Fractal Design R5 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

INTERIOR

To open the case, there are two thumbscrews for each side, however the main side has a latch you can use instead. Also, the back side panel features captive thumbscrews so they never go missing. Once off, you can see that the side panels have a nice layer of their sound dampening material and you can see it is cut out around the pressed in 140mm fan mount.

Inside the front side the design is quite nice. The PCIe slots and HDD trays and fans all act as accents. The motherboard tray can hold ATX, Micro ATX, or Mini ITX motherboards and we can see that there is a huge cutout in the back of the tray to give you more room to install a CPU cooler. This case can support air coolers up to 180mm (6.3″) in height, such as the Phanteks PH-TC14S we just reviewed. The tray is also stepped and the side grommet are actually angled to make cable pass through easier.

The bottom PSU mount has rubber supports and it can support up to 190/170mm PSUs with a bottom 120mm or 140mm fan installed. Without a fan installed it can support PSUs up to 300mm.

Graphics cards up to 310mm (12.2″) in length can fit with the top HDD cage installed and with it removed, graphics cards up to 440mm (17.3″) in length may be installed.

Turning to the back side, we can see straight away that they have decided to integrate Velcro straps to tie down the cables behind the motherboard tray, a very nice integration. There is also 20 – 35 mm of space behind the tray for cable routing, which is more than enough in our experience. When looking at the rear of the HDD mounting section there is a lot more room for SATA cables to go in than in any case we have seen before. Also, the cages and HDD trays have been redesigned to allow for even better airflow.

There are two tool-less removable 2.5″ drive mounts for those who decide to remove the HDD trays or just want to mount their 2.5″ drives there.

The front panel power, reset, and HDD activity LED connectors, as well as fan cables, are all sleeved in black. There is an audio in/out cable and the USB cables have connectivity that for both USB and 2.0 so there is no need of an adapter.

The top two 5.25″ bays are removable and the HDD cages are very modular. This case can hold up to eight 3.5″ drives and two 2.5″ drives for a total of ten. The trays can be moved up to take the space of the 5.25″ bays, the top 5-bay cage can rotate to the left if needed, the bottom 3-bay cage can be moved to the side, next to the PSU, while the 5-bay can be moved down to the bottom position, and if you want, all can be removed completely.

Now, let’s talk about water cooling and fan options. This case has be vastly improved in that department. The top can hold 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, 360mm, or up to a 420mm rad/fan combo. The 120mm mounts are offset from the motherboard to allow for thicker radiator options. If you go with a rad over 280mm in the roof, you will have to remove the optical bays. Also, there is 55mm of combined clearance for when using 140mm, 280mm, or 420mm rads and fans. With the front HDD cages removed you can install a 120mm, 140mm, 240mm, 280mm, or up to a 360mm rad/fan combo. If you go with a 360mm rad in the front you will also have to remove the optical bays. The bottom can support a 120mm, 140mm, or 240mm rad/fan combo and the back can support a 120 or 140mm rad/fan. Oh, and don’t forget the side panel can support a 120mm or 140mm fan as well. Basically, there are a lot of options for you to choose from!