Fractal Design Define XL R2 Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅08-03-13
Exterior

The front of XL R2 is understated and continues to exude absolute subtleness. As with many of Fractal Design’s Define cases, the front has a door with brushed aluminium appearance – though it is only plastic.

Around the back there is an opening at the bottom for mounting a PSU and above this there are a total of nine PCI expansion slot covers which have been given the white powder coating treatment. Above this there is a perforated mesh section for the 140mm rear exhaust fan which is a Silent Series R2. There is additional ventilation at the top too.


The front and back of XL R2


The door on XL R2 opens from the right and has three magnets to help it fix into place when closed. The inside of the door also has foam to help assist with noise reduction. Opening this door gives access to four 5.25” drive bay covers which are removable from the from the outside, immediately to the right of this is a switch for the fan controller which supplies three different speeds and can control up to three cooling fans – Fractal Design actually supply three with this case. Further down in the lower section is a hinged door, behind this door is a mounting attachment which has a 140mm Silent Series R2 intake cooling fan installed. The attachment can take another 140mm fan and has dust filters already fitted which can be removed for cleaning purposes. The cooling fans at the front of R2 draw in air from the side and underside ventilation.


Door at front opens to reveal many options


At the top of XL R2 are the front panel controls which include a headphone/microphone jack, reset button, power button and dual USB 3.0/2.0 ports (via internal motherboard headers). The activity LED is placed in the middle.


Front panel connectivity includes USB 3.0


On the underside of XL R2 are four rubberised feet to prevent slippage on smooth surfaces. A large portion of the underside is also covered with a removable dust filter to work in conjunction with the PSU and bottom mounted 140mm R2 Series intake cooling fan. This filter is removable from the back of the case so there is no need to place the case on its side to detach.


Four rubberised feet and a large dust filter


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