Fractal Design Define R6 Review 52

Fractal Design Define R6 Review

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Value and Conclusion

  • The Fractal Design Define R6 goes for US$129.99 excl. taxes or €129.99 including government levies, while the variant with the glass panel goes for 149.99 USD/EUR respectively.
  • Excellent construction quality
  • Great attention to detail
  • Excellent mix of materials
  • Glass side panel construction is one of the best I have seen
  • Clear glass panel is pretty sweet
  • Alternative layout great for hardcore liquid cooling fans
  • Can take up to 420 mm radiator in the ceiling and 360 mm in the front
  • Includes the retail quality fans
  • Top cover comes with solid metal or proper dust-filtered air vent
  • Top cover may be popped out easily
  • Fan PCB for six 3-pin and three PWM fans
  • Plenty of storage space - up to eight drives
  • Can take PSUs of up to 300 mm in length
  • GPUs of up to 440 mm in length will fit
  • CPU cooler's maximum height of 185 mm is more than enough for air-cooling enthusiasts
  • Interesting optional accessories, should you want/need them
  • No more fan controller included
  • 2.5" drive bay placement on shroud not ideal
  • An additional cover for the shroud would have been nice for the alternate layout
  • Metal top cover bends easily when separating it from plastic air vent/dust filter
  • White of plastic does not match white of metal perfectly
  • Power LED not very bright
  • No more modular top cover - either all solid or a big air vent
The Define chassis was the one that really put Fractal Design on the map back in the beginning, and the R6 is the sixth generation of the case family. To this day, it represents what the company envisions a functional high-end chassis should be, and while some revisions were not very pronounced, the difference between the R5 and R6 is massive. Fractal Design has managed to improve on nearly every element of the chassis and is offering the case in more color options than ever before. On top of that, the addition of a glass panel variant also shows that the company is trying to go with the times.

Those looking for flashy RGB lighting won't find any. The Define series is meant to offer excellent liquid cooling, loads of room for both components and storage, and excellent use of materials alongside smart engineering and tooling. This continues to hold true for the R6 with its beautifully clear glass panel, the ability to alter the layout to accommodate DIY liquid cooling scenarios, metal hard-drive trays, and the ability to install everything easily regardless of whether it is a motherboard, GPU, or large radiator. All this makes it easy to overlook some small annoyances, like the weak power LED or inefficiently placed mounting possibilities for 2.5" drives on the metal shroud.

With its three retail-grade fans and glass panel, it manages to impress, and while the price tag is quite adequate, some may argue that the I/O panel with the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connector or Flex VRC-25 could have been included right out of the box - just to add another tangibly useful and differentiating factor while increasing the bang for your buck.
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Nov 25th, 2024 11:33 EST change timezone

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