FT02 vs Fractal Define R4

[koshling]

I'm shortly going to pull the trigger on a new build now Haswell is out (current machine is 4 years old and really needs replacing).

I'm not planning to o/c, and my requirements are good performance for software development/running VMs with occasional light gaming, while being quiet. The ambient temperatures in my office can be quite high in summer (easily mid 30's Celsius), so I value lower power draw to keep excess heat down, and even though I am not going to O/C air-flow is important because of the high ambients that need to be coped with.

Since I only game lightly I am thinking to go 7790 for graphics (low TDPs, good enough performance - current machine I have a 6850 in and it's been entirely adequate). Because I need to run a couple of VMs for software testing purposes, memory is important, so I will be equipping the max (32G) RAM, and going all SSD for storage (Crucial M5 960G once I can find any available!). For CPU, I'm thinking 4770 (not the K as I don't plan to O/C and I DO want TSX support), with an after-market cooler (thinking TRUE Spirit 140 probably)

The only point I'm unsure about is case. I really value quietness, but need reasonable airflow. My last two builds have been in Antec P180/P182s, and the airflow hasn't been ideal without turning the fans to max (though my previous builds were at (somewhat) higher TDPs than what I now plan, it has to said). I really like the look of the FT02, but keep hearing great thing about the Define R4. The price difference is not a major issue. I was considering the FT04 also, pending release and reviews, but it looks like Silverstone is just taking too long to actually get it released, so it's probably out of consideration now (need to go on this by about the end of the month).

Anyone have experience of both the R4 and the FT02? Any thoughts or counter-suggestions?

 

[hans030390]

I've only used the R4, and I love it. Very sturdy, easy to work with, and quiet. It comes with 2 decent and quiet fans, but I put 2 other 140mm fans in there as well. Picking good fans is the key to good, yet quiet, cooling. Most of my fans aren't running at max speed (set to 7V on front panel). I've had no issues keeping my OCed 2500k and GTX 680 cool, and you can barely hear the computer.

 

[Cerb]

Unrelated to the question, consider one of the Xeon E3s. There's a good chance that your VMs and/or some build tasks might take well to HT.

Either case would do fine, IMO. But, you may have to play with it either way, which I doubt you did for the P18x. It's hard to imagine the P18x cases lacking for cooling, unless you're doing SLI/Xfire, trying to use all the fan slots, or not covering slots and exhausts you aren't using.

The R4 is a nicer case to work in, IMO, along with being cheaper.

 

[koshling]

Unrelated to the question, consider one of the Xeon E3s. There's a good chance that your VMs and/or some build tasks might take well to HT.

I was wondering about that. HT I certainly need (but 4770 has it anyway), so really I think going Xeon basically just saves me circa $30 (relative to a 4770) for (more or less) the same base clock + turbo. One question - will the Xeons do fine in a standard desktop MB with NON-ECC RAM or dot hey REQUIRE (as opposed to just support) ECC RAM?

 

[Cerb]

They work fine with non-ECC RAM. ECC is only even available for them with the C series chipsets. Right now, ASRock still seems to be the only maker officially listing support, right now, though.

 

[smitbret]

The R4 is like the Toyota Avalon or really loaded Honda Accord of the case world. Built really solid, performs really well, easy to get a hold of and you easily get what you pay for. There are nicer cases that might cool better, be a touch quieter or have a specific feature that you want, but for an everyday driver it's hard to beat.

 

[Eureka]

FT02 is fully aluminum, has a better cooling design and is bigger than the R4. FT02 is a premium case, the R4 is basically a nicer "economy" case. Workmaship will likely be slightly better on the FT02 too.

They are both good cases. R4 will give you better value for money, but if the money is not an object, the FT02 is going to be nicer all around.

 

[AustinInDallas]

r4 can be had for 1/3 the price of the ft02

 

[It's Not Lupus]

i would go with the ft02 if money isn't a problem.

 

[pimpin-tl]

Long video cards will not fit in the FT-02 without removing a fan at the bottom which is not ideal. R4 or R2 XL.

 

[beginner99]

I have the define R2. My own experience and that from reviews here the cooling isn't that great even with additional fans (and noise). I tend to have higher temps than other people.

I have the 2 included fans in front, a 120 mm noctua in bottom slot and a 120 mm silent wing at back (all inaudible). I also have 140mm silent wing on top and that one is causing the most noise. So clearly a lot of fans and the do there work considering the dust in the filters.

 

[Cerb]

The Define attacks noise by baffling and having lots of mass, so air flow is restricted. The newer R4 is no different. If not overclocking, and no using very high power components (like multiple 200W+ video cards), it's usually just a few degrees higher temps, and nothing that will affect any practical change is reliability or performance.

Silverstone does some of that on their higher-end cases, but generally favors allows quieter components to be cooled more easily, instead, which can be a bit trickier to build around (and frankly, some of their drive cage designs are simply inferior to others'), but does make the cases great for OCers that don't care about noise, too.

Any stock CPU with a 7790 is not going to pose a problem, IMO.

 

[koshling]

I went with the FT02 and I'm glad I did - it's an awesome piece of engineering. The end result is inaudible to me over the room ambient noise (even with ceiling fan and air con off). Despite ambients in the high 30s at times in this room I have had no temperature issues at all so far.

Very happy with the FT02.