1. Introduction2. Fractal Design Define R4: Packaging and Bundle3. Fractal Design Define R4: Exterior Design4. Fractal Design Define R4: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

Fractal Design have been around for a few years now and have made a name for themselves by producing a range of whisper quiet cases which also offer great build quality and good value.  We were very impressed with the Fractal Design Define XL when we tested it last year so we were very excited when Fractal Design offered us their latest model to test.

Today we are going to look at the Fractal Design Define R4 case which is essentially an updated version of the Define R3 which has been on the market for a few years.  It comes in at a price of around £100 inc. VAT which means it's competing with many other cases as the market is crowded at this price point.

Features

• High density noise-reducing material for an optimal silent case – To achieve a high level of noise reduction, material with mass should be incorporated which is what we strive to achieve with the dense bitumen used on the side panels.
• Patent pending ModuVent™ design allowing the user to choose between optimal silence or maximum airflow.
• Top HDD cage (5 trays total) can be rotated 90 degrees or removed for additional airflow or to accommodate long graphic cards up to 430mm in length.
• Three-speed fan controller is strategically integrated in the front panel and supports up to 3 fans.
• Two Silent Series R2 fans included, featuring hydraulic bearings contributing to a longer life expectancy – Silent Series R2 retail fans will now come standard in all cases.
• Wider case body that allows for improved cable routing behind the motherboard – now 26mm wide.
• New tool-less front fan holder makes switching front fans a breeze.
• Two SSDs can be mounted on the back of the motherboard plate.

The Define R4 is supplied in a large brown cardboard box which features a large blueprint style image of the case on the front.  It feels strong and should deal with knocks and bumps during shipping.

Turning the box around reveals a detailed breakdown of the features of the case alongside another blueprint style image.  Inside the box, the case is suspended between two slabs of polystyrene for protection.

The included bundle consists of a box full of the screws required for installation and a detailed installation guide.

It's quite clear that the Define R4 is an updated version of the R3 as the aesthetics of the two cases are very similar indeed.  Both feature the same minimalistic design, consisting of a large brushed aluminium style door in the front of the case, covering all of the drive bays and fans.

Behind the door there are two 5.25″ bays at the top which are secured in place using clips.  They also feature vents which provide airflow to the inside of the case.

The inside of the door is covered in foam which should help to keep noise levels to a minimum.  There is room for two 140 mm fans in the front of the case which feature dust filters.  There is only one fan included in the front with the case but you can easily add another one.

The main chassis of the case is constructed from SECC steel which is powder coated black.  The steel used is quite thick and feels very good quality indeed.

All of the front panel connections are located along the top edge of the case at the front.  From left to right we find headphone and microphone jacks, a reset button, a power button, two USB3.0 ports and two USB2.0 ports.

There are two additional fan vents in the roof of the case which support 120 mm or 140 mm fans.  These are blanked off with noise suppressing foam which can easily be removed if you want to install fans here.  Unfortunately the fan mounting holes aren't in the right position for mounting a Corsair H100.

Moving round to the rear of the case we can see that there is a 140 mm exhaust fan included with the case.  There are seven expansion slots in total which feature white vented covers which contrast with the black finish of the case.

Both of the side panels of the case are secured using thumbscrews which makes them easy to remove without tools.  The case is available with both windowed and non-windowed side panels.

We have the non-windowed variety which features a thick sheet of sound deadening material on the inside.

As you can see the inside of the case is painted entirely black.  This is should compliment most components well and is sure to make them stand out.

Over on the left hand side of the case we can see there are seven expansion slots in total.  The white covers are secured using thumbscrews which should facilitate installation.

Moving down, there is plenty of room for large PSUs.  There is a large vent in the floor of the case to feed the PSU with cool air which is dust filtered to prevent carpet fluff from being sucked in.

There are eight hard drive bays in total which can either be fitted with 2.5″ or 3.5″ units.  The top four drive bays can be removed to improve airflow if required.  The drive caddies are finished in gloss white which contrasts nicely with the black finish for the rest of the case.  The drives have to be screwed into place but this only takes a few seconds.

Behind the motherboard tray there is plenty of room for routing cables.  There are also a series of cable routing holes cut into the motherboard tray which feature rubber grommets to keep things tidy.  The Define R4 is a little wider than the R3 which means there is also plenty of room to install large CPU coolers.  There is also a large cut out section in the motherboard tray to facilitate CPU cooler installation.

Fractal Design provide a detailed guide with the case which guides us through the installation process.  First of all we installed the motherboard into the system.  Fractal Design don't pre-install the stand-offs into the case so we have to screw these into place before securing down the motherboard.

Next we installed the Corsair GS800 power supply into the system which screws into the back of the case.  There is a large cable routing hole next to the power supply for all the cables to pass through. Then we installed the AMD Radeon HD 6950 graphics card into the system which secured into place with thumbscrews.  As you can see we managed to achieve quite a tidy build despite using a non-modular power supply which is a testament to the cable routing feature of the case.

For our tests we will be using the Cooler Master TPC 800 CPU to cool the Intel Core i7 3770K CPU.  Our test system also features an AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics card.  We tested the system at stock settings and when overclocked to 4.4 GHz using a voltage of 1.25V.

Test System:

Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K
Motherboard: Biostar TZ77XE4
Cooler: Cooler Master TPC 800 with 2x Be Quiet! Shadow Wings 120mm fans.
Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-2
Memory: 4GB (2x 2GB) Kingston HyperX Genesis
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950
Power Supply: Corsair GS800
System Drive: Intel 520 Series 240 GB
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2260WM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Software:

CPUID Hardware Monitor
Prime95 64-bit
Furmark V1.9.2

To test the thermal performance of the Fractal Design Define R4 we loaded our test system for 15 minutes using Prime95 and Furmark and recorded the maximum temperatures reached using CPUID Hardware Monitor.  We then restarted the system and left it for 15 minutes before recording idle temperatures.  Room temperature was maintained at 20 degrees C for the duration of our tests.

We are quite impressed with the thermal performance of the Define R4 considering it's designed with acoustics in mind, rather than high airflow.  The CPU temps are a little toasty when overclocked but this is due to the CPU cooler.

To test the acoustic performance of the case we placed a digital dBA meter 1m from the front of the case and replaced the Radeon HD 6670 with a HD 5550 Silence.  We also momentarily detached our CPU cooler’s fans so we were only taking the noise into account from the case fans.

The noise level generated by these fans was below the 30 dBA minimum sensitivity level of our noise level meter.  In fact, this is one of the only cases we've ever tested where we've actually had to look under the desk to see if our test system is switched on because it's that quiet you don't notice it at all!

Overall we are very impressed with the Fractal Design Define R4. It is one of the finest cases you can buy at around £100.

The minimalist design and the brushed aluminium effect front panel means it could easily be mistaken for one of Lian Li's models. Obviously it is sold at a much cheaper price tag as it's constructed from steel rather than aluminium. Even though it is constructed from Steel, build quality is excellent.

We would say it offers a similar level of build quality to cases from Corsair with the added benefit of extensive sound deadening. The excellent acoustic performance of this case is sure to be a key selling feature as it's one of the quietest mid-tower cases available on the market.

It's very difficult to find fault with the Define R4.  The only issue that might affect some users is the fan spacing in the roof of the case.  The mounting holes aren't positioned in the correct place to install a Corsair H100 which will disappoint some enthusiasts.

If we were being very picky, we would say that the plastics used for the front panel of the case behind the door feel a little on the flimsy side.

The Fractal Design Define R4 can be yours for £100 from Overclockers UK.  At this price we think it offers great value for money and should be the first consideration for anyone looking to build a quiet but powerful air-cooled mid-tower system.

Pros

• Sleek design.
• Impressive build quality.
• Plenty of storage options.
• Very quiet indeed.
• Extensive cable routing provision.
• Good value.

Cons

• Not suitable for water cooling.

KitGuru says: An excellent case which is whisper quiet and well built.

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