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Which case for a new build? Fractal Design Arc Mini or Define Mini?

Poll Results: Fractal Design Arc Mini or Define Mini?

 
  • 75% (12)
    Arc Mini
  • 25% (4)
    Define Mini
16 Total Votes  
post #1 of 14
12/15/11 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
I'm working on a new build and one of the last components I'm stuck on is the case. I've narrowed it down to either the Fractal Design Arc Mini or the Fractal Design Define Mini.

The rest of the build includes an i5 2500k, which will be overclocked a bit, and a single GPU (likely a 560Ti). This build is going to be used in a small room and I'd like it to be pretty quiet. Which case should I buy? The Arc Mini obviously has superior air flow but the filters look like they'll be a PITA to clean. The Define Mini looks like it'll be pretty quiet but I'm a little unsure about the airflow.

Which case would you guys pick?
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post #2 of 14
12/15/11 at 10:38pm
I would go with the ARC. I hate them door panels
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post #3 of 14
12/16/11 at 8:58am
Depends. Are you doing a gamer build that needs a lot of airflow, or do you want a quieter system? Your component choice would not need huge airflow so you can go either way. Filters do need to be cleaned, but are important for keeping the inside of your rig clean.
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post #4 of 14
12/21/11 at 3:42pm
I agree with Zap. It depends on what you are looking for, if you want to do any water cooling then the mini, but if you want a sleek and streamline case go for the define. I personally like the looks of the define better but i like the features of the arc. so i look at it like this:
Arc - water cooling, air flow, functionality over looks
Define - silent, clean, looks over functionality
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post #5 of 14
12/25/11 at 6:08pm
i can vouch for the define as being one for the hushed pc person. solid damped front doors, lots of sound insulation even optional pads on areas where the fans go.
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post #6 of 14
12/29/11 at 8:14pm
I always thought Factual design core 1000 has a superior air flow to both Definite Mini & arc Mini..
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OVERSIZED RIG
(16 items)
 
PS VITA CORE
(12 items)
 
PHABLET NOTE II
(10 items)
 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
FX-6200BE 3.8Ghz MSI 970A-G46 SLI | DUAL-GTS 250 1GB 16GB DDR3 RAM 
Hard DriveOptical DriveCoolingCooling
3TB | 2TB | HW NB-120GB ICE SR1 240 | CG140 KOOLANCE CPU-370SA | RP-452X2 Rev.2 
OSMonitorPowerCase
Win8 64bit |  SONY BRAVIA 32" | 1080p Corsair 1000w HAF X 
Other
AeroCool 3x14CM | 2x12CM FANS 
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CPUGraphicsRAMHard Drive
ARM® Cortex™- A9 core (4 core) SGX543MP4+ quad-core GPU 512MB RAM and 128MB VRAM NONE onboard memory 
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PS Vita 32GB card Vita OS 5-inch Super AMOLED Multi touch screen a touchscreen-sensitive and dual-analogue sticks 
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PlayStation Vita handheld a touch-sensitive back panel 3G/ WiFi 
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CPUMotherboardRAMHard Drive
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post #7 of 14
1/5/12 at 2:43pm
I recently purchased the Arc and I am very pleased with it. This was the first case I spent more then 30$ on and I didnt regret it.
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post #8 of 14
1/7/12 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfergolfer View Post

Define - silent, clean, looks over functionality

the define has options id say. I know the arc looks cute / trendy though. the define still has the ability to 1x / 2x top fans , 2x front (2nd ready to be installed easy unlike many larger cases) and 1 x ground blowing up to gpu 1 x door panel also. So really it has a lot of air flow potential and good pressure inside the case for the air to flow due to the damped / sealed design.
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post #9 of 14
1/13/12 at 3:09am
Define looks much sleeker. Along with the PC-A05NB it's my fav micro ATX case.

Plus it's dampened, which definitely helps to build something as powerful as silent.
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Will last until 2015!
(18 items)
 
Trinity Portable AIO
(13 items)
 
AGP bencher
(14 items)
 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Phenom X6 1055T ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 Sapphire HD 6950 2GB Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000 
Hard DriveHard DriveCoolingCooling
Seagate 7200.12 Samsung SpinPoint F3 EK Supreme HF EK CoolStream XT360 
CoolingCoolingOSMonitor
Alpahcool Coolplex Pro 10LT Phobya DC12-400 Windows 7 Ultimate & Fedora 17 LG IPS235V 
MonitorKeyboardPowerCase
LG E2250V Logitech G11 NOX Sonar 780W (Kingwin 750W 80+) Lian Li PC-A05NB 
MouseAudio
Logitech G9 ASUS Xonar DX 
View all
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
AMD A10-5700 Gigabyte F2A75M-HD2 Radeon 7660D G.SKILL Ares 2133 CL9 
Hard DriveCoolingOSOS
Hitachi 5K750 Noctua NH-L9a Fedora 18 Windows 7 x64 
MonitorKeyboardPowerCase
AUO B156HW01 Logitech MK220  PicoPSU-80-WI-25V AIO Aluminium Handmade 
Other
TP-LINK 150 N/G/B 
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CPUCPUCPUMotherboard
Core2Duo E6400 Core2Quad Q6600 Pentium Dual Core E5200 AsRock 4COREDUAL-SATA2 R2.0 
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A dumpload of ancient AGP cards Kingston Value DDR2-667 CL4 2T @CL3 1T Seagate 160GB 7200.10 LG IDE DVD-ROM 
CoolingCoolingOSMonitor
Ghettomade CPU waterblock 49cc 2stroke engine copper radiator WinXP SP2 32bit ProView 17" 
PowerCase
Tacens Radix V 550W Ghetto aluminium bench 
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post #10 of 14
5/8/12 at 6:15am
I'm also going back and forth between these two cases and even the TJ08-E case. I see a number of people above mention don't use water cooling for Define - is that just full blown watercooling setups that I shouldn't use the Define for or can I use a H50 cpu cooler in the Define?
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