Reviews Fractal Design Define R6 Review

Buy the version with the sound dampened side panel, if that's what you want.

I won't be buying one of these, only because I bought an R5 earlier this year, which I expect to be using for many years.

 

Some people need space for several properly cooled HDDs, homebrew NAS Cheesecake.

 

Not the cheapest, is it? The standard version in particular looks very dear.

 

Including the R4 I use for that purpose.
But same product series and all that.

 

Radiator support: https://i.imgur.com/WWAlJmU.png

Pulled from the Paul's Hardware review:

 

I'm so, so tempted to buy one... just got to wait for Fractal to get back to me.

I absolutely loved the R5, so the R6 will be equally loved.

 

Considering the quality of the competition from the likes of Phanteks, In-Win, NZXT and even smaller guys like Raijintek, this seems like too much "playing it safe" for too much cash imo...

 

Simple yet elegant, no?

 

I hate that they lowered the number of actual drive cages to 6, while aparently they could go as high as 11-12 considering the mount spots ? If they are going to sell extra cages, i am all for R6. If not, then R5 is the superior case.

 

Yeah, I love Fractal stuff and don't really think of it as playing it too safe - I'd rather have a functional case with excellent build quality that's pleasant to build in over a blinging windowed LED-fest with razor sharp edges or poor design choices But I have to say that this R6 does feel overpriced for what's on offer, especially compared with its predecessors. Just feels like £120 for the non-windowed version is at least £30 too expensive imho.

 

The R5 was topping £100 new when I last checked months back. I got mine for £70 and was so very happy with it.

I guess that's how it is these days... prices are on the up and looks to be setting the trend.

 

That's true enough - there's definitely an upward trend with most hardware these days. I don't mind so much when you're getting more for your money but I just don't think iterations like this do enough to justify the extra cost.

£70 for an R5 is good. I think I paid £65 for my R3 back in the day and at that point it was the best case I'd ever owned. Only retired it earlier this year when I went mITX, so it's gathering dust in the loft. Shame, really, as it's still a great case but it weighs a ton so it's more trouble than it's worth to flog it.

 

Worth upgrading from the Define R1? What other notable revisions has it had apart from USB3 ports and larger backplate?