Fractal Design Define R4 Case Review: Evolution, Not Revolution
by Dustin Sklavos on July 20, 2012 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- mid-tower
- Fractal Design
Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock
For testing the Fractal Design Define R4, I made a decision that's probably going to seem a little controversial: I elected to remove the middle drive cage. My rationale is consistent with a decision I made when I decided to revise our testing methodology, which is to test cases the way they would most likely be assembled with our testbed. I suspect the R4's middle drive cage is going to be removed by the vast majority of users, as they simply won't need it when the case already supports two 2.5" drive mounts behind the motherboard tray and three drive trays in the bottom cage. So unless you have a great need to load up the R4 with drives, odds are that cage isn't staying in.
I also tested the case with all three fan settings to give an idea of how well the fan control works and what the ideal setting might be for most users. It's easy to forget, though, that if you need an extra kick of cooling performance it's very easy to just bump the R4 up to the 12V setting and then switch it back down when you're not running as heavy a load.
Ambient temperatures during testing hovered around ~24C.
At the risk of spoiling the rest of the review results, I will tell you the fan controller's 7V setting is easily the best balance between performance and acoustics. While all three settings are below 30dB, the 7V setting is virtually impossible to distinguish from the 5V. Our major competitor for the R4 is going to be the Corsair Obsidian 550D, but keep in mind the 550D is also at least $30 more expensive.
Fan speeds are all basically comparable and competitive with very little notable variation. What's interesting is the remarkably even spread between the three fan controller settings (keeping in mind that the CPU fan and GPU fan are governed not by the case fan controller but by the motherboard and graphics card respectively). It'll be interesting to see if this even spread remains consistent under our overclocked testing.
There are a couple of vital points to make here. First is that because our sound meter doesn't register below 30dB, the chart doesn't tell the whole story. Noise at idle between 5V and 7V fan controller settings is nigh indistinguishable, but the 12V setting does produce a noticeable increase. It's still very quiet, but there's a low-pitched whooshing that becomes audible.
The second point is something I've become very keen to point out whenever possible: running fans too low can actually result in higher noise levels than finding a more optimal fan speed might. When the case's cooling system isn't producing adequate airflow, the cooling on the graphics card and CPU has to pick up the slack, and that's how you wind up with test results where the middle fan setting is actually quieter than the low fan setting. This is something I've experienced even with my personal desktop, and it's absolutely worth keeping in mind on any build.
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Dustin Sklavos - Friday, July 20, 2012 - link
Fractal Design rates it for 15mm, but I'm still of the opinion that your mileage may vary due to VRM sink design, etc. If it's going to fit it's going to be awfully tight, I don't think I'd try it in this case.danjw - Saturday, July 21, 2012 - link
Thank you for the response. Sounds like a water cooling in this case is a lost cause. Oh well.vanwazltoff - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
actually there is not a single review that says this but the button hard drive cage can be moved back and a 240mm read can be installed in the front. there is a YouTube video from fractal that shows thisTheStu - Friday, July 20, 2012 - link
I just picked up the Arc Midi, which I love aside from one small issue. In the removable cage, you cannot put a 3.5" drive into the top bay. The screws that secure the plastic bits on top protrude down too far and it scratches the top of the drive. I suppose if I felt like gouging the crap out of my drive I could put one there, but fortunately I /only/ have 6 hard drives and 1 SSD.sonicology - Saturday, July 21, 2012 - link
"Evolution not revolution" and variations thereof must be the single most overused literary cliche in tech journalism, every time I read it I shudder.randinspace - Saturday, July 21, 2012 - link
It's the influence gaming has had on the current generation of writers. Although, I'd personally take "evolution not revolution" over "rare(fied) air" (which seemed to inexplicably sweep the nation after Drew Brees passed Dan Marino's passing record last season, even creeping into Anandtech) any day.Seriously speaking (as a hack novelist who makes less money from writing than most HS kids do from their summer jobs), I find that even though the writers here at Anandtech all have their own idiosyncrasies which they can't help but put on display considering their output, they each have their own distinct "voice" and do a good job not just parroting their fellows' expressions, anecdotes, opinions, metaphors, and what have you. As opposed to AM radio personalities, ESPN's in particular. If I hear Jeremy Lin described as a "gift from the heavens that fell into the Knicks' lap last season" one more time (after hearing it used on just about every ESPN radio program just about every day this week) I'm going to throw whatever the offending phrase issued from into the nearest bay. Even if it's my manager.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, July 21, 2012 - link
Sometimes I can't help it, and I've found myself often even accidentally or almost repeating myself in headlines. It's tough to consistently come up with new stuff when you write as much as we do. ;)At the risk of tooting our own horn a little bit, Anand pretty aggressively courts (and has us aggressively court) people who have some writing skill in addition to their understanding of technology. From there, our editorial process has been in my experience devoid of any stylistic editing. I've written for a few sites, but these are seriously the nicest and most genuinely talented guys I've ever worked with.
Grok42 - Sunday, July 22, 2012 - link
I love the monolithic front look of the case with no bays or grills. I also appreciate this case bucking the almost universal trend of putting three or four and sometimes even five useless 5.25" bays. Doing so builds the option of having much better cooling or many more hard drives.Other than the power button, the ports on the top of the case seem a bit silly. I can't imagine why I would use the audio ports for my speakers. I can't imagine use them for headphones instead of the headphone port on my speakers or remote dongle. Same for the USB, just use the one on my computer/monitor/keyboard/speakers all which seem like they would be more convenient. I wouldn't care so much but it seems like those top ports will get dirty quickly and become unsightly.
I also agree with other posters that the top ports shouldn't be there. My current case has a vent and fan on the top and I will never get another case with them again. You can stack anything on top and my son loves to put things into them.
Finally, If they really want to do a revolution for the next iteration of this case here is what I would do. Ditch the 5.25" bays entirely. Reduce the width of the case as much as feasible while still keeping the 3.5" bays mounted the same. Ditch the lateral expansion slot if it helps reduce case width. Ditch ATX support along with 3 of the 7 expansion slots to allow the case to be shorter.
Arbie - Sunday, July 22, 2012 - link
Actually, I love the top vents on my Coolermaster CM-690, and wouldn't buy a case without them for a performance build.
This looks like a very good case even compared to the CM-690 series, except I don't want a door. Is it removable? I hope so.
Grok42 - Sunday, July 22, 2012 - link
I would prefer not having a door as well to reduce the overall size of the case. However, as long as manufactures insist on not making ANY cases without putting 5.25" bays in them, there are a lot of people who want something to cover up the ugliness these bays create. My ideal case would look just like the front of this without a door. The front sides would have vents/grills for pulling air in across all the drive bays and exhaust it out the back with vents/grills where they now typically have 9 expansion ports. Basically create a wind tunnel from front to back with the only compromise is not pulling air through the front panel for appearance reasons.