A Closer Look - Inside

To gain access to the interior, simply remove the four thumb screws holding each side panel in place. The interior, while arranged in a traditional fashion, is not ordinary at all. All the elements within the S2 look custom-tooled and designed, as is customary for the Define series, but there are a few elements that have been derived from the R6 as well.


The most prominent update within the Define S2 are by far the new 3.5" hard-drive cages. Gone are the basic plates from previous generations, with the more elaborate look a much needed step in the right direction. You will find the two SSD mounting brackets here as well.


Behind the motherboard tray, you will find a fan PCB that is powered by a SATA connector. It can handle six 3-pin and three PWM-based fans, with the respective signal taken from a header on the motherboard. Such a PCB will certainly come in extremely handy when utilizing larger radiators and, thus, multiple fans. Fractal Design has also included two of their signature Velcro strips for easy cable management. There is around 23 mm of space to work with, which is plenty to keep any cable mess hidden away nicely.


There is a large shroud to keep the cable mess hidden. You may take the two SSD brackets on the rear off the motherboard tray and place them on the shroud if you like, but if you place your GPU here at least the left one will no longer be usable due to the PCIe slot bracket taking up the space. Fractal Design could have just moved both SSD mounting locations further to the right to solve this issue.


In the rear, the PSU bay comes with four rubber bits on which the power supply will sit once installed. Above that are the expansion slots, of which there are seven vertical and two horizontal ones. In case you are wondering, Fractal Design still offers their signature white elements in their cases, but we simply got the blackout version with nothing but black parts for review. The former are secured with thumbscrews, while the latter utilize traditional screws and can be accessed from outside of the chassis. In the very top, you will see the 140 mm exhaust fan with a 3-pin header.


In the ceiling, you can clearly make out the mounting possibilities for fans or a radiator. Thanks to being off-center, you should not have to worry about such a unit interfering with your motherboard's components under normal circumstances.


All the cables within the Fractal Design S2 are sleeved black and of the standard variety, so they will most certainly fit any modern motherboard without issue. As there is a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connector, you will find the appropriate plug within as well.


Last but not least, the fan controller is powered by a SATA plug for which Fractal also includes an extension cable, so you can further minimize the cable mess within your system.