Fractal Design Define R5 Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]

Conclusion

I was really happy when I was offered the chance to review the R5. My only other Fractal case I’d used before was the Core 1000, which is the cheapest case Fractal offered at the time. It just so happened to be a fairly good case for the money. So with that in mind, what did I make of the modestly better R5 windowed case?

Performance wise, I was fairly surprised at how well the front air vents do actually work; this is in huge compliment to the 140mm GP14 branded fans which come pre-installed with the case.  I am also a huge fan of how easy it is to get access to the front fan to change them. Thermal performance is very good given the closed nature of the system and it does have a heavily favoured case window, it does also include a lot of sound dampening material to dampen noise and vibrations; a pre-installed 140mm exhaust fan sees to the removal of hot air and with space to fit up to 3 x 120/140mm fans or a radiator for water coolers in the top, I am pleased with its performance.

Touching more on the price, £100 is quite a lot for a midi-tower case but Fractal certainly give you something worth contemplating with the sound deadening in literally every panel available; this alone is probably worth buying this case for, but if noise isn’t an issue for you, there are much cheaper alternatives available currently on the market. Like I mentioned earlier the slightly more expensive Nanoxia Deep Silence case comes in at around £15-20 more in price, it makes the R5 seem ever much more attractive.

Ok the Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 Rev.B isn’t 100% silent but compared to literally other midi-tower I have seen in the past few years, it certainly beats them easily and even with a near full set-up of fans, I struggled to notice noise. On the 12v setting the fans were audible but not annoying. I found the sweet spot of sound versus air movement to be the middle setting.

If you are looking for a solid, stylish, white or black silent midi-tower case for around £100, then pick up the Fractal Design Define R5 as at the end of the day, you have to pay for quality and Fractal aren’t one for scrimping on important things, after all this is Revision 5 and it’s gorgeous!

Gold award – Features and quality to price alone make this a solid gold award earner. The R5 is feature rich and beautiful looking case for the £100 sweet spot it’s sitting at. Sound proofing material combines with the fans to provide good acoustics too. Luckily it cools great as well!

Huge thanks to Fractal for sending me the R5 to review and I really look forward to seeing more new products from them in the not too distant future.