Fractal Design R3

Thats bad news that you had to go through all that hastle.

I also got the Fractal Define XL at the start of the month and I've had no problems with it, the first thing I did was accidently put my hand through the CPU back plate and nearly broke it so you might have got a returned/damaged case.

I have 6 hard drives all in the bottom chamber and theres plenty of space around the back for the cables.

After fitting an extra 120mm & 140mm fan I was expecting my temps to be lower but I was comming from an Antec 900 so perhaps I was expecting too much?

It's huge and makes my 24" LCD look small!
 
Yep, it was a PITA!

As for it being a return, I don't think it was as it was fully sealed etc (they both were).

I also noticed that the company where I purchased it from listed all their XL's as being unavailable the day that mine was returned, which leads me to think they got a bad batch.

Glad yours is o.k though mate, but personally I'll be steering clear of Fractal Designs after this.
 
In need of more hard disk space (I previously had an Antec 300 and had maxed out the capacity), I picked up an R3 last Thursday from OcUK. I'm very pleased with it - build quality is great and it's so much quiter than the Antec 300. I'd recommend it.

Bonus points: looks better than the 300, cable management is better, and the CPU cut out would have been handy when I first fitted the H50.











 
Ordered one of these cases last night :)

Question: Mr Brightside, is that a Corsair water-cooling CPU cooler? Nice setup
 
I picked up an r3 about 2 months ago, excellent case and very quiet. Was so impressed, just picked up a black pearl define xl.

After reading some reviews of the poor cpu cooling, ive replaced the top 180mm fan with a silverstone 180mm air penetrator (tight fit as the air pen is thicker). Main reason I went for the case was for my sli 470gtx. The gpu cooling seems pretty good, and should be better as ive removed the hd cage, allowing the 140mm intake fan to blow unrestricted over the cards.

Should finish the build over the weekend - not much else to do with all this snow lol.
 
When the front is closed the venting at the side takes over as the entry point of the cold air, but does this not just bypass the filters?
 
The side vents are in front of the filters, so incoming air through them still must pass through the filters.

5230270052_67e37369fb_z.jpg
 
I'm looking to do a new build in the New Year, which will include an SSD boot drive. I understand that SSD's are smaller in size. How/where do they fit in this case?

Sorry if this is a silly question. Spanks.
 
Looks like the hard drive caddies have mounts for 2.5" drives, if not then:
2.5">3.5" adapters. Some SSDs come with them, others not.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
I'm looking to do a new build in the New Year, which will include an SSD boot drive. I understand that SSD's are smaller in size. How/where do they fit in this case?

Sorry if this is a silly question. Spanks.
Click to expand...

You can always show off your SSD IF you have a window by using double side carpet release tape, drive is very light, I 1'st saw it done on a youTube video for a Corsair dream build contest, was placed just above a rubber/silicone hole with the leads virtually disappearing instantly. You could also use Velcro/hook and eye sticky back stuff. I would post the video but it's an competitor although they are in Canada.
 
Here's a photo taken with my phone:

ssdsf.jpg


The black blobs on each of the sleds are rubber vibration dampeners for 3.5" drives. In the bottom sled you can see an extra hole closer in to the centre - these are for mounting SSDs. Be aware that the R2 (I can't speak for the R3) only comes with enough screws for mounting one 2.5" device, although enough for plenty of 3.5" devices.
 
I've decided that my new build will use this case, just read a really good review and it looks perfect for me. I love the style of the case as well.

Hopefully OcUK have stock early next year.
 
Interesting....

I've a CM 690 that's feeling a bit long in the tooth (and a bit battered following 3 house moves), but it's functioning.

How does the cooling (and noise) of the R3 compare to the 690 a if anyone's got any ideas.....?

Cheers,

Rich
 
RichBowman said:
Interesting....

I've a CM 690 that's feeling a bit long in the tooth (and a bit battered following 3 house moves), but it's functioning.

How does the cooling (and noise) of the R3 compare to the 690 a if anyone's got any ideas.....?

Cheers,

Rich
Click to expand...

I'd like to know this too :)
 
I don't know how loud the 690 is but I can say that the R3 is a very quite case, I've filled mine up the Fractal fans and a nice big heatsink and its next to silent :). The only thing you can here is the GPU fan when playing games.
 
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