Fractal’s Define 7 shows itself again underwhelming for CPU performance, ranking toward the lower third of results. The Define 7 is near the S2 Vision, which is one of the worst cases we’ve tested recently, and the C700P. That said, none of these are particularly bad in CPU thermals, and Blender doesn’t establish much of a top-to-bottom difference to begin with. It’s a lightweight load, and goes to show that only the truly terrible designs -- like the DTW case -- are able to deviate in big ways from the mean.

Thanks to an adaptable dual-layout interior, the Define 7 can easily accommodate motherboards all the way up to 285 mm E-ATX, extensive storage arrays with up to 14 HDDs, 4 SSDs and an ODD bay, and robust cooling with a 420 mm radiator and up to nine fans.

Product Reviews

In both the Define 7 XL and the Meshify 2 XL the hard drives are located directly behind the front panel, to which three 140 mm or 20 mm can be attached too. As you might expect, the mesh front panel allows the drives to be continually provided with fresh, room-temperature air. The Define 7 XL on the other hand is much more restrictive. It is designed to simplify the process for beginner PC builders who are entering the hard tubing custom loop liquid cooling world, as well as to bring the slim-lined EK Quantum aesthetics to an already elegant case. All-In-One Affordable, easy to install, maintenance-free liquid cooler with class-leading performance New chassis design opens up to fully expose the case interior on three sides for totally unhindered installation and cable routing xNoctua NF-F12 PPC 3000 PWM (120mm) * having noted later in Stux's thread that 1500 RPM is not sufficient to cool the HDDs. Corsair Commander Pro to control the fans (see script and code)

thermals are next. These numbers typically closely mirror the GPU torture numbers, as it’s a GPU-heavy load, but they can be impacted by the reduction on CPU focus versus our torture workloads. The 3DMark test loads the system similarly to how a game would, and so this is a stand-in benchmark for game thermals. The HDD cage under the PSU shroud fits two drive sleds, but with so many mounting options inside the case, that’s barely worth mentioning. What is worth mentioning is that Fractal has fully taken advantage of the extremely long case form factor by mounting the cage on rails that allow it to be placed anywhere from right against the PSU to flush with the front panel. Even better, the rails can be used to mount HDDs or fans directly to the bottom of the chassis as well. Putting fans under the PSU shroud like this has limited usefulness (although the top of the shroud is ventilated), but Fractal was able to provide that option and so they did, which is a mentality we appreciate. More options is better than fewer. Where Define 7 and its XL counterpart focused on workstation users and storage nuts, the Meshify 2 focuses more on gamers and performance enthusiasts. 5.25/optical drive support is dropped, and the Define’s flat front panel is traded out for mesh. Those are the two main features of the Meshify 2.

Fractal Define 7/Define 7 XL Review

Prior to load testing, we collect idle temperature results for ten minutes to determine the unloaded cooling performance of a case's fans and air channels. Thermal benchmarking is conducted for 1400 seconds (23 minutes), a period we've determined sufficient for achieving equilibrium. The over-time data is aggregated and will occasionally be compiled into charts, if interesting or relevant. The equilibrium performance is averaged to create the below charts. Top cover can be removed to swap in the included ventilated top panel for additional cooling options • New chassis design opens up to fully expose the case interior on three sides for totally unhindered installation and cable routing

I wanted to space out the drives on the theory that would make it easier to keep them cool. I felt like that was pretty straightforward to do with eight drives. Ten spaced drives might be better in the XL, but it would probably still be somewhat reasonable with the regular define 7. I'm optimistic that there is plenty of extra space to negate the airflow concerns, but not tested yet. I ran realbench 2.54 because it loads the GPU (2070 Super) as well as cores, 5.1 GHz all-core 10900k. I ran it until the temperatures were saturated (in particular the aio), as you can see. Then I stopped the stress test, closed the side of the case, and let it run for a while. The blips in the graphs are when I restarted realbench.With the drives spaced out, the hardest part was actually to figure out how to get the power cables to reach to all the drives- my PSU has enough connections but not much to spare for connectors that are in between distant components. MISC: m.2 drive, 2.5in ssd, and 3.5in hdd and maybe 1-2 other things (also plan on getting RGB case lights, and possibly want to get a 5.25in drive, as well as 1-2 more HDD)

The extra elbow room isn’t the only feature that makes for a smoother building experience – the top panel can be fully removed for completely unhindered interior access, and is interchangeable from sound damped solid steel to filtered ventilation using the included accessory panel. Use the Open Layout for more headroom and gargantuan water-cooling with radiators up to 480 mm in front or top and 280 mm in the base Fractal has set a high bar for all manufacturers to meet with its Define 7 and Meshify 2. We’re looking forward to seeing other case manufacturers try to reach these new heights in 2020 and beyond. Whatever you want to say doesn't change laws of physics. Your 'rear exhaust fan' is one fan being force fed by 7 fans. Simple truth is your case airflow is being limited by your much smaller exhaust flow area compared to your huge intake airflow areas of your case. Your exhaust airflow area (actual vents, cable holes, connector holes, etc, wherever air can leak out) only a small fraction of the 4-5 time more intake area of your case's 3x 120mm and 5x 140mm fans on radiators. Any way you look at it you have many times more intake airflow potential than exhaust area air potential in your case .. and that much smaller total exhaust flow area is definitely limiting how much air flows thru your case.

Fractal Design Define 7 combines a striking aesthetic design with a bevy of convenient build features and impressive performance.

The world of PC cases is about more than simple boxes and adherence to the ATX standards of PSU and motherboard designs. The world of cases is filled with a wondrous variety, with manufacturers offering enclosures of all shapes and sizes. However, well-designed cases always encouraged the creation of clones from competing manufacturers.ÂÂ Ultra-slim Nexus+ 2 fan hub connects up to three PWM fans and six 3-pin fans directly in line with cable channels along the edge of the case