[SOLVED] Fractal Design 7 or Meshify S2

[northman11]

I built my last pc five years ago and used the Fractal Design S for my case. I am not a RGB fan and I like the look of the Fractal Design case. I am currently shopping for a new gaming pc and I have the case narrowed down to either the Fractal Meshify S2 or the Define 7. I have no plans for using a 5.25 bay either. Did the Define 7 make any relevant changes that make it a better case choice?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Not really, and in fact, being a major Fractal Design proponent myself, I personally think the Define 7 is one that can be skipped. I think the Define S2/Meshify S2, which is basically the Define R6 without all the drive cages in the way, is the much better case, aesthetically AND functionally.

Personally, unless there is something specific you NEED that your current case doesn't have, or if it's just a bit beat up, there's not a lot that would compel me to change it anyhow. My Define S is doing fine and in fact I just recently RE-modified the front panel to make it look a bit better.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/toms-hardware-member-system-gallery.1285475/post-21962676

 

[dimtodim]

I built my last pc five years ago and used the Fractal Design S for my case. I am not a RGB fan and I like the look of the Fractal Design case. I am currently shopping for a new gaming pc and I have the case narrowed down to either the Fractal Meshify S2 or the Define 7. I have no plans for using a 5.25 bay either. Did the Define 7 make any relevant changes that make it a better case choice?

Fractal Meshify S2 have better air flow

 

[northman11]

Not really, and in fact, being a major Fractal Design proponent myself, I personally think the Define 7 is one that can be skipped. I think the Define S2/Meshify S2, which is basically the Define R6 without all the drive cages in the way, is the much better case, aesthetically AND functionally.

Personally, unless there is something specific you NEED that your current case doesn't have, or if it's just a bit beat up, there's not a lot that would compel me to change it anyhow. My Define S is doing fine and in fact I just recently RE-modified the front panel to make it look a bit better.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/toms-hardware-member-system-gallery.1285475/post-21962676

I am actually going to repurpose my current computer as a gaming simulator machine for my young son. It will be our 2021 project.

There are some newer PC games but I wanted to play at higher resolutions to include cyberpunk 2077. That gave me an excuse to start with a new build. I really enjoy the simple and non-obtrusive fractal case. Not a fan of RGB. I would definitely look at the meshify S2 more.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Not only is it aesthetically better in my opinion, it has a lot better airflow as well, making it functionally more sound. IF the R7 had a mesh front panel option, or if a person were inclined to mod the front panel, it might be a much better choice. I'm not a fan of any case with limited intake surface area for airflow. Review after review simply shows that they all tend to have thermal issues by comparison and boxing the thing up doesn't do as much for lowering the noise level as not needing to ramp up the fans to begin with does, which you generally don't if you have full flow capability.

My Define S is fully open, with seven Noctua NF-A14 fans, and it's dead silent at idle, and can barely be heard under a full load, so I see little need for those tightly enclosed front panels for the purpose of limiting sound.

The S2 is a solid choice.

 

[northman11]

Not only is it aesthetically better in my opinion, it has a lot better airflow as well, making it functionally more sound. IF the R7 had a mesh front panel option, or if a person were inclined to mod the front panel, it might be a much better choice. I'm not a fan of any case with limited intake surface area for airflow. Review after review simply shows that they all tend to have thermal issues by comparison and boxing the thing up doesn't do as much for lowering the noise level as not needing to ramp up the fans to begin with does, which you generally don't if you have full flow capability.

My Define S is fully open, with seven Noctua NF-A14 fans, and it's dead silent at idle, and can barely be heard under a full load, so I see little need for those tightly enclosed front panels for the purpose of limiting sound.

The S2 is a solid choice.

Sounds like a solid vote for the S2. Where did you place your fans? Were you not happy with the stock fans? What software do you use to manage your fan speeds?

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, the stock Fractal fans are pretty good, for stock fans that come with a case, but they are not really in the same conversation as any high end fan. Yes, there is a major difference in specifications between fans they "throw in for free" and fans you pay 25 bucks each for. Significant differences. So, no, not happy with stock fans, ever. I generally take the stock fans out of any build I do that has a case that comes with them and set them aside for adding to systems that only have one or two fans but could benefit from more, unless the owner of the case preferred to not upgrade the fans in which case I'd usually just add one or two more that matched the stock fans.

Three front intakes, one rear exhaust and one top-rear exhaust. That is the formula that works best for pretty much 99% of tower ATX cases when air cooling is being used for the CPU. You don't really want to use the middle or front fan locations on the top because it just tends to "steal" the cooler ambient airflow coming in from outside away and send it right back out those exhaust locations and you don't want to run any top locations as intake because it causes unnecessary noise. I say unnecessary, because noise is really all it does, since any air coming in there either gets pulled right back out the top-rear exhaust or simply creates turbulence with the front intake fans and creating air pockets.

I don't use software to control fans. Fans are best controlled on modern motherboards using the BIOS fan control utilities.