Fractal Design - Define R2 Well thought out case

Author: Jyri Kuusela Published: 30.11.2009 Manufacturer: Fractal Design Product Group: System enclosures In English Suomeksi

Define R2 - Innards

Sometimes removing the side panel can be a pain. For reason it doesn't want to open nor close. For the first time I wanted to get it open, I had to sit on the case and try to get it open with both hands.

On the inside we find a very similar layout to the Xigmatec Midgard, exception being the number of drive bays and the lack of quick locks. The Define R2 also has more cable management holes. Those differences put a side, the internal layout is identical to the Midgard, but why fix something that isn't broken?

Everything except the motherboard, internal 3.5" drives and fans are installed into place with thumb screws to make the installation easy and tool-free. A big plus here for not using flimsy plastic quick locks, that break very easily.

Under the right side panel there's not much to see. Well placed cable management holes and the back of the non-removable motherboard tray.

A hole to ease changing the CPU cooler is always a huge plus. The hole has changed its shape and size a bit from the Xigmatec, to get more working space for mounting a cooler.

The top

Like I already mentioned earlier, the roof of the case has two 120 mm / 140 mm fan holes, which may cause problems for people with watercooling setups. This fan layout makes it close to impossible to mount the radiator inside. It's kind of weird that the case has holes for pipes to go in and out, but no-one has noticed the problem with 240 mm radiators.

Like the right side panel, under it, there's not much to see, just the cable management holes and the back of the non-removable motherboard tray.

The bottom

On the bottom of the case there is a hole for the PSU fan to suck air through, that's equipped with a removable dust filter and another hole for a 120mm or 140mm fan. This hole has an integrated dust filter, that unfortunately isn't removable without tools.

The front panel is easy to remove, thanks to the plastic pegs that can easily be detached by pressing them. On the inside, there are the dust filters. The dust filters can easily be cleaned even without taking the whole panel off, just by opening the smaller doors and unscrewing four screws is enough to make the fan and the dust filter come off. The front panel I/O is integrated to the front panel itself, so the cables can be a bit tricky when removing the panel.

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