Fractal Design Define R5 still viable for a new build?

[azrael]

I recently bought an ASUS ProArt RTX 4080 when there was a "fire sale" of sorts because of the new Super models. While at it I also got a new PSU. Now I'm thinking of getting a Define R5 while you can still buy it (only the "vanilla" one seems available, would've loved getting the blackout version).

I'm specifically targeting the R5 since I find it to be the epitome of the Define series. Extremely modular, bottom dust filter accessible from the front, 5,25" drive bays etc.

IF I get the R5 I'm planning to remove the provided fans for three Arctic P14 PWM ones (two in the front, one in the back) and remove the middle drive bay.

I know the emphasis of the R5 is on silence so airflow won't be as good as with a dedicated airflow case, but am I completely off the reservation here?

Been looking at other more recent cases but none of those really grab me. Also, I'm not quite convinced of the "high airflow cases give you just as much silence as silent cases" argument.

 

[Vya Domus]

Unless you plan to fit a ton of drives in that bay I don't see the point in buying such a case. Outdated layout, mostly blocked front intake portion with the bay, even without it has rather poor airflow with those side vents.

 

[pressing on]

Helped an R5 owner upgrade to a Meshify 2 and the differences are significant. The Meshify 2 is a much easier case to work with and I would recommend it.

 

[Event Horizon]

The R5 is a good versatile silent case. Not sure I would stick a 4080 in one. Might be a good idea to open the door when gaming.

 

[pressing on]

The R5 is a good versatile silent case. Not sure I would stick a 4080 in one. Might be a good idea to open the door when gaming.

If you want something like an R5 and don't like the airflow Meshify 2 then the Fractal Define R7 is probably a better choice. You could put a 4080 in either but cooling it will be a touch more difficult with the R7.

Edit: There is a TechPowerUp review of the R7.

 

[azrael]

Unless you plan to fit a ton of drives in that bay I don't see the point in buying such a case. Outdated layout, mostly blocked front intake portion with the bay, even without it has rather poor airflow with those side vents.

While we can agree, that the front is mostly blocked (it's a case focussed on silence) I'm not sure what you mean by an "outdated layout". Most everything is removable, if need be, and the case has no silly PSU shroud.

I will need to install 2x 3.5" drives *but* never directly on top of each other. That's why I would plan to keep the lower 3-bay drive cage and remove the 5-bay cage in the middle. Got a SATA 2.5" SSD, which would go on the back, much like every other case out there now. And two NVMe drives which of course go on the motherboard. I *do* want the 5.25" drive cage though. One bay would be enough, but two is better.

For cooling, as stated, I plan to use at least three Arctic P14 PWM PST (140mm) fans, which apparently are pretty good and have nice static pressure. Two for intake and one for exhaust. Might even add another intake fan at the bottom between the PSU and the drive cage.

Helped an R5 owner upgrade to a Meshify 2 and the differences are significant. The Meshify 2 is a much easier case to work with and I would recommend it.

I've had a look, and it does seem interesting. Still not sure how to mount that second 3.5" drive (as per above) and I would miss the 5.25" drive bay(s). I did notice that temps weren't massively better compared to the Define R7. Especially the temps for GPU under load were only 2.5 C degrees better.

My builds are never just for gaming. About 80% of the time will be spent working (I'm a software developer), so silence is a pretty big deal for me.

 

[freeagent]

I have an R4, and it has that deadener in it.. I never thought of it as a silent case once I started to use it. That would come down to fans, and how you arrange them. R4 is pretty old now so probably cant really compare to anything newer.

 

[azrael]

I have an R4, and it has that deadener in it.. I never thought of it as a silent case once I started to use it. That would come down to fans, and how you arrange them. R4 is pretty old now so probably cant really compare to anything newer.

Thanks for sharing. Seems like your setup isn't completely unlike mine and if that works for you in the R4 then I suppose my setup would work for me in the R5. Although I'm still wavering a bit...

EDIT: But I see that setup lists the Torrent Compact as case. What do you have in the R4?

 

[freeagent]

What do you have in the R4?

Nothing right now, but it was my main case for 5 or 6 years.

 

[azrael]

Nothing right now, but it was my main case for 5 or 6 years.

Did it by any chance contain some or most of the hardware in your signature?

 

[freeagent]

Did it by any chance contain some or most of the hardware in your signature?

Negative, this stuff is way easier to cool

 

[kurosagi01]

I still have a Define R3 case that I am not using but did re-use when I had my 5900x+7900XT, personally they are great if you are after a "clean" look and something that can keep the noise level down.

 

[Chrispy_]

I've used plenty of sound-damped cases past and present, honestly it's a fad that does very little because you still typically have exhaust fans that are right up against the case panel/grille. The few cases I've used that have damping material all over and indirect baffled exhausts as well as baffled intakes had poor cooling (eg NZXT H440) and are totally inadequate for a 4080.

"Quiet" is a function of slow fans, and with every fan in a modern machine being controlled by a temperature curve, the quietest cases are the cases with the best cooling. Get something with good airflow and the fan controllers will do their jobs to keep the volume levels down when the temperatures are low.

 

[azrael]

I've used plenty of sound-damped cases past and present, honestly it's a fad that does very little because you still typically have exhaust fans that are right up against the case panel/grille. The few cases I've used that have damping material all over and indirect baffled exhausts as well as baffled intakes had poor cooling (eg NZXT H440) and are totally inadequate for a 4080.

"Quiet" is a function of slow fans, and with every fan in a modern machine being controlled by a temperature curve, the quietest cases are the cases with the best cooling. Get something with good airflow and the fan controllers will do their jobs to keep the volume levels down when the temperatures are low.

I see you come from the "Gamers Nexus" school of thought...

To be honest and as I've stated above I don't really buy into the whole "high airflow cases give you just as much silence as silent cases". Case in point: The Meshify 2 is 2.3 dBA louder than the Define 7 at load. Considering that decibel is a logarithmic scale that's actually quite a bit louder.

All that being said, I do appreciate your comment. As I've stated I'm still wavering on the R5, but apart from the Meshify 2 there doesn't seem to be anything else out there if you're not into window shopping and RGB barf.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I have a Fractal Design Arc XL, I'm not currently using it, but I still have it.

If the Define R5 is anything like the Arc XL, the HDD bays should be removeable. If you don't need all the space, pull out a cage to allow better air flow from the front intake fan and it appears you should be able to add a second fan to the front intake. I'm not sure what size fans the case uses, but looks like the front intake allows 2 - 120mm or 140mm fans to be mounted based on images I find for the case.

If you don't have need for the 5.25" bays on the case, you could always do what I did with my Arc XL. I didn't need all 4 5.25" bays in the Arc XL, I only needed 2 for my DVD burner and Blu-ray disk readers. The other two bays I found some HDD brackets that I could mount in them. I mounted my two spin drives there and my two 2.5" SSDs had mountable locations on the backside of the MB tray. I then completely removed the two HDD cages in the case to allow better air flow from the front intake fans.

 

[mb194dc]

I have an r5 in my living room, where silence is golden. Added 4 140mm fans to it and got a fan controller. Has a 6800xt in it. For my use case it's been great, had it since 2015.

Probably upgrade it at some point, did change PSU already, hopefully new board etc won't be too much hassle.

 

[Chrispy_]

I see you come from the "Gamers Nexus" school of thought...

To be honest and as I've stated above I don't really buy into the whole "high airflow cases give you just as much silence as silent cases". Case in point: The Meshify 2 is 2.3 dBA louder than the Define 7 at load. Considering that decibel is a logarithmic scale that's actually quite a bit louder.

All that being said, I do appreciate your comment. As I've stated I'm still wavering on the R5, but apart from the Meshify 2 there doesn't seem to be anything else out there if you're not into window shopping and RGB barf.

I suspect there's a crossover point where mesh, open airflow-focused cases are quieter than baffled, soundproofed cases and it's not a black and white answer.

IME, hungry components that spit out a lot of heat will overwhelm restrictive soundproofed cases and the rise in fan noise is far too much for the soundproofing to do anything useful.
For lower-TDP cases where the restricted airflow of a soundproofed case can comfortably deal with the load, I'm sure the soundproofed cases are better.

I use the Define 7 Compact a lot - it's good for professional meeting rooms that require a full workstation because it's plain looking, and can be bought with solid side panels instead of glass. Fractal Defines aren't what I'd call soundproofed cases, they're basically mesh cases with a pretty wide and open pair of side-intakes rather than a single large front intake and even thought there's material glued to the inside of the front panel, it's lightweight tissue-paper that's far too thin to be effective.

They do seem to measure well in sound testing because the methodology most reviewers use is a microphone pointed at the front of the case as their one and only sample, which obviously favours cases that block this direction with a solid panel. The Defines produce the same average sound levels but simply redirect the sound to the left and right, which isn't a measurement most reviewers take. That's arguably more important because most people have their cases to the side, either at floor level or on a desk.

 

[freeagent]

As a note, silence and high performance rarely go hand in hand

 

[#22]

Define R5 is still great case and value for the money if it costs significantly less than Define 7. Good build quality and better than average ergonomics, capacity and excellent dust protection (if don't count unfiltered openable top). Airflow is only matter of needs, not some priority, but R5 won't have problems with cooling 4080 - that's only ~300W card, so one not needing much. I wouldn't expect too much from Pro Art cooler, though, so sound-deadeaning will come in handy.

Don't suggest with high airflow Gamers Nexus' approach to silence - in practice it's more theory and myth than working. Yes, in highly ventilated case fans of your components will work with lowest noise. Yes, such case will cool any components with lowest noise. It's all awesome, but here advantages of such approach end and start disadvantages sucking hard to the point I would highly encourage man proritizing silence not going with airflow case.

 

[azrael]

What I intend to do. For now I'll be using the same hardware as in my system specs, save for the GPU and the PSU. And the case, of course, if I decide to go that route.

 

[#22]

First give two stock fans a chance. They are decent and really will do fine with cooling 4080. If you go with air cooler, thing to do for sure is going with oversized one to make up lack of airflow in top parts of the case and GPU powerhungry enough to significantly affect CPU temps.

 

[azrael]

There's a 5 piece value pack of the Arctic P14 PWM PST which I can get for nearly dirt cheap. As for the CPU cooler I've often looked at larger ones than the one I have, but I usually get deterred by the sheer weight of these things. Maybe I'm just overthinking things.

 

[neatfeatguy]

There's a 5 piece value pack of the Arctic P14 PWM PST which I can get for nearly dirt cheap. As for the CPU cooler I've often looked at larger ones than the one I have, but I usually get deterred by the sheer weight of these things. Maybe I'm just overthinking things.

If you have extras you can mount fans on the top for exhaust. I don't think you should run into any issues using the Define R5 for your tower.

 

[Vayra86]

Im running my 7900XT + 8700K combo in the R4. Its fine but you will be missing usb C. Also, I wouldnt advise pushing more than 450-500W continuous system power on air in it. You wont be able to control gpu temps well beyond that wattage.

4080 should be fine tho

If you have extras you can mount fans on the top for exhaust. I don't think you should run into any issues using the Define R5 for your tower.

Agreed but if you are going there get a cheaper and not silent case with better airflow to begin with. Kinda defeats the purpose of the Define if you open up all the noise mitigation

 

[pressing on]

What I intend to do. For now I'll be using the same hardware as in my system specs, save for the GPU and the PSU. And the case, of course, if I decide to go that route.

On a point of detail, the fans on the R5 are fitted from the front of the case into a metal tray, using long bolts. On the R5 I worked on, the stock 140mm fans had been retained and I noticed that the bolts were only just long enough. The stock fans are 25mm wide, the Arctic P14 PWM fans are 27mm wide. May not seem much but if you do go with the R5 longer bolts may be needed.

See graphic below