Fractal Design Define Mini Black Micro ATX Silent PC Computer Case w/ USB 3.0 support and 2 x 120mm Fractal Design Silent Fans

Pros: Sleek
Simple
Painted Interior
Amazing Features For The Price

Cons: No Windowed Side Panel (see other thoughts)
CPU Back Panel Is Too Small

Other Thoughts: I bought this case looking for a compact yet capable platform to build a mid-range overclocked, gaming rig. I was shocked at the quality of the case when I received it less than a week later. It is sleek, beautiful, very aesthetically pleasing (both to the eyes and ears), and holds all of my high-end components with ample airflow and space. This case looks great on my desk and is quiet enough that I can keep it next to me without hearing anything - bear in mind I used Noctua fans, a liquid CPU cooler, and SSD's...but the padded interior really absorbs the noise.

The CPU back panel was not cut low enough to allow me to mount my motherboard (ASUS Maximus V Gene) and install my H60 liquid cooler. I had to completely unmount the board to put the CPU mounting bracket on, but this was a one time thing. Perhaps other motherboards will have the CPU's location higher and it would work just fine.

I also want to have a windowed side panel to show off my color-schemed components as well as the motherboard's brilliant red backlighting. I wrote Fractal and had a response in two days thanking me for the feedback. It is yet to be seen if they'll come out with a windowed side panel for the Arc Mini series, but it's refreshing to know they listen to their customers.

Lastly, Fractal knows they have a value here. They could easily charge twice what they're asking now and I'd gladly pay, but they're gamers and enthusiasts too...and they understand value for your money. They have a customer for life here. I will never buy another case from a different manufacturer.

Pros: Quiet
Convenient
Attractive design

Cons: Very little space behind motherboard tray for cabling
Static electricity on the front panel caused hard resets

Other Thoughts: Perhaps this is not a widespread problem, but even casually crossing my carpeted room and touching the USB ports or headphone jacks caused the motherboard to hard reset. The only fix was to completely unplug every front panel input from the motherboard. Also, Fractal Design did not respond to my support inquiry. 2 stars for a good design -- unfortunately it didn't work for me.

Pros: Very Quiet -- Included fans are good quality, sound insulation works well, above-average build quality.

Installation was pain free -- All need tools, screws, mounting brackets, fan controller, etc, are all included.

Modern and minimalism -- I've got an Ikea desk (designed in Sweden) and it fits well with the Fractal case (also designed in Sweden)

Plenty of expandability (for a mATX) -- 4 expansion slots + 1 non-input slot (aka fan controller), 6 HDD drives w/ SSD ready mounting holes, 2 CD/DVD drive slots (2.5 also adapters included), 6 fan locations, water-cooling grommets.

USB 3.0 header support.

Bottom PSU intake slot w/ fan filter

Front fan filters.

Everything felt high quality, especially the HDD/SSD mounting points.

Did I mention quiet??

Cons: Less than ideal space behind the motherboard tray for cable management. I have a non-modular power supply, I had trouble sliding the panel back on. When I slide it back on some of the wires were pushed back into view and there was a small bulge in the panel. The grommets for routing cables kept falling off and they were very annoying to get back on. Although to be honest it doesn't have a side window so no one is really going to look inside at the cables.

Other Thoughts: Although the cable managment could be improved this is a very nice case and I would buy again. I would also recommend this to anyone looking for a minimalistic and quiet computer case.

Pros: best built case ever, and very quiet

Cons: none

Pros: -Removable/rotatable hard drive cage is great and easy to use
-Very durable, side panels stay straight, no flimsy parts
-Completely silent when idle, only a little woosh of the gpu fan while under full load (I have an Asus DirectCUII 660ti)
-Plenty of cable management space for its size
-Looks great!

Cons: Only 2 nit picks:
-The front panel comes off a little easier than expected so don't move the case using that.
-Fan control bracket is hard to remove with rear fan in place

Other Thoughts: Bought this after researching for months. I'd take this over any other case out there

Pros: This case is without a doubt the nicest case I have dreamed of owning. I bought it because I wanted a nice, quiet case to use as a media server and wanted side mounted HDD racks.

I have 6 drives in the system so this fits just perfect. If I need to add more drives later, then I'll invest in a 3 in 2 RAID cage. I tucked everything in with a Coolermaster 212+ that fits nicely within the dimensions of the case. It is a microATX case, but the only limitation is going to me the motherboard itself. I wouldn't worry much about any CPU cooler or other devices. The middle HDD cage is completely removable if you need the space for a ginormous GPU.

Lots of slots and grommets for running cables throughout the case to keep airflow smooth. I removed the included Fractal Design 120mm fan from the rear of the case and mounted it in front of the top HDD cage so that both cages are getting airflow across them. Replaced the rear fan with a Xigmatek Extreme Silent Series XSF-F1252. Bought 'em in a pack of 4 for 9.99 and hooked all 3 120mm fans to the included fan controller and cranked them down. None of them make any discernable noise and drive temps never get higher than 34 degrees.

The hardest part of the assembly was trying to figure out how to open the panel in front of the fans slots (just push).

The build quality is amazing. if you remove the side panels and bump anything it makes a thud or click sound rather than the bang or clang that I've always gotten from every other case. The sound is more similar to a car door shutting that a computer case being closed up. The included sound dampening material is great. The top and side panel vents are closed off with extra sound dampening material.

My wife saw the case in a corner of the basement and asked if I was going to throw that out or stick it in the garage..... it was turned on and running. I had removed the PWR ON light and she thought it was just an old case lying around..... it's that quiet with six HDDs, 3 case fans and a Coolermaster 212+ CPU cooler. Don't get me wrong. I paid attention to making sure it was quiet, but the way this case is engineered, there is no vibration anywhere and the only way to know it's on is too listen for the HDD to click a little bit.

Cons: Are removable Motherboard trays no longer the norm for high end cases? I didn't have any issues, but I was just curious.

Other Thoughts: With the Nanoxia Deep Silence cases coming available in the next couple of weeks, I am tempted to pick up one of those and compare to the Fractal Design cases.

Pros: *Beautiful
*Uber Quiet
*Well Built
*Fits and H80, see below.

Cons: None, see below.

Other Thoughts: The case come with one side panel with a 120mm Fan mount with the moduvent on top of it. This was not able to fit over my h80, so FD was nice enough to send me a NON-vented side panel free of charge, and even sent me another when the first one came bent. Amazing company!

Pros: Rock solid build, noise dampening, USB3. Decent cable management options and very spacious overall.

Cons: Included fans are only 3 pin. Front intake doesn't move as much air as I want.

Pros: Great solid construction, super silent, comes with fan speed controller, minimalistic and great looking.

Cons: The description (mini, microatx) gives the impression of a small case. This case is much bigger than I expected it to be. In fat it is slightly bigger than my cooler master scout case.

I should have checked the dimensions before buying so ofcourse the blame falls squarely on me. Still, if the name mentions microatx then one expects the thing to be small.

Other Thoughts: This is an absolutely great case. I only wish it was smaller.

Pros: -Good build quality
-Fans are quiet
-Decent cable routing
-6 hard drive bays were perfect for my FreeNAS build

Cons: No hard drive activity LED