Wednesday, December 19th 2012
Fractal Design Readies the Define XL R2 PC Chassis
Next year Fractal Design will debut the Define XL R2, a new PC case promising to offer 'superb cooling and ventilation capabilities with exceptional expandability, in a sleek and stylish Scandinavian form'. Coming in two color versions - Black Pearl and Titanium Grey, this chassis measures 232 (W) x 559 (H) x 560 (D) mm, it weights 16.4 kg and has support for mini ITX, micro ATX, ATX, E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboards.
The XL R2 also features a ModuVent design (which allows the user to choose between optimal silence or maximum airflow), four 5.25-inch and eight 3.5-inch bays, nine PCI slots, a top I/O panel (2x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, audio ports), a built-in fan controller, and three pre-installed 140mm Silent Series R2 fans - one in front, one at the back and one on the bottom.
The Define XL R2 is set to cost €120 / $130.
The XL R2 also features a ModuVent design (which allows the user to choose between optimal silence or maximum airflow), four 5.25-inch and eight 3.5-inch bays, nine PCI slots, a top I/O panel (2x USB 2.0, 2 x USB 3.0, audio ports), a built-in fan controller, and three pre-installed 140mm Silent Series R2 fans - one in front, one at the back and one on the bottom.
The Define XL R2 is set to cost €120 / $130.
17 Comments on Fractal Design Readies the Define XL R2 PC Chassis
Hopefully, they've made it so you can fit a 240mm rad at the top of the case. which opens the doors for people who like the cases rather simplistic looks compared to other cases and want to fit a full custom WC loop or run with a Corsair H100/100i
being an owner of a Define XL. the 180mm fan at the back doesnt actually make that much noise at all, but then again i switched out all the fans on my case to Silverstone AP's and the odd Corsair SP120 and 140mm Yate Loon
Judging by the design, It looks to be a more or less supersized version of a regular Define R2.
The changes were more or less changes to the functionality as a whole. Corsair 650D's and 800D's were stealing too much of the competition away from Fractal.
This is pretty much my ultimate case btw.
the Corsair 650D really appeals to me but thats a smaller case and given its dimensions there is only so much watercooling kit you can put inside that case which leads me to the 800D or this XL R2 that more or less ticks all the boxes
I have one of these and the nice thing about the full case can handle a dozen regular hard disk drives and has enough room in from for a pair of opitcals and one of those nifty two bay sized readouts in the front of hte bay and a stack of 2.5s behind it (eventually mine will be outfitted this way, I have 7 drives in my Windows Home Server and none of the rest, but I've planned on repurposing this case in the future... :)
I can't seem to find this 180MM radatior that'll fit in there and still leave room for everything to be hooked up and breathing nicely as we've all mentioned but Fractuals' fit and finish is superb and is my goto case for personal and up scale builds, their stuff is plain and basic and doesn't look like some piece of plastic outer space machines'
Like i said before it was just a gimmick and i have a feeling they removed it and opted for the normal top mounting for better cooling performance better accessibility to certain motherboard plugs most noteablity the top left 4/8pin 12v, and also better combatitiblity for a wider range of watercooling options
Personally i own the Define R4 with the side window and i know stock with no modding i can fit a 240 rad at the top and at the front i'm betting with the Define XL R2 they took the same route as the R4.
*Hint- one side panel from the R4 weighs nearly as much as an entire NZXT Source 210 case!