I love my Fractal Design R5, but I want to personally try out the new R6

UsandThem

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May 4, 2000
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Until roughly a week ago, I didn't know they had even released it. I think I am going to watch out for a good sale (I bought my R5 for $70 on sale), and grab one. I'll pass my current case down to my youngest son's build as his Thermaltake case kinda sucks (especially at not filtering much dust out).


But it seems like they took all the great features of the R5, and improved upon it (PSU shroud, Moduvent, airflow, GPU vertical mount with adapter). The vented Moduvent has a cool look to it (and is fully filtered). All reviews I have read rate this case highly.

innertop2.jpg


Some good reviews to see what the "latest and greatest" features are:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/fractal_design_define_r6_review,1.html

https://www.kitguru.net/components/...gn-define-r6-best-pc-case-of-2017-and-no-rgb/

https://www.bit-tech.net/reviews/fractal-design-define-r6-review/1/

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fractal-design-define-r6-tempered-glass-edition-case,5399.html

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/Define_R6/

fractal_define_r6_blowout_standard_glass_v5a.jpg
 
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rchunter

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Feb 26, 2015
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I'd like to try one also. I'm still using a R4 but for my main windows pc i'm using FD XL R2. Wonder when XL R3 will ever be released? I had an R5 at one time but ended up giving it to my uncle when I built him a pc a while back.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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Some good reviews to see what the "latest and greatest" features are:

obviously the temper glass side panel, because u know temper glass is so in these days that all the cool cases needs them. :p
 
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UsandThem

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obviously the temper glass side panel, because u know temper glass is so in these days that all the cool cases needs them. :p

Oh yeah.

And I want so many RGB lights it looks like the Christmas decorations from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. ;)

Christmas-Vacation-Clark-Griswold-Lights.jpg
 
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aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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to be honest tho i miss classic all alu designs like the Lian Li V2000 series.

I wish they made a modern version of that case, or silverstones TJ-07.

I also love Windy cases, however those will probably never seen modernization ever.
 

UsandThem

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Probably not. I bet in another 10 years or so, the majority of the case choices are going to be small. Right now the majority of cases are ATX / mATX, and the smaller cases are very limited. I think that will be completely flipped around in the next decade.

I never owned an all aluminum case because I was always too much of a tightwad. ;)

The most expensive case I ever bought was a Corsair Obsidian 550D for $150 in 2012. And it sucked. One of the few PC component purchases I absolutely regretted.

I was so glad I finally got it replaced with the R5 in 2015. The cooling was horrible, and the dust filters didn't really prevent much dust getting in.
 

bfun_x1

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May 29, 2015
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If I was buying a case today this one would be at the top of my list. My only concern would be the low clearance for a top mounted radiator. It looks like it would block off the rear exhaust fan. It would probably block the memory too.
 

justoh

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Jun 11, 2013
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I have an r5. Using a kraken couldn't get the radiator mounted on top, so I had to remove all the drive cages and mount it in the front of the case, leaving me no place for any hdds. May be possible to mount on top after all, but perhaps it's just not the best case for a kraken, which seems like the cooler to go for these days.
 

rchunter

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Feb 26, 2015
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I have an r5. Using a kraken couldn't get the radiator mounted on top, so I had to remove all the drive cages and mount it in the front of the case, leaving me no place for any hdds. May be possible to mount on top after all, but perhaps it's just not the best case for a kraken, which seems like the cooler to go for these days.

Kraken x61 will fit top mounted no problem in an R5. Kraken x62 is slightly bigger and won't fit.
 

justoh

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Jun 11, 2013
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Kraken x61 will fit top mounted no problem in an R5. Kraken x62 is slightly bigger and won't fit.
It's an x62. At first I bought another ssd and had a couple loose hdds sitting on the bottom of the case, but ultimately decided to build a freenas server, making the total cost of my R5 ~$2200...
 
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Excessi0n

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Jul 25, 2014
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Case looks damned close to perfect. The only big changes I'd want on it are a mesh front for airflow and the ability to remove the 5.25" drive pay and put another 140mm in. A few more centimeters of vertical room would also be nice, but isn't as important since the top rad mount is offset.
 

nitromullet

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Jan 7, 2004
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This case does look good. I had a define s before the case I have now, and I quite liked it. I decided to go with a full tower again since I was running out of desk space, but had plenty of room under it. If I was looking at a mid tower desktop case, this fractal would definitely be on the short list.

I used to own Lian Li as well, but I felt they never really kept up in terms of modern conveniences past about 2005. Shame too because they used to have some of the best looking, well built cases out there.
 

Ranulf

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Jul 18, 2001
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No integrated fan speed controller right? I think I'd miss that too much from my r4/5 and arc mini.
 

Fallen Kell

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Oct 9, 1999
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Case looks damned close to perfect. The only big changes I'd want on it are a mesh front for airflow and the ability to remove the 5.25" drive pay and put another 140mm in. A few more centimeters of vertical room would also be nice, but isn't as important since the top rad mount is offset.
1) It doesn't have mesh because the case is meant to be quiet. Mesh allows for a direct pathway of the sound waves to escape the case without any impedance. I would not be surprised if there is a difference of 6-8db if they removed the front door, and replaced the front face with all mesh.

2) You can remove the 5.25" drive bay. But there is no room for another 140mm fan. The case would need to be about 60-80mm taller, and/or they would have to have cut away from the lower chamber to shift the fan down with half the fan blowing into the power supply chamber (cutting down on cooling in the main chamber for people who want to use a optical disk).

3) A few more centimeters of vertical would change the case from a mid-tower to a full-tower. Full-towers have been horrible sellers of late. No one wants them, as the market has moved on from that format. The mainstream market is all about mid-towers and micro-builds.