Table Of Content
While the drive cages are ostensibly tool-free, the thumbscrews used to secure them are super-tight out of the box, so a screwdriver is a must here, too. With all of the drive cages removed, the R5 can accept radiators up to 360 mm in length behind the front fan mounts, as well as extra fans or radiators at the bottom of the case. The Define R5’s instruction manual suggests that the bottom drive cage can be moved to the middle of the case, which is nice if you need both front radiator support and room for 3.5″ drives. For a full accounting of the various drive cage configurations that are possible with this case, check out the Define R5’s manual. There’s plenty of space for cable routing behind the motherboard tray, plus some thoughtful touches. Fractal includes three Velcro straps in the R5, which are used to route the front-panel cables by default.
Define R5: Radiator Compatibility Chart
Here we see the side ventilation in the bezel, tight lines around the panel, and some chromed feet at the bottom. We also see a ModuVent panel covering an optional fan location to provide fresh air to the video cards. The chart then moves on to spacing behind the motherboard tray, and it also mentions the Velcro tie straps, the option to switch the front panel swing, and the cool latch system for the left door. The chart also informs us that we will be able to find this chassis in black, titanium, and white, all of which will have the option of a solid panel or a windowed panel. Moving into weights and measures, we see that the R5 is 232mm wide, 451mm in height, 531mm deep, and weighs in at 10.2 kilos while empty.
Dual side mounted door
The series debuts with a tour of a tranquil upstate New York retreat designed with Passive House principles. The blue radiators are restricted to a 55mm thickness, because of possible motherboard interference. The Define Series of cases focuses on delivering the perfect balance between silent operation and minimalist Scandinavian design.
Dust Filters
The R5 itself has “Designed in Sweden” stamped into its sheet metal, in case you weren’t getting the message. Fractal Design has done a fantastic job designing the Define R5, it is by far one of the highest quality cases we have reviewed thus far. First, Fractal-Design desperately needs to put another 140mm fan on the front to improve airflow. Fractal Design Define series has always been the successful line of chassis, with this fifth iteration which continues to innovate with its exclusive noise isolations. The Define R5 manages to keep it up compared to the competition in the aspects of...
In the front of the chassis, there is room for a pair of 120 or 140mm fans, and there is a single FD Dynamic GP14 fan installed that will cruise along at 1000 RPM. The rear of the chassis will also allow for a 120 or 140mm fan, but only one, and this is where the second GP14 fan is preinstalled. After the ModuVent is removed, the top of the chassis will allow for up to three 120mm or 140mm fans to be installed. Depending on PSU length and HDD cage installation, the floor of the chassis has room for another pair of either 120mm or 140mm fans. The ninth, and final fan location is in the left side of the chassis, near the bottom of the panel, but as the chassis is shipped, this location is blocked with a ModuVent cover.
Define R5: Water Cooling Radiator Options
Additionally, the chassis offers a three fan, three position fan controller built into the front bezel, and the front and floor of the chassis are covered with easily accessible and removable dust filtering. The Define R5 was designed with configurability in mind, accommodating up to 8 hard drives and all modem graphics card. Should you wish to expand your system with water cooling components or more fans the layout can easily be configured to meet your demand. We can also reproduce fractal patterns in a computer, often with strangely beautiful results. Some graphic designers use fractal methods to reproduce very realistic-looking landscapes and other natural phenomena.
Define S2 Vision Blackout
Fractal Design Define R5 Review Page 3 - Play3r
Fractal Design Define R5 Review Page 3.
Posted: Sun, 11 Oct 2015 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The metal drive trays at the front of the R5 can accept up to eight 2.5″ or 3.5″ drives. Still, the R5’s drive mounting scheme is my biggest complaint about the case. Mounting a drive to a tray requires four rubber grommets and screws, unlike the simpler snap-on plastic drive trays in almost every other modern case.
Storage features
Fractal Design has lined the side and top panels of the R5 with this foam, too. While the door might look like it’s made of metal, it’s really just thick plastic with a metallic veneer. ModuVent™ fan slot covers allow the user to Install more fans if desired or keep fan slots covered for maximum sound absorption. New to the ModuVent plates found in the R5 is the tool less design feature, and a solid, fluid look on the outside of the ModuVent plate. The 3 ModuVents on the top of the case can be removed one by one and are wider than ever in order to accommodate space for water-cooling should you wish to go that route. The other thing that we need to point out, even though we expected it, is that once the bays are all out of the chassis, there is a fair bit of torsion flex when you try to move the chassis around without the panels on.
In modern times we have a greater need for urban environments to be legible to us, and there is evidence that we do this by reading fractal relationships in buildings and details (after all, we have evolved with this sense). From an evolutionary point of view, it’s evident that we perceive these relationships because they are supremely useful to us. They help us understand the structure of choices that our environments present, and how the different alternatives might offer us different benefits. Importantly, fractal urban structures typically provide multiple combinations of benefits that work in synergy. For example, the branching, layered, fractal-like paths we can take within a city help us carry out many different tasks simultaneously. The time required for higher-level exchange is therefore used more effectively, and the net effect is a synergy of activities that often translate into economic, social, and other benefits.
The Define R5 case reaches the highest level of silent computing through strategically placed dense sound-dampening material, ModuVent™ fan vent covers and finely tuned Dynamic Series fans. Should you wish to expand your system with water cooling components or more fans, the layout can easily be configured to meet your demand. The lower half of the chart explains all of the cooling options that are designed into this chassis, as well as the built-in features that will help simplify things.
Nikos A. Salingaros is a mathematician and polymath known for his work on urban theory, architectural theory, complexity theory, and design philosophy. He has been a close collaborator of the architect and computer software pioneer Christopher Alexander. Salingaros published substantive research on Algebras, Mathematical Physics, Electromagnetic Fields, and Thermonuclear Fusion before turning his attention to Architecture and Urbanism. He still is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at San Antonioand is also on the Architecture faculties of universities in Italy, Mexico, and The Netherlands.
Interchangeable top covers allow you to switch between solid steel for full noise suppression or a ventilated cover for extra cooling. Outside of the chassis, we found another bag containing all of the paperwork for the Define R5. There is also a red insert that offers support and other information for various countries Fractal supplies cases to. Perhaps most importantly (to mangle another Steve Jobs-ism), the best-designed products should delight their owners. That rare quality, along with the R5’s many virtues and sensible price, make this case an easy pick for our coveted Editor’s Choice award. According to this study by researchers at the University of Florida, the accuracy of these apps varies widely, with most over-reporting noise levels, and at least one under-reporting.
Since we left the interior stripped behind the front panel, we appreciate the bay covers, but if you want a triple radiator in the front, then you may want to remove them. We also went ahead and swapped the swing of the front panel, which took all of moving two screws and clips from one side to the other. Just touching on the cooling, we see there are nine locations, but the second bit of the chart takes it much further. As for the effectiveness of the foam-lined side panels, the results are somewhat mixed. The Define didn’t dampen their song completely, but it did cut down on the whine enough to make them only mildly distracting.
What’s more, this mounting system means that owners will have to worry about keeping the Define R5’s included hardware organized and stored somewhere. I haven’t built a PC with a front door in a long time (remember Antec’s P180?), but the concept has lived on in the Define series. Not only does the door help to keep the exterior clean-looking, but it’s also the first line of defense in the Define R5’s silencing features. Opening the door reveals a foam-lined interior, similar to the Cooler Master Silencio 652S that Cyril recently reviewed.
That said, the most accurate of the apps the UF researchers tried—SoundMeter by Faber Acoustical—tracked the study’s $3825 control meter within 5 dBA across the range of frequencies tested. Noise levelsBefore we discuss how loud the Define R5 gets, a couple words about my noise testing methods. I make no secret of the fact that I use an iPhone app to measure the noise levels of the hardware I test, and we’ve always warned against placing too much weight on the data collected this way. Nevertheless, some of our readers have expressed concerns about the accuracy of my results. I was hoping my tests would reveal a clear winner here, but they didn’t, really.
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