A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior simply remove the pair of thumb screws holding each side panel in place. The entire area of both panels are lined with sound dampening material. Even though the chassis is fairly short, you are able to install up to six hard drives in it, just like with the Arc Mini. In fact, both the cases seem to be using the same chassis frame, thus all internal properties are the same. Turning the chassis around, there is a large opening in the mainboard tray to give you access to the CPU cooler backplate and numerous possibilities to route cables through. As is the issue with all Define cases, there is very little space between tray and side panel - roughly around 18 mm. The fact, that much of this space is taken by the sound dampening material makes things a bit more complicated. You better wire things perfectly - especially when filling the chassis to the rim.


Fractal Design employs the same cage system in the Define Mini as can be found in their other higher-end cases, but instead of four hard drives in each cage, the Mini can only hold a total of six. The top half can be turned by 90 degrees or taken out completely if you happen to need the space for long graphics cards. The single 120 mm intake fan has been placed in the upper slot at the factory, while the bottom one remains unused. The two 5.25 inch bays are nothing out of the ordinary. As you can see, Fractal Design includes thumb screws to hold any device in place.


Turning our focus to the rear, there is the PSU bay on the bottom. A power supply will rest on four foam mounted knobs, while the rear is also lined with the same material. This should kill vibrations on the spot. Above that are the five white mainboard expansion slots, each held in place by a black thumb screw. In the very top is another white bladed 120 mm fan, this time to push air out the back of the chassis.


In the top there is a thick square cover on the 140 vent. In case really high-end hardware is used, or the temperature becomes a concern, one may install a fan of their choice here. An additional spot for a fan can be found on the floor of the chassis. While this is good - in case you require it, the majority of users will never install one here.


Before we dive into the installation part of this review, let us take a quick look at the cables. Fractal Design has taken great care in sleeving all cables black, but the internal USB 3.0 lead remains blue. We have seen many black versions already so it is a bit disappointing to have something like this in a black & white chassis.