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
Testing Methodology
For testing ATX cases, we use the following standardized testbed in stock and overclocked configurations to get a feel for how well the case handles heat and noise.
| Full ATX Test Configuration | |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-875K (95W TDP, tested at stock speed and overclocked to 3.8GHz @ 1.38V) |
| Motherboard | ASUS P7P55D-E Pro |
| Graphics Card | Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (244W TDP) |
| Memory | 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 |
| Drives |
Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gbps Samsung 5.25" BD-ROM/DVDRW Drive |
| CPU Cooler | Zalman CNPS9900 MAX with Cooler Master ThermalFusion 400 |
| Power Supply | SilverStone Strider Gold 750W 80 Plus Gold |
A refresher on how we test:
Acoustic testing is standardized on a foot from the front of the case, using the Extech SL10 with an ambient noise floor of ~32dB. For reference, that's what my silent apartment measures with nothing running, testing acoustics in the dead of night (usually between 1am and 3am). A lot of us sit about a foot away from our computers, so this should be a fairly accurate representation of the kind of noise the case generates, and it's close enough to get noise levels that should register above ambient.
Thermal testing is run with the computer having idled at the desktop for fifteen minutes, and again with the computer running both Furmark (where applicable) and Prime95 (less one thread when a GPU is being used) for fifteen minutes. I've found that leaving one thread open in Prime95 allows the processor to heat up enough while making sure Furmark isn't CPU-limited. We're using the thermal diodes included with the hardware to keep everything standardized, and ambient testing temperature is always between 71F and 74F. Processor temperatures reported are the average of the CPU cores.
For more details on how we arrived at this testbed, you can check out our introductory passage in the review for the IN-WIN BUC.
Last but not least, we'd also like to thank the vendors who made our testbed possible:
Thank You!
We have some thanks in order before we press on:
- Thank you to Crucial for providing us with the Ballistix Smart Tracer memory we used to add memory thermals to our testing.
- Thank you to Zalman for providing us with the CNPS9900 MAX heatsink and fan unit we used.
- Thank you to Kingston for providing us with the SSDNow V+ 100 SSD.
- Thank you to CyberPower for providing us with the Western Digital Caviar Black hard drive, Intel Core i7-875K processor, ASUS P7P55D-E Pro motherboard, and Samsung BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drive.
- And thank you to SilverStone for providing us with the power supply and SATA power cable.
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cjb110 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
Given the sizes are standard, I'm surprised there isn't a third-party product, sheet of heavy ish metal with insulation of some kind.beginner99 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
Seem weird. You say ambient is 71-74 F (= 21-23 °C) yet idle temps are exactly yin that range. CPU idles at ambient seems a little off to me?moep - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
But how did your review case smell?When I bought my R3 last year, it emitted a headache inducing stench that was too much to bear. I first thought that the bitumen mats were to blame, but Fractal later on told me that something went wrong during the production process of the rubber parts.
I had to throw all the rubber grommets out.
ckevin1 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
They have fixed that. I read that they changed the rubber on the newer models because of that exact complaint. My new R3 arrived just yesterday, and I did not notice any bad smell with it.I was actually in the market for a potentially expensive case -- the FT02 and Raven were in consideration -- but the dealbreaker for me was the size of those cases. The spot under my desk can really only hold something about as long as the R3, maybe a little taller but not much. As far as I could tell, the R3 is about the nicest case you can buy of its size, without having to go significantly bigger.
I would have liked another quarter inch of clearance behind the motherboard tray. There is some space back there, and ultimately I did get all the cables routed, but fitting the door was impossible until I laid the case on its side.
The bottom fan intake for the PSU isn't going to have enough clearance on carpet, you'll probably need to put a hard surface underneath it. I really like the FT02 design in this area, with the flat bottom giving you an inch air gap on any surface.
In general, the case seems quality. I was hoping the sound damping might do more to mitigate my noisy GPU fan, but it sounds about the same as in my old Sonata 3. I can't fault the case on that -- it's a really crappy card -- and I imagine I'll be able to appreciate the lower temps and low noise of the system fans once I replace that component, which is by far the noisiest thing in my build.
geniekid - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
I've been waiting for this review forever! Thanks!I also dislike having the door, but if it helps keep thing quiet, I can live with it. This will probably be the case I use for my next gaming build unless the FT02 drops under $150 - pretty unlikely, I know.
vectorm12 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
I recently bought a couple of FD cases (R3+Define XL) what I cannot for the life of me understand is why the drivetrays are as flimsy as they are. They are made out of steel and as much have a tendency to bend and flex. After a couple of drive-swaps I've already been forced to correct some of the trays to keep them locking into the case. The ideal budget-drivetrays in my mind come from the HP Microserver(they are plastic but extremely sturdy).Secondly I hate the fact that not more cases come with hotswap capability (even as an option).
If your like me building a home server aiming for Xen/Fileserver etc. Your gonna need plenty of HDDs. Even a dumb-backplane with SATA-connectors would be better than having to disassemble the case each time I need to switch out a bad drive.
With the XL I could give up three of the 5,25" bays for a separe hotswap-bay but honestly it's far from an ideal solution. Again a backplane for the satadrives (even as an option) would have been a far greater idea considering you can fit 10 drives inside the XL, without using the 5,25" bays.
vectorm12 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
Half my kingdom for a edit button :)In any case despite these gripes this is in my opinion THE budget case to get. With improved fans this case is capable of running a system extremely quiet and still keep relatively cool.
Not gonna bother correcting the few typos I made in my previous post :)
xeizo - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
And I'm very happy with it. The build quality is not top notch, it is only ok, but the functionality is almost faultless. It housed my C2Q @ 3.84GHz very silently for the past year and now it houses my 2600k-rig @ 4.8GHz on water near silent(I use slightly higher speed ST1450-fans to get better performande from the radiator, the C2Q was aircooled with TRUE and Noctua 12P and more silent).Very easy to work with, lots of space. I use all the 140mm-fan positions occupied with FDs own 140mm fans @ 600rpm and they are totally silent compared to the Silent Typhoons which are the only fans making some kind of noise in the rig. All fans are intake except the two in the top, which makes the case an excellent chimney :)
(the water radiator benefits from intake ie cooler air pasing through it)
cjs150 - Monday, November 14, 2011 - link
Interesting. Always though that the Arc Midi was a better choice for watercooling (or maybe just more flexible) but clearly R3 also works well.Are you cooling the CPU only or watercooling GPU+CPU?
HaydenOscar - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link
I have the R2, can anyone please tell me what has changed between these two versions? I can't seem to find an actual list anywhere.