Fractal Design Define R6

You're fortunate you don't have a massive build waiting like me. It's painful to just look at all the new (expensive as hell, 2tb 960 pro for instance)... Just sitting there.

Oh and I'm on the other side of the US so it will take a full week to get here once they ship it.

Same here, I have like 2k worth of parts sitting on my shelf.
 
The specs state that there are two types of layouts for the top radiator: standard and open. I wonder what they mean by those terms?

As well, the spacing for mounting holes is important. Sure, 120mm/140mm fans have holes that far apart. But how far apart are the sets of holes from one another? Is fan number 2 10mm away from fan 1? There are differing standards in use. (NZXT and Corsair use different spacings for fans on their radiators, for example.)
 
The specs state that there are two types of layouts for the top radiator: standard and open. I wonder what they mean by those terms?

As well, the spacing for mounting holes is important. Sure, 120mm/140mm fans have holes that far apart. But how far apart are the sets of holes from one another? Is fan number 2 10mm away from fan 1? There are differing standards in use. (NZXT and Corsair use different spacings for fans on their radiators, for example.)


standard = sealed cover on the top, open = that plastic grate shit(can't think of what else to call it).. the case should come with both covers. as far as the fan mounts they're cut slits so that the rad can slide back and forth and also allows it to support multiple different manufactures.

here's the newegg link, it has all the pictures you'll ever want.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352078
 
When I get mine I can post a picture with the top radiator mount insert panel... With a ruler next to it.

Unfortunately I have no idea when the heck it will ship.

I emailed Fractal to see if they had any thoughts on availability in NA. No response back yet. If this is important to you - you may want to email them as well to see when stock will hit the US.
 
standard = sealed cover on the top, open = that plastic grate shit(can't think of what else to call it).. the case should come with both covers. as far as the fan mounts they're cut slits so that the rad can slide back and forth and also allows it to support multiple different manufactures.

here's the newegg link, it has all the pictures you'll ever want.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352078

Thanks. I went to the Fractal page. Newegg has a lot more pix. I see the slots: there's still a distance between slots (fan 1 slot, solid zone, fan 2 slot, solid zone, fan 3 slot) which may or may not be too large. I'd love to see a spec'ed drawing with the dimensions in mm.

I've got two Fractal XLs. Awesomely good cases. This case is on my short list for my next build. The Define XL has a different radiator support: just holes for the fans. The NZXT radiator fits, the Corsair radiator does not. Rather, the fan spacing fits for NZXT and not Corsair.


When I get mine I can post a picture with the top radiator mount insert panel... With a ruler next to it.

Unfortunately I have no idea when the heck it will ship.

I emailed Fractal to see if they had any thoughts on availability in NA. No response back yet. If this is important to you - you may want to email them as well to see when stock will hit the US.

That's be cool. I'd like to see all the top mount holes/slots/solid areas with mm's.

Thanks!!
 
Thanks. I went to the Fractal page. Newegg has a lot more pix. I see the slots: there's still a distance between slots (fan 1 slot, solid zone, fan 2 slot, solid zone, fan 3 slot) which may or may not be too large. I'd love to see a spec'ed drawing with the dimensions in mm.

I've got two Fractal XLs. Awesomely good cases. This case is on my short list for my next build. The Define XL has a different radiator support: just holes for the fans. The NZXT radiator fits, the Corsair radiator does not. Rather, the fan spacing fits for NZXT and not Corsair.




That's be cool. I'd like to see all the top mount holes/slots/solid areas with mm's.

Thanks!!

yeah i'm not a fan of that design either,if they had just gone with slightly thicker steel for the top they could of left it wide open without the slots in between the mounting slides. the biggest worry i see depends on your motherboard and how big the heatsinks are on the VRM's which is what i ran into with my phantek enthroo pro.. so if you converted how mine is setup to the mounting on the R6 there would be 2 fan screws in section 2(back of case toward front) 4 in section 3 and 2 in section 4 partially inside the HDD cage area. otherwise you'd have to put 2 in section 1 4 in section 2 and 2 in section 3. i doubt you'll really run into any huge issues mounting what ever rad you have, it'll just be a bit of finagling to make sure it doesn't interfere with anything else. i do like that the mounts off set to pull the rad further away from the motherboard.
 
Still no ETA on the White TG SKU.

Thinking about alternatives. Just running the system off a cardboard box ATM.
 
I'm guessing white is going to be a while. They can't even get the highest demand models (TG and black) into NA in a reasonable time.

While they've been available in Europe, and to review sites... For a while.
 
Yes I noticed that earlier.

We all know how accurate their pre-order ship dates are at this point though.

I'd say I'm hopeful that it means mine will ship before then, but those dates could all be fiction.
 
i'm gonna wait until i can see it in person or one of my buddies get one. the video makes it looks really nice but we'll see.
 
I'm quite happy with it, replaced my R4.
The shroud should be removable though IMO, it's somewhat annoying to work with.

KHoVbap.jpg

KHoVbap
 
Fractal's NA twitter suggests Newegg really will have them early next week.

Which means I will probably get mine the week after. Eh, only days to get my machine up and running before my 30 day return window on the other equipment will expire.

Regardless I am happy the end is in sight. Apparently for all colors?
 
The blackout and gunmetal... Oh and white too.

I probably would have picked up the gunmetal if it was available at the same time, but right now I'm just glad I (hopefully) made it on the first pre-order batch for the solid black. (Which seems to be in less demand than the TG)

I believe Newegg has over 200 on order for the standard black (non-TG).
 
Looks like my black (non-TG) is shipping today.

Unfortunately it will likely take a week to get here.
 
I'm quite happy with it, replaced my R4.
The shroud should be removable though IMO, it's somewhat annoying to work with.

KHoVbap.jpg

KHoVbap
its like to much stuff is hidden with this design maybe...i mean i want my power supply visible to show off at times
 
If not for:

1) Noise
2) My PC is in my bedroom (lights)

I'd love to look at a cool lighting config.

But alas, I need my sleep.
 
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The part covering the power supply area is my guess...that would suck if that part is non removable
Unless drilling out rivets counts, it is non removable.
Makes mounting a rad bottom and PSU cable wrangling a bit of a pain, especially if you're pushing the limit on what physically fits.
 
So I've had this case since Monday now...

And a couple quirks.

1) In the alternate configuration, pushing the modesty panel (drive tray holder) to the left side of the case... Will not support the external drive bay. So if you don't plan on putting tons of drives in the case and just want unobstructed airflow, there's really no way to mount a standard 3.5" drive (if you want to use that external drive bay). I get that people don't often have a DVD/Blu-Ray drive, but I do. And I would have mounted a drive or two in the vertical position supported by the alternate design, but it isn't supported.

2) My Asus Rog Extreme mounts the EZ-PLUG facing down (parallel to the motherboard), not up (perpendicular). The power supply shroud essentially abuts this connector when the MB is mounted. I'd have to cut a notch / slot in the shroud to actually use the EZ-PLUG.

That's all. The case is a great value for what you get overall.
 
I just built my first PC ever in the R6. (The most I had ever done before this was plug USB/HDMI cables into laptops.)

Overall building in this case was enjoyable but there are a few things I noticed:

The H115i Pro in the top mount had to be mounted using the slots closest to the glass panel for clearance of the 8 PIN CPU power connector and VRM shielding. The modular storage plate had to be moved to the open position to clear this radiator also. Cable management for this cooler was also annoying (since its made to be plug-and-play it has lots of wires). I never tried it in the front mount.

I could not use right angle SATA connectors on the 850 EVO SSD when mounting it to the top of the PSU shroud because the cable cutout is farther back. Also, the large cutouts next to the motherboard (ASUS Maximus X Code) are just far enough away that I had to use a straight connector there also.

Being able to completely remove the metal top tray under the filter made some parts of installation very easy. Switching the front panel to open from the other side was also easy.

The cables on the included fans could be a bit longer to improve cable management (front panel, specifically). I tried the included fan hub and plugging fans directly into the motherboard, both worked well.

There were no clearance issues with my Nvidia Titan Xp Jedi Order edition with the modular storage plate in either position.

The hardest part of the entire build was probably lining up the pins while plugging in the USB 3 cable to the Motherboard. o_O
Interior of R6.jpg
 
I just built my first PC ever in the R6. (The most I had ever done before this was plug USB/HDMI cables into laptops.)

Overall building in this case was enjoyable but there are a few things I noticed:

The H115i Pro in the top mount had to be mounted using the slots closest to the glass panel for clearance of the 8 PIN CPU power connector and VRM shielding. The modular storage plate had to be moved to the open position to clear this radiator also. Cable management for this cooler was also annoying (since its made to be plug-and-play it has lots of wires). I never tried it in the front mount.

I could not use right angle SATA connectors on the 850 EVO SSD when mounting it to the top of the PSU shroud because the cable cutout is farther back. Also, the large cutouts next to the motherboard (ASUS Maximus X Code) are just far enough away that I had to use a straight connector there also.

Being able to completely remove the metal top tray under the filter made some parts of installation very easy. Switching the front panel to open from the other side was also easy.

The cables on the included fans could be a bit longer to improve cable management (front panel, specifically). I tried the included fan hub and plugging fans directly into the motherboard, both worked well.

There were no clearance issues with my Nvidia Titan Xp Jedi Order edition with the modular storage plate in either position.

The hardest part of the entire build was probably lining up the pins while plugging in the USB 3 cable to the Motherboard. o_O
View attachment 53327

Hell of a build for your first PC. My first PC was a Athlon K6-2 350mhz with a 32mb video card, lol. Very clean.
 
Hell of a build for your first PC. My first PC was a Athlon K6-2 350mhz with a 32mb video card, lol. Very clean.

Thanks! I decided to go big or go home on this since I've wanted to build a computer for more than 20 years. It took me a while to figure out I should go back to school and get a real job. :cool:
 
That's beautiful.

Wish I didn't have an EATX MB. I can't use those cable routing slots which of course means the power cables need to go where the "modesty" cover is.

My case is a mess, but it's non-windowed, so I can live with it.
 
I just built my first PC ever in the R6. (The most I had ever done before this was plug USB/HDMI cables into laptops.)

Overall building in this case was enjoyable but there are a few things I noticed:

The H115i Pro in the top mount had to be mounted using the slots closest to the glass panel for clearance of the 8 PIN CPU power connector and VRM shielding. The modular storage plate had to be moved to the open position to clear this radiator also. Cable management for this cooler was also annoying (since its made to be plug-and-play it has lots of wires). I never tried it in the front mount.

I could not use right angle SATA connectors on the 850 EVO SSD when mounting it to the top of the PSU shroud because the cable cutout is farther back. Also, the large cutouts next to the motherboard (ASUS Maximus X Code) are just far enough away that I had to use a straight connector there also.

Being able to completely remove the metal top tray under the filter made some parts of installation very easy. Switching the front panel to open from the other side was also easy.

The cables on the included fans could be a bit longer to improve cable management (front panel, specifically). I tried the included fan hub and plugging fans directly into the motherboard, both worked well.

There were no clearance issues with my Nvidia Titan Xp Jedi Order edition with the modular storage plate in either position.

The hardest part of the entire build was probably lining up the pins while plugging in the USB 3 cable to the Motherboard. o_O
View attachment 53327
what board and cpu you using? im guessing its not eatx since it almost looks undersized with all that room! I can hardly imagine how easy the cable management is compared to my ancient 900.
 
what board and cpu you using? im guessing its not eatx since it almost looks undersized with all that room! I can hardly imagine how easy the cable management is compared to my ancient 900.
PC Hound Part List - 1st Build 01/20/2018

CPU: Intel Intel Core i7-8700K
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus X Code
Memory: G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) TridentZ RGB Series
VIDEO CARD: Nvidia Titan Xp Jedi Order Collector's Edition
Power Supply: SeaSonic 850W PRIME Ultra Titanium SSR-850TR
Storage: SAMSUNG 500GB 960 EVO MZ-V6E500BW
Storage #2: SAMSUNG 1TB 850 EVO MZ-75E1T0E
Case: Fractal Design Define R6 FD-CA-DEF-R6-BK-TG
CPU Cooler: CORSAIR Corsair Hydro Series H115i PRO (CW-9060032-WW)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro - Full Version (32 & 64-bit) / USB Flash Drive
Monitor: ASUS PG279Q PG279Q
Monitor 2: old Samsung 1080p from Costco
Generated by PC Hound

If I had to do it again I would have gotten the H150i Pro instead of the H115i Pro but I wasn't sure if I would be adding a Blu-Ray drive (then I would have front-mounted the cooler). The H150i is thinner, longer, and narrower than the H115i with a bit more cooling capacity.

I still have some tidying up to do behind the back panel:
Back of R6.jpg
 
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I donated my R5 to my dad to replace his decade old Antec rustbucket and got me this case, quite happy with it, easy to build in, cable management is a bit off due to all the cables from the aio which I don't realy have an idea to get rid of.
 
I donated my R5 to my dad to replace his decade old Antec rustbucket and got me this case, quite happy with it, easy to build in, cable management is a bit off due to all the cables from the aio which I don't realy have an idea to get rid of.

Which AIO do you have? I have the Corsair H115i Pro.
I plugged the pump tach (2 wire) into my board's AIO header. (If no AIO header than it would go to CPU fan 1.) I routed the wire below the CPU socket.
The USB cable runs up along the VRM's and out the back through the same grommet as the 8 pin CPU connection and then down to the MB USB 2.0 connector. My only complaint so far with this board is only having 1 USB 2.0 header, but I understand that is a function of the chipset and port distribution.
The SATA power and fan connector wiring runs up along the RAM slots and out the grommet above the fan controller.

From my understanding the USB cable is optional and is there for Corsair's Corsair Link software. Most of the install pictures I see for these coolers have the USB cable run along the bottom edge of the water block and up the right side with the rest of the wiring. I didn't do this because I currently have my rear fan plugged into the Case fan 1 port on the motherboard. (And my OCD says it looks more balanced with wires running up both sides of the water block :nailbiting:). If I were using the fan hub, ran the AIO tach to the CPU Fan 1 port, and routed the USB cable the "normal way" then it would probably look a bit cleaner.
 
I'm using the AC liquid freezer 240 with the four included fans which are all daisy chained to one another, my aio goes to the CPU fan header and the fans to the CPU optional header, there is no USB cable.

It's those daisy chained cables that make a mess, not very handy with those.
 
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