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We somehow recognize them as being “natural” and connect with them emotionally. We seem to be wired to “read” fractals in our environment, probably for two key reasons. When we look at a long vista, structures that repeat (trees for example), repeat at smaller apparent scales when they are farther away.
Review: Fractal Design Define R5 - Chassis - HEXUS
Review: Fractal Design Define R5 - Chassis.
Posted: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Massive airflow and great cooling features
To get the fullest possible picture of each case’s cooling performance, I tested the Define R5 using both its built-in fan controller and the Asus Q-fan motherboard fan control system. Since the Obsidian 450D doesn’t have a built-in fan controller, I tested it using the Q-fan system only. When I used the Q-fan system, I profiled each case’s fans using Asus’ fan tuner, and I used the Standard built-in fan profile for my tests. As I noted in my dissection of the Define R5’s interior, I’m not a big fan of this case’s drive mounting system. The Define’s metal sleds require four grommets and screws per 3.5″ drive, which feels archaic nowadays. That said, the rubber grommets are soft and thick, so maybe the extra effort will pay off with lower noise and vibration levels.
Storage features
The top of the chassis will allow for thinner radiators and fans without obstruction to the motherboard. First, we can see the size of the mesh won't block much flow at all, and we also see that there are squeeze clips for releasing the ModuVent. On the inside of both of the side panels, almost edge to edge, you will find this heavy, multi-layered, sound deadening material. You can easily pull the screws and remove the ModuVent panel to install a fan of your choice.
Fractal Design Define R5 Mid-Tower Chassis
For those who do wish to add bottom-mounted cooling, removing the drive cages makes room for a pair of 120- or 140-mm fans—or a radiator up to 240 mm in length. Installing fans or radiators here will limit the length of the PSU you can install, however. Maintaining a dust-free interior with the help of dust filters that cover front and bottom air intakes that are easy to access from the front on the case. With the bulk of the interior in black, and the bays, slot covers, and fan blades in white, the chassis screams Fractal Design.
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With help of users, and a close ear on the pulse of the market, Fractal Design has yet to fail to impress us with this series of cases. From the very beginning of the Define Series, Fractal Design set out to offer the masses very solidly constructed cases with great airflow, and virtually no noise emitted into the environment. In almost every other regard, though, living with the Define R5 is a pleasure.
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With the motherboard in control of its fans, the Define R5 is anywhere from two to four dBA quieter than the 450D for the most part, both at idle and under load. My only wish is that the cable grommets at the top of the case were a bit bigger. The Define R5’s base price is $109.99, placing it squarely in competition with our favorite mid-tower, the Corsair Obsidian 450D.
Dust Filters
For those in the former group, installing the radiator up top may still be a better option. Due to operator error, I don’t have data for hard drive temperatures in the Define R5 while using the built-in fan controller with the Cooler Master Nepton 240M installed. Based on the other data I’ve collected, however, I don’t expect that the temps would be much different in this configuration. Overall, the Define R5’s interior is spacious and well-designed at first glance. Next, I’m going to install my Casewarmer system, along with some air and water coolers.
Dual side mounted door
A combination power and disk activity LED is nestled into the center of the front panel, as well. Fractal uses a blue LED here, though it’s mercifully not the eye-searing kind of blue that’s tainted so much hardware in recent years. (a) Fractal loading uses a basic scale as a carrier for other successively smaller mechanisms and structures.
These repetitive perforations at smaller scales—the fractal loading that results from the characteristic “generative algorithm” of fractal structure—will often continue on down to the scales of detail and ornament. The ODD cage can easily be removed to gain additional interior space; the area can be freed up to allow for increased airflow, to provide a new place for HDD cage mounting or to make more room for water cooling components. The Fractal Design Define R5 is the next evolution in the widely popular Define Series.
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.
To cover this area, and keep the silence in check, Fractal offers this three-piece ModuVent system to cover the honeycomb mesh below. For all of you that have had, or currently have the pleasure of housing your gear in a Fractal Design chassis, this chassis will not be a hard sell to you at all. You will very much appreciate what has gone into this design, and with very little more than a few pictures, we are sure you will be off to find this chassis for your next build. For those of you that have never had the pleasure of owning a Fractal Design chassis from any series, we feel that you will want to take a long hard look at what their latest chassis has brought to the market. The panels are a neat idea, but I wish Fractal had made their retaining clips more finger-friendly.
The Define R5 also has plentiful slots for zip ties in this area, if the Velcro straps aren’t enough. The three fan headers and SATA power connector for the built-in fan controller reside here, as well, along with two 2.5″ drive trays. Behind the door is an easily removable dust filter, a single Fractal Design Dynamic GP mm fan, and two 5.25″ bays.
We also get to see the installed intake fan, and just how much room this R5 has to play around with. For now, the HDD cages are set in two sections, one cage of five, and another of three bays. Of course, they are all removable, and either section can go in at the top or bottom where you see them now. If the PSU isn't too long, you could even attach them to the floor just to the left of their current position. Where older designs had room for only two fans, there is room for up to three 120mm or 140mm fans in the R5.
The included Velcro straps are long enough to accommodate thick cables like the 24-pin ATX power connector without issue, and the recessed motherboard tray creates a natural 1.5″-deep cable channel around its perimeter. There’s also generous room for SATA power and data cables behind the drive cages—much more than in my Obsidian 450D or the Cooler Master Silencio 652S. The spacious cable area means that the side panel slides back on effortlessly, and the panel doesn’t bow out at all, even with the added thickness of the noise-deadening foam. The omission of a top filter is also strange considering Fractal includes a full-length filter at the bottom of the case. While some builders might put a fan or radiator down here, I think top-mounted fans or radiators are a far more common choice.
Just below this, we find a rendering of the internal layout as it is shipped. Sticking to the basics, Fractal Design packs the Define R5 in plain cardboard with black screen printing for the naming across the top, a rendering of the chassis in the center, and the company logo and web address at the bottom. The buildAs I was expecting from its bevy of user-friendly features, the Define R5 is a pleasure to build a system in. The R5’s PSU emplacement is similar to that of other cases I’ve tested recently, which is a good thing.
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