Fractal Design R5 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Choosing the right computer case can take quite some time, especially nowadays when the market is flooded with choices. You have a plethora of size and design options. There are cases designed for the best cooling, others for aesthetics and others for silence, but often times, it is hard to find a case with the right mix of each of these design features in mind. When you are a gamer or enthusiast, you typically want a case built for good airflow and water cooling options, as well as something sleek and stylish that will last you a few builds. Something that is often overlooked however is sound output as cases that are quiet often restrict cooling.

Now, we have built PCs for quite a few years now and can tell you from firsthand experience, there is nothing worse than to have a noisy PC case blasting in your ears when it sits on your desk two feet away. That’s horrible. To remedy this issue, you will typically go out of your way to look at which are the best silent fans to buy to replace your stock ones as well as a fan controller to adjust them. This can take time and start adding up really quick. All this could have just been avoided if you just bought the right case in the first place.

What if you don’t want this to happen to you on your next build? Or if you are sick of your old case? Well, Fractal Design has released their latest Define series mid-tower, the Define R5. This case’s design seems to have the right mix of everything, and best of all, it is as quiet as they come.

SPECIFICATIONS, PRICING, AND AVAILABILITY

As the successor to the very popular Define R4, the Define R5 is a mid-tower chassis and is priced at $109.99 for the window-less model and $119.99 for the windowed model. It is available in three colors as well, black, white, and titanium. The case also comes with a 1-year warranty.

As for the main improvements, this chassis now has a lot options for cooling, whether it be air or water cooling. The front panel door can be set to open to the left or to the right now. There is also a dust filter that spans the bottom of the case and actually comes out from the front, unlike many cases. Finally, there are vent covers that they call ModuVents that attach on the exterior to cover the vents that you do not intend to use. There are a few other improvements you will learn of as you read on.

PACKAGING

As you can see it is shipped in a typical cardboard case box. There is some basic information about the case on the sides as well as an exploded view off the case on the back.

Taking the case out we can see that they have used an inner liner to protect the case from scratches as well as some thick, hard foam inserts to protect it during shipping. We would have preferred that they’d gone with closed-cell foam instead as it helps guard against shipping damage much better, however our case came in mint condition. Still, users who are looking to ship a complete system in the original packaging may want to be cautious.

Included with the case are a very helpful and detailed user guide, Fractal Design product guide, warranty disclaimer, and a hardware box with screws, five zip ties and a motherboard standoff to Philips adapter tool.

Now, let’s move on to the case itself.