
Fractal Define R5 Black
mATX, Mini-ITX, ATX
Fractal Define R5 Black
mATX, Mini-ITX, ATX
For a silent PC, the most important thing are the fans (BeQuiet and Noctua are both solid bets). You also want to have software based control (e.g. via motherboard).
Building: The case helps in that it is spacious, has a great cable management, and comes with a manual easy to understand
Materials: heavy, solid built case. Front door is a bit plasticky, but still sturdy. You can change the direction it opens, and it does reduce the noise coming from the interior.
Cooling: l have reduced the CPU temperatures in 8º to 10º (front door close) compared to previous 'open' case. The larger space for air to circulate and 140mm fans make a difference.
Noise (please note l wanted a silent PC, not just a quiet one): if your system is not quiet, the case won't do miracles. You'll always cut down more noise installing quality fans, than buying this case.
Stock fans: they're ok. They move a good quantity of air, and don't get loud at max. speed. For the back fan, l had to install a 'low noise adaptor', otherwise the system was less quiet than the previous one. l bought a Noctua NF-A14 to put it on the back.
Fan controller: it works as expected and it's super easy to install. Problem is fans spin too fast even at min. speed (which doesn't help cutting down noise). l'd use motherboard control instead.
Others:
- rubber grommets to prevent vibrations from HDDs and power supply
- Dust filters: one for the entire bottom surface, easily removed from the front; another for the front intake (easily removeable).
- Unfortunately, no dust filters for side panel or top panels ('ModuVent')
Picture of my system:
https://www.dropbox.com/s...
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