Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Black Pearl Silent ATX Mid Tower Case

Comment:
Plenty of things to add on if you wish like fans. Many drive bays including 2 under the mobo [but need to install before anything else], cable management hides most cables, tough design. Like the spot where you can add an additional USB bracket without losing a card bay. Keeps dust out. One set of 4 drive bay rack can be removed.USB ports are vertical with no protection from dust, can choose light around power button for power on or disk activity - not both, rear filer is under the PSU at the back - hard to get to if you don't have access to the back, wider than most cases - because of the cable management.

Comment:
Beats my old heavy thermaltake armor series. im thinking about ordering another for my next big build. This review was modfied by poster @ 11-15-14 12:08 PM

Comment:
Very nice looking case with a solid construction. Lots of sound dampening all throughout the case. Removable HDD cages that can be oriented in different directions. Open back plate for easy cpu cooler installation and flexible rubber grommets for easy cable management.

Comment:
My case is almost completely silent. It is well designed in almost all areas except for the fan filter removal in the front. It requires you to pull your fans slightly out and which can make the filter difficult to get to. Otherwise great case.

Comment:
Overall the case is of good quality, impressed with the flexibility and construction of the case. Many options for fans mounts and lots of space for good cable management. The only drawback is the top vent of the case. It's very tight between motherboard and an H100i radiator. It fits, and thankfully they allow you to mount the radiator a bit offset (away from the motherboard tray/backplate) to allow a bit of space between the radiator and the motherboard

Comment:
An extra fan would be nice to round out the front, but at this price definitely worth it.Will be using this case for a long time to come

Comment:
Good chance this is the last case ill ever buy.Over all quality is outstanding! all steel with a molded plastic front bezel. all the internal parts are steel even the HDD/SSD trays.I moved the rear exhaust fan to the front filtered intake and will just have filtered intakes blowing in and in turn the pressurized case will stay dust free longer. minor chance the psu will have problems with its filtered intake on the bottom of the case trying to push against the other fans so I removed the two top sound proof covers to allow for less restricted exhaust from the case. I may toss a corsair 100i on the top later but for now I'm more then happy.

Comment:
Moved from a Corsair 600t to a Cooler Master HAF XB as I was looking for something smaller and quieter. The HAF XB was a dust magnet due to being such an open design. After pouring through review after review I settled on the Define R4 as the new home for my components.I wanted something that was going to be decent for cable management, would handle liquid cooling (more on that in a minute), easy to build and change components in, and would be quieter than what I've had in the past. This Define R4 ticked all the boxes.This is easily the quietest case I've ever built an OC'd system in. I have an i5-2500k running at 4.8 GHz with an H60. The H60 with push-pull SP 120's easily mounts in place of one of the included 140mm fans at the back of the case, allowing me to have both 140mm's for intake at the front. Everything else stays sealed up, and the machine is running at about 34 dB at the exhaust, 32 dB at front intakes with ambient room noise at 30 dB.I impulsively ordered an H100i to replace the H60i, deciding to mount it on the front, as Fractal's own videos say that a 240mm radiator will fit up front. I had to remove both drive 3.5" drive chambers, which wasn't that tough, but found that the H100i will only fit if you run push from the front or push/pull, as the hoses aren't long enough to reach from the processor to the front mounting point. Though Linus says pull is his preferred method, you'll have to deal with a little extra dust to mount an H100i in this Define R4.Additionally, mounting the H100i to the removable plastic fan casing at the front can be a bit of a chore, as you'll only be able to mount the front two 120mm fans at the center points to the plastic casing. I'm sure Fractal will address this on the R5 in the future, but for now I'd just suggest mounting your fans to your radiator with short screws and a narrow screwdriver for the front-mounted fans to allow easier mounting to that fan casing in the R4.Other than learning the trick to mounting the H100i, and THEN having to return the H100i (another story for another review), my experience with the Define R4 has been incredible, and I would highly recommend this case to anyone who wants to build a clean-looking and quiet system.

Comment:
Amazing case overall. Being used in my first computer, I did not know what to expect for a case. Turns out, it's A LOT bigger than what I expected. The only reason I got this instead of the Define mini is cause of the window.But really, since it's my first case, I don't have anything to compare it against. It just works.

Comment:
Purchased this case when it was on sale, which I still don't regret. I love the sound dampening cushion mounted inside the case, which keeps my computer quiet and the side window to show off my build.

Comment:
For me this case was love at first sight. I was looking for a case that could last me for many builds. This meant it had to have the size and features I was looking for and a visual appearance that was simple and sleek. I love cases with front panels to cover up the drive bays and windowed side panels so I can show off my hardware, this case features both. The front panel has a beautiful magnetic catch which requires no force to open unlike some mechanical catches. This case can mount up to 6 140mm fans, has grommet holes for cables making it perfect for a long term case, USB 3.0 and a pretty power switch. The dust filters are a great feature and the sound proofing makes a difference on the front panel. All the components are sturdy and have a quality feel to them. If you see this case on sale don't hesitate to buy! Great case in general, especially for the price!

Comment:
Great quiet case. Would recommend this to anyone who needs a quiet, reliable and a good quality case.

Comment:
Amazing case to work it. Would definitely use it again.

Comment:
Upgraded from antec 900. Everything is great for this case. Only complaint is the frontal headphone jack is abit tight. I am using Steelseries Siberia V2 and the headphone and mic jack always pop up after insert. I hope it will become better after several weeks of use. Overall, good case for the price(got it for 79.99 on sale). I would recommend it to everyone

Comment:
The thing that I enjoy everyday is push the power button on the top of case to turn on my computer. I upgrade this case from a coolermaster matx case to give better airflow for the cpu and video card, and it works perfectly. The best case I ever had! This review was modfied by poster @ 01-27-13 06:33 PM

Comment:
Have the older version of this case without the window.With the window, it makes my computer look cooler!

Comment:
I bought this after being fed up of my old case (Antec) and so far I'm very pleased with it. Once you remove the drive cages, you have a LOT of space for water cooling/case moddingOnly downsides would be the fact that non-modular PSU owners will have a hard time fitting all those wires at the back, it's not especially spacious. It closes, but it needs strength. Another downside would be that it only comes with two fans...It's heavy, but solid. So solid that my pliers started to give in before I managed to cut the top mesh (needed to pass a wire)!

Comment:
Just and all around great case. If you need more than than 6 fans make sure you get the model without the window.

Comment:
I'm not really sure if the shiftiness of the case is a pro or a con really. On the one hand, it make it seem a but unsturdy, on the other hand with relatively little force you can make the panels line up square unlike a more rigid case that might become permanently bent.It's been pointed out in various reviews already, but the front USB/Jack wires are in the way of the top 5.25" bay, but it's fairly simple to re-route/move them without having to take the front all the way off or disconnect the wires.All that said, I've been fairly rough with it, outside of almost unnoticeable scratches on the window... nothing has broken, no paint chips, etc.Excellent case that seems like it will last years and still look like new.

Comment:
Had this a short while but it's the nicest case I've owned so far in my progression of PCs. I'm not too sure about most of the other setup as I ordered my machine assembled by NCIX and just had to add my own videocard and hard drives, but the cable management is so easy in this case even an imbecile like me could probably do it.

Comment:
Overall, this case is one of the best for its size. I love the 140mm fan mounts for the front and back, which isn't easy to find in many cases. As long as your motherboard allows for an H100i to fit (if applicable), then I doubt you'll have anything bad to say about it.