• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Fractal Design Define XL

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,093 (0.44/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Name Meshlicious Monster
Processor Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software Windows 10 Home
Fractal Design has enlarged the Define R3 to a full tower with additional features, calling it the Define XL. We tear it apart, fill it with hardware and see if we still have room to breath or if it is all nothing but wasted space

Show full review
 
Last edited by a moderator:

tuppel

New Member
Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
5 (0.00/day)
Location
Sweden
Processor Phenom II X4 940BE @ 3.6GHz, 1.45V
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4
Cooling CPU: Thermalright IFX-14 (2x120mm) & HR-10
Memory Corsair XMS2 4x1GB 800MHz
Video Card(s) Asus HD6870 1GB DirectCu
Storage 7.57TB HDDs in total
Display(s) Dell U2311H (23" eIPS 1920x1080)
Case Fractal Design Define R2. 4x120mm, 1x140mm, Zalman fancontroller
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy 2 Platinum
Power Supply Corsair HX520W
Software Windows 7 Pro x64
Mr Know-it-all would like to point out the following:

Typing error:
Introduction: "They were also kind enough to send us the Define R2 and Define R2 - check out the reviews!"

Contradicting:
Introduction: "1x 180mm fan included in the top of the case. Recommended for exhaust of air."
Value and Conclusion: "Top 230 mm fan angled for better sound encapsulation"
A Closer Look - Inside: "... but Fractal Design has also included an angled 230 mm unit blowing air out the rear vent I mentioned before."

18 kg, my Define R2 almost seems lightweight now.. :D
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2008
Messages
567 (0.09/day)
Location
Finland
System Name I can't believe I bought that / HTPC
Processor i5-750 @ 3.5GHz 1.27v / P II 705e @ stock
Motherboard Asus P7P55D-E Evo / Asus M4A785D-M PRO
Cooling Corsair H100i / Air
Memory 4x2 Geil DDR3-2133 @ 1755 / 2x2 DDR2-800
Video Card(s) Asus GTX660 TI / Asus HD6670
Storage Crucial MX100 512GB + Spinpoint F1 750GB / Crucial m4 128GB + WD Green 1TB
Display(s) HP w2408h / Samsung 55" HDTV
Case CM 690 II Advanced / Silverstone GD02
Audio Device(s) Integrated
Power Supply Corsair AX850 / OCZ ModXstream 500W
Software Win 7 / Win 7
It could be just me, but I think some of the inside shots are quite dark making it hard to see the details.
 

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,093 (0.44/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Name Meshlicious Monster
Processor Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software Windows 10 Home
It could be just me, but I think some of the inside shots are quite dark making it hard to see the details.

Agreed, even though they have gone through post-production after being shot, a few reviews in the last 3-4 months were created during my move from one country to another at a temporary location. I apologize for any badly lit images. If you have any questions do not hesitate to let me know!

The next case reviews will have much much better images then ever before from me :D and they will get even better after that if I have it my way ;)

cheers
DS
 

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer
Staff member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
3,093 (0.44/day)
Location
Victoria, BC, Canada
System Name Meshlicious Monster
Processor Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s) Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software Windows 10 Home
Mr Know-it-all would like to point out the following:

Typing error:
Introduction: "They were also kind enough to send us the Define R2 and Define R2 - check out the reviews!"

Contradicting:
Introduction: "1x 180mm fan included in the top of the case. Recommended for exhaust of air."
Value and Conclusion: "Top 230 mm fan angled for better sound encapsulation"
A Closer Look - Inside: "... but Fractal Design has also included an angled 230 mm unit blowing air out the rear vent I mentioned before."

18 kg, my Define R2 almost seems lightweight now.. :D

fixed! it is a 180 mm fan! :) thanks for the keen eye (and for actually reading the review ^^)!
 

Frick

Fishfaced Nincompoop
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
19,673 (2.86/day)
Location
w
System Name Black MC in Tokyo
Processor Ryzen 5 7600
Motherboard MSI X670E Gaming Plus Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2
Memory 2 x 16GB Corsair Vengeance @ 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) XFX 6950XT Speedster MERC 319
Storage Kingston KC3000 1TB | WD Black SN750 2TB |WD Blue 1TB x 2 | Toshiba P300 2TB | Seagate Expansion 8TB
Display(s) Samsung U32J590U 4K + BenQ GL2450HT 1080p
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Audio Device(s) Plantronics 5220, Nektar SE61 keyboard
Power Supply Corsair RM850x v3
Mouse Logitech G602
Keyboard Dell SK3205
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Rimworld 4K ready!
I love the cases they make, they are so darn sexy and pretty cheap at that. Thanks for the review, great as always!
 

Cruc1al

New Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
37 (0.01/day)
Location
Edinburgh
Processor i7 920 @ 3.2GHz
Motherboard Asus P6TSE X58
Cooling Scythe Mugen 2
Memory 3x2Gb OCZ Obsidian PC-12800
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2Gb
Storage WD Caviar Green 1tb
Display(s) Samsung 2233rz 22" 1680x1050 @ 120hz
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DX (w/ Sennheiser PC350 headset)
Power Supply OCZ GameXStream 850W
Software Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Apart from the temperatures of the components in my Define R3 even with 4 fans, I love it. What used to be 36C idle CPU in Antec 900 is now 40C. But the sound isolation, thumbscrew PCI-E slots, HDD installation, cable management and stylishness are all big +++
 

PirateBoy

New Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2010
Messages
33 (0.01/day)
Reminds me of this case in some respects -->
 

araditus

New Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
172 (0.03/day)
Location
Oklahoma
I feel that for the price its a great case, of course it wont be able to compete with the 800 or 700d from corsair, however those cases are ?40%? more expensive. It should be expected, but I find this a fine case overall for the user that wants quality, features and decent performance at a lower price point.

That being said, I do not think this case has the airflow capabilities for a air over clocker and I also believe that a sli/xfire set up of the higher end skus won't do very well in this case, but watercooling will be dandy and quiet :)
 
Top