# Worth Upgrading from a Corsair 550D to a Fractal Design Define R5?



## Flogger23m (Feb 24, 2017)

I am thinking of switching my case from a Corsair 550D to a Fractal Design R5. I like the 550D, and it is cool and quiet in the winter months. But in the summer the temps can get a bit high, even when removing the side panel for some extra airflow. I recently upgraded to an EVGA GTX 1070, which seems to run a bit louder fan wise than my previous MSI GTX 970.

Essentially, I want to keep the temps down while retaining a low noise case with room for expansion. I use a number of drives (two SSD, three HDD). With the Corsair 550D and my non-modular PSU, this essentially means I must use all 6 of the drive bays which blocks airflow from the front of the case. Each cage folds 3 drives, so I can't really remove one of the drives as I need 5. I have 5x case fans installed:

1x 120mm rear
2x 120mm in the front of the vents
2x 120mm on the rear of the HDD cages

The Fractal Design R5 differs in that there are two mounts in the back of the motherboard tray for two SSDs. I am thinking I can place two there (PSU cables should allow this without being too messy) and remove the larger HDD cage. This will leave me with a HDD cage with exactly three mounts, just enough to fit my HDDs in while leaving nothing obstructing the front intake fans from blowing colder air across my GPU. Essentially, like this setup but removing the HDD/SSD cage with 5x slots in the front:







To top it off, the R5 comes with two 140mm fans. I can re-use some of my one or two of my 120mm fans; one in the front, one on the side if needed during the summer. That would be a total of 1x 140mm rear exhaust fan, 1x 140mm front intake & 1x front 120mm intake, and possibly 1x 120mm side intake in hotter months.

My question is, will this extra airflow be a worthwhile upgrade? Will some 140mm fans with more empty space in the front bring in enough airflow to keep temps, and therefore noise down by a noticeable amount? I realize quiet cases do not offer the best temps, but I am trying to hit the best middle ground between silence and low temps.

Any advice appreciated.


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## Vario (Feb 24, 2017)

I think the front bezel on the 550D is the biggest problem.  You could remove the dust filter on it if you must have a bezel or just remove the bezel.

You could put some drives in the 5.25 bays at the top and/or you could put some SSD's elsewhere and just mount them with velcro.

These are two solutions without spending money.





I don't know that R5 would be worth it... you said you had a non modular power supply, you could buy a modular and sell the power supply you have, keep the 550D, take the front off so more air can flow in.

You don't really need filters, I don't bother anymore I just use a Datavac ED500 every couple weeks.  My system runs quieter and cooler without filters.


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## nikicam (May 29, 2020)

Hi there,
I just saw this and I have to say that I'm having the same dilemma.

My 3 Corsair fans that came with the Obsidian 550D case were perfect until recently when they got a bit louder. Probably due to the lack of lubrication in bearings. Therefore I had a 2x Scythe S-FLEX 120mm Fans (800 RPM, SFF21D) and once I've installed these the case was much quieter. With that fan config, the airflow wasn't so good so I have decided to order 3x Noctua NF-S12A fans which are pretty quiet IF you use low noise adapters, but with Noctua, I haven't got much better cooling, if only a few degrees better.

Therefore I'd like to sell the Corsair Obsidian and buy the Fractal Design R5 and I'm wondering if that's a smart thing to do.
I am also considering to stick with Corsair Obsidian and buy 3x Scythes' SY1225DB12SL  ( 500 upm / DC12V / 0.04A) even though these might rise case temperature a bit although these are 7.5db fans which is ultra silent.

Share your thoughts, please.


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## Regeneration (May 29, 2020)

Not such a drastic change. Save the money for a more worthy upgrade.

PC hardware is better left untouched (except of regular maintenance OFC).

Everything work for a decade without a hitch, you change one thing, and boom: fried motherboard. Seen it too many times.


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## bonehead123 (May 29, 2020)

Flogger23m said:


> I am thinking of switching my case from a Corsair 550D to a Fractal Design R5. I like the 550D, and it is cool and quiet in the winter months. But in the summer the temps can get a bit high, even when removing the side panel for some extra airflow. I recently upgraded to an EVGA GTX 1070, which seems to run a bit louder fan wise than my previous MSI GTX 970.
> 
> Essentially, I want to keep the temps down while retaining a low noise case with room for expansion. I use a number of drives (two SSD, three HDD). With the Corsair 550D and my non-modular PSU, this essentially means I must use all 6 of the drive bays which blocks airflow from the front of the case. Each cage folds 3 drives, so I can't really remove one of the drives as I need 5. I have 5x case fans installed:
> 
> ...



Well, my suggestions, with minimal spending, are:

A) Take out ALL HDD cages, which will greatly improve airflow... (this is the 1st thing I've done with the last 20+ rigs I've built for clients)

B)  Velcro all SSD's onto the back of the mobo tray or other locations.

C)  Get a single sled tray and mount 1 HDD onto the floor of the case, and/or put all of them into an external enclosure or dock.

D)  If you can, switch to a fully modular PSU to reduce unneccessary cable clutter and improve airflow even more.

As for the fans, use whichever ones you think work best, but study the reviews before buying more, as you may be spending more money for very little benefit.  Personally, I prefer 140mm where possible, as they usually offer a bit more airflow at lower speeds with less noise IMHO (Corsair ML's are usually my 1st choice), but that's just me...

Good luck with whatever you choose to do


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## Chrispy_ (May 29, 2020)

2.5" SSDs can be tucked anywhere, hanging loose off the cables behind the motherboard even. There are no moving parts and they weigh very little (usually they are half empty inside too).

Remove the top drive cage so that your GPU gets airflow and jam the SSDs anywhere out of the air path. I've used double-sided tape to stick a couple on top of the PSU more than once.

If it was me, I'd get some velcro tape or just double-sided foam sticky tape and put them here, routing all cables towards the rear panel of the case:





Derp, just remembered there are optical bays. Dump them loose in there and zip tie the cables to something to hold them in place. You don't have four optical drives, do you?


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## bogmali (May 29, 2020)

nikicam said:


> Snip



Sharing my thoughts, please make a separate thread and I'm not sure if you looked at the date.


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