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Fractal Design Define XL Black Pearl

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#1 ·
Fractal Design Define XL Black Pearl

Description:
Cooling system

2x 140mm fans (one 140mm included, one optional) with removable and washable filters, in the front. Recommended for intake of air.
1x 120mm fan optional with removable and washable filter, in the front. Recommended for intake of air.
1x 180mm fan included in the top of the case. Recommended for exhaust of air.
1x 140mm fan included in the rear of the case. Recommended for exhaust of air.
1x 120/140mm fan optional in the side of the case. Recommended for intake of air.

Specifications

4x 5,25" bays, 1x 5,25" to 3,5" converter included
Mini-itx, micro ATX, ATX and E-ATX motherboards
10x HDD trays. 4x HDD trays in the HDD cage in the main chamber. This HDD cage is removable and rotatable.(Space ~330mm with HDD Cage and without ~480mm) 6x HDD trays in the lower HDD chamber. These HDD cages are fixed.
A total of two 140mm fans and one 180mm fan included. Front 140mm fans are mounted with removable, washable filter. A fan controller is included, for mounting in one of the rear expansion slots.
Pre-fitted with dense noise absorbing material in both side panels.
ModuVent™ feature, allowing the user to choose between an optimal low noise level, having the cover mounted or optimal airflow by removing the cover and mounting a fan for intake.
Maximum PSU length: Supports PSU's with a depth of maximum circa 180mm
Maximum Graphic Card lenght: Supports graphic card lengths up to 330mm when removable HDD-Bay is in place
Maximum CPU cooler height: Supports CPU coolers with height of 180mm
Expansion slots: 7+1
On top of front panel: 4x USB 2.0, 1x eSATA and Audio I/O
Case size (WxHxD): 232x560x561.3mm
Net weight: 17.95kg
 

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#2 ·
The Define XL is great

review by b!0hazard

Read the whole review here: http://www.overclock.net/t/1202051/fractal-design-define-xl-review/0_20

Conclusion

The case is nice. It's high quality and easy to work with. It looks awesome and has a bunch of features. You can do virtually anything you want, 'cause it has room for so many things.
The Define XL also lowered noise quite a bit compared to my old case. I don't have equipment to test it, but subjectively, I think it's quieter.

I have to note though, that to even use the bottom HDD cages, you have to add your own 140 mm fan and to get proper GPU temps, you'll need a side fan. The stock case can cool a stock system, yes, but it's not that good. Adding a side fan and a bottom front fan dropped HDD temps 10 ?C, GPU temps 10 ?C and CPU temps 5 ?C. The front 120 mm also helps quite a lot, but many users can't use it.
I think Fractal Design should get their act together and include at the very least another front 140 mm. It's not okay to let peoples' HDD's die a painful heat death.

While the price is high, I definitely think you get a quality product for that price. Maybe not the best cooling ever, but the materials are high quality (is it weird that I think the paint feels nice?) and it's a joy to use.

ProsCons
Good cooling, low noise, good looks, high quality, USB 3 in the frontNot enough fans included, heavy

Ratings
Overall4
 
#3 ·
The Define XL is great

review by b!0hazard
Have had the XL for a year and yes airflow is a problem.

I have 3 fans in front and the two exhausts. I see the problem being the massive amount of room in the middle of the case and air not quite reaching everywhere. My CPU cooler is 4 years old and dusty and probably needs new thermal paste, thats most likely the reason my cpu idles at 51C, but also because the air doesnt quite reach the cpu cooler and kind of gets lost.

Aside from that, which can be fixed by better cpu cooler and an extra fan on the side maybe, it is a very good case. Room for 10HDDs i have 6 inside and removed the HDD cage in the middle section. Had a weird issue with my 520HX PSU, doesnt quite fit, need to support the back with some cardboard cos it wouldnt reach the rubber support. Anyways a couple of niggles but overall good.

7/10 from me

Would go for the obsidian 800d next time cos i plan to watercool.
 
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