Just got my Fractal Deisgn define R3 case straight from sweden! I've got it before any of the UK stores even have them in stock. Going to post some pictures and thoughts in the thread as soon as I find batteries for my camera Also any questions, I'll be happy to answer.
Looks pretty sweet on the outside, pretty much the same as the r2 though. Aparently the paint has better scratch resistance, but I can't really compare it. As you can see I got the Black Pearl one.
I haven't seen the bitumen stuff, but my brother came round (he has an r2) and he said its a completely different material. Heres the stuff, with my old Coolermaster fan. And no it doesn't really smell, give it a good sniff and it smells like a new pair of shoes
Here are the delicous guts! Made quite a tidy job of it, I have yet to sleeve my cables, but I plan to do so with white sleeving. And yes I know my Optical Drive isn't plugged in Also, do you guys want me to resize the images, or is it alright?
Please resize, anything over 1000px wide isn't really necessary. Or at least compress the images a bit, raw images from the camera are always huge files.
I might have to pick one of these up. I have a bunch of silent eagles to go in it. What do you think would be the best set up, another front intake, one exhaust on top and either side or bottom intake for the graphics card? How is the general build qaulity, like the fitting of the side panels etc?
Build quality is good, it feels very solid, and has a lot of weight, which adds to the good feel. However with both side panels, it takes quite a lot of force to get them off.
I don't mind if they require a lot of force, just that they line up correctly. I have had a few cases where the panel is noticeably off either to the edges of the case or from the holes at the back. I guess I need to start buying Lian Li's I am seriously considering this case, I will wait for a few reviews. Not because I don't believe what you are saying, but just that you may have got lucky and got a good one. I heard that the R2 had some quality control issues, but some people got 100% perfect cases, others got dogs so it was very inconsistent.
They line up perfectly, sometimes when you remove one one or two of the latches stay hooked, and you have to wiggle it lose. But when its on its a solid fit, and looks perfect.