Fractal Design Define S

[HEXUS]

Goodbye optical drives, hello liquid cooling.

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[Denis_iii]

IF they did a version of this for MATX BUT with...
- a solid side panel with no removable vent bit.
- sound dampening material on the front panel.
- support for 2x3.5" and 2-3x2.5"
...I'd snap it up ASAP.

But at £65 it's a steal IMO.

[kellyharding]

I think it is going to be either this or an R5 for my next case.

[Brewster0101]

The bad points are really clutching at straws considering the price.

Its a very simple , clean and practical case - and to boot very good value.

[smilertoo]

If this had come in white it would be replacing my R4 case.

[Tunnah]

With the focus of this case, and indeed your review, being about how this is more suited to a liquid cooling system, it would have been nice to see how a standard setup would look in it.

As you say looks are a big part of the internals, and you note how barren it looks on air, maybe for future reviews for cases where liquid is a selling point, you could bung in some props ? Because liquid cooling is as much about style as it is substance nowadays, and seeing that a case offers a great frame for a loop/resevoir as standard without having to mess around too much could help out - I know if I wanted to build a liquid cooling system, how it was going to look is probably more than half of what I think about, as nowadays ALL liquid cooling will chill it enough, but done right it can be your own personal art project

[Normanyakuza]

love the design if the make a white and black color version it would be nice

[jnutt]

Couldn't do without my CD/DVD drive.

[Shordes]

I'm torn between this and the R5. They both look very good, but the extra fan options in the Define S are really appealing.

I don't use optical drives anyway, so in that regard the Define S has an advantage, but it lacks fan controls and USB ports at the front.

Guess I'll be flipping a coin or maybe someone will convince me to get one or the other

[Froggywoggy]

"Looks sparse when air cooled"

This should not be a negative for a case. Looks are bonuses, not necessities. The only time I look at my case is to press the power button.