water serves not merely as a geographical feature but also as a cultural emblem deeply ingrained in the fabric of daily life. The teahouses lining the canal bustle with activity, offering a pot of tea, a plate of steamed silken tofu, a basket of steamed pork buns, and a bowl of fish noodle soup. Old tea enthusiasts wander over to the riverside teahouses with their enamel mugs, where the aroma of steaming Xuanbao small wontons blends with the sesame fragrance of Huangqiao sesame cakes, wafting towards the river's heart. They sip on "Langli tea" brewed with canal water while watching barges glide by, leaving ripples in their wake. These are taste memories nurtured by the canal.The clanging of washing sticks at the riverbank, the tapping of chess pieces under the eaves of riverside houses; children leaning over railings to count passing sandboats, morning joggers' silhouettes mirrored in the shimmering waves, elderly couples taking a stroll and pausing at the flood embankment, pointing to the newly erected buildings across the river and reminiscing about the ferry pier of yesteryears. These scenes and people collectively paint a unique and vibrant picture of life along the waterfront in Taixing.Hence, the primary objective of renovating this site is to honor and perpetuate this vibrant atmosphere, providing a comfortable and inviting environment for people to linger and gather. By fostering conditions conducive to meeting the diverse needs of citizens, the potential value of the architecture can be fully realized.Save this picture!Revitalization strategy - With these considerations in mind, let's revisit the original site and buildings. Serving as administrative offices, each building boasts a modest area and features just one staircase inside. The elaborate decoration of the building facades actually obstructs the indoor view of the canal. The outdoor area between the two buildings, segmented by varying heights, struggles to serve as an effective venue for events. These are the aspects of the buildings that necessitate renovation and upgrading.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!More crucially, the site requires a powerful spatial configuration to redefine and distinguish this area, establishing it as a significant destination along the riverside scenic corridor. We define this spatial configuration as a prominent, large-scale open area, aimed at strengthening the connectivity between the site and the public spaces of adjacent blocks. By analyzing the types of traditional public spaces along the canal, we discovered that the awning form exhibits strong applicability. Both the boat awning and the market awning on the shore exhibit a form that is both sheltered and open. This convenient and easily maintainable semi-outdoor public space can effectively adapt to the complex surrounding environment, while encouraging the emergence of temporary and diverse public activities. It is a common spatial outcome nurtured by canal culture. Furthermore, utilizing the roofs of existing buildings to create more platforms that offer both accessibility and river views is undoubtedly a morphological projection of the site's characteristics onto the architectural form, and also facilitates the creation of favorable conditions for shaping outdoor commercial spaces.Save this picture!The final design employs a large canopy to complement the originally fragmented site. This canopy extends over the triangular site and portions of the V-shaped building's rooftop, creating a flat and expansive area between the two structures, akin to a waterfront urban stage. The height difference of the site is seamlessly integrated into the surrounding stepped seating areas. The V-shaped building's rooftop achieves a more direct connection to the ground through the addition of stairs and setback terraces. Likewise, the newly added columnar staircase adjacent to the building on the northern side of the site becomes a dynamic element in the space, directing individuals to the rooftop platform of the L-shaped building. Besides providing a vast shaded area for activities, the canopy alleviates the oppressive feeling imparted by the surrounding dense high-rise residential buildings. As people move under the canopy, their gaze is directed towards the canal and the ships navigating through it, restoring the appropriate scale of waterside life. The concave shape in the middle of the canopy collects rainwater from the rooftop and directs it to a reserved oval drain below through a cantilevered stainless steel spout, creating a "dragon spitting water" landscape.Save this picture!Technical measures - After assessing the concrete frame structure of the existing building, structural reinforcement was carried out on the foundation, beams, slabs, and columns. Transparent peripheral protective structures, such as glass curtain walls, were reintroduced. The horizontally extended white aluminum panels suggest a layered, accessible roof that steps back progressively. For the large canopy spanning approximately 1,000 square meters, a combination of curved grid glued bamboo-steel structure and membrane structure was selected through technical comparison. The basic configuration of the roof consists of several full-length square steel beams and V-shaped columns. The grid units composed of engineered bamboo members facilitate the creation of a gradual curved surface.Save this picture!Save this picture!The curved mesh glued bamboo-steel structure imbues this enclosed space with structural expression and illumination, emphasizing the openness and airiness of the structure to foster a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. This stands in contrast to the confined interior of buildings, suggesting the equitable use of public spaces and leveraging technical expression to promote community interaction and sharing.Save this picture!Community space - Benefiting from the maturity of the commercial and residential districts surrounding the project, as well as its strategic location adjacent to water, we defined the building as Taixing Teahouse—a venue that embodies the local morning tea culture of Taixing during the initial project planning stage. This decision was made after a comprehensive assessment of various factors, including project scale, surrounding traffic conditions, and potential impacts on nearby residents. Leveraging the separation of two buildings, we designated separate areas for the morning tea hall and private dining rooms. In the morning tea area, the middle section of the V-shaped layout serves as an open kitchen, showcasing the production of morning tea as an intangible cultural heritage.Upon completion, this revitalized venue has garnered immense popularity among Taixing residents. The riverside morning tea hall is often fully booked, while private dining rooms offering a panoramic view of the canal have become a favorite gathering spot for families and friends. The small plaza underneath the canopy is utilized by residents at various times of the day and has also hosted numerous cultural events in Taixing. Additionally, the semi-outdoor terrace on the second floor and the rooftop terrace on the third floor under the canopy have transformed into outdoor spaces for leisure bars. Evidently, the transformed space has transcended its original singular function, and its aesthetic appeal has been acknowledged through daily use by residents. It has emerged as a neighborhood hub in the contemporary waterfront living environment, seamlessly integrating culture, nature, and even spiritual and emotional sustenance.Save this picture!Conclusion - In the process of renewing urban idle buildings and neglected spaces leftover from the incremental development era, the approach of merely pursuing commercial value by forcibly integrating untimely commercial format often proves unsustainable. The crucial solution lies in reverting to the essence of the site, by examining the relationship between the architecture and the urban fabric, deeply exploring the site's potential, and reestablishing its public character. Only when the space genuinely transforms into a delightful venue for public interaction and fosters an organic connection with the city can commercial vitality naturally emerge. This incremental renewal strategy, which prioritizes public use over commercial gain, not only respects the natural evolution of urban spaces but also achieves a harmonious coexistence between public and commercial values. It stands to become a pivotal approach in urban renewal.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less Project locationAddress:Tai Xing Shi, ChinaLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this office MaterialsMaterials and TagsPublished on May 16, 2025Cite: "The Canopy Pavilion by the Canal / AESEU Architectural Technology and Art studio" 16 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030080/the-canopy-pavilion-by-the-canal-aeseu-architectural-technology-and-art-studio&gt ISSN 0719-8884

Cases A New Best: Fractal Meshify 3 Case Review, Thermal Benchmarks, & NoiseMay 15, 2025Last Updated: 2025-05-15We analyze the Fractal Design Meshify 3’s design, specs, build quality, LEDs, and thermalsThe HighlightsThe Meshify 3 comes with 3 fans and focuses on looksAt its price category, there’s a lot of stiff competitionOverall, we like the caseOriginal MSRP: $140 to $220Release Date: May 2025Table of ContentsAutoTOC Our fully custom 3D Emblem Glasses celebrate our 15th Anniversary! We hand-assemble these on the East Coast in the US with a metal badge, strong adhesive, and high-quality pint glass. They pair excellently with our 3D 'Debug' Drink Coasters. Purchases keep us ad-free and directly support our consumer-focused reviews!IntroToday we’re reviewing the Fractal Meshify 3. It ranges from $140 to $220 depending on the level of “integrated atmospheric lighting” you want, but to be fair to Fractal, it does look good with the angular mesh front panel. The good news upfront with this review is that we actually like the case overall.Editor's note: This was originally published on May 15, 2025 as a video. This content has been adapted to written format for this article and is unchanged from the original publication.CreditsTest Lead, Host, WritingSteve BurkeTesting, WritingPatrick LathanCamera, Video EditingVitalii MakhnovetsCameraTim PhetdaraAndrew ColemanWriting, Web EditingJimmy ThangFractal's has added some interesting new features: an air guide in front of the PSU shroud that genuinely helps GPU thermals in our testing, excellent cable aligner clips, and a bizarre PSU filter that blends seamlessly into the side of the case.This case was going to launch months ago, but was quietly pulled from shelves by Fractal at the last minute because the PCIe slots were too tight. Multiple reviewers, including us, noticed that these PCIe slots were too tight for GPUs to slot properly, an issue we had recorded in our notes for the review and were about to film when Fractal sent an email that it was halting the launch. Fractal manually reworked this, meaning someone went through all the cases and shaved them down.Originally, Fractal would have launched just before the worst of the tariffs, but now is launching into a far more expensive import situation. Fractal says that, for now, its MSRP is unchanged.But we’re here to review the case. We have a 3-hour documentary about the tariffs’ impact.The case comes with 3 fans and clearly has a focus on looks with its lighting and front panel design, but also manages to make a number of mechanical choices that affect cooling.Let’s get into the Meshify 3 review.Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB OverviewThis is Fractal's third generation of Meshify cases, starting with the Meshify 3 and the larger Meshify 3 XL. We're reviewing the shallow front-to-back Meshify 3 today, which is the size equivalent of the first generation's Meshify C and the second generation's Meshify 2 Compact (watch our review). The Meshify C (watch our review) was $90 at launch in 2017, followed later by the Meshify 2 (watch our review) at $110.The Meshify 3 is launching from $140-$220 (depending on SKU). It’s not distant from Fractal’s Torrent case. We liked that case. It’s priced at around $190 to $230. The increased Meshify series cost goes towards new features.The flashiest new feature is the "integrated atmospheric lighting" in the top-tier Ambience Pro RGB SKU. Fractal also has committed to proprietary connectors for these cases, which we’re not thrilled about. Fractal additionally has a web tool for the new Adjust Pro fan and RGB hub.The cases are sold at $140 for 3x 140mm fans without LEDs, $160 for 3x 14mm RGB fans using proprietary connectors, and $220 for 3x RGB fans with a lighting control hub and additional case lighting around the front panel, shroud, and power button.Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB SpecsMeshify 3 TG3.5"/2.5" mountsUp to 2x HDD or 4x SSDDedicated 2.5" mounts2 (6 total)5.25" drive bays0Expansion slots7Motherboard compatibilityE-ATX (max 277 mm), ATX, mATX, Mini-ITXPower supply typeATXFront interface1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C 20Gbps2x USB 3.0 5Gbps1x Combined Mic/AudioTotal fan mounts6x 120 mm or 5x 140 mm + 1x 120mmFront fan mounts3x 120/140 mm (3x Momentum 140 mm PWM/RGB Included)Top fan mounts2x 120/140 mmRear fan mounts1x 120 mmSide fan mountsN/ABottom fan mountsN/ADust filtersPSUFront radiatorUp to 280/360 mm (max 155 mm width)Top radiatorUp to 280/240 mm (max 148 mm width)Rear radiator120 mm (max 128 mm width)Bottom radiatorN/APSU max length180 mmGPU max length349 mmGPU max height176 mm (7 slot) including cablesCPU cooler max height173 mmCable routing space34.5 mmCable coverYesCable organizers3x Cable Aligners, 3x Internal Straps, 3x Rear External StrapsCaptive thumbscrewsTop Rad. Bracket, PSU BracketTool-less push-to-lockSide Panels, Bottom Filter, Front Panel, Top Panel, PSU BracketCase MaterialSteelLeft side panelTempered GlassRight side panelIndustrial SteelCase dimensions (LxWxH)423 x 229 x 507 mmCase dimensions w/o feet/protrusions/screws423 x 229 x 483 mmNet weight8.0 kgPackage dimensions (LxWxH)596 x 350 x 550 mmGross weight10.3 kgSpecs copied from manufacturer materials, please read review for our own measurements and opinionsThe BuildLet’s get into the build quality and features.Some of the exterior is similar to the Torrent, especially the way the top panel slides off. Unlike the Torrent, the top panel is mesh in the Meshify 3, although only the central portion is actually open due to the thick plastic frame underneath. The front panel pops off from the bottom like the North cases, and the top edge (in the Ambience Pro RGB) has pogo pins to connect the ambient front panel lighting.There are three plastic "cable aligners" that can be snapped over the main cable channel. We found them to be well-placed and surprisingly sturdy even with large bundles of power supply cables wedged behind them. Our only complaint is that they're keyed for no discernible reason other than preventing users from flipping the Fractal logo upside-down. The cable management space behind the motherboard is a uniform depth at just over 3cm across the entire case. There's a massive cutout above the motherboard that runs its entire length, although the cutout at the bottom is undersized and difficult to use when an ATX board is installed. Overall, cable management is above average thanks to the cable aligners and the amount of space, with some velcro straps on the back for exterior cable management. The PSU shroud terminates in a plastic "air guide" angled up towards the GPU. It reminds us a little of the NZXT toilet bowl fan from the 2022 H5 Flow (watch our review), but more so the extremely similar "PSU optional cover plate" from Corsair's old 5000D Airflow (watch our review). The 5000D Airflow's single intake fan wasn't positioned to make that part matter, though, whereas the Meshify 3's intake-heavy configuration will actually benefit.The only discrete dust filter in the case is for the PSU. It ejects from the side, which is always a plus for ease of removal, but it's also built into the leg of the case so that there's no externally visible handle. This is completely unnecessary, but it's one of those small features that shows the care that was put into the case's appearance and great attention to detail.Drives can be mounted to a set of adjustable brackets behind the motherboard tray; Fractal has provided a complicated compatibility matrix, but basically, you can either fit up to 2x 3.5" drives or 4x 2.5" drives. An additional 2x 2.5" drives can be attached directly to the floor of the case underneath the air guide, but if you use those slots, you may want to leave the air guide out to make cables accessible.The front of the case can fit either 3x 120mm fans or 3x 140mm fans. The rails rotate to switch between the two sizes and there are cutouts at specific heights for each individual fan, which means the rails don't obstruct the fans at all, but also there's little freedom to reposition fans or mix and match different sizes. All Meshify 3 SKUs ship with three front fans preinstalled, so this is less of an issue than it would be on a bare chassis. When fans are installed on the rails, the fans and rails can be removed as a single unit by undoing two screws, which is awesome.The removable top bracket is extremely easy to work with and fits radiators up to 280mm with plenty of room. Simultaneously installing a 360mm radiator at the front of the case would technically be possible using standard 30mm thick rads, but without much room left for fittings, fans, or thicker radiators, so we don't recommend it. Fractal notes that the front mount is compatible with 360mm (3x120) radiators of up to 420mm total length with the air guide or 445mm without it. Critically though, this does not mean support for 420mm (3x140) radiators.If any radiators are installed at the front of the case, the cable bar has to be shifted back, which makes it harder to route power cables. In addition, maximum GPU length in the Meshify 3 is already only 349mm, and installing a front radiator directly eats that clearance. We recommend relying on the top radiator slot or moving up to the Meshify 3 XL if you really need space for liquid cooling and especially for longer cards.Along the same lines, Fractal claims compatibility with so-called E-ATX boards up to 277mm wide, but that describes the maximum size that can be installed without completely blocking cable cutouts. Realistically, if you want to install anything even slightly larger than ATX, you should be looking at the Meshify 3 XL instead. Even with a normal ATX board, we shifted the cable bar all the way forward to leave space for the 24-pin power cable.As a finer detail point, we’re happy to see that Fractal has finally compromised by adding screw holes to the plastic tabs on the side panels. If you want to add some extra security while moving your case, you can put screws through the tabs to lock them down.The fans and LEDs are complicated and confusing, so that’ll require a whole section -- but we’ll get into the thermal testing first.Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB Thermals Grab a GN15 Large Anti-Static Modmat to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and for a high-quality PC building work surface. The Modmat features useful PC building diagrams and is anti-static conductive. Purchases directly fund our work! (or consider a direct donation or a Patreon contribution!)Fractal's review guide claims that the RGB fans are quieter, lower CFM, but higher static pressure (at max speed) than the non-RGB versions of the same fans. Our thermal results with the stock fans are representative of the RGB case SKUs, though any major physical reasons for performance would still be reflected. The standardized fan test is representative of the Meshify 3 in general.For reasons we’ll explain in the fan control section, we had no way to skip the fan hub and connect the fans directly to the motherboard as we usually would for testing. We validated that the fans reached their rated max speed of 1,800RPM +/- 10% with a laser tachometer. However, the tach signal sent back by the Fractal Adjust Pro hub doesn't line up with standard 4-pole fan behavior: HWiNFO misreports 2295 RPM when the fans are really spinning at just over 1,800 RPM in reality. Fractal's software accounts for this and reports RPM accurately.As for comparison cases, we’ll mostly focus on the Antec C8 ARGB (read our review) and Antec Flux Pro (read our review) as close matches. The closest match in appearance and function may be Fractal's own Torrent Compact RGB. We haven't added the Torrent Compact back to our charts since our testing overhaul, but in our review, it performed similarly to the larger original Torrent. That is in our charts, so we can use that as a rough equivalent.We have plenty of other cases on the charts for your own comparisons. Let’s get into the data.CPU Full Load Thermals - Noise-NormalizedWe’ll start with noise-normalized thermals. We use our hemi-anechoic chamber that we spent $250,000 building for validating the noise levels, which allows us to heavily control the noise floor and get super accurate capture.This is the chart. The Fractal Meshify 3 dominates here, planting itself as the new chart leader and within error of the prior leaders. The Meshify 3's all-core average of 40 degrees Celsius over ambient and 44 degrees for the P-cores is significantly better than previous efforts from the Meshify 2 Compact (watch our review) at 48 degrees average and the Meshify C at 54. Those two cases shared a basic design. The Meshify 3 is more of a departure; Fractal has added an airflow guide to the bottom of the case, the stock fans are higher performance, and all three stock fans are installed in the front of the case. That's an arrangement that's worked well for CPU cooling in the North XL (read our review) and Torrent using our test bench, and evidently it works extremely well in the Meshify 3, which is now the coolest case on the chart. The Torrent was a little warmer than the Meshify 3 at 42 degrees above ambient, while the Meshify 3 is instead tied with the previous best results from the Lian Li Lancool 216 (watch our review) and Lancool 207 (read our review). The Antec Flux Pro is a case that Fractal is likely specifically targeting for competition and, like the Lian Li cases, it's within one degree of the Meshify 3. This test is a weak point for the Antec C8 ARGB, which averaged 50 degrees due to its bottom intake layout.GPU Full Load Thermals - Noise-NormalizedHere’s the chart for GPU thermals when noise-normalized.GPU cooling performance in the Meshify 3 was also strong. The equivalent cases from the previous Meshify generations didn't have particularly strong stock performance, with the Meshify 2 Compact averaging 52 degrees above ambient for the GPU and the Meshify C averaging 57. This is still noise-normalized, so it's not purely a matter of more powerful fans in the Meshify 3, which averaged 43 degrees for the GPU and 46 for the GPU memory. Judging by the performance of the North XL and the Torrent here, it seems possible that the Meshify 3's air guide actually does do something. The North XL and its conventional (although ventilated) full-length PSU shroud averaged 44-45 degrees for the GPU depending on the chosen side panel, while the Torrent with its top-mounted PSU and complete lack of a shroud at the bottom of the case averaged 40 degrees. The Meshify 3 with its shroud and air guide averaged 43 degrees, right in the middle. There are more variables at work here, though, so we need another test to know for sure.As for the other highlighted competitors, the Antec C8 ARGB averaged 42 degrees and the Flux Pro averaged 41. Technically they both beat the Meshify 3's 43 degree average, but they're all among the best performing results on this chart.GPU Full Load Thermals - Full SpeedAs part of our full speed testing, we ran a test pass with a cardboard box extension taped onto the end of the PSU shroud to bring it up flush with the front intake fans. This test is at full speed case fans and controlled CPU and GPU fans.Without this extension, the GPU in the Meshify 3 averaged 41 degrees above ambient versus 45 degrees with it. That's a significant increase with the extension, and it shows that it made sense to shorten the shroud and angle it up like a skate ramp. Adding the extension also raised noise levels from a baseline of 37.5 dBA to 38.7 dBA, which we can only really confidently state is a real difference because of our investments in the hemi-anechoic chamber and our test equipment. This is a real change. Although hardly a detectable difference to the human ear, it is a real one and some people might notice it. Fractal’s new shroud design is superior to a square-edge one both thermally and acoustically.Since we've already seen that the Meshify 3 outperforms its predecessors when noise-normalized, it's no surprise at all that it outperforms them when its 1,800 RPM stock fans are maxed out. 37.5 dBA for the Meshify 3 is definitely louder than the 31-32 dBA levels from the Meshify C and Meshify 2 Compact, but thermal performance isn't even close, with the Meshify C only able to maintain GPU temperatures at 56 degrees above ambient. The C8 ARGB tied the Meshify 3's GPU temperature in this test, which is impressive for the Meshify 3 given that the C8 ARGB has bottom intake fans pointed directly into the GPU. The stock Flux Pro and Torrent remain chart toppers at 38 degrees and 39 degrees respectively thanks to their overkill stock fans; this is also evident from the noise levels, with the Torrent's powerful fans pushing it to a maximum of 42.3 dBA to the stock Meshify 3's 37.5 dBA.GPU Full Load Thermals - Standardized FansStandardized fan testing is next.All of the Meshify 3 SKUs ship with fans, so we're just going to use the standardized fan test as an opportunity to compare directly against the previous Meshify generations when they have the same loadout. The Meshify 3 has three defined 140mm fan mounting locations at the front, so rather than sticking our two 140mm intake fans somewhere in the middle, we were forced to pick either the upper two slots or the lower two.The Meshify C and Meshify 2 Compact both had GPU averages of 47 degrees above ambient, while the Meshify 3 literally bookended the chart at 41 degrees with the fans in the lower slots and 53 degrees in the upper ones. If you alter the stock fan configuration, be sure to at least keep one fan in the bottom slot at the front of the case.CPU Full Load Thermals - Standardized FansOn to CPU thermals while using standardized fans: There wasn't much difference in CPU thermals between the upper and lower slot tests; although the upper slot technically did better with an all-core average of 39 degrees, the lower slot arrangement is preferable due to the GPU thermals we just discussed. The Meshify C and Meshify 2 Compact tied at 41 degrees all-core, not that far from the Meshify 3's 40 degree average.VRM & RAM Full Load Thermals - Noise-NormalizedReturning to the noise-normalized results, the Meshify 3 tied the Flux Pro for the best VRM temperature on the chart at 27 degrees above ambient. That's significantly better than its predecessors at 35 degrees for the Meshify 2 Compact and 39 for the Meshify C. The Torrent averaged 29 degrees and the C8 ARGB with its bottom intake layout averaged 33. The ventilated case roof and airflow definitely help here.The SPD hub (or the RAM temperature average) was better, with the Meshify 3's average of 20 degrees above ambient beating all other stock case results on the chart. The Torrent at 21 degrees and Flux Pro at 22 were also high performers, while the C8 ARGB's more GPU-focused cooling left it with a warmer 24 degree average.Fans and LEDsAnd now we’re back to the topic of fans and LEDs.The Momentum RGB fans connect through daisy-chained USB Type-C connectors. Fractal describes the connector as "Proprietary USB-C," meaning that the connectors are just USB-shaped out of convenience; the fans are NOT USB devices. This part confused us, so here's a breakdown:The regular Meshify 3's fans use regular 4-pin PWM fan connectorsThe Meshify 3 RGB's fans use Fractal proprietary connectors, but they're pre-routed with an adapter that terminates in a regular 4-pin fan connector and a 3-pin ARGB connector, so the fans can be connected to a normal motherboard out-of-the-boxThe Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB has the same fans as the other RGB SKU, but they're pre-routed to Fractal's Adjust Pro hub. A "legacy splitter" cable is included for OUTput so that regular ARGB devices can be daisy-chained onto Fractal's devices, but the INput adapter cable from the Meshify 3 RGB is not included. In other words, if you get the Ambience Pro RGB, you're using the hub (or waiting for Fractal to sell an adapter cable separately)The Adjust Pro Hub can be controlled through a web tool or Microsoft's Dynamic Lighting feature. Fractal can get away with using a simple web app because the Pro Hub is just a USB device, so it doesn't need low-level access to control the motherboard's fan and RGB headers. There’s no launch-on-startup bloatware and the settings are saved locally to the hub. Currently, the app claims to be fully compatible with Chrome, Opera, and Edge (but not Firefox). A sustained internet connection isn't required for this. We were glad to see Dynamic Lighting compatibility, even if it's not perfect. For instance, if you enable Dynamic Lighting, it breaks Fractal's tool, and if you haven't activated Windows then you can't disable Dynamic Lighting without editing the registry.Fractal's software has a selection of prefab lighting patterns to show off the gen 2 lighting, but the default Northern Lights pattern may be our favorite. The indirect lighting around the edges of the front panel and across the PSU shroud are mostly striking in a dark room. It's unfortunate that such a big part of the case's appeal is limited to the $220 version.Meshify 3 Ambience Pro RGB Conclusion Visit our Patreon page to contribute a few dollars toward this website's operation (or consider a direct donation or buying something from our GN Store!) Additionally, when you purchase through links to retailers on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission.We like the Meshify 3 overall, but we're torn on several points. As an immediate positive, as reviewers who don’t normally comment a whole lot about looks, we do think they did well to pull off the LEDs and front panel on the Meshify 3. Fractal has consistently done well to execute on this style.As for the more difficult points: First off, the Meshify C launched at $90 and the Meshify 2 Compact at $110. Those weren't the lowest prices in context. The Meshify C, however, was on the affordable end of the scale even for that time. Given that Fractal picked the Meshify 3 MSRPs well before the new tariffs, we believe there's a good chance they'll go up. The Meshify 3 isn't in the medium-budget tier you might assume based on the history of the series. If you're looking for cases in that vein, Lian Li has options like the Lancool 217 (watch our coverage), while Antec has some equivalents to the Meshify 3 RGB like the C8 ARGB and Flux Pro.That's not to say that the Meshify 3 isn't worth the money, just that it’s embattled on all sides. There are a lot of options in this price category, which is good for consumers. The build quality is on par with what we expect from Fractal based on the last few years' worth of cases like the North (watch our review) and Torrent. It’s built well. Thermal performance was extremely good, and although the specs are different for the non-RGB fans as we've explained, we can assume that the performance is also extremely good for the non-RGB case variants. Based on that, the $140 and $160 options are the most competitive.As for the $220 Ambience Pro RGB, it's basically a $60-$80 upcharge for lighting, but we really like that lighting. That is, however, a big price jump. If you're considering the Ambience Pro RGB with the extra cost for the lighting, you should be comparing it to other flagship showy cases like the HAVN HS420 (read our review) or HYTE Y70 (read our review) (if you can buy one as they can be difficult to find in the US due to the tariffs). You should also look through Fractal's documentation carefully to make sure you like the RGB ecosystem of software and connectors before you commit.You can check out the competition like the Flux Pro, C8, and Corsair’s FRAME 4000D (read our review). We have more reviews coming up, but overall, we like Fractal’s new case.

Two years after partnering with OpenAI to automate marketing and customer service jobs, financial tech startup Klarna says it's longing for human connection again.Once gunning to be OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's "favorite guinea pig," Klarna is now plotting a big recruitment drive after its AI customer service agents couldn't quite hack it.The buy-now-pay-later company had previously shredded its marketing contracts in 2023, followed by its customer service team in 2024, which it proudly began replacing with AI agents. Now, the company says it imagines an "Uber-type of setup" to fill their ranks, with gig workers logging in remotely to argue with customers from the comfort of their own homes."From a brand perspective, a company perspective, I just think it’s so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will be always a human if you want," admitted Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the Swedish fintech's CEO.That's a pretty big shift from his comments in December of 2024, when he told Bloomberg he was "of the opinion that AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans, do." A year before that, Klarna had stopped hiring humans altogether, reducing its workforce by 22 percent.A few months after freezing new hires, Klarna bragged that it saved $10 million on marketing costs by outsourcing tasks like translation, art production, and data analysis to generative AI. It likewise claimed that its automated customer service agents could do the work of "700 full-time agents."So why the sudden about-face? As it turns out, leaving your already-frustrated customers to deal with a slop-spinning algorithm isn't exactly best practice.As Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg, "cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality."Klarna isn't alone. Though executives in every industry, from news media to fast food, seem to think AI is ready for the hot seat — an attitude that's more grounded in investor relations than an honest assessment of the tech — there are growing signs that robot chickens are coming home to roost.In January of last year, a survey of over 1,400 business executives found that 66 percent were "ambivalent or outright dissatisfied with their organization’s progress on AI and GenAI so far." The top issue corporate bosses cited was AI's "lack of talent and skills."It's a problem that evidently hasn't improved over the year. Another survey recently found that over 55 percent of UK business leaders who rushed to replace jobs with AI now regret their decision.It's not hard to see why. An experiment carried out by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University stuffed a fake software company full of AI employees, and their performance was laughably bad — the best AI worker finished just 24 percent of the tasks assigned to it.When it comes to the question of whether AI will take jobs, there seem to be as many answers as there are CEOs excited to save a buck.There are gray areas, to be sure — AI is certainly helping corporations speed up low-wage outsourcing, and the tech is having a verifiable effect on labor market volatility — just don't count on CEOs to have much patience as AI starts to chomp at their bottom line.Share This Article