Fractal Design Define R3 ATX Mid Tower Silent Case w/ USB 3.0 $79.99 with free shipping *Back again*

Quote from dudezz : man that cooler master case looks good. I already have a case but this one is like calling for me.. lol the hard drive bay looks awesome

Whoa indeed. Gorgeous case.

Quote from phlip00ws6 : Awesome case.. I have have the Define XL and it has been a pleasure to work with.

I have the Define XL too. Fractal has amazing build quality. With 5 fans in the case, I can barely hear anything from my PC.

It may be overkill but I will use this for my WHS server...love all those 3.5 bays and large fans

Quote from tydas : It may be overkill but I will use this for my WHS server...love all those 3.5 bays and large fans

That is what I'm planning to use this case with.

Quote from tydas : It may be overkill but I will use this for my WHS server...love all those 3.5 bays and large fans

Yes, the 8x 3.5 drive bay is a killer feature.

I built a HAF 922 from Aamzon at this price (without CA tax is actually $10+ cheaper than this) last month, already I filled all 6 drive bay in it. But I like 922's length and airflow, It can mount 3 200mm fans and comes with 2.

darn, if only this were for the Define Mini.

I love Fractal cases and I think this is a really great deal-- they make some of the best cases out there. I haven't used this one specifically, and I'm not in for one simply because I use my optical drive a lot and I'm not a big fan of doors that obscure them, but if you like that feature on a case, I'd jump all over this deal.

Quote from onedollar : Just wanted to chime in that for those who are looking to do a silent or quiet PC build, this case is great ...ASUS P8P67 PRO (3.0 revision)

Not really. For a quiet, reliable build you want to minimize the amount of fans in the system.
In that case, you want a top mount PSU case such that you can use PSU fan to vent the case negating the need for a separate vent fan.

Quote from zhopa : Not really. For a quiet, reliable build you want to minimize the amount of fans in the system. In that case, you want a top mount PSU case such that you can use PSU fan to vent the case negating the need for a separate vent fan.

Agree. I have one of these and miss my seemingly more cramped Antec mATX case that offered similar cooling, quieter, was EASIER to build in, and made the single Caviar Black drive, and a Seagate 7200.11, in my computer silent. With the fractal, just the Caviar drive installed is very annoying. If 512GB+ SSDs were cheaper, I wouldn't have a platter drive in the system at all, and it would again be silent, but that's not the case's doing. Also the fans that it comes with suck with PWM - I had to swap in my Arctic Cooling fans to use PWM and not get weird sounds. I had my Caviar mounted under the top 5 1/4" slot/optical drive, and a Seagate 7200rpm drive mounted above the dual 92mm fans. There was another 120mm fan at the back, and a second 120mm fan on the CPU heatsink. If I still had the HD4870 that I used in the old case, I'd bet that it also is louder in the Fractal (the entire system at idle was inaudible from 6 inches away in the Antec).

Everyone talked this case up, but the Antec NSK cases have these thing beat with acoustics. I also can't put my finger on what it is, but the case is not nice to work in imo. I think it may be the openness near the front. Last, the side panels are not the easiest to put on when the tower is standing.

But anyway, it's good enough since I have the thing, although I may want to pick up the matx version, or the Silverstone PS07, to use instead.

Once the cables are routed behind the mb tray, the Antec was exceptionally easy to work in, and about as small as one can get. Very quiet (silent, with a whoosh when gaming) It has held my Q9550@4Ghz for 3 1/2 years with no issue. http://home.comcast.net/~seekproj/IMG_3311.JPG

Quote from fymfaholes : It just goes under the desk. Of the cases I have used for builds, my favorite is a Diablotek Elite $38 case, and it includes a power supply. You do have to use screws, but hey, who cares? And who really cares if the USB 3.0 is on the back panel or the front? Is that worth all that extra money? I would think you would be better spending the difference on a better graphics card, an SSD and/or more memory.

the material and build quality of this case is far better than the 30-50$ one.
im very happy that i spent extra money to get a quality case like this.
very easy to install, very quiet & sturdy, airflow is good, can insert ton of hds in there.
it's built for high performance and frugal people like you probably will never need something like this. i dont understand why people would use stock psus. i mean its not important to invest on a quality computer case but its important that you have a quality psu.

Thanks OP for the deal! I will finally upgrade my Antec 900 that I got in 2007. Initially, I got the 900 due to its efficient management of HDD bays at the time. I am happy to see that case manufacturers are starting to decrease the number of 5.25" bays, not to mention new faces in the market

would CAFA50 or H212+ coolers fit this?

Wondering if this would be a big enough step up from my Antec 300 to be a worthy upgrade...
anyone have an opinion?

Quote from osmvirus : would CAFA50 or H212+ coolers fit this?

I just read an article in Maximum PC Magazine that showed "The Sweet Spot PC" (page 30) built with this case and a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. That cooler measurements are the following:

Heatsink dimensions (120 x 80 x 159 mm)
Fan dimensions (120x120x25 mm)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6835103099

A Cooler Master Hyper 212+ looks to measure about the same:

Heatsink dimensions (120 x 79.7 x 158.5 mm)
Fan dimensions (120x120x25 mm)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Pro...6835103065

I just bought this case and a Hyper 212 EVO based on this article.