Define R2, Black Pearl (no PSU) Discontinued
Define R2, Silver Arrow (no PSU) Discontinued
Define R2, Titanium Grey (no PSU) Discontinued
More variations available Show

Fractal Design Define R2 Computer Cases Ultra

Replaced by the Fractal Design Define R3 Computer Cases

The long-awaited Define R2 case is reaching new heights in combining stylish, contemporary design with maximum functionality and noise absorption features.

The long awaited Define R2 case is reaching new heights in combining stylish, contemporary design with maximum functionality and noise absorbing features. The minimalistic, yet stunning front panel design, fitted with noise absorbing material on the inside, creates an aura of exclusivity.

Fractal Design Define R2 Computer Cases, showing the three different coloured front panels

Features

Stunning front panel design
Patent pending ModuVent™ design - removable vents!
Pre-fitted with dense, noise absorbing bitumen
Motherboard tray cut-out, allows easy access to rear of motherboard
Eight white painted HDD-trays, with silicone mounting
Can accommodate up to seven 120/140mm fans, two supplied
PCI fan controller for 3 fans included
Easily removable front fan filters with clip-on holders for 120mm fans

The patent pending feature ModuVent™, in which you can choose whether to have side and top air vents open or not. This makes the case appealing for users seeking optimal silence, as well as the performance hungry ones.

Side view of the Define R2 case

The sleek black interior is matched with pre-fitted, dense bitumen material on the side panels and roof, efficiently absorbing noise and vibrations. You can fit an astonishing total of eight 3.5” hard drives into this case, using the user friendly HDD-trays. All painted in a nice white colour and using black silicone mounts. The PSU is mounted in the bottom of the case, where it rests on four rubber pads. There is also a with a convenient pull-out air filter beneath PSU, this filters the air that comes into the PSU, assuming you are using a power supply with a 120mm fan.

Are you one of those users always ending up with a case full of tangled cables? Not anymore - the Define R2 offers a convenient and good looking way of hiding them away. The motherboard has rubber covered holes in which you can easily route the cables behind the motherboard, keeping things nice and tidy. There is also a cut-out on the motherboard tray. This is ideal if you are a user that changes their CPU cooler often. The cut-out will allow you to change CPU cooler brackets without having to remove the motherboard from the system.

Front view with door open

Rear view of the Define R2 Cases

At the front of the case you will find space for two 120mm fans, with one 120mm fan supplied. Both fans have air filters and are designed to introduce cooler air into the case as well as aid cooling of the hard drives. You’ll also notice that the inside of the door is coated in noise reducing foam. The only down side to this is that the Define R2 can not accommodate a fan controller that fits into a 5.25” drive bay due to space restrictions. But that should not be a problem because Fractal Design have supplied a very handy little fan controller that uses up one PCI slot, which can control up to three fans!

Graphics card and CPU cooler compatibility

The Define cases are very roomy, which means they are accommodate some of the largest graphics cards and CPU coolers available. Graphic cards up to 290mm in length are compatible, these include up to ATI’s HD5800 and NVIDIA’s GTX200 series. As for CPU coolers, the maximum height is 165mm. This means virtually all of our CPU coolers will be compatible with this chassis.

Gallery

Image of the hard drive tray

Side panel with bitumen material

Image showing case with a system installed

Reviews

Computer Shopper

Building a system in the spacious case was a pleasure. The Define R2 is simply one of the best cases we’ve ever reviewed. It wins our Ultimate award, May 2010.
silentpcreview.com

Fractal Design engineers kept true to its core design, added a few simple improvements, and cut corners in areas they believed were not fundamental to thermal performance and noise reduction. The result is an affordable, versatile, minimalist case that is suitable for housing a simple quiet PC, a well-cooled gaming machine, and anything in-between. It may not have the highest build standards, but it’s good value.
performancehardware.net

The Fractal-Design Define R2 shows that emerging companies with a strong enough product can show the bigger companies how it’s done. For this reason I am awarding the Define R2 the Performance Hardware Newcomer award, as well as the Recommended award!
Bit-tech.net

The Define R2’s minimalist and straight forward styling will be very appealing to many – particularly the old school PC builders who enjoy clean cut looks instead of a UFO on their desk. The choice to include multiple 3.5”/2.5” drive bays over 5.25” is sensible and forward looking, build quality throughout is solid and the array of noise reduction features throughout is superb - the case really is wonderfully quiet… you’d be hard pressed to find a better chassis at this price.
Metku Mods

The Fractal Design Define R2 is a good choice for everyone who’s looking for a stylish and quiet case. It’s packed with features while still being reasonably priced compared to some other cases in the same class.

Show specifications and reviews for:

Specifications	Define R2 Black	Define R2 Silver	Define R2 Titanium
Model Number	FD-CA-DEF-R2-BL	FD-CA-DEF-R2-SI	FD-CA-DEF-R2-TI
Dimensions	207.40 x 440 x 521.2mm (WxHxD)
Weight	12.5 Kg
Materials	Steel, plastic, silicone, foam and bitumen
Motherboard Compatibility	Mini ITX, Micro ATX and ATX
Power Supply Compatibility	Standard ATX, can accommodate long PSUs
PCI/AGP Card Compatibility	Full size (up to 312 mm long)
3.5” Drive Bays	8, all SSD compatible
5.25” Drive Bays	2, one bay converts to 3.5” for floppy or card reader
Roof Cooling Fans	Space for two 120mm, none supplied
Rear/Side Cooling Fans	Rear - space for one 120mm fan, supplied; Side - space for 140 or 120mm fan not supplied
Front/Floor Cooling Fans	Front - space for two 120mm fans (both with filters), one supplied; Floor - space for one 120mm fan (with filter), not supplied
Expansion Card Slots	7, with sleek white painted brackets
Front I/O Ports	2x USB 2.0, 1x eSATA and Audio I/O
Accessories	PCI fan controller, controllers up to 3 fans
Warranty	24 months

Customer Reviews

Define R2 Black

Define R2 Silver

Define R2 Titanium

Good value. Silent.

Anonymous, 25th May 2010

Looks good, pretty silent, almost inaudible at the lowest fan speed (has a fan controller). Nice features too.

With the standard fans especially at low speed you won’t get much ventilation. But that’s to be expected on a quiet case, and you can add 5 more fans to it if you feel like.

Not expensive.

Cons: Doesn’t filter much of the high pitched noises, like HDD spinning. That’s why I’ll only give it a 9. Does filter the HDD seek though. Side panels kinda hard to take out.

Has a smell to it, but I hear it will go away after a couple of weeks.

No Reset button… LOL

Excellent case

Darren Tingley, 12th December 2009

The case has all the features you could want even 4 ports for water cooling to enter/exit the case. Robust and clever construction, the inside sound deadening is very effective though does smell bad to start with. I have 5 drives, bespoke water cooling for just about everything and there is still plenty of room in the case for more, the water cooling rad bolts to the top fan ports very nicely too.

For me I have no cons to report its the best case I could find at that price point.

We haven't received any reviews of this product yet.

Superb case

Ryan Harkin, 26th July 2010

Having not built a PC in about 6 years, I realise that ergonomics have moved on considerably since the days of Pentium 4 machines! This case is a dream to use. And it looks great too! I’m surprised at quite how many hard drive bays there are at the front. Superb layout! And the removable HDD trays (with rubber dampers) are very convenient.

The only drawback is that I find the catches for replacing the side panels to be a little bit awkward to engage - and I’d prefer them to be screwless. I’d happily use this case again.

Good ideas but quality slightly lacking

Kieron Johnson, 16th February 2010

This case looked perfect to me. Had a large number of HDD bays that I wanted plus the neat cabling solution that really appealed.

Comes with a great selection of screws and fasteners which is a nice touch.

Cable management is excellent but there isn’t much room behind the back of the motherboard and the side panel so you really have to plan your cable routing.

Air flow isn’t great with the supplied fans. One at front and rear and I’ve had to install a second at the front. Also the supplied Fractal Design fan cables wouldn’t reach the connectors on my motherboard. Your mobos fan connectors need to be on the opposite side to the mobo back panel to reach.

The thickness of the metal at the top of the case is a bit thin for my liking. If you look carefully in the photos you can see it bow over the top vents. The front fan doors are a bit cheap and stick too.

Overall a very nice case but a few quality issues let it down. Would have been a 10 otherwise.