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!

Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked
Comments Locked

83 Comments

View All Comments

  • Peskarik - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link

    Define R3 is an older design, that was what Fractal told answered me when I mentioned the fixed drive cage, which I as well find to be a nuisance.
  • Coup27 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link

    For someone who hasn't kept pace with case designs for a long time, could somebody please explain why the PSU now goes at the bottom instead of the top?
  • jrs77 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link

    The PSU sits in the bottom to make it easier to cool and less noisy. Usually PSUs have a thermal-controlled fan, which then runs faster, if it sucks hot air from within the case. That's why they get mounted on the bottom, where they can suck in fresh air instead, running cooler and more silent. Also, this setup allows for fans being mounted in the top as additional cooling for the CPU, etc.

    BTT:

    The trick with the cable-routing is to rout the cables prior to installing the motherboard, then they'll fit through the grommets easily enough.

    Well, and for cooling and noise... using better and more fans (Scythe S-Flex SFF21D) to drop both, temps and noise-levels does help.
    The biggest plus for the Define R3 is the understatement and the sounddampening at a very low price.

    The allways mentioned CM Silencio doesn't have the top-fan-mounts, which are pretty good for installing a 240mm rad.
  • piroroadkill - Friday, November 25, 2011 - link

    For one thing, it is becoming a heavier and heavier component with increasing power needs, and I don't think 4 screws at the back and just leaving it hanging is a great idea. With it at the top you'd end up with a big shelf splitting up the case to hold it, otherwise.

    Bottom is actually pretty good, and it means you don't have a big mains cable trailing across the back of all your other cables round the back of your machine.
  • Casper42 - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link

    When will some half way decent Case Mfg eventually realize that when moving the PSU to the bottom, you should really move the Optical bays as well. It doesn't seem that bad in this case because its limited to 2 Optical bays, but every other case with a bottom PSU and 3 / 4 optical bays means that after installing a nice large GPU, you effectively have created a wall between the Fans pushing cool air in at the bottom and the CPU which is now way up at the top of the case.

    The Cooler Master Silencio 550 that someone in the comments mentioned is a PERFECT example of this.
    http://www.guru3d.com/article/cooler-master-silenc...
    Look at the side shot with the video card.
    So that tiny slit above the right side of the video card and a whopping 1" gap between the video card and the side panel is where your CPU gets its cool air from?

    Move the damn Optical bays to the bottom so they line up with the PSU (ideally only 2 bays like the R3) and now you have 2 x 120 or 2 x 140 pushing cool air in the front that line up perfectly with the components that need the best cooling. Upper fan cools the RAM and CPU and the lower fan cools the GPU(s).
  • JonnyDough - Friday, November 11, 2011 - link

    and thought it might benefit you, the world.

    http://video.pbs.org/video/1050932219

    Please watch this video on PBS. It is, needless to say - quite interesting, particularly if you are not familiar with fractals.
  • Gnarr - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link

    Thanks for a great article :)

    I however want to point out that "Methodology" is the study of methods, so unless page 4 is supposed to be teaching us the methods of testing, instead of telling us what methods were used for testing, it should be called "Testing methods", not "Testing Methodology" :)
  • JonnyDough - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link

    Its no secret that the tech sites I read need better editors. Good catch. :D
  • JarredWalton - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link

    Nope. Methodology: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/methodology

    Only 1b suggests methodology as the study of methods. 1a and 3 both support the use of the phrase "Testing Methodology", though "Testing Methods" is equally acceptable.
  • Death666Angel - Saturday, November 12, 2011 - link

    I don't really see anything special here.

    Since you mentioned the foam, can you make a an article about foam and how it effects temperatures and noise, if at all? I think the best you can do if you want a quiet PC is choose cool running, quiet hardware. A case does not make or break a silent/cool PC. Of course, that doesn't mean cases are unimportant, they can screw some things up if they are badly designed. But mostly, it's the components inside the case that should be of concern.

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now