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Installing fans or radiators here will limit the length of the PSU you can install, however. Known as the finest case Fractal Design makes, the Define R6 is the case to go for for a quiet build. It also has a great airflow system and comes with some solid dust filters. The case packs in a ton of features, however, with great radiator and AIO cooling support, and a mid-tower form factor with plenty of room for all your hardware. To get the fullest possible picture of each case’s cooling performance, I tested the Define R5 using both its built-in fan controller and the Asus Q-fan motherboard fan control system. Since the Obsidian 450D doesn’t have a built-in fan controller, I tested it using the Q-fan system only.
Define 7 Compact
When I used the Q-fan system, I profiled each case’s fans using Asus’ fan tuner, and I used the Standard built-in fan profile for my tests. As I noted in my dissection of the Define R5’s interior, I’m not a big fan of this case’s drive mounting system. The Define’s metal sleds require four grommets and screws per 3.5″ drive, which feels archaic nowadays.
Price: $146
The metal drive trays at the front of the R5 can accept up to eight 2.5″ or 3.5″ drives. Still, the R5’s drive mounting scheme is my biggest complaint about the case. Mounting a drive to a tray requires four rubber grommets and screws, unlike the simpler snap-on plastic drive trays in almost every other modern case. What’s more, this mounting system means that owners will have to worry about keeping the Define R5’s included hardware organized and stored somewhere. In almost every other regard, though, living with the Define R5 is a pleasure. Fractal has clearly thought about every inch of the case, from the easy-to-use side panels and spacious radiator mounts to the generous cable-routing area behind the motherboard tray.
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While the door might look like it’s made of metal, it’s really just thick plastic with a metallic veneer. I wish Fractal had made the removable ModuVent panels at the top of the case a little more finger-friendly. The company could have included some corresponding magnetic filters for these top vents, too.
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Around back, there’s another 140-mm spinner, seven expansion slots, and a mount for the power supply at the bottom of the case. To paraphrase a Steve Jobs-ism, however, it’s important to remember that design isn’t just about how something looks, but also how it works. Companies can pay as much lip service as they like to the idea of good design, but the rubber has to hit the road at some point. Let’s see whether Fractal Design’s Scandinavian approach has produced an enclosure that measures up.
If you want to go compact, Fractal Design has the Meshify 2 Compact, and for ITX builds, the Define Nano S. Perhaps most importantly (to mangle another Steve Jobs-ism), the best-designed products should delight their owners. That rare quality, along with the R5’s many virtues and sensible price, make this case an easy pick for our coveted Editor’s Choice award. According to this study by researchers at the University of Florida, the accuracy of these apps varies widely, with most over-reporting noise levels, and at least one under-reporting.
There’s also generous room for SATA power and data cables behind the drive cages—much more than in my Obsidian 450D or the Cooler Master Silencio 652S. The spacious cable area means that the side panel slides back on effortlessly, and the panel doesn’t bow out at all, even with the added thickness of the noise-deadening foam. There’s plenty of space for cable routing behind the motherboard tray, plus some thoughtful touches. Fractal includes three Velcro straps in the R5, which are used to route the front-panel cables by default.
The Define R5 delivers lower temperatures than the Obsidian 450D for some components, while the Obsidian keeps other parts cooler. Considering the Define R5 is down a fan against the Obsidian 450D, that’s impressive. The Define R5 makes up for its somewhat fiddly drive mounting system with its incredible modularity. Those black USB 3.0 ports are up top along with the usual headphone and mic jacks, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, and a large power button flanked by a tiny, sunken reset button.
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Monitors, cables, processors, video cards, fans, cooling, cases, accessories, anything for a PC build. Overall, the R5 is the quietest case I’ve tested, but it’s not going to make an otherwise noisy system quiet on its own. Silent-PC enthusiasts will still need to choose parts carefully to minimize overall system noise. With the motherboard in control of its fans, the Define R5 is anywhere from two to four dBA quieter than the 450D for the most part, both at idle and under load.
The Define R5’s instruction manual suggests that the bottom drive cage can be moved to the middle of the case, which is nice if you need both front radiator support and room for 3.5″ drives. For a full accounting of the various drive cage configurations that are possible with this case, check out the Define R5’s manual. Behind the door is an easily removable dust filter, a single Fractal Design Dynamic GP mm fan, and two 5.25″ bays. The door can be easily swapped to open from either side of the case, although it’s not a tool-free process. The switch for the Define R5’s built-in, three-speed fan controller can also be found here.
With the single layer of fans, however, I avoided blocking the rear fan by sliding it down on the R5’s adjustable rear fan mount. I haven’t built a PC with a front door in a long time (remember Antec’s P180?), but the concept has lived on in the Define series. Not only does the door help to keep the exterior clean-looking, but it’s also the first line of defense in the Define R5’s silencing features. Opening the door reveals a foam-lined interior, similar to the Cooler Master Silencio 652S that Cyril recently reviewed. Fractal Design has lined the side and top panels of the R5 with this foam, too.
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