Product ReviewsFractal Design Define R4 with Window Black Pearl Silent ATX Mid Tower Case
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With 21 User Reviews
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 Rating: Review Date: 03/20/15  |
Cons: USB ports flat on top [dust], filter for PSU at the back, wider than most cases
Pros: Spacious, plenty of options, built like a tank, cable hiding |
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Rating: Review Date: 11/11/14 |
Pros: Stunning design cleen appearance my rig case swap is gonna be easy
Comment:
Beats my old heavy thermaltake armor series. im thinking about ordering another for my next big build. This review was modfied by poster @ 11-15-14 12:08 PM |
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Rating: Review Date: 02/17/14 |
Cons: Front door is a little flimsy and removing the front dust filter is a bit of a nuisance. Nothing major though.
Pros: Sound dampening. Nice exterior/interior finish. Solid quality construction. Comment:
Very nice looking case with a solid construction. Lots of sound dampening all throughout the case. Removable HDD cages that can be oriented in different directions. Open back plate for easy cpu cooler installation and flexible rubber grommets for easy cable management. |
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Rating: Review Date: 10/10/13 |
Cons: Filter removal
Pros: Silent DesignGood airflowNice Aesthetic Comment:
My case is almost completely silent. It is well designed in almost all areas except for the fan filter removal in the front. It requires you to pull your fans slightly out and which can make the filter difficult to get to. Otherwise great case. |
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Rating: Review Date: 08/11/13 |
Cons: Very tight clearance between the motherboard and top exhaust even for a 2x120 radiator and fans
Pros: Good case overallNice designQuality build Comment:
Overall the case is of good quality, impressed with the flexibility and construction of the case. Many options for fans mounts and lots of space for good cable management. The only drawback is the top vent of the case. It's very tight between motherboard and an H100i radiator. It fits, and thankfully they allow you to mount the radiator a bit offset (away from the motherboard tray/backplate) to allow a bit of space between the radiator and the motherboard |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/17/13 |
Cons: Really can't find one.
Pros: Alot of options for this caseNice and heavy so it won't moveGrommetting internally for cable management is very niceLots of HD bays availableMounting of SSD drives on the backside is a bonusThe window is a nice, adds something for this machine to really look at! Comment:
An extra fan would be nice to round out the front, but at this price definitely worth it.Will be using this case for a long time to come |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/16/13 |
Cons: only comes with six zap straps "zip ties" twenty or so would have been nice
Pros: Really is silent, the thing devours noise. all the minor parts are included even a little metal socket to attach the brass standoffs for the mobo. Comment:
Good chance this is the last case ill ever buy.Over all quality is outstanding! all steel with a molded plastic front bezel. all the internal parts are steel even the HDD/SSD trays.I moved the rear exhaust fan to the front filtered intake and will just have filtered intakes blowing in and in turn the pressurized case will stay dust free longer. minor chance the psu will have problems with its filtered intake on the bottom of the case trying to push against the other fans so I removed the two top sound proof covers to allow for less restricted exhaust from the case. I may toss a corsair 100i on the top later but for now I'm more then happy. |
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Rating: Review Date: 07/10/13 |
Cons: Putting a water cooler on the front mount isn't so easy.
Pros: Incredibly quietGreat LookingFantastic Value for MoneyEasy to Build In Comment:
Moved from a Corsair 600t to a Cooler Master HAF XB as I was looking for something smaller and quieter. The HAF XB was a dust magnet due to being such an open design. After pouring through review after review I settled on the Define R4 as the new home for my components.I wanted something that was going to be decent for cable management, would handle liquid cooling (more on that in a minute), easy to build and change components in, and would be quieter than what I've had in the past. This Define R4 ticked all the boxes.This is easily the quietest case I've ever built an OC'd system in. I have an i5-2500k running at 4.8 GHz with an H60. The H60 with push-pull SP 120's easily mounts in place of one of the included 140mm fans at the back of the case, allowing me to have both 140mm's for intake at the front. Everything else stays sealed up, and the machine is running at about 34 dB at the exhaust, 32 dB at front intakes with ambient room noise at 30 dB.I impulsively ordered an H100i to replace the H60i, deciding to mount it on the front, as Fractal's own videos say that a 240mm radiator will fit up front. I had to remove both drive 3.5" drive chambers, which wasn't that tough, but found that the H100i will only fit if you run push from the front or push/pull, as the hoses aren't long enough to reach from the processor to the front mounting point. Though Linus says pull is his preferred method, you'll have to deal with a little extra dust to mount an H100i in this Define R4.Additionally, mounting the H100i to the removable plastic fan casing at the front can be a bit of a chore, as you'll only be able to mount the front two 120mm fans at the center points to the plastic casing. I'm sure Fractal will address this on the R5 in the future, but for now I'd just suggest mounting your fans to your radiator with short screws and a narrow screwdriver for the front-mounted fans to allow easier mounting to that fan casing in the R4.Other than learning the trick to mounting the H100i, and THEN having to return the H100i (another story for another review), my experience with the Define R4 has been incredible, and I would highly recommend this case to anyone who wants to build a clean-looking and quiet system. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/23/13 |
Cons: A lot bigger than I expected
Pros: Aesthetics, silent, built in window Comment:
Amazing case overall. Being used in my first computer, I did not know what to expect for a case. Turns out, it's A LOT bigger than what I expected. The only reason I got this instead of the Define mini is cause of the window.But really, since it's my first case, I don't have anything to compare it against. It just works. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/17/13 |
Cons: Top of the case is flimsy and feels like it can break.
Pros: Looks Solid, quiet, and have enough space for any big components. Comment:
Purchased this case when it was on sale, which I still don't regret. I love the sound dampening cushion mounted inside the case, which keeps my computer quiet and the side window to show off my build. |
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Rating: Review Date: 05/06/13 |
Cons: I wish the bottom 3 bay drive cage could be mounted up top.
Pros: Looks fantastic inside and out with great builders features. Comment:
For me this case was love at first sight. I was looking for a case that could last me for many builds. This meant it had to have the size and features I was looking for and a visual appearance that was simple and sleek. I love cases with front panels to cover up the drive bays and windowed side panels so I can show off my hardware, this case features both. The front panel has a beautiful magnetic catch which requires no force to open unlike some mechanical catches. This case can mount up to 6 140mm fans, has grommet holes for cables making it perfect for a long term case, USB 3.0 and a pretty power switch. The dust filters are a great feature and the sound proofing makes a difference on the front panel. All the components are sturdy and have a quality feel to them. If you see this case on sale don't hesitate to buy! Great case in general, especially for the price! |
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Rating: Review Date: 03/09/13 |
Cons: None
Pros: Quiet, Reliable, Window, Simple Design Comment:
Great quiet case. Would recommend this to anyone who needs a quiet, reliable and a good quality case. |
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Rating: Review Date: 02/15/13 |
Cons: None so far.
Pros: Easy for cable management. Sleek Design. Good price. Comment:
Amazing case to work it. Would definitely use it again. |
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Rating: Review Date: 02/14/13 |
Cons: tight frontal headphone jack
Pros: Quiet, good space for cable management. Looks great. Comment:
Upgraded from antec 900. Everything is great for this case. Only complaint is the frontal headphone jack is abit tight. I am using Steelseries Siberia V2 and the headphone and mic jack always pop up after insert. I hope it will become better after several weeks of use. Overall, good case for the price(got it for 79.99 on sale). I would recommend it to everyone |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/27/13 |
Cons: none
Pros: solid design, quiet fans, good airflow Comment:
The thing that I enjoy everyday is push the power button on the top of case to turn on my computer. I upgrade this case from a coolermaster matx case to give better airflow for the cpu and video card, and it works perfectly. The best case I ever had! This review was modfied by poster @ 01-27-13 06:33 PM |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/26/13 |
Cons: none
Pros: Quiet and now it has a window!Great wire management and sleek look Comment:
Have the older version of this case without the window.With the window, it makes my computer look cooler! |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/17/13 |
Cons: Only comes with 2 fans, tad heavy, tight space for big PSU cable management
Pros: silent, cool, not too cluttered, good stock fans, water-cooling friendly, solid build Comment:
I bought this after being fed up of my old case (Antec) and so far I'm very pleased with it. Once you remove the drive cages, you have a LOT of space for water cooling/case moddingOnly downsides would be the fact that non-modular PSU owners will have a hard time fitting all those wires at the back, it's not especially spacious. It closes, but it needs strength. Another downside would be that it only comes with two fans...It's heavy, but solid. So solid that my pliers started to give in before I managed to cut the top mesh (needed to pass a wire)! |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/14/13 |
Cons: Comes with only two fans
Pros: Material and Design Comment:
Just and all around great case. If you need more than than 6 fans make sure you get the model without the window. |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/10/13 |
Cons: - Window scratches fairly easily, have to to find a way to polish them out without just creating more scratches.- No external 3.5" bay, didn't come with a 5.25 to 3.5" adapter.- Without one or both side panels in place, the case is a bit "loose" and will shift as much as 3/4cm so you have to squish the whole case and panel to get it to line-up again.
Pros: - Simple no-nonsense design.- Excellent cable-management.- Excluding motherboard mounts, no tools needed for anything.- Built-in dust filters work very well.- Built-in fan controller switch.- Many ways and places to mount things. Comment:
I'm not really sure if the shiftiness of the case is a pro or a con really. On the one hand, it make it seem a but unsturdy, on the other hand with relatively little force you can make the panels line up square unlike a more rigid case that might become permanently bent.It's been pointed out in various reviews already, but the front USB/Jack wires are in the way of the top 5.25" bay, but it's fairly simple to re-route/move them without having to take the front all the way off or disconnect the wires.All that said, I've been fairly rough with it, outside of almost unnoticeable scratches on the window... nothing has broken, no paint chips, etc.Excellent case that seems like it will last years and still look like new. |
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Rating: Review Date: 01/06/13 |
Cons: Had a bit of trouble opening and closing side panels
Pros: Quiet, clean, simple design Comment:
Had this a short while but it's the nicest case I've owned so far in my progression of PCs. I'm not too sure about most of the other setup as I ordered my machine assembled by NCIX and just had to add my own videocard and hard drives, but the cable management is so easy in this case even an imbecile like me could probably do it. |
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Rating: Review Date: 12/31/12 |
Cons: I would have preferred a little more room for a slim radiator, in particular the H100i. Also, the front panel (inside) feels a little cheap, and has flimsy plastic parts; I'm also not a huge fan of the blue LED (white would be nice).
Pros: It looks great, cools very well and is very quiet. It's definitely my favorite case of all time. Comment:
Overall, this case is one of the best for its size. I love the 140mm fan mounts for the front and back, which isn't easy to find in many cases. As long as your motherboard allows for an H100i to fit (if applicable), then I doubt you'll have anything bad to say about it. |
Plenty of things to add on if you wish like fans. Many drive bays including 2 under the mobo [but need to install before anything else], cable management hides most cables, tough design. Like the spot where you can add an additional USB bracket without losing a card bay. Keeps dust out. One set of 4 drive bay rack can be removed.USB ports are vertical with no protection from dust, can choose light around power button for power on or disk activity - not both, rear filer is under the PSU at the back - hard to get to if you don't have access to the back, wider than most cases - because of the cable management.