The popular Define Series R3 is under the spotlight today. With USB 3.0 and noise dampening throughout, does this well established favourite still wow the crowds?
Product on Review: Define R3
Manufacturer: Fractal Design
Street Price: £75 inc. VAT
Back in 2010 Fractal Design proudly unveiled a computer chassis that would remain a forerunner some 2 years later. The Define R3 is much revered within enthusiast circles due to its looks and features.
Though the R3 is an older product it certainly isn’t aging and whilst we do review newer products more often than not it’s also sometimes necessary to take a look at products that have slipped through the net. I’ve been keen to look at the R3 for a while now and I hope those that read this article will find it useful and informative.
The Define R3 case is reaching new heights in combining stylish, contemporary design with maximum functionality and noise absorbing features. The minimalistic, yet stunning front panel design, fitted with noise absorbing material on the inside, creates an aura of exclusivity. The patent pending feature ModuVent™, in which you can choose whether to have side and top panels open or not, makes the case appealing for users seeking optimal silence, as well as the performance hungry ones.
Features & Specifications
(Taken from Fractal Design website)
* Stunning front panel design
* Patent pending ModuVent™ design, allowing the user to either have optimal silence or optimal airflow
* Pre-fitted with dense, noise absorbing material
* 8 white painted HDD-trays, with silicone mounting
* A total of 7 fan slots (2x120mm in front, 2x 120/140mm in top, 1x120mm in back, 1x 120/140mm in side panel, 1x 120/140mm in bottom)
* 2x 120mm Fractal Design 120mm fans included
* Fan controller for 3 fans included
* Easily removable front fan filters with clip-on holders for 120mm fans
* Supports graphic card lengths up to circa 290mm and CPU coolers with height of maximum circa 165mm
* Supports PSU’s with a depth of maximum circa 170mm, when using bottom 120/140mm fan location. When not using the bottom 120/140mm fan location, the case supports also longer PSU’s, typically 200-220mm.
* 8x 3,5 inch HDD trays, compatible with SSD
* 2x 5,25 inch bays, with 1x 5,25>3,5 inch converter included
* On top of front panel: 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 and Audio I/O
* No PSU included (removable filter below PSU)
* M/B compatibility: Mini ITX, Micro ATX and ATX
* 7x expansion slots with sleek white painted brackets
* Supports graphic card lengths up to ~290mm
* Supports CPU coolers with height of ~165mm
* Supports PSU’s with a depth of maximum circa 170mm, when using bottom 120/140mm fan location. When not using the bottom 120/140mm fan location, the case supports also longer PSU’s, typically 200-220mm.
* Case size (WxHxD): 207.40x442x521.2mm
* Net weight: 12.50kg
Packaging & First Look
The R3 is presented in a large black box. The front and back have all the details such as features and specifications and there is a depiction of the R3 on both sides. The image on our sample shows a white case since we will be taking a look at the white variant.
Inside, the case is covered in a clear plastic sheet and held in place via polystyrene pillars.
Define R3 Packaging
If you’ve seen the R3 before you will know that its external design is very sleek and carries with it rather minimalist type of styling. The only difference on either side of the case is that the prominent side panel has a mesh cut-out to allow a side 120/140mm fan to be attached. Both side panels have a layer of dense anti-noise material to allow the R3 to block out noise and maintain silence.
Prominent side panel with optional 120/140mm side fan
Sleek and minimalist
Over the page we will continue our tour of the exterior.
Exterior
The front of the R3 features a swinging door that has a smooth surface, whilst round the back at the bottom there is an opening for mounting the PSU. Above this there are 7x PCI expansion slot covers each with ventilation holes for better airflow. To the side there is a mesh honeycomb section with 2x circular rubber grommets. At the top there is a 120mm rear exhaust fan and 2x circular rubber grommets.
The front and back of R3
At the very top is the front panel connectivity, here there is a headphone/microphone jack, large circular power button, 2x USB 2.0 ports and 1x USB 3.0 port.
Front panel connectivity with USB 3.0 via motherboard header
As previously mentioned, the door on R3 opens out to reveal access to fan slots at the front and optical drive bays. The inside of the door has noise dampening material.
To get the cover off an optical drive slot is very simple thanks to the clips on the outside. This saves having to go inside the case.
Swinging door
Removable optical drive bay covers
On the underside of R3 there are 4x rubber feet. The front feet are larger than the rear and there is a removable fan filter for the PSU fan. Consumers can also add in an optional case fan to the bottom – 120/140mm.
The underside of R3
With the external inspection now over, let’s take a look at the internal layout and features over the page.
Interior
With the side panels removed we can see inside R3 and it has a good layout with tool-less mechanisms throughout, cable management grommets and adequate space for component installation.
A decent layout with tool-less design for installation of devices
Behind the motherboard tray – cable management grommets and HDD access
The PSU mounting area has rubber pads for cushioning the PSU and preventing vibration/scratching. The underside of course has a removable filter should you choose to install the PSU with the fan on the underneath. Next to the PSU area is a fan mounting bracket for attaching a 120mm fan. Those with a longer PSU will need to remove this bracket as it can cause obstruction.
The PSU mounting area with anti-vibration pads
Above this are 7x PCI expansion slot covers with ventilation holes for better airflow and thumbscrews for easy removal.
7x PCI expansion slot covers – with ventilation and thumbscrews
Over the page we will continue our tour of the internal elements of R3.
Interior (Continued)
Above the PCI expansion slot covers is the 120mm rear exhaust fan. As with other elements of R3 the inside of the roof has more noise dampening material to keep things as quiet as possible during operation. These pads can be removed for optional cooling via 120/140mm fans.
120mm rear exhaust fan and more noise dampening for roof
On the other side of R3 is the optical drive bay cage. This has 2 available slots, the bottom slot has a 3.5” bracket for attaching devices such as HDD.
Optical drive bay cage with 3.5” adapter bracket
Beneath the optical drive bay cage is another cage, this is for HDDs. Inside the cage are 8x HDD brackets that can accommodate 2.5/3.5” drives. The cage here is not removable.
HDD storage – 8 options for 2.5/3.5” drives
With our inspection now over. Let’s install some kit inside R3 to see how it handles component installation over the page.
Installation
Installing kit into R3 is generally hassle-free. There are a few things that need doing prior to getting the PSU in – for example, the PSU I use for all case reviews is a little longer than a standard ATX so the case fan mount on the bottom of R3 needs removing. The rubber grommets are also hidden behind the PSU due to its length so these cables must be fed through before fixing the PSU into place. Other than this, the R3 has lots of space and room for installing HDD storage. Cable management is easy to maintain.
Installation complete
Installation complete – behind the motherboard tray
Installing HDDs inside R3 is very easy. As we have come to experience with most cases, HDDs have to be attached to tray/bracket. To install a drive inside this tray screws must be attached to the underside of either 2.5/3.5” drives.
HDD installation inside metal tray – 2.5/3.5” compatibility
Clearance – CPU, GPU, Cable Management
Clearance inside a chassis is essential to enthusiasts, in this section we will be looking at all areas to reveal just how flexible R3 really is.
Firstly the CPU cooler clearance. Fractal Design claim 165mm for the maximum height of the CPU cooler before it touches the side panel. This covers most flagship CPU coolers including Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow (160mm). Installed inside R3 is the Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm in height. It’s good to see this chassis can accommodate big, flagship CPU coolers.
Room for big CPU coolers
Next the GPU clearance. Though R3 doesn’t have any removable HDD cages there is enough room to cater for most graphics cards currently on the market. Pictured is the NVIDIA GTX 480 which is 11” in length.
Clearance for up to 11” graphics cards
Behind the motherboard tray is a total of 1.7cm of clearance. There are no convex side panels so this isn’t especially generous but it does mean that the majority of cables will tuck away behind the motherboard tray with the side panel on without too much hassle.
Clearance Behind mobo tray
Thermal Performance Testing
Inside Fractal Design’s R3 are 2x pre-installed fans – a 120mm intake at the front and a 120mm rear exhaust fan. So this case follows traditional airflow design and should deliver good results in theory.
To discover the thermal performance of the R3 I will record idle temperatures after 20 minutes from a cold boot. I will then stress the system and temperatures will again be monitored after 30 minutes have elapsed.
System Components
CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASUS M4A89TD PRO
Graphics ZOTAC NVIDIA GTX 480 AMP
Memory 4GB Mushkin EM3-10666 DDR3
HDD Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA-II
PSU Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W
Conclusion
We may have been a little late to the party with this review but it was still worthwhile to observe why so many have heralded it as a successful computer chassis. For some time now I have been keen to take a look at this case and its plain to see why so many love its features and aesthetics.
Sporting a sleek exterior the R3 appeals to those who lean towards minimalist styling over the gaudy in your face gamer aesthetics. Inside, enthusiasts will find an internal layout that features noise dampening material on all major panels – great for those whose objective is to maintain silence.
As is to be expected, the rest of the interior comes with cable management grommets and tool-less design mechanisms, helping keep the layout tidy and easy to drop devices in and out. Though we only have 2x pre-installed fans there is still some reasonable thermal performance to be had with the R3. Thanks to the optional slots for cooling fans the thermal performance can be improved with a total of 7 slots in different regions.
There are many positive elements to R3 but there are also a few niggles such as the rubber grommets which often slip out the case easily. Those who have bigger graphics cards such as the HD6990 will struggle to get their graphics card inside R3 but this case does cater for a vast majority of the market.
Priced at £75 inc. VAT the R3 is a good value for money option for those who are on a quest for silent computing and as a result of our examination on this case it comes highly recommended.
Pros
+ Smooth, professional design
+ Noise dampening on all major panels
+ Easy to create clean layout
+ 8x HDD storage slots for 2.5/3.5” drives
Cons
– Rubber grommets detach easily
– Longer graphics cards 12” will struggle to fit
+ Smooth, professional design
+ Noise dampening on all major panels
+ Easy to create clean layout
+ 8x HDD storage slots for 2.5/3.5” drives
Cons
– Rubber grommets detach easily
– Longer graphics cards 12” will struggle to fit
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
