Fractal Design Define XL Review 8

Fractal Design Define XL Review

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Value and Conclusion

  • The Fractal Design Define XL sells for around 120 - 130 € in various eShops. That translates into a 30 - 40 € premium for the XL version over the R3.
  • Excellent cable management possibilities
  • Very spacious interior
  • Two types of sound dampening materials used
  • Can hold 10 hard drives
  • Three fans included
  • Top 180 mm fan angled for better sound encapsulation
  • Fan controller included
  • Very good paint job
  • 7+1 expansion slots
  • Front drive bay covers easily removable
  • Front dust filter easily accessible for cleaning
  • Excellent tray system for hard drives
  • Thumb screws on all external drives
  • Thumb screws on motherboard expansion slots
  • No USB 3.0
  • Rather heavy
  • Fans not the quietest
  • Upper left corner a bit of a squeeze due to angled fan
  • Door only opens to the left
The Define XL may just look like a simple size increase of the Define R3 and from an outside perspective it actually is. It is a bit wider, a bit taller and comes with more external drive bays and a larger number of USB 2.0 connectors, but retains the exact look and feel of the Define R3. Once you look at the interior there are a few noteworthy differences which are mainly enabled due to the overall size of the chassis. All of these internal changes are for the better and should present a great argument for those looking to go for a full size chassis and are eyeing the competition. While it is by no means on the same level as an Obsidian 700D or 800D in terms of overall build quality, it does come with a very unique and useful feature set along with a cheaper price which makes the Define XL a serious contender in its price and performance sector. Thus the Fractal Design XL deserves the same words of wisdom as the Define R3: It brings a unique feature set, but Fractal has to work hard on bringing modern features to future cases - like USB 3.0 and hot swappable drive bays to keep up with the changes in the case market as the competition is not snoozing, actively pushing out new products to the market.
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Nov 27th, 2024 14:33 EST change timezone

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