Fractal Design Define R3: A Fan Favorite Keeps the Noise Down
by Dustin Sklavos on November 11, 2011 1:22 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Fractal Design
Conclusion: An Awful Lot to Like
After going through the testing, it's pretty easy for me to understand why so many of you are big proponents of the Fractal Design Define R3. The kit on offer here has a design that's both elegant and practical, and its ability to serve users who want a quiet computer and/or a high performance computer without making any major compromises either way is a major coup.
By and large I'm a big fan of how the R3 looks. The door is going to be a matter of taste (I don't personally care for having a door on the front of my tower, but some people do, and it does keep noise in), but Fractal Design at least keeps the buttons and I/O outside the enclosure, on the top. I know some of you are going to be at least a little peeved by the lack of USB 3.0 connectivity in that I/O cluster; that's an update that Fractal Design will hopefully include in a revision down the line. And it may seem a little silly, but I really like how the removable acoustic pads block off the unused fan grills. Unoccupied grates for fans can be a bit of an eyesore, so covering them up internally goes a long way towards alleviating that problem.
If the R3 has a real shortcoming, it's the internal design. While the inside is about spacious enough (even a bit cozy), the holes in the motherboard tray just don't seem to line things up quite right, and so the build isn't able to be as clean as you'd want it to be. Routing cables is harder than it ought to be, and the hole for the AUX 12V cable just seems goofy. In the grand scheme of things this is probably a minor quibble, but it sticks out so much because it would be so easy to fix.
I'd say if you're going to be putting together a high performance, heavily overclocked machine, you'll want to add an intake fan or two in strategic places. For something more basic, the stock configuration should be more than adequate, and will definitely be able to keep the noise down. Given the choice between the NZXT H2 and the Fractal Design Define R3, it's easy to recommend the R3. Between the Antec Solo II and the R3, I'd give the edge to the R3, but there are reasons (mainly aesthetic) to go with the Solo II instead.
Ultimately, though, for silent computing in the $100 range, it's hard not to recommend the Fractal Design Define R3. You asked for the review, and you were right: it really is an excellent case.
Update: Fractal Design has informed me that USB 3.0 versions of their enclosures, including the Define R3 and Define XL, are selling on NewEgg and NCIX. So much for that complaint!
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BitJunkie - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link
I intended to buy this case, however, it was out of stock and predicted to be out of stock for some time. I ended up getting the Arc Midi with a separate noise damping kit for recent build. I also purchased extra case fans, a noctua D12 and Gainward phantom 560 gfx card to team up with an i5 2500k. Its fast enough and silent.20 deg / 30 deg idle
40 deg / 50 deg oc'd and full load.
Nice that at idle the CPU operates at ambient temp.
I tried some experiments:
1) No noise damping kits
2) full noise damping (all inner surfaces covered and no intake fans)
3) 2 No x 140mm intake fan and 2 No x 140 mm throttled venting fans with noise damping cut to cover the exposed panel sections
for 1) it was super loud, for 2) the case got very warm and mobo temps kept creeping up. For 3) I ended up with a super silent case with lots of space and good airflow.
Given that the Arc Midi is a newer design, removable drive bay, larger cable routing slots and perfectly aligned stand-offs I'd say that it is ahead of the R3. With the addition of fractal design noise damping kit (foam with bitumen backing) then it is way ahead of my friends R3.
Still the R3 is a great case and the write up here is to my mind a bit more critical than it needs to be. For my last build, I used a Lian Li tower that cost me over USD 200. Found this experience to be as good and probably easier on balance.
I have more money than I need, don't really care about paying for premium kit if it gives value - I still buy Fractal Cases - would even do so for an epic build. Quite depressed to see that high end cases dont give actually give significanltly better build quality or utility than the Arc Midi - I'd really like an excuse to buy them.
I want a case that looks good and doesnæt come from some sci-fi movie film set.
So long as you are not gated by thermal performance, I dont see the R3 case being a limit on rig performance - so long as you can get the components in it that you want to. Key dimensions are well specified by Fractal so check out their website and use your brain.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link
Honestly I'd rather be overly critical than not critical enough. As a consumer, someone buying the end product, I'd rather the reviewer have missed something awesome than something that was going to make my life difficult.That said, the R3 is certainly a fine case and one of the better ones I've reviewed, easy enough to recommend for sure.
BitJunkie - Sunday, November 13, 2011 - link
Good points Dustin. I've been reading anandtech since 2002 and the reviews that you and your colleagues post are excellent. I wouldn't wish that you change your style or approach at all.I suppose my intention was to say that the negative points that you raised, which are valid, are not significant in my decision making process when I weigh them against the other points that I feel are important.
Of course, because you pointed them out, others are then free to make their own evaluations on how important they are.
Keep up the good work.
petrucius - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link
I am so going to buy one of those for xmas.Great design and looks, love it.
petrucius - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link
Oh and I almost forgot - great review, thank you! :)einard - Sunday, November 13, 2011 - link
And I can highly recommend it. So many good points compared to the bad ones. Dust filters work like a charm.It works well with stock, but I've gone to the step of adding two more intake fans (bottom and front) and the side door outtake fan. I'm running xfire 6950's and it sure gets hot down by the outtakes - but that just keep my feet warm during cold days :)
Also, to top it off I removed the padding infront the one of the top fan spots. Even though its right next to the read outtake, it get hot around the cpu, and by opening that up it allows for natural removal of air.
By using the simple fan controller that follows with the case, you can control three fans I believe - which I use to tune the intake fans to just so much that I have a slight overpressure in the case to keep dust out. I don't know the results after this, but I'm betting that if you add those three fans plus removing the padding you can get some crazy good results for a cheap case.
I wish someone would go to the step and testing the case to it's full potential (challenge for you Anand)
Daedalus454 - Monday, November 14, 2011 - link
I've been using this case for about 6 months now. I've used more expensive cases from Antec, Cooler Master, etc in the past. IMO this case is the best one I've ever used.I'm very surprised that you weren't able to fit the 12v power cable through it's grommet. I had no issues while using the 12v 8-pin on my SeaSonic X-650 power supply, and more recently with an NZXT 12v extension cable. I'm also running the power cables from my top and rear fans through this same grommet, and I can fit the 12v 8-pin plug through the grommet with both of these power cables in place. Does your test power supply have larger-than-normal connectors perhaps?
I actually prefer the slight overlap between the motherboard and the side grommets, as this allows me to more easily make smaller u-bends in my cabling which, to my mind, results in a cleaner case layout. I did end up running the main ATX power cable through the gap between the mobo tray and the drive chassis, as you mentioned, which I don't really have a problem with. It puts a lot less side load on the motherboard power connector that way in any case.
In my experience, if installed correctly, brass motherboard standoffs are extremely rigid - I doubt your issue with the video card not lining up perfectly is related to the use of removable standoffs. I find that there's a lot more wiggle room where the motherboard screws into the mounts, and if a video card doesn't line up, I just need to loosen all the motherboard screws and gently slide the mobo in the right direction.
I'm running my R3 with two 120mm intakes, a 140mm bottom intake, a 120mm exhaust, and a 140 top exhaust, running through an NZXT Mesh fan controller. With the fans set to a "reasonable" speed I can cool an idling Phenom II 955 (with a CM Hyper 212+) at 1-2 degrees above ambient. With the top 140mm fan, I prefer to mount the CPU cooler horizontally so that it exhausts straight out the top of the case.
milic - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
I am looking for real silence, just wondering: are FD fans good enough to be kept or is it worth switching to top of the line Noctua NF-S12B FLX? and great review by the way, this case is really top notch for valuemilic - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - link
Ooops edit: Daedalus454, interesting comments, on the side, what is the NZXT Mesh fan worth? looks nice, no real information displayed but does it really matter? :-)Flashfir - Monday, November 21, 2011 - link
I'm running this with sflex-e as exhaust, 1 as the upper front intake, a stock fan for front lower intake, and a 140mm xigmatek for bottom intake. it runs pretty quiet my friends say they can't tell if my computer is on walking into the room.if you got any questions, lemme know. I'm also running a hyper 212+ and a 955.