Hardware Fractal Design's future cases

Those cases look similar to the Antec P190 that I had and I didnt like the P190 because it was hard to work with. The motherboard didnt have much space around it making installation difficult. I hope those cases dont have the same problem. Thank god I changed my case for a Corsair Obsidian 800D which is a thousand times better in my opinion.

 

Having bought an R2, I cannot contemplate going back to shitty cases again. Huge upgrade for me seeing as my last case was a shitty thermaltake dragon, so obviously my opinion is quite squewed, However, I do adore the temperatures i get and the ability to turn the fans up and down with the modded fan controller.

on a side note, anyone know what value the pot is inside the fan controller bundled with the R2 because i burned mine out. Thinking it was retarded to have a fan controller on the back of the machine, i just popped it in the front and the contacts shorted, burning a couple of tracks out and the pot, so i bridged the contacts with wire, and everythings kosher. Except i burned the pot out. Pro tip: it may be running at 12v but lol it could be expensive if you **** it up.

 

the R2 looks like a cross between a Antec P182 & Coolermaster Centurion 590 *yawn* need moar originality pls

 

How much originality do you expect. It's a box holding the same parts as every other box. Besides, a ton of R&D increases cost, something Fractal isn't about.


I think these guys have the right idea, start with a good solid design, add some tweaks, make it looks nice, and stick your label on it. Is it market changing? No, but it makes for a darn nice case for a good price that requires little effort to be what you want.

How many cases are totally original or market changing? They can't all be.

 

Statement of one of the distributors (who is my friend), lots of the cases they get now have bitumens not glued correctly, sometimes the bitumen on moduvents is not fitted correctly (hell, even my case from the one of the 1st batches have one moduvent where there are no holes for fan screws in bitumen, so the bitumen is having a U shape on it). Also there is a problem with the feets (see SPCR review for example), some have problems with 5.25" bays, rivets not 100% secure and we can continue.

Don't think i have anything against Fractal Design - the case is awesome, i own it - but their QA should be better, a lot better.

 

I like what I'm seeing. BUT I really wish they would make a better dust filter solution before they start production. Screwing them in is very awkward. Quick fit along the lines of the Antec darkfleet would be great.

 

I have the R2, it is a nice case. I wish I had gone for the gun metal front instead of silver though!

the above comment is true - my bitumen plating was "peeling" off the side panels on arrival. I just pushed it back into place and it has stayed there.

The case is exceptionally quite even with the two roof moduvents replaced with fans, and it is ideal for bedroom use.

One design aspect i was hoping they would improve on was the HD bays - they are not removable - i use 3 at the moment and couldnt see myself ever using more than 4 of them. It would be good if i could remove the other bays to improve circulation.

 

We have seen the issue with the bitumen peeling off too but to say the cases are bad quality is inaccurate. This issue has already been addressed in the next shipment and they have been very proactive and understanding the process of resolving it.

Fractal Design are a breath of fresh air in an industry full of big companies who rehash each others tired designs hoping to make a quick buck. I have never dealt with a manufacturer who genuinely embraced user feedback and implemented it their designs and was so enthusiastic and excited about letting people know what they have in the pipeline, just as this interview with Fractal Design is testament to. How many other IT companies, or ANY company for that matter, have a human face and this level of transparency in their development? I cant think of any..

In an era where it seems acceptable for corporations/companies to dictate what their customers will buy and what they will like, I wish the team at Fractal Design all the best.

 

The Define XL looks very, very promising - 800D'esque radiator estate and plenty of room for other WC equipment too. And for about ½ the price. I'll be definitely checking this one out.

 

FYI - the R3 doesn't use the Bitumen any more, it's another one of those fixes that has been replaced with something else. Fractal told me (I just didn't write about it) that people complained it smelled, particularly in a hot running case, so they changed it. I don't know what the R3 uses though.

 

They seem like a good company. They actually listen to what people want unlike some companies not naming any names. Might get an itx case eventually.

 

Like Fractal's stuff a lot. Sadly no distributor in NZ yet.

 

FSP help produce their power supplies????? I think you should find a better partner or perhaps stick to cases, since this is clearly better.
FSP power suppliers are aweful, having experienced 2, and so making a one for fractal is more like fatal.

 

Really nice to see the DefineXL getting on route to hit the market...I've exchanged some emails with the Fractal-Design personnel (Hannes) and I had seen some earlier pictures of the DefineXL... I've been expecting to hit it as soon as it becomes available in Greece.
There's definitely an improvement here with regard to the earlier design, also some features have been left out it seems and some have -sadly- not changed.

- The Good: They have introduced another cable routing hole on the top of the motherboard, they have put more of those on the right part of the tray, the have less hdds on the lower department, making it less likely that they will have increased temperatures. They have not included side vents, which will make the case more silent.

- The Missing? : Hannes had said, there would be two large fans blowing air across the hdds to the back of the case (like in the Obsidian), but that would require extra width. I guess this has been left out?

- The Bad: There is no proper exhaust for the low department, driving out the hdd-warmed air...just grills on the rear above the psu. In the earlier design, the fans beside the two rows of the lower hdd-trays would blow the air to the back of the motherboard (like the Obsidian) with the holes along the rear of the case letting it out. But the fans have not been included it seems, plus just one row of holes on the back - taking into consideration that the cables on the back of the mainboard tray will limit airflow - would not be enough for hot air exhaust...I would be concerned about hdd temperatures as a result.
Also, the holes for the psu cables on the right of the psu should have been bigger-wider...

And a question: Will the DefineXL include bitumen layer on the sides and the top? I really hope greater care has been put into making this full-case (a lot) more sturdy than the Define R2.

Good work Fractal-Design...really hope you can find a big retail distributor in Greece (Plaisio, e-shop) although the current one (pcmajor.gr) is very good, but new and not well-known among computer enthusiasts.
There has been a recent review of the Define R2 on the biggest greek pc forum (thelab) and it was really praised.

 

for starters NZXT cases, Thermaltakes 'Level 10', Silverstone Raven - there are more then a handful of cases there that dont take 'a ton of R&D ' to make. it doesnt take much to just turn around & say they want a slight different cosmetic design compare to others. but they are just doing a copy for copy more or less spliced down the middle

 

I disagree. Case manufactures dont need to worry about innovation and trying to break out of the norm. Fact of the matter is a case is there to hold all your components and keep them cool. Yes you CAN build a but-ugly HAF and cram it with a dozen 200mm fans but my little A05 is sitting here with a single 120mm intake keeping my i7 860 and 4870 cool and quiet so is it really required?

In my opinion a case need only tick 3 boxes:

-Looks good. Of course this is a subjective matter, personally I have yet to see anything that'll tempt me away from Lian Li's simple, clean lines and sexy brushed aluminum.

-Be easy to work with and install components. Straight away this rules steel out for full tower cases imo (Yeah Corsair, i'm looking at you). After owning a Thermaltake Kandalf I dont ever want to be messing around with a ~20KG case ever again. Other areas to consider here are the various takes on tool-less installation (another area Lian Li excel at), my old Cosmos S had some cool looking clicky buttons to hold 5.25" devices in but half of them failed by time I was done with the case because of their cheap, plasticky construction.

If you cant do tool-less properly, just trust us to be able to use a screwdriver properly....

-Cools sufficiently. As I mentioned above, big fans are all well and good, but rarely needed. A simple front-to-back or bottom-to-top airflow pattern with unobstructed intakes is enough to keep a normal mid-high end rig running happy 24/7. Big side panel fans are just a way of completely destroying directional airflow in a case and suck in silly amounts of dust, do away with 'em.


IMO THIS is an absolutely perfect case.

Looks good? Check! (again, this is obviously subjective. Alot of you might consider it plain, I think it's gorgeously simple)

Easy to use? Check! Brilliant PCI, PSU and drive bay retention systems, heaps of space, light and solidly built, no sharp edges, loads of cable routing options, heaps of modability.

Cooling? Check! 2 140mm intakes at front, 2 120mm exhausts at rear, PSU cooling is independent from the rest of the system when mounted at the bottom and if your a power user the roof can hold a couple/trio of fans.





Oh and Silverstone can go swivel with their retarded rotated mobo tray, i'd rather Lian Li (or anyone else who fancies it) bring back inverted ATX.

 

Like I said, not ALL can be game changers. At any rate, you couldn't pay me to run another Thermaltake case (as thin as a soda can and strips like butter) and you are comparing a high end case (Silverstone) to a mid range case. Obviously some are, and yet, I don't see an NZXT case on every desk, so they aren't game changers.


They are working around established parts, which helps but it's also why they are all the same internally, how many ways can you mount a motherboard? How many places can you realistically mount a PSU? Where can you mount drives? There isn't a lot of room for innovation there so most don't bother. Why re-invent the wheel?

Why spend thousands on prototypes and R&D when you can get a chassis already proven to work well, make a couple minor changes, add your fascia and be done.

If you truly think it is that easy, explain why we have so many junk cases out there.