Fractal Design Define S2

Darksaber · Oct 3, 2018

Fractal Design continues its tradition of updating their case families by increasing a number in the name. The Define S2 builds on the success of the liquid-cooling-focused Define S, but adds a slew of new features and improvements to the mix.

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DeathtoGnomes · Oct 3, 2018

The fan hub doesnt appear to be directly powered via molex/sata power.

tarin · Oct 3, 2018

Good job Factral design

SIGSEGV · Oct 3, 2018

nice case but it would be better if they just put like a mesh filter on the front side. I think Phanteks P400S still the best bang for the buck.

silapakorn · Oct 4, 2018

Nice, but I probably go with R6. They're both the exact same size but R6 has option for more 3.5 drives and even a 5.25 one.
S2 wins in terms of weight (2.8 kg. lighter) and usb 3.1c, but it's also $20 more expensive.

Mussels · Oct 4, 2018

Anyone else put off by the glass panel having a tint on the bottom half only?

Or is this just a reflection of something

newtekie1 · Oct 4, 2018

DeathtoGnomes said:
The fan hub doesnt appear to be directly powered via molex/sata power.

It has a SATA connector on it.

Mussels said:
Anyone else put off by the glass panel having a tint on the bottom half only?

Or is this just a reflection of something

I think it is just a reflection, because it doesn't look tinted in the angled shots.

Assimilator · Oct 4, 2018

Love the 3.5" drive locations! Hopefully extra 2.5" drive trays will be purchasable so that you can fit up to 7 drives total in this chassis.

Sad to see USB 2.0 ports in this day and age, though.

Sp33d Junki3 · Oct 4, 2018

SIGSEGV said:
nice case but it would be better if they just put like a mesh filter on the front side. I think Phanteks P400S still the best bang for the buck.

Not even close comparison.

efikkan · Oct 4, 2018

I guess this case is geared towards water cooling, yet it could use some more airflow to make water cooling make sense. I would make the front intakes up 1 cm longer, and make the case large enough to have three 140mm fans in the front and one in the bottom, so basically more the size of the Define XL without the crappy front. And of course a version without a glass panel.

I do like the general quality and looks though.

DeathtoGnomes · Oct 4, 2018

newtekie1 said:
It has a SATA connector on it.

was going off the image posted

good to know it has external power

Anaski · Oct 7, 2018

I'm quite sure that my Define S did not come with a fan controller,so the part "Fan controller not included anymore" on the minuses of this new version is very weird.

newtekie1 · Oct 7, 2018

Anaski said:
I'm quite sure that my Define S did not come with a fan controller,so the part "Fan controller not included anymore" on the minuses of this new version is very weird.

Especially since they now include the fan controller that is controlled by the motherboard.

Mussels · Oct 8, 2018

the R5 had a physical switch fan controller, where the new version has a (half PWM, half voltage) fan hub instead

newtekie1 · Oct 8, 2018

Mussels said:
the R5 had a physical switch fan controller, where the new version has a (half PWM, half voltage) fan hub instead

Yeah, but the Define S, the predecessor to this S2, had nothing at all. So it is kind of odd that the lack of any kind of fan controller/hub wasn't even mentioned as a con for the Define S, but now it is for the S2 even though it has the fan hub.

Mussels · Oct 8, 2018

i agree its an odd negative, its something added therefore not a negative

System Name	Meshlicious Monster
Processor	Intel Core i5-10600T
Motherboard	MSI Z490I Unify
Cooling	NZXT Kraken Z53 with 2x Noctua Redux 1300 RPM PWM fans
Memory	ADATA 16 GB 3200 Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	TeamGroup 1TB NVMe SSD
Display(s)	Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Case	ssupd Meshlicious with mesh side panels
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion 660 W Platinum ATX
Mouse	Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless
Keyboard	Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Home

System Name	Dumbass
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF gaming B650
Cooling	Artic Liquid Freezer 2 - 420mm
Memory	G.Skill Sniper 32gb DDR5 6000
Video Card(s)	GreenTeam 4070 ti super 16gb
Storage	Samsung EVO 500gb & 1Tb, 2tb HDD, 500gb WD Black
Display(s)	1x Nixeus NX_EDG27, 2x Dell S2440L (16:9)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/8 140mm SP Fans
Audio Device(s)	onboard (realtek?) - SPKRS:Logitech Z623 200w 2.1
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000i
Mouse	Steeseries Esports Wireless
Keyboard	Corsair K100
Software	windows 10 H
Benchmark Scores	https://i.imgur.com/aoz3vWY.jpg?2

System Name	SIGSEGV
Processor	INTEL i7-7700K \| AMD Ryzen 2700X
Motherboard	QUANTA \| ASUS Crosshair VII Hero
Cooling	Air cooling 4 heatpipes \| Corsair H115i \| Noctua NF-A14 IndustrialPPC Fan 3000RPM
Memory	Micron 16 Gb DDR4 2400 \| GSkill Ripjaws 32Gb DDR4 3200 3400(OC) 14-14-14-34 @1.38v
Video Card(s)	Nvidia 1060 6GB \| Gigabyte 1080Ti Aorus
Storage	1TB 7200/256 SSD PCIE \| ~ TB \| 970 Evo
Display(s)	15,5" / 27"
Case	Black & Grey \| Phanteks P400S
Audio Device(s)	Realtek
Power Supply	Li Battery \| Seasonic Focus Gold 750W
Mouse	g402
Keyboard	Leopold\|Ducky
Software	LinuxMint KDE \|UBUNTU \| Windows 10 PRO
Benchmark Scores	i dont care about scores

Processor	Intel i7 10700K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Pro AX
Cooling	Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory	DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHZ (2X16GB)
Video Card(s)	Palit GTX1080ti Super JetStream 11GB
Storage	Trandscend 370s 256GB / WD Caviar Black 2+1TB
Display(s)	Acer XB270HU 144hz Gsync
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P600S White
Audio Device(s)	Sound Blaster ZXR
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000X 1000W 80 Plus Gold

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

Fractal Design Define S2

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

DeathtoGnomes

tarin

New Member

SIGSEGV

silapakorn

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Assimilator

Sp33d Junki3

efikkan

DeathtoGnomes

Anaski

New Member

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

Processor	Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard	AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling	Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory	32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s)	RTX 2070 Super
Storage	500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s)	Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case	Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s)	Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply	eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Firelance.
Processor	Threadripper 3960X
Motherboard	ROG Strix TRX40-E Gaming
Cooling	IceGem 360 + 6x Arctic Cooling P12
Memory	8x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4-3200 CL16
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Ventus 2X OC
Storage	2TB WD SN850X (boot), 4TB Crucial P3 (data)
Display(s)	3x AOC Q32E2N (32" 2560x1440 75Hz)
Case	Enthoo Pro II Server Edition (Closed Panel) + 6 fans
Power Supply	Fractal Design Ion+ 2 Platinum 760W
Mouse	Logitech G602
Keyboard	Logitech G613
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

Processor	i5-13500
Motherboard	MSI MAG B760 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4
Cooling	Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 White
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 4x8GB 3200
Video Card(s)	EVGA RTX3060 12GB
Storage	250GB NVME (main) 1TB SSD (Game) 1TB HDD (Storage) 2TB HDD (ext Backup)
Display(s)	Benq 27" GW2765 + Asus 27" VE278 + 55" Hisense
Case	Cougar MX600 White
Audio Device(s)	Audiotrack Prodigy Cube DAC + Edifer S330D + Plantronics RIG 400
Power Supply	Corsair AX760
Mouse	Logitech G403 Hero
Keyboard	EVGA Z15 Brown Tactile (Blue Oring, Lube, Silence Pad)

Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X \|\|\| Intel Core i7-3930K
Motherboard	ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR \|\|\| Asus P9X79 WS
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S \|\|\| Be Quiet Pure Rock
Memory	Crucial 2 x 16 GB 3200 MHz \|\|\| Corsair 8 x 8 GB 1333 MHz
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX 1060 3GB \|\|\| MSI GTX 680 4GB
Storage	Samsung 970 PRO 512 GB + 1 TB \|\|\| Intel 545s 512 GB + 256 GB
Display(s)	Asus ROG Swift PG278QR 27" \|\|\| Eizo EV2416W 24"
Case	Fractal Design Define 7 XL x 2
Audio Device(s)	Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus PX-850 x 2
Mouse	Razer Abyssus
Keyboard	CM Storm QuickFire XT
Software	Ubuntu