Fractal Design Define Mini Case Review
by Dustin Sklavos on April 22, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- MicroATX
- Fractal Design
- Case
Conclusion: The Only Game in Town
I keep feeling like Fractal Design is what would happen if Corsair were a European company. They share a lot of the same strengths, but they also share a lot of the same weaknesses, and that's fairly evident with the Define Mini. One thing Corsair consistently does better, though, is convenience. Their cases are typically much easier to build in and make a lot of allowances for the end user.
The Define Mini isn't a bad enclosure by a longshot. 21 pounds for a micro-ATX case seems a little bit much, but this is a lot of steel being used to dampen noise in addition to the acoustic foam. That makes the case both sturdy and capable of containing noise. The white trays and white expansion slots continue to be signature for Fractal Design and reliably sturdy and secure, the lighting is minimal and attractive, and it's frankly a nice case for the $99 price tag.
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Where I think things start to fall apart for the Define Mini is its thermal performance. Liquid cooling in general is an excellent avenue for getting good cooling performance for internal components without generating a ton of noise. This is something that makes the Nanoxia Deep SIlence 1 such a strong contender, but unfortunately the Define Mini misses the boat. That wouldn't be so bad if the case was a solid performer with air cooling, but the included fans at least seem to be pretty inefficient. It's difficult for me to actually peg exactly why the Define Mini is such a weak performer where thermals are concerned, but it is.
I don't think all is necessarily lost with the Define Mini. It has some very strong points to its design and a smart builder could produce a competitive machine with it. The noise dampening does a fantastic job of keeping the system quiet, too. There are just missed opportunities here: a couple of allowances here and there for liquid cooling solutions could go a long way. Alternatively, better fans (probably ones comparable to Nanoxia's) or even bigger fans might be the order of the day. You're not getting a 140mm exhaust fan into this bad boy unless you widen the chassis by at least 10mm, but you can definitely get a pair of 140mm intakes in if you redesign the front, and those would help tremendously. The Define Mini is practically screaming for an R2.
Until Fractal Design comes up with a Define Mini R2, you're going to have to be okay with the trade-offs inherent to this version of the Define Mini. Alternatively, you may want to wait for Corsair's impending Obsidian 350D and see what they're planning to bring to the table where micro-ATX is concerned. The Fractal Design Define Mini isn't a bad case, but it does need some tender loving care, and it's not as great as it could be. It's the only micro-ATX case designed for acoustics, though, and if that's what you're looking for, the Define Mini's about the best option on the market.
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marc1000 - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
agreed. cases this size are definitively not small.geniekid - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
I respectfully disagree. The "point of micro ATX" is to have a system smaller than ATX but without all the trade-offs of mini ITX. There's a lot of ground between these two extremes and there's definitely a market of people who want a large micro ATX case. I imagine it overlaps with the market of people who buy Galaxy Notes ;)antef - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
Yes, but as a few people have mentioned, this ISN'T really much (or any) smaller than many ATX cases. So why bother? You can put a MicroATX board in an ATX case if you want. If manufacturers want to produce several sizes and variations then that's fine, but they shouldn't even bother with the MicroATX form factor if they aren't going to try to build something smaller.darkfalz - Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - link
Looks great in my home theatre setup. It's squat but long, so you don't notice the size from the front.lwatcdr - Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - link
That is kind of an issue with this case. The R4 ATX case is actually cheaper than the Define Mini on Newegg and it supports 140mm fans.antef - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
I agree completely. If you want more room to work in then get a normal ATX case. MicroATX is for those who want compact. My SilverStone PS07 (sibling of the TJ08-E) is 14.7" tall and 15.7" deep (vs. 15.55" tall and over 19" deep for the Fractal) and I wouldn't want it any bigger. It's also only 11.46 lbs vs. 21! It's actually compact, light, and still plenty of space for my needs. I don't know why these MicroATX cases try to cater to users who need multiple optical drives and a half dozen internal drives. This is not typical and extreme overkill for the majority of users. Those who need that can buy an ATX case that's practically the same size as this Define Mini.anactoraaron - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
True the majority of users don't need multiple optical drives or half a dozen internal drives, but I DID. This lil' bad boy is containing my WHS 2011 with 5.5TB (5 1TB Raid 5 + 1.5TB pc backup drive)+ 40GB SSD (OS drive). I have it hidden away and needed a quiet case that could hold 6 internal drives.Not for everyone, sure. But for anyone needing a small & quiet case for a WHS box or other file sharing box it's perfect.
I don't know why it wasn't mentioned but when I was running the cables in mine the rubber pieces that you run the cables through kept popping out and it was a major PITA putting them back in.
marc1000 - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
if you use WHS you are already on some niche market. don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one box with it on my house, but because of all changes MS is making on the OS with win8 I gave up on the idea of buying a dated Server OS.but yes, 6 internal drives is one good use of this case. I have only 2 drives on my main rig, so my needs are different. most people even have only 1 drive, for them the space would be better used on the desk than on the computer case.
otherwise - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
Considering this case is perfect for a 6-drive NAS, I really wish fractal design would start designing their cases so you could screw in backplanes like some other vendors.piroroadkill - Monday, April 22, 2013 - link
Unless you need a full size board, you should get micro ATX and this. Built a machine for my girlfriend with this, a giant Noctua cooler, 3570k overclocked, Seasonic X-660, and so on and so on. So .. damn.. quiet. Looks great, has tons of drive bays. Highly recommended.