Fractal Arc Midi side panel...

Mutt - loving the red black theme. It's really beautiful. So jealous as I tried my best to do a similar theme but it was totally ruined by the blue lighting of 2x msi 7970 lightning lol. Before the msi I had 2x asus and even they had blue lighting on low load - http://i.imgur.com/Yjimj.jpg. Seems impossible to find a card these days with black backplate and red or no lighting. Though the Asus Ares II came out yesterday - best looking and most amazing card design I ever saw - sadly it's limited edition so only 1000 units worldwide.

Btw one question on the arc midi (slightly off topic sorry) - do you guys find that the cpu cutout is too small and does not align with the socket back plate sometimes or is it fine? It's just that I've noticed Fractal's cut outs are a bit smaller than Corsair's.
 
Narada said:
Mutt - loving the red black theme. It's really beautiful. So jealous as I tried my best to do a similar theme but it was totally ruined by the blue lighting of 2x msi 7970 lightning lol. Before the msi I had 2x asus and even they had blue lighting on low load - http://i.imgur.com/Yjimj.jpg. Seems impossible to find a card these days with black backplate and red or no lighting. Though the Asus Ares II came out yesterday - best looking and most amazing card design I ever saw - sadly it's limited edition so only 1000 units worldwide.

Btw one question on the arc midi (slightly off topic sorry) - do you guys find that the cpu cutout is too small and does not align with the socket back plate sometimes or is it fine? It's just that I've noticed Fractal's cut outs are a bit smaller than Corsair's.
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Thanks Narada. I've still got a way to go before it's totally black and red (with some splashes of white) but I'm getting there.

You're right, the Ares II looks fantastic and who knows, you might end up being the owner of one of those 1000 units! I would dearly love one but I'm not prepared to eat beans on toast for the next five years. :D

Like Brian, I've not had any problems with the cutout but I've only had an NH-D14 and the H100i fitted in this case.

Lovely looking system btw mate. Even with the blue LED's on the GPU's. I bet that thing is a total powerhouse.

BrianB said:
Mine is coming tomorrow, I had to search for it on the net elsewhere but look's like it's worth it. I'm going to do White LED as well. :) Look's well made, is that sound deadening material? :S
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White LED's are the way to go when you've carefully matched the colour of your components and cables I think. If the parts were a mish mash of all colours I could see the benefit of completely washing them in a red LED, for example.

I'm not entirely sure if its sound deadening but I don't see any other purpose for it being there if it isn't.
 
It is sound deadening, which makes it better than the original panel. It look's great! Also made it a bit quieter especially now that the side panel doesn't have a big silly hole in it. Can hardly hear my PC now with the 140 fans at 600RPM. Here is some pics tell me what you think, so far plans are to tidy up the inside a bit, going to try and stick some black tape over the back of my battery don't know if that works lol.

7970 droops with the weight, currently supported by a perfectly sized vitamin jar which you can't see unless you look inside. Also removed that 200mm fan because it didn't actually move any air though it did look good.

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Need a way to support the graphics card. Sorry there is no cool in the dark pics but there is currently nothing to light it up lol.

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Mutt said:
Lovely looking system btw mate. Even with the blue LED's on the GPU's. I bet that thing is a total powerhouse.
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Thanks! Yeah. It holds its ground. It hasn't struggled with anything really so far. I picked the highest quality components three months ago and far exceeded my budget! But I love it to bits. Though given that I was somewhat unsuccessful with the colour scheme I chose I will just need to do another build in the arc midi this time to perfect the art. ;) Will be aspiring to Mutt aesthetic quality this time :)

Mutt said:
White LED's are the way to go when you've carefully matched the colour of your components and cables I think. If the parts were a mish mash of all colours I could see the benefit of completely washing them in a red LED, for example.
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Thanks for answering a question I had but forgot to ask! I was wondering how you got the case and the pic so well lit. White LED it seems is the secret! Would be interested to know exactly what lighting you're using with an OCUK link if they have it. I think I will also go for this in my next build.

BrianB said:
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Also a very nice build BrianB. Loving the generous splashes of warm creme and chocolate tones. Makes me want to eat it as it reminds me of vanilla or butterscotch ice cream. Lol sorry getting carried away. And that is one hell of a slim 7970 - not seen that before! Btw how did you remove the bottom HD cage? Is it simple enough?

Also can someone post the manufacturer or product code for the side window you purchased. Would like to google it to see where you guys are getting this beauty from! :)
 
Narada said:
Also a very nice build BrianB. Loving the generous splashes of warm creme and chocolate tones. Makes me want to eat it as it reminds me of vanilla or butterscotch ice cream. Lol sorry getting carried away. And that is one hell of a slim 7970 - not seen that before! Btw how did you remove the bottom HD cage? Is it simple enough?

Also can someone post the manufacturer or product code for the side window you purchased. Would like to google it to see where you guys are getting this beauty from! :)
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Thank you mate, google "Fractal Design (Black) Side Panel for Define R4" it's available ocuk don't do Fractal anymore I don't think. It's a bloody nice side panel!

I will order my white LED soon. The 7970 is'nt slim it's almost triple slot xD it was a VTX3D 7970 but the cooler was rubbish so I put an Accelero 7970 on it! It is about 3.5 slots of cooler. :D
 
BrianB said:
Thank you mate, google "Fractal Design (Black) Side Panel for Define R4" it's available ocuk don't do Fractal anymore I don't think. It's a bloody nice side panel!
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Thanks. Found it.

BrianB said:
The 7970 is'nt slim it's almost triple slot xD it was a VTX3D 7970 but the cooler was rubbish so I put an Accelero 7970 on it! It is about 3.5 slots of cooler. :D
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Okay that makes much more sense. I can see why I was confused now. Because I only saw the top white bit which was really slim. The bottom black bit and the heatsink blended in with the motherboard so didn't actually see it. Lol. Nice improvisation anyway!
 
Narada said:
Thanks! Yeah. It holds its ground. It hasn't struggled with anything really so far. I picked the highest quality components three months ago and far exceeded my budget! But I love it to bits. Though given that I was somewhat unsuccessful with the colour scheme I chose I will just need to do another build in the arc midi this time to perfect the art. ;) Will be aspiring to Mutt aesthetic quality this time :)


Thanks for answering a question I had but forgot to ask! I was wondering how you got the case and the pic so well lit. White LED it seems is the secret! Would be interested to know exactly what lighting you're using with an OCUK link if they have it. I think I will also go for this in my next build.
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At the moment I'm just using a single 30cm Bitfenix Alchemy white LED strip. I have mine stuck to the roof of the case, just behind the h100i radiator. The self-adhesive backing is pretty strong, so there's no danger of it becoming unstuck. The strips aren't cheap but they're worth it because you can daisy-chain them together to light your entire case.

Link: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-056-BX
 
Mutt said:
At the moment I'm just using a single 30cm Bitfenix Alchemy white LED strip. I have mine stuck to the roof of the case, just behind the h100i radiator. The self-adhesive backing is pretty strong, so there's no danger of it becoming unstuck. The strips aren't cheap but they're worth it because you can daisy-chain them together to light your entire case.
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Thanks a lot Mutt. Just ordered. Was out of stock in OCUK so got it from elsewhere. I hope I can get this in behind the H100 in my 650D without removing the cooler. Great idea btw. I think my next red build will look a lot nicer with this than my current one though. Will post pic anyway!
 
Can anyone trust me somewhere to get this side panel for a Define R4? I ordered it from one site however it went out of stock the day after I ordered?
 
Antony101 said:
OcUK will not be stocking these cases due to the return rates and the condition they arrived in. Buy one elsewhere.
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Really? What was wrong with them? A whole batch or every case batch they got over xxx period? What was wrong with condition?

I only ask so Manu questions as if I buy one currently 68 quid in the rain tree, I want to know what to look out for. If the case has known issues or pitfalls.

Cheers.
 
Angel_Rex said:
Really? What was wrong with them? A whole batch or every case batch they got over xxx period? What was wrong with condition?

I only ask so Manu questions as if I buy one currently 68 quid in the rain tree, I want to know what to look out for. If the case has known issues or pitfalls.

Cheers.
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My R4 came with a dent, some small scratches and marks and some of the back panel was bent. However there was NO damage to the package meaning it could have only been done before being sent out. They are amazing cases though.
 
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