[SOLVED] Anyone built with a Fractal Define 7 Compact?

justinbower

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Jan 23, 2019
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I've been looking for a case for a new build (thanks for the recommendations in a previous thread) and am having trouble figuring out a good balance of thermal and sound performance. It's in a shared home office, so I need something quieter, which makes me worry about some of the mesh cases, but I also want to make sure I'm not overheating.

I will say this, I will likely be running everything (Ryzen 2600X, microatx asus board, Sapphire 580 Nitro+) at stock, no OC. The intent is to air cool, stock cpu cooler, etc.

The Fractal Define 7 Compact caught my eye because it's pretty, but seemed fairly well laid out. It looks like it might run quieter, it has a nicer i/o panel than the Be Quiet Pure Base 500 and Fractal Meshify mini,etc. However the reviews I can find seem to be mixed. Some praise, some question the thermal performance. I haven't found one that talks about noise.

Any thoughts on this case for a relatively low load system that will game occasionally?
 
Solution
What gamersnexus and all other reviewers have in common is that everything is tested 'as is'. That means verifiable stock, no changes or additions. So case airflow, thermal properties, noise etc are tested with the included fans to give an accurate baseline of what IS, not what's possible.

But as a consumer, things are different. You can stack the deck. That means things such as using better, quieter case fans, in higher amounts than the 1x or 2x included with the case, use of oversized cpu cooling with good fans so ramp ups are far quieter etc.

I used a Fractal Design R5 Window, door closed. I7-3770K @ 4.9GHz locked core OC (3.9GHz stock turbo), GTX970 @ 128% OC and a NZXT Kraken X61 280mm AIO. Set for silent mode with a cap of...
I havent seen reviews on the compact specifically, but the original define 7 got praise from Gamers Nexus for its build quality, but also had poor thermal performance compared to mesh fronted cases. That said, as long as you have a decent cooler for both CPU and GPU, and enough case fans, temps will really be fine. And considering its a closed front case, noise will be mostly quiet. GN puts a ton of emphasis on thermal performance, and as long as you dont mind an extra few C, a case that performs slightly worse is not gonna hurt anything.
 
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Karadjgne

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What gamersnexus and all other reviewers have in common is that everything is tested 'as is'. That means verifiable stock, no changes or additions. So case airflow, thermal properties, noise etc are tested with the included fans to give an accurate baseline of what IS, not what's possible.

But as a consumer, things are different. You can stack the deck. That means things such as using better, quieter case fans, in higher amounts than the 1x or 2x included with the case, use of oversized cpu cooling with good fans so ramp ups are far quieter etc.

I used a Fractal Design R5 Window, door closed. I7-3770K @ 4.9GHz locked core OC (3.9GHz stock turbo), GTX970 @ 128% OC and a NZXT Kraken X61 280mm AIO. Set for silent mode with a cap of 900rpm, and a general use curve of 450rpm-650rpm. 4x fans total, 2 on AIO, 2 on intake (factory). Basically ran dead silent no matter what I was doing except for stress tests as the fans never got beyond @ 700rpm.

Changed that to a Cryorig R1 Ultimate, and now it's noisy. Even with the silencer panels intact. The cpu fans to keep the same temp as the aio spin at 900-1000rpm by necessity. To feed the cooler, the case fans are at a minimum of 700rom and climb as high as 1100rpm.

Leaving 1 option, drop the OC to 4.6GHz and lower cpu output wattage, lowering performance demand from the fans.

And that's going to be the case with anything you do. You either stack the deck in favor of silence and hope temps are viable, or stack the deck in favor of performance and hope silence is viable.

Which means using the appropriate fans to maximize both, using a cooler to optimize both. I'd start with a Noctua NH-U12A for cooler and then figure out exactly what case fans are going to be needed.
 
Solution

justinbower

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Jan 23, 2019
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I ended up going with the Lancool 205M from Lian li/microcenter, which at half the price, hits all the good points for me, without being oversized. Only thing I miss from the define 7 is the front to back bottom filter, and may a couple more USB in the IO. On the plus side mine came with PWM fans.
 

Karadjgne

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Yeah, that's a nice touch by fractal. My pc sat in a desk cubby for years, cables were invariably always an inch too short, so pulling the pc out to get at the rear meant reaching into the cubby over the top of the pc and unplugging everything blind. With my R5, just open the door, slide out the lower grill, clean, replace. Easy.

Rear entry or bottom pull off filters are a design flaw in my book.
 

lex524

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Jul 6, 2020
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I got a 500dx in the end, but removal of the front filter is a poor design (you have to tug the front cover off, which on mine is pretty stiff) so could definitely be better. It's a better looking case in person than on photos I think (I got a white one, it's a nice mix of white and black)
 
Jul 12, 2020
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I got a 500dx in the end, but removal of the front filter is a poor design (you have to tug the front cover off, which on mine is pretty stiff) so could definitely be better. It's a better looking case in person than on photos I think (I got a white one, it's a nice mix of white and black)
Is that where the front filter is just the 2 side slots? that also seems to be more pressure drop due to smaller area. I saw in reviews that they now filter there. i have an older Define R5 that still had DVD and it has the front as a door. There the filter is the large area by the fans and is easy to remove. Seem they went backwards with the newer designs. Also seems to be a part that will wear out if you remove it 100 times.

Most of the time I just vacuum the filter without removing anyway.