Product ReviewsFractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Mid Tower Silent Computer Case 2X5.25 8X3.5INT No PS Front USB
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59%
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 Rating: Review Date: 09/27/11  |
Cons: Some of the motherboard tray holes are poorly positioned: the top-most and bottom-most, either blocked by the PSU or by the case itself. Not a lot of room behind the motherboard--had to route atx power connector through the HDD cage instead.
Pros: Gorgeous Case, Sturdy but not overly heavy. |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/23/11 |
Cons: a few too many screws to deal with. fan filter below psu is too loose and has no way to secure.
Pros: most enjoyable case i ever built in. quietest case i have ever built in. one of the nicest cases i have ever built in. Comment:
bought this over the lian-li PC-A05NB and Antec Solo II only because this was only one in-store. Is slightly taller then i was hoping for but will make do. Absolute joy to build in. no sharp edges, tons of space for cable management behind mobo tray. thought i did something wrong the first time i switched it on before the monitor came to life, it was dead silent. not even the p1xx antec series comes close to this sound proofing. would buy this again for office or home. |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/23/11 |
Cons: HEAVY
Pros: Not FlashySleek and ShinyRemovable parts for additional fansDust filtersQuiet Comment:
This case is really heavy which makes it not easy to move around. Aside from that this case is awesome. Very quiet! It has dust filters at the bottom for the PSU, for an optional bottom fan, and 2 dust filters at the front for 2 optional front fans. All intake fans have dust filters! Easy to route cables as there are punch out holes along the mother board tray. Very satisfied! |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/19/11 |
Cons: QC could use some improvement from Fractal
Pros: Solid caseincludes fans and controllerGood sound dampenningLots of routing options for cables Comment:
Very nice case, and my go to case for all my office builds now. Nice fans and easy to work with case.Not sure what one of the previous reviews was refering too with limited SSD mounting options as a SSD drive will mount in any spot a 3.5" drive will.My only spot of complaint is that I have had a few show up with the case corners a bit bent, while the box is in perfect shape. So I know it was not a shipping damage problem, but something that was boxed up like that. Nothing major, as I have kept and worked with all of them, but I have also not had the same issues with the Define XL or the Define Mini. |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/06/11 |
Cons: Price, Weight, internal design
Pros: Quiet, Looks good Comment:
This is a BEAUTIFUL case, super quiet but the downsides is that its really heavy and the HDD mounting trays aren't all that great, the part I disliked the most is the limited options on mounting an SSD |
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Rating: Review Date: 09/01/11 |
Cons: none
Pros: silenteasy accessmany fans availablesoundproofedlots of space for hdd Comment:
easy to work in with many openings for cable managementThe side panels are of slide in type and close the case fairly well. |
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Rating: Review Date: 08/28/11 |
Cons: I'm being picky but it's not exactly silent. Certainly very quiet.Power button has a delay, I have to hold it for a second or two.Sound insulation could be cut and fitted better.
Pros: Very quiet case even with all fans installed.Quality Build.Good wire management.Sound insulated.A pleasure to build in. There is enough space so that you can add and remove parts without disturbing other parts. Comment:
I wanted this case for a long time but waited until the USB port issues has been resolved. Now I own the case and I am very, very happy with it. The case is not silent but certainly very quiet. It has lots of space to work in and fits a total of seven fans.The case comes with 2 (120mm) fans, one rear fan and one front fan. You can add more as you see fit. Power supply is bottom mounted and exhaust to the bottom through a filter. |
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Rating: Review Date: 08/15/11 |
Cons: None
Pros: Looks GreatQuietEasy to Configure Comment:
I'm thrilled with this case. I've been building my own systems for almost 20 years now and this is the best case I've ever used.The case feels rock solid, it's incredibly quiet, and there is plenty of room for expansion.I think it's really incredible value for the money. |
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Rating: Review Date: 08/02/11 |
Comment:
i wish the power led was white, other then that best case i've ever owned. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/31/11 |
Cons: crappy stock fansfoam has a tendancy to fall off
Pros: very sleekacoustic foam is nicesmall Comment:
i got this case for my media build that goes with my tv and its a nice case. it supports lots of easy mounting hds, and larger graphics cards. my only complaint is the fans it comes iwht dont push much air but that ok |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/31/11 |
Cons: rubber gommets comme off very easilymajor lack of space behind the motherboard traybuild quality could be better
Pros: Nice looking case, clean. No leds.Silentnice interior, nice mix of black and whiterubber gommmet for cable managementcan hold 8 hard drives Comment:
At first, building in this case was quite nice. then I had to close the damn thing. The single 24 pins ATX cable by it self makes it damn near impossible to close the back panel. Imagine with all the other cables.. I will probably take some time to reroute all the stuff in there shortly, it doesn't look nice at all right now. The gommets also fell off quite easily, yet they are easily put back in place.Last thing, there was a bent hard drive bay on arrival.All in all, I think this is quite a nice case. Requires quite a long and delicate set up. I will surely purchase again for all my futur builds if need be, and I will probably replace my second case with one of these too. I really like the clean look and silence of it. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/29/11 |
Cons: Rubber thingies go missing all the time??
Pros: Slick.Lots of room.Intimidates my cat. Comment:
This case is awesome! It is black! It is shiny! There is room for like 50(realistically like 8, but who has 8 hard drives?) hard drives! The door on the front hides the ugly sight of disc drives. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies to stash your cables. It was fun putting everything together. I'm looking at it right now, and I'm like Patrick Bateman with the perfect business card! Except it's a computer case, and I'm not totally crazy. Unless you mean crazy about this case, which I am!There are rubber thingies that go around the holes in the case, and they like to fall off, which is somewhat annoying, but I doubt anyone will hulk out over something like that. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/28/11 |
Cons: don't really need 8 Hard Drive bays
Pros: looks greatsilent Comment:
This case is definitely worth it. There is plenty of space to hide cables behind motherboard. And having the ability to add five extra fans helps with air flow a lot. But if you don't want the extra fans the case runs silent. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/26/11 |
Cons: Not as quiet as I thought.2 usb ports.No hard drive activity led but I used my power led instead.
Pros: Looks nice.OK Build quality.Holds many hard drives. Comment:
It's nice looking and very minimal with few minor problems. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/26/11 |
Cons: None
Pros: Looks great, whisper quiet. Comment:
Sits in my living room. Blends in nice with the decor. Very sleek looking. Whisper quiet. I hear virtually no sound whatsoever. A bit pricier than others but well worth it imo. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/25/11 |
Cons: flimsy cable holes
Pros: silent, well built Comment:
for a silent build. works great. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/14/11 |
Cons: None
Pros: QuietGood qualityGood cable management Comment:
I bought this case for a WHS 2011 DIY build. Works very well. The drive bay cages are easy to remove and cabling with 7 drives is a breeze.The front USB ports made installing from USB easier than reaching around.It's so quiet that if it didn't have the blue LED I would have to put my ear ON the case to see if it's running. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/23/11 |
Cons: None that I can think of
Pros: -Cable management-Quiet-good air flow even without using side panel or top fan/s -Looks really good-amazing value, and quality for the price Comment:
I'd have to say this is my favorite case to date. My last " favourite" was the the Lancool k62 witch was awesome but unnecessarily large.( at least for my needs)This case is great. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/12/11 |
Cons: Mediocre build qualityFlimsy plasticUgly feet
Pros: QuietPleasant appearanceGood airflowFunctional designCable managementUses magnets... Comment:
Compared to other cases on the market, this is a great choice. As with most consumer items, though, the build quality is so-so. The door would break if accidentally walked into; the same goes for the inside fan doors. Otherwise, this is a great case. Almost all my cables fit behind the motherboard. Plus, the fan controller is a nice touch. Overall I am very impressed coming from an Antec 900 (loud!). In the future I would love to see a "Fractal Design Define R4 Deluxe" which uses better paint, stronger hinges and more resilient materials. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/05/11 |
Cons: -power LED very bright, night up the whole room at night
Pros: -beautiful and elegant style-quiet-nice finish inside and out-solid and great material used Comment:
the case is pretty quiet, but if you plan on adding the two fans, it does make the case little nosier.Overall, stylish silent case. |
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Rating: Review Date: 06/04/11 |
Cons: Front panel connectors could include a USB3 port, but it's not critical.
Pros: Good Silencing case, low price, easy assembly, cable routing, lots of HDD trays, fan controler. Comment:
This case does a great job at isolating noise. It also has decent airflow, as the 2 included fans do draw/push a lot of air. The included fan controler lets you manage that aspect as you like.Assembly was easy. It was my first built in 10 years or so, and I had no problems whatsoever. I appreciate the fact that they throw in a lot of things for cable management, like tie-wraps, they come in handy when you build, especially if you don't have a modular PSU. I run this case with the 2 included fans and a noctua nh-12 heatsink and I can barely hear a hum. I'm a satisfied owner, as I was looking for a silent case and did not want to throw in extra money for the antec p183. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/30/11 |
Cons: Heavy side panels and heavy for its size
Pros: Very quiet, easy to mount Comment:
This case has put somethoughts for the noise reduction and it shows. Other than heavy side panels, easy to mount motherboard and very clean and simple design. I strongly recommend if you want to build a quiet PC. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/28/11 |
Cons: - no rubber grommets on hard drive cages
Pros: - solid built case- noise proofing works Comment:
This is a very solid case with plenty of hard drive slots.Definitely a very quiet case that has user friendly options when it comes to setting up case ventilation. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/15/11 |
Cons:
2 rubber cable management garments missing
Pros: great look, good sound proofing, good quality Comment:
Great case. i was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the case. There is room for improvement but overall its a great case. The fan controller is a nice touch, and the sound proofing is great. The power light is a little bright and my case was missing 2 rubber garments but everything else was top notch! |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/13/11 |
Cons:
-No USB 3.0-Power LED is feint
Pros: -Easy assembly-Sturdy-Silent Comment:
Overall, the case is very satisfying. I bought it when it was on sell for 89.9. The assembly is pretty easy; screws fitted well, and the cable arrangement holes allow easy organization. In addition, it comes with a fan controller and two silent fans.I love this case, just that there is no USB 3.0 =( |
Decent case, love the looks and it is easier to work with than some cases I've used before. Definitely not toolless, but only requires a screwdriver.