Fractal R3 out at newegg

[DrBoss]

mv2devnull

what are you impressions of the fans that came with the R3? quite or loud? good air movement or not?

That Silverstone Ap-180 looks pretty solid.

 

[mv2devnull]

Mediocre. But then again, their servitude was brief.

 

[perdomot]

Got my white R3 today and wanted to ask if I should put any fans in the top slots or leave the Mod-U-Vents covered and just depend on the front and rear fans? Going to add a Yate Loon fan to the front to create positive pressure in the case although I'm also considering a fan on the side panel. How are you guys going to set up your fans?

 

[DrBoss]

I plan to keep my side Mod-U-Vent closed to help with sound isolation. It is my intention (with the Fractal Design XL) to pull as much air in the front of the case as possible. In the front, out the back. 5 case fans (3 front - 2 rear) and 2 cpu heatsink fans (blowing toward the rear of the case).

With the R3 i would recommend installing two fans in the front, one in the rear, and one in the top (in addition to whatever you are cooling your CPU with). I would keep the side vent closed, but if you are running SLI or Crossfire you may want to open it up and install a fan to pull air away from your GPU(s).

 

[perdomot]

I'm running a 5670 vid card so I was thinking of putting a quiet fan on the side to increase the ratio to 3 in/2out. I tested the included fan controller and it works great for reducing noise. The side vent would be pointed away from me so that would help reduce the noise.

 

[SmCaudata]

The Define XL is up at Newegg now. $150 + $25 shipping.

 

[Joseph F]

I like the white R3 for its simple exterior. (Not a huge fan of the flashy "xtreem g4m3r" look) If Apple made an atx version of its Mac pro case I'd love it. Of course, knowing apple it'd be about $500.

 

[perdomot]

Finished switching over my stuff to the new Artic White case and it looks great. Can't believe how quiet the case is too. Only drawback is the led is red and blue would look so much better.

 

[JBDan]

Look forward to trying out the Fractal3 coming. I haven't upgraded my rig since 2007 and I just ordered a SB setup with this case. I presently have a P180 and am a silent fanatic so I'll post my thoughts after getting it built. Thanks for this post I knew nothing of Fractal before this week!

 

[Zebo]

Cool. Our 8TB NAS is filling up and I think I just found my next case for BYO. Now I just need to find a mobo with 8+ SATA

 

[JBDan]

I was really disappointed with the Fractal. I'm using it as I don't have time for a return. I come from a P180 and I guess my standards are along those lines.

The Fractal looks good alright sitting in my office, but it came with a broken foot, bends in the metal all over it (where PSU mounts, on top, 1 side panel) matter of fact the whole thing was torqued where if you look straight on at the rear it looks lopsided somewhat.

Funny thing is the box it came in was absolutely pristine not a mark, ding, gouge, nice sharp corners, etc...

My opinion is the metal it is made of is too thin/flimsy. Everywhere except for the mobo tray area imo.

I'm keeping it and will upgrade down the road when I have time, but for the time being it is quiet, didn't use the fans I used 3 Scythe 1200rpms on a SB 2500K and a 6950, the looks are sexy from the front, and I like it's overall size.

 

[perdomot]

That is surprising because my R3 doesn't feel flimsy at all. Wonder if you got a defective one.

 

[jmanny]

I was really disappointed with the Fractal. I'm using it as I don't have time for a return. I come from a P180 and I guess my standards are along those lines.

The Fractal looks good alright sitting in my office, but it came with a broken foot, bends in the metal all over it (where PSU mounts, on top, 1 side panel) matter of fact the whole thing was torqued where if you look straight on at the rear it looks lopsided somewhat.

Funny thing is the box it came in was absolutely pristine not a mark, ding, gouge, nice sharp corners, etc...

My opinion is the metal it is made of is too thin/flimsy. Everywhere except for the mobo tray area imo.

I'm keeping it and will upgrade down the road when I have time, but for the time being it is quiet, didn't use the fans I used 3 Scythe 1200rpms on a SB 2500K and a 6950, the looks are sexy from the front, and I like it's overall size.

I got mine last week and had some issues also. One of my front fan doors doesn't lock, and I had to hammer on a thumbscrew holding on a side panel since it was bent and wouldn't fit correctly. My box was also in pristine condition so I am guessing they are shipping from the factory with these issues. All in all I am disappointed. I was waiting for a Lian Li PC 9F which was out if stock at the time. It came in the day after I ordered the R3. I should have waited.

 

[BTA]

I love my R3 I bought a while ago before they came to Newegg...it did get banged up in shipping a little so on the back where the one side panel screws in is pushed in some. It doesn't really affect anything though.

The R3 is definitely not as sturdy as my old original Lian Li from 2000/2001, but then again neither are new Lian Li cases (I own a new one as well). They both use much thinner aluminum.

The Fractal works great for my server though, love it. Super quiet and the front panel and door are very well built.

The only other complaint I might have is that the rubber grommets for the holes for routing power wires behind the system board come out really easy but are a pain to get back in place.

 

[BTA]

Oh by the way, if you are looking to add a matching fan, these are the same as the ones that ship with the case. very quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835610006

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Cool. Our 8TB NAS is filling up and I think I just found my next case for BYO. Now I just need to find a mobo with 8+ SATA

I'm looking for this as well (on the AMD side there are a few, Intel side there are not though).

 

[mv2devnull]

Oh by the way, if you are looking to add a matching fan, these are the same as the ones that ship with the case. very quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835610006

Are they? The R3's fans are supposedly @ 1350 rpm.

 

[JBDan]

Oh by the way, if you are looking to add a matching fan, these are the same as the ones that ship with the case. very quiet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835610006

The fractal oem case fans are rebadged Nexus? I really don't believe they are.

 

[JBDan]

That is surprising because my R3 doesn't feel flimsy at all. Wonder if you got a defective one.

I guess that is possible. Although it's most likely attributed to my past case experience's owning a few very rigid/solid steel cases (mostly Antec).

Build quality is somewhat "personal preference" I guess, but I feel like this case is not well made.

It's just a computer case though so I'll make due =)

 

[dkm777]

The fractal oem case fans are rebadged Nexus? I really don't believe they are.

They are Yate Loons - similar to Nexus, but running at different RPMs (Nexus is 1000RPM while Fractals are 1300RPM) and sometimes they use a different impeller. The one you can find in Fractal cases has quite an annoying sound signature, so I swapped impellers with a Nexus and now have a much quieter fan running at 1300RPM. When I examined the motors they were essentially the same, but I have no idea why Nexus runs slower.

 

[alfa147x]

They are Yate Loons - similar to Nexus, but running at different RPMs (Nexus is 1000RPM while Fractals are 1300RPM) and sometimes they use a different impeller. The one you can find in Fractal cases has quite an annoying sound signature, so I swapped impellers with a Nexus and now have a much quieter fan running at 1300RPM. When I examined the motors they were essentially the same, but I have no idea why Nexus runs slower.

That's cool. Thanks for the info

 

[mv2devnull]

They are Yate Loons - similar to Nexus, but running at different RPMs (Nexus is 1000RPM while Fractals are 1300RPM) and sometimes they use a different impeller. The one you can find in Fractal cases has quite an annoying sound signature, so I swapped impellers with a Nexus and now have a much quieter fan running at 1300RPM. When I examined the motors they were essentially the same, but I have no idea why Nexus runs slower.

Well, Fractal sells fans separately too, and those are 1000 rpm. The same 1000 rpm models were in the R2 as well. Closer to roots?

 

[BTA]

I guess I should have said they match instead of "the same".

Either way I can't hear either of them in mine.

 

[mv2devnull]

Almost, but not quite vanilla view:

The fans after the HDD rack are Thermalright 140 mm, but they don't really make a difference.

 

[zod96]

Here's mine slightly revised. I'm using 2 Scythe Sflex fans at 800 RPM's dead silent...



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