Fractal Design Define S Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case

Pros: Very space efficient. Without the 5.25" bays the whole front of the case is open, seriously improving airflow over other designs. The included fans are definitely a plus, they're very quiet. I love having the drives mounted on the back of the motherboard tray, it keeps the inside of the case much tidier. The velcro straps for reusable cable management are a great touch, and I like that pretty much every thumb screw in the case is a captive screw so you don't lose them.

Cons: With my motherboard the SATA ports aligned up with the 3.5" bays on the back of the case, making it very difficult to get a cable between the two and still get the back door on. A little more cable management space would be great.

Overall Review: I replaced my old Antec Sonata III with this. It's been a long time since I've looked at buying a case (almost a decade) so I agonized over reviews and youtube videos trying to find one that works. I got this and a NZXT X61 water cooler, and the two together are a great pair. I mounted the X61 to the front in a pull configuration into the case, then mounted the included fan as an exhaust in one of the moduvents on top. My CPU runs much cooler thanks to the new water cooler, but my big surprise is that my GPU temps have dropped by about 10-15°C. The open space up front really helps get that cool air back to the graphics card. The fan filters are so far doing great at keeping the case clean (a huge upgrade from the Sonata III). Definitely happy with the purchase.

Pros: -Case has tons of room, great water cooling support (top and front mounts for triple fans/radiators, reservoir brackets -Really quiet, sound dampening on side panel and top -lots of dust filters

Cons: Just a few minor things: -No PSU shroud, probably for watercooling compatibility but it would be nice to have. -Stock rear exhaust fan made a clicking noise but wasn’t hitting anything. Realized it was the type of bearing the fan used, wasn’t really supposed to be mounted for horizontal air flow. Replaced with fan in front and no noise, so idk.

Overall Review: Case is very large. Pics don’t really do it justice. I’d estimate it’s about 150% of the size of other cases like NZXT’s S340. If you don’t really need the extra room, triple fan support or reservoir brackets you might want to go with something like the S340 or fractal’s define c. If you’re a fan of glass there’s the s340 elite, or fractal meshify c and define c tg

Pros: - Mostly Well made - TONS OF ROOM - 140MM rad support - enough room for push pull in the front

Cons: -NOT COMPATIBLE WITH 90 DEGREE RIGHT ANGLE STANDARD SATA CABLES

Overall Review: loses an egg for not telling me that it is not compatible with standard 90 degree SATA cables. This in the advertising copy anywhere, took me until the end of my build to find out, and had to hunt them down online, because they're not exactly the most common thing.

Pros: Well thought out dimensions. It is deeper and wider than the full tower it replaced while requiring less space. The side panels are heavy duty. They alone weigh more than my previous case. Quiet, cool and spacious. More room and options for cable management than anyone could need. My first case without a bulging side panel. Not having a stupid window is cheaper and quieter with the solid panel. Win-win.

Cons: Despite the description of it as a "steel mid tower" with a "solid front panel" and the omission of the acronym "ABS," the front bezel is entirely plastic with a brushed appearance. The bottom fan mount is blocked by modular PSUs.

Overall Review: I can see using this case for a long time. A clean, classy, and understated appearance never goes out of style. It's solidly built with room for nearly any kind of hardware and water cooling configuration.

Pros: Over all a well thought out case. I would have given it 5 eggs, if it wasn't for the fact they state in the description: "Optimally designed for silent computing with high density noise-reducing material throughout". Mine did not have high density noise-reducing material on front panel. Cable routing is a breeze and lots of room to expend.

Cons: No high density noise-reducing material on front panel. Fans are not PWM Will not fit EATX

Overall Review: I wish case makers would stop including fans. I rather them drop the pries $10 bucks. I always end up buying PWM fans anyways.

Pros: Looks Great! Easy to build in Great cable management Solid airflow Very flexible in regards to minimal entry level builds to full custom hardline builds

Cons: The fans that come with it leaves something to be desired. The plastic window scratches suuuuuper easy. Like if you dont use the right cloth type of easy. Finger print magnet.

Overall Review: Overall its a great case. I would recommend it to most. Maybe not clumsy people or people who bump their case a lot since it does show. Build quality is great. However I dinged it 1 egg because I feel like they went with a cheaper plastic window to save money because its very soft and easily scratched by most things. In addition the fans are a bit loud for the little air I feel they push. Both are easy fixes. Dont take sand paper to your window, and spend the extra $ on a few good fans. Just a heads up tho, with my amd build the water cooler cable for the fan juuuuust hardly makes it to he fan header on the mobo. A hair more on length and I would have to resort to extensions. Again, easy fix if you have that issue.

Pros: - Easy cable management. - Great HDD/SSD mounting locations. - Good access to front dust cover. - Optimized for water cooling. - No wires attached to front cover.

Cons: - No location for Optical Drive. (Get the Define R5 if this is a problem.) - Bottom dust cover pulls out from the back.

Overall Review: This case was a joy to build my system in. In the past I would only research components and just throw them in whatever case was cheapest and had clearance for the CPU heatsink and GPU. Decided to try water cooling, and after my last case ended up looking like Frankenstein after installing a AIO, I realized I should pay more attention to cases. Before I even began water cooling anything, this case made me realize just how much I had punished myself in the past with cheap junk cases. Getting the motherboard into place was a breeze. Mounting the SSD's was a breeze. The layout is well thought out, and there are many places to secure cables for good cable management. Without the water cooling equipment, the inside was so empty it made me think I was forgetting components. No drive cages in the way. No wires dangling everywhere. I almost regretted my love of stealth builds. I can't yet comment on how insanely easy it is to water cool in this case because I'm still waiting on some parts to arrive, but with the arrangement I have planned, it's going to be... a breeze. ;) In the mean time, I have the stock GPU cooler, and a Hyper 212 Evo. They both fit with room to spare.

Pros: Very nice build quality and great sound dampening on all sides. Wide open chamber allows for good airflow and expansion into liquid cooling. Honestly I have no idea why they even made an S2 because this one is just so good already. Cases no longer come with a side mount fan and I think that is just terrible. I chose this because it does have a mounting position for the fan. I have a fan that pulls air out there and it keeps my GPU 10 degrees cooler than otherwise without it. Plus when you give the air an avenue to escape the case the other components won't get as hot either. The front plate does not restrict airflow at all either.

Cons: Fans that came with it are ok at best. I swapped 1 noctua 120mm fan in place of the 2 140mm fans that came with it and it is quieter while performing better. I wish they just didn't come with it and instead discount the case. No USB 2 or USB c in the top is a pretty big oversight.

Overall Review: I highly recommend this case to anyone. It is the best value case I found after literally dozens of hours of searching.