Fractal Design Define R4 Case Review: Evolution, Not Revolution

by Dustin Sklavos on 7/20/2012 6:00:00 AM
Posted in Cases/Cooling/PSUs , fractal design , mid-tower

Introducing the Fractal Design Define R4

Around November of last year we had a chance to take a look at one of the most popular enclosures from up-and-comer Fractal Design, the Define R3. Impressions were good if not absolutely amazing, but it was easy to see how the case had gotten so popular. A competitive price tag, solid acoustics, understated aesthetics, and fairly flexible design all conspired to produce a case that could conceivably be a silver bullet for a lot of users.

Today Fractal Design is launching their next revision of the Define, the R4. It's easy to mistake it for its predecessor, but as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Fractal Design hasn't radically tweaked the formula, but they've rounded some of the edges and added more value to their design without making very many sacrifices in the process. They've done a lot to improve the Define in the R4, but have they done enough?

Incremental evolution isn't altogether unheard of in the enclosure business, but I'm used to seeing vendors release outright new models or heavily revamp existing ones instead of steadily iterating like Fractal Design has done with the Define. I can see users being a bit underwhelmed by the changes Fractal Design has made to the Define with the R4, and I myself am a bit underwhelmed, but let's see if we can't unpack things and get to the heart of what they've done and haven't done.

Fractal Design Define R4 SpecificationsMotherboard Form FactorMini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATXDrive BaysExternal2x 5.25”Internal8x 2.5"/3.5", 2x 2.5"CoolingFront1x 140mm intake fan, 1x 120mm/140mm fan mountRear1x 140mm exhaust fanTop2x 120mm/140mm fan mountsSide1x 140mm fan mountBottom1x 120mm/140mm fan mountExpansion Slots7+1I/O Port2x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 1x Headphone, 1x MicPower Supply SizeStandard ATXClearancesHSF170mmPSU170mm with bottom fan, 270mm withoutGPU11.6"/295mm with drive cage, 430mm withoutDimensions9.13" x 18.27" x 20.59"
232mm x 464mm x 523mmWeight27.12 lbs. / 12.3kgSpecial FeaturesUSB 3.0 connectivity via internal headers
Removable drive cages
Integrated three-step fan controller
Support for 240mm radiator in top of enclosurePrice$109

The Define R4 is ever so slightly larger than the R3 and features essentially everything you already liked about the R3, making it a pretty direct replacement of its predecessor in much the same way as Antec's P182 obsoleted the P180. Fractal Design parted ways with eSATA in the I/O cluster in favor of a pair of USB 2.0 and a pair of USB 3.0 ports and it's a good transition. eSATA never seemed to quite catch fire; USB 3.0 offers most of the bandwidth with much easier connectivity and fewer hiccups. Meanwhile, I still don't think we're at the point where we can completely deprecate USB 2.0 in favor of 3.0, so having them both represented on the front of the case is appreciated.

In and Around the Fractal Design Define R4 Introducing the Fractal Design Define R4 In and Around the Fractal Design Define R4 Assembling the Fractal Design Define R4 Testing Methodology Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked Conclusion: Iterative, But Still Needs Work Print This Article 39 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment A decent step on from the R3 by buildingblock on Friday, July 20, 2012 The move to 140mm fans for intake and exhaust is particularly welcomed, time to move on from the 120s. buildingblock Reply RE: A decent step on from the R3 by HisDivineOrder on Friday, July 20, 2012 I'll agree with you once all the PWM fan makers start making fans in 140mm varieties. Right now, for great fans you choose between PWM and 140mm. That's not a choice that you should have to make.

You'd think Corsair would be on the forefront of fixing this, seeing as they just released a premium fan line AND have cases that could use said fans. But no, they in fact released NO PWM fans at all.

Until that day, 120mm needs to stay the standard. HisDivineOrder Reply The top by btb on Friday, July 20, 2012 I have both and R2 and R3 and really like them. The only thing I wish they would improve on is getting rid of the ugly top of the case, it detracts significantly from an otherwise very nice looking case. How big a percentage of the buyers of these cases do actually use the top exhausts? I'm guessing below 5%. btb Reply RE: The top by Dustin Sklavos on Friday, July 20, 2012 Well, the idea is to make space for a 240mm radiator or a closed-loop like the Corsair H100, but the problem is that clearance for radiators there just isn't good. Dustin Sklavos Reply RE: The top by piroroadkill on Friday, July 20, 2012 Yeah, I think they need to use a Lian-Li style blanking plate, where it fits almost completely flush, leaving a smooth finish, but the user then has to supply a wire grill later. piroroadkill Reply RE: The top by beginner99 on Friday, July 20, 2012 I use it! make sense to have airflow from bottom/front to top as hot air flows up naturally anyway. beginner99 Reply Huh? by piroroadkill on Friday, July 20, 2012 This article has disappeared from the homepage! I can't read it anymore :( piroroadkill Reply RE: Huh? by piroroadkill on Friday, July 20, 2012 Ah, NDA, NDA, thought so. It's all good! piroroadkill Reply Can't read the article? by themossie on Friday, July 20, 2012 Neither the "next page" or menu to choose article pages is working - they both return me to the Anandtech.com page.

Other articles work fine.

Is this just me, or is something wrong? themossie Reply RE: Can't read the article? by Dustin Sklavos on Friday, July 20, 2012 I bunged the NDA time on the review and had to bounce it an hour, that's what happened. :| I've normally been great about NDAs but for some odd reason this one just confused me stupid. Dustin Sklavos Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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Lian Li PC-A55 Case Review: Unfortunate Name Befits the Design

by Dustin Sklavos on 6/16/2012 12:30:00 PM
Posted in Cases/Cooling/PSUs , Lian Li , mid-tower , ATX Buy the Lianli PC-K57 Lian-Li Mid Tower Steel
$69.99

Introducing the Lian Li PC-A55

Marking our fifth venture into Lian Li territory in recent years, the PC-A55 enclosure we have on hand is another unique, slightly-off-the-wall design from a company we've come to expect this kind of thinking from. After all, at Computex they were showing off a case with 26 3.5" bays and another one that looks like a small train. It's not unreasonable to expect some unique cases from Lian Li, and the PC-A55 is definitely one.

What Lian Li has attempted to achieve with the PC-A55 is essentially to make a full ATX enclosure as small as humanly possible while still being easy to build and service. In some ways they've definitely achieved this, but a lot of sacrifices had to be made to get the PC-A55 to where it is and unfortunately, we're not sure they were worth it.

Before we get deeper into the review, yes, the Lian Li PC-A55 has a very unfortunate name for anyone familiar with leetspeak. Those of you with a juvenile sense of humor (like me, for example), are probably going to enjoy this review tremendously. I'm not sure how to address this otherwise; I need to refer to the model name to write the review, so hopefully we can get through this with a minimum of tittering and focus on the enclosure at hand.

Lian Li's design borrows a bit from Silverstone in that it's intended to be vertically cooled; air is drawn in from the bottom of the enclosure and out of the top. With Silverstone's cases, this is often very effective, but in my experience it has less to do with natural convection and much more to do with the clear path air has to move through the heat-generating components. Part of the reason why the FT02 is one of the best air cooling enclosures around (if not the best) is because air has a straight shot from the bottom intake up through the (preferably tower) CPU cooler and out of the top of the case, with virtually no obstructions. As you'll see, the PC-A55 doesn't share this crucial design point.

Lian Li PC-A55 SpecificationsMotherboard Form FactorMini-ITX, Micro ATX, ATXDrive BaysExternal1x 5.25”Internal2x 3.5", 2x 2.5"CoolingFront-Rear-Top1x 140mm exhaust fanSide-Bottom1x 140mm intake fanExpansion Slots7I/O Port2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x MicPower Supply SizeStandard ATXClearancesHSF150 mmPSU160 mmGPU12.2" / 310mmWeight4.1kg / 9 lbs.Dimensions9.64" x 17.6" x 20.39"
245mm x 447mm x 518mmSpecial FeaturesUSB 3.0 connectivity via internal header
All-aluminum buildPrice$109

Lian Li advertises the PC-A55 as having a single USB 3.0 port and a single USB 2.0 port hidden under a door on the top of the case, but this is incorrect; the two ports share a single USB 3.0 internal motherboard header, and despite being black, the so-called USB 2.0 port does function at USB 3.0 speeds. Why they took the time to do this and advertise them as being different is beyond me.

As a whole, the PC-A55 is small and light, but because it supports ATX motherboards it's not quite small enough to notice the difference between a slightly larger, more standardized ATX case. Just the same, when we pop it open and assemble it we'll see that Lian Li made every single interior inch count; this really is about as small as they can get it while still accommodating ATX.

In and Around the Lian Li PC-A55 Introducing the Lian Li PC-A55 In and Around the Lian Li PC-A55 Assembling the Lian Li PC-A55 Testing Methodology Noise and Thermal Testing, Stock Noise and Thermal Testing, Overclocked Conclusion: Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should Print This Article 62 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment Classic Lian Li by KingKongDonkeyBong on Saturday, June 16, 2012 I'm a Mac junkie now, but rewind 4 years back and I used to build my own tower PCs like no tomorrow. I loved to pick out the best of the best components and put them together only to sell what I had done and start over again. To me, Lian Li has always stood for excellent looking aluminum cases, but they were bloody expensive then and are still today. I dreamed of a Lian Li case bak then, but I never got to build a PC with one of those beauties. :( It's great to see them still making top-notch stuff, though. Some of the better companies faded into oblivion, like SuperFlower. CoolerMaster used to make some good stuff back then, but no longer. :/ I'd put my money on Lian Li if I still had the passion to build tower PCs. KingKongDonkeyBong Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Dustin Sklavos on Saturday, June 16, 2012 ...did you actually read the review? Dustin Sklavos Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by JarredWalton on Saturday, June 16, 2012 I'd guess not. He looked at the picture and said, "That's a nice looking case!" Too bad it doesn't have the performance to back it up, unless maybe you just want to run a Core i3 CPU with now discrete GPU? Buying a $110 case for such a PC seems a bit much, though, and it still performs like A55. JarredWalton Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Brutalizer on Monday, June 18, 2012 There is a smaller ATX case, the Lian Li PC-V700. It is 21 x 40 x 50 cm. And it holds six 3.5" disks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lian-li-mid-case-... Brutalizer Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by yyrkoon on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 Yeah. I have a PC-G50. It is smaller than this ( 14.5" tall or so ), and has 3 3.5" drive slots. With the Add-on 4in3 bay adapter, I've had 7 HDD in it at one time. Plus it added a 120mm intake fan into the mix.

It is not the perfect case for a couple of reasons. but I am very happy with it. However, it is by far in my mind a better design compared to this.

Move the PSU horizontal, sideways, and reverse ( with perhaps an adapter cable going out to the back ). After removing the drive bay from the bottom of course.. Then add ventilation for the PSU intake, front, or side ( both ? ). Just thinking out loud here . . . Still lots of things could be done to improve this design. Obviously. yyrkoon Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by yyrkoon on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 My guess is that this person did not read / understand the article title. Never mind the article its self.

One thing you do have to keep in mind however. Individuals have a mind of their own. Just because you or one of your cohorts gives equipment a bad review. Does not mean that someone else has to agree.

And there is a lot to disagree with sometimes, from the articles / reviews presented here. Everyone's priorities are different. yyrkoon Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by wonderpookie on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Hehe, yea, I was just about to ask the exact same thing! Thank you for the in-depth and informative review, appreciated! wonderpookie Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by Flunk on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Lian Li makes some great cases, this may not be one of them but there are a lot of other models so if you like the look of this there probably is a case for you in there somewhere. I have a PC-9F that is quite similar but a bit bigger than this that's just great. Flunk Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by p05esto on Saturday, June 16, 2012 If you use Macs then what in the world are you doing on this site poser? This site is for computer enthusiasts and those into the latest and greatest, open standards and system, fastest machines around that can be upgraded and overclocked. Apple products don't fit under any of those headings. Maybe if we created an "overpriced preschool computing" Apple would fit nicely. No one wants Apple crap around here buddy. p05esto Reply RE: Classic Lian Li by tim851 on Saturday, June 16, 2012 Who made you boss, kid?

It sure was that guy Anand, who probably owns every Mac ever made. tim851 Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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