Fractal Design Readies the Define XL R2 PC Chassis

[Cristian_25H]

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.

[Capitan Harlock]

good price for a tower xd with quality of fractal design xd

[blibba]

They've got rid of the top-rear fan and gone with regular top fans. Disaster D:

[EiSFX]

The must of got rid of it for a reason most likely in the first DEFINE XL it might have just been a gimmick and after more testing they found it it really diden't help temps to have a angled top fan. Or might have created too much noise and removed it.

[Tarkhein]

Disregarding actual fan usage, I found that the top 180mm fan is a pain in the ass because it's in the way of the EPS 8 pin connector. By the time you've connected it and made sure the cable doesn't interfere with the fan, you wish Fractal Design had gone with the horizontal placement at the top with moduvent instead.

[EiSFX]

Originally Posted by Tarkhein

Disregarding actual fan usage, I found that the top 180mm fan is a pain in the ass because it's in the way of the EPS 8 pin connector. By the time you've connected it and made sure the cable doesn't interfere with the fan, you wish Fractal Design had gone with the horizontal placement at the top with moduvent instead.

Which is another reason i'm guessing they removed that top fan and went for there normal moduvent on the top

[urza26]

Am I the only one who is displeased with the activity or power LED placement of the Define chasis line? It is such an outstanding product line, but I know I would always be slightly bothered by it (merely just the thought of it). It would have been such a sleeker chasis without that LED.

[Aquinus]

Originally Posted by blibba

They've got rid of the top-rear fan and gone with regular top fans. Disaster D:

As in, they don't include the fans? I see two spots on top and one on the side panel for fans, so at least you can add your own. These are picture of the chassis and not stock images right? It looks like a pretty nifty case, however I wonder how solid the chassis feels.

[FreedomEclipse]

IMO It looks like they've caved in and went ahead with making it more watercooling friendly.

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.

[Octavean]

Looks a lot like the old Antec P180,....IMO,....

[Frick]

Originally Posted by Octavean

Looks a lot like the old Antec P180,....IMO,....

All Fractal Design's Define cases looks like that. Which isn't bad. I'm glad FD made a bit of a splash when they entered the market so others took after them. But yeah the P180 is the original.

This is pretty much my ultimate case btw.

[blibba]

Originally Posted by Aquinus

As in, they don't include the fans? I see two spots on top and one on the side panel for fans, so at least you can add your own. These are picture of the chassis and not stock images right? It looks like a pretty nifty case, however I wonder how solid the chassis feels.

No, not as in that. As in, they've switched from the top-mount-rear-vent fans of the original XL to a more conventional (and vastly inferior) design.

[NHKS]

Originally Posted by FreedomEclipse

IMO It looks like they've caved in and went ahead with making it more watercooling friendly...

pretty much

Water cooling compatibility:
■Front – 240mm radiator when HDD cages are removed or repositioned
■Top – 240 and 280mm when using slim radiators
■Bottom – 120mm radiators
■Rear – 120 and 140mm radiators

HDD cage configs

[FreedomEclipse]

Id pick up one of these cases up in a heartbeat now that it has better support for watercooling but I wish they included a clear sidepanel as an optional extra. It would look a lot like a Corsair 800D but for a much much cheaper price.

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

[TinkerToyTech]

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'

[natr0n]

Very nicely designed internals.

[EiSFX]

Originally Posted by blibba

No, not as in that. As in, they've switched from the top-mount-rear-vent fans of the original XL to a more conventional (and vastly inferior) design.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...-XL-BL_2_2.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...-XL-BL_1_4.jpg

I woulden't exactly call it the best design eather from a few reviews i have read where they actully tested that top angled fan in all the test out of the 3 reviews i have read two of the reviews said that there was only a 1 degree difference with it on compaired to off and the other diden't read any difference at all

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.

[Norton]

Originally Posted by Aquinus

As in, they don't include the fans? I see two spots on top and one on the side panel for fans, so at least you can add your own. These are picture of the chassis and not stock images right? It looks like a pretty nifty case, however I wonder how solid the chassis feels.

The Fractal Define Mini and R4 that I have are very solid and these look to be in the same class as my Silverstone Fortress (FT-01 model) imho

*Hint- one side panel from the R4 weighs nearly as much as an entire NZXT Source 210 case!