A Closer Look - Inside

To access the interior, simply loosen the two thumbscrews holding each panel in place. The solid panels are lined with sound-dampening materials to minimize the noise coming from the system as a whole. The interior of the Fractal Design Define C is actually quite simple at first sight. As the chassis lacks drive bays in front, it is a lot shorter than most mid-tower alternatives. Fractal Design spread the hard-drive mounting possibilities around a bit to make sure they are all out of sight. Turning the chassis around, it becomes apparent where these are, as a look behind the motherboard tray reveals.


You may mount three SSDs or 2.5" drives behind the opening for the CPU cooler, for example. Fractal Design also equipped the Define C with Velcro strips to help with cable management, and there is a shroud for the bottom-third of the interior to cover up the PSU and 3.5" drive bays.


You may also remove the front cover without having to worry about the I/O, as those are mounted to a separate piece. Behind the solid panel is a large removable dust filter to keep dirt and grime away from the three 120mm or two 140mm fans, or a radiator of up to 360mm in size. Fractal design also pre-installed a 120mm intake fan here.


You will find the two metal 3.5" drive trays below the shroud. You may also install 2.5" drives in these if you like. Fractal made sure you can move the entire cage toward the rear of the chassis to make space for a 360mm radiator at the front without having to sacrifice these trays. If you still have to remove the cage for some reason, there is a 3.5" mounting hole on the floor for you to add such a storage drive. Above that is not much else besides the aforementioned fan. There is a separate cover in the shroud should you need to access the area below it for fans or that 360mm radiator.


The PSU bay in the rear is below the shroud as well. The PSU is meant to rest on four foam spots as an anti-vibration measure. Above that are the seven expansion slots with their individual thumbscrews that hold each white cover in place. You will find a 120mm exhaust fan in the very top, which makes for a total of two pre-installed cooling units within the Define C.


Taking a quick look at the ceiling from the inside, it becomes apparent that the mounting holes for the fans or radiator are offset to make sure they don't interfere with any components or heatsinks on the motherboard.


All the cables within the Fractal Design Define C are of the usual variety; you should have no problems connecting these to a modern motherboard. All the leads are sleeved black to go with the enclosure's overall color scheme.