It's new, it's sexy and it's from Fractal! Let's take a look at the Bottom Spankingly new Define R6 From Fractal.
Fractal Define R6 Review
Fractal Define R6 Review
- Thread starter tinytomlogan
- Start date
It's new, it's sexy and it's from Fractal! Let's take a look at the Bottom Spankingly new Define R6 From Fractal.
Fractal Define R6 Review
Avet
Active member
Oh Fractal. This could have been the best case of the decade.
Things i like:
-All that Fractal white...
-White bezels on the glass. So many manufacturers (Lian Li, NZXT) just put black bezels on white cases. Not good. Thank you Fractal for not cheeping out on that.
-Modular front part. You can have R or S beautiful.
Epic fails:
-What is going on with the top? Why put that monstrosity there? Why eat up top radiator space? Just make it like Define S and give it magnetic filter in the box, and make moduvent from metal. No need for that bulky thing. You could have saved a lot of money from pintless tooling.
-Front.. OMG! Why put stupid CD drive bay and waste such a good case. Tom you said you wanted to mod that vent mesh onto it. Imagine white Meshify front on this one. I am getting funny feeling in my pants only by thinking about it.
Because of that transformer front thingy i assume that there wont be a new Define S. This is kinda both. All i think about now is how to bash metal mesh with a hammer just to make that front panel look good.
Every single review i saw of Meshify C was "How masterful is that front?!" and every comment was "Where is Meshify S?". And this case could be that one. And what does Fractal do? Slab a big BLACK metal plate on white case only to have CD drive bay in which you probably can't put ROG DAC, or Fan controller because the door wouldn't close over the knob. If there was no CD drive bay there would be no point for a door. And we could have white Meshyfy R5. Are you reading this Fractal???
I know R series was your most popular case. But that was decades ago. When we had 80GB HDDs and we needed 10 bays in the front so we can install games and have music on our system. And we needed CD drive bays, because internet was slow and games came in small plastic boxes. Cmon Fractal...
Tom please give me a hint if there will be Meshify S. I wont tell. PM me.
Things i like:
-All that Fractal white...
-White bezels on the glass. So many manufacturers (Lian Li, NZXT) just put black bezels on white cases. Not good. Thank you Fractal for not cheeping out on that.
-Modular front part. You can have R or S beautiful.
Epic fails:
-What is going on with the top? Why put that monstrosity there? Why eat up top radiator space? Just make it like Define S and give it magnetic filter in the box, and make moduvent from metal. No need for that bulky thing. You could have saved a lot of money from pintless tooling.
-Front.. OMG! Why put stupid CD drive bay and waste such a good case. Tom you said you wanted to mod that vent mesh onto it. Imagine white Meshify front on this one. I am getting funny feeling in my pants only by thinking about it.
Because of that transformer front thingy i assume that there wont be a new Define S. This is kinda both. All i think about now is how to bash metal mesh with a hammer just to make that front panel look good.
Every single review i saw of Meshify C was "How masterful is that front?!" and every comment was "Where is Meshify S?". And this case could be that one. And what does Fractal do? Slab a big BLACK metal plate on white case only to have CD drive bay in which you probably can't put ROG DAC, or Fan controller because the door wouldn't close over the knob. If there was no CD drive bay there would be no point for a door. And we could have white Meshyfy R5. Are you reading this Fractal???
I know R series was your most popular case. But that was decades ago. When we had 80GB HDDs and we needed 10 bays in the front so we can install games and have music on our system. And we needed CD drive bays, because internet was slow and games came in small plastic boxes. Cmon Fractal...
Tom please give me a hint if there will be Meshify S. I wont tell. PM me.
Last edited:
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
Is it me or should this be the perfect case after six revisions? Or does the perfect case simply not exist?
Avet
Active member
It does exist, and it is made by HEX-GEAR (in my opinion). This could be the one to take the throne (i'm a poet now) if only it had better front and top. Every other thing is perfect.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I can't say that HEX Gear don't make amazing cases, but I can't say they're perfect either.
Avet
Active member
That is typical for Scandinavian design. Simple but stylish. They not Cougar Conquer, but i find them elegant. Taste is different for everyone, and it is not something that you can objectively compare.
Avet
Active member
It is hard to define the perfect case. You have to please so many different builds. Many manufacturers try to please everyone, and try to follow every trend that they in the end screw up. For example everyone was praising Phanteks Evolv for that easy to install radiator bracket on top. bequiet! was then (to quote Tom) "Oooooh we must have that", and when they did have that they put it on Dark Base 700 which has 95% solid top with no vents. And they failed. You see manufacturers try to please the guy who wants RGB, PSU shroud, water cooling enthusiast, the guy who puts AIO in the top, one that is building home server, one that has no HDDs, and so on, and they fail.
HEX-GEAR has clear idea what their case should be and they have nailed it. Caselabs is getting there but they are still trying to do way too many things.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I don't agree with all of that, but I know what you're saying.
AlienALX
Well-known member
They certainly are not. A friend of mine on OCUK bought one and when it arrived none of it would line up. It may have had something to do with the fact it had "Made in China" slapped all over the box.
He was also very upset by the time it took to sort it out. IIRC they refused to send him a replacement and made him return it to Holland? before they would refund him. Not a pleasant experience TBH I was kinda disappointed at Hans for that.
They do look great, but most of what you have seen is not the actual case you end up with.
They're also very expensive too.
Those plexi cases look really nice in pictures, but I hear they aren't so nice IRL. A lot of them need proper finishing work due to sharp edges (even Parvum from what I hear). Love the look of them, but wouldn't touch em with a 10 foot pole. It would take one hell of a case to get me out of my Case Labs M8.
looz
Active member
There's no perfect case, most have so much wasted space. Meshify C is closest in my opinion while being affordable, but I've got plenty of nit-picking. 
The front grille should in my opinion be flat and protrude enough to fit fans outside the metal frame, yet behind the mesh. That would mean more space for a long graphics card with a rad in front. The HDD rack should also have better ventilation, though you can just modify the vent yourself. The mesh next to PCI-E slots could be replaced with a vertical GPU mount, there's space and some fractal cases already have that. PWM fans would be a bonus over the Fractal DC fans, too. The top rad support is awkward at best, they could make the case slightly smarter and abandon hopes of even a 240mm rad there, or give more space and make 280mm a real possibility.
But of course only 2 3.5" bays, incompatibility with EATX and questionable custom loop possibilities make the case not suitable for everyone.
The front grille should in my opinion be flat and protrude enough to fit fans outside the metal frame, yet behind the mesh. That would mean more space for a long graphics card with a rad in front. The HDD rack should also have better ventilation, though you can just modify the vent yourself. The mesh next to PCI-E slots could be replaced with a vertical GPU mount, there's space and some fractal cases already have that. PWM fans would be a bonus over the Fractal DC fans, too. The top rad support is awkward at best, they could make the case slightly smarter and abandon hopes of even a 240mm rad there, or give more space and make 280mm a real possibility.But of course only 2 3.5" bays, incompatibility with EATX and questionable custom loop possibilities make the case not suitable for everyone.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
First fractal case I'm genuinely not sure if I like it or not. I'm indifferent.
Avet
Active member
There's no perfect case, most have so much wasted space. Meshify C is closest in my opinion while being affordable, but I've got plenty of nit-picking.
But of course only 2 3.5" bays, incompatibility with EATX and questionable custom loop possibilities make the case not suitable for everyone.
The point is that we need to have more differentiated categories of cases.
One for non-enthusiastic builds. Slap the AIO in, or air cooler. Like Meshify (Define) C only it should have more room at the top so you could put AIO there and have higher memory sticks, or have the room in front for bigger air cooled card than the reference one and fit AIO at the front. PSU shroud so you can use sleeved cable extenders. Compact, lovely, good looking.
Other one is for enthusiastic builds. Room at the front, room at the top for radiators, and reservoirs. Ample airflow. No PSU shroud (or easy removable) because you want to show off those full length sleeved cables. Again like Define S with more room at the top so your radiators would align, and don't have to block half the motherboard with those offsets. Better airflow at the front, and no moduvents top.
Cases now are trying to please both, and end up failing for both. If you are the first one you put AIO at the top and have half the case empty with unused HDD brackets and mounting points everywhere. If you are the second you end up cutting, and fabricating half the case .
Wraith
Bettyswollocks
Love the steps taken to move the top rad mounts closer to the side panel, top work Fractal now we can use higher profile memory. Absolutely adore the top vents and the front vents, very Venetian or 80's sports car inspired rear window vein style. I thought the Define S was a stonking chassis, the C has its flaws and I've been sort of holding out to see if they'd do the Meshify front as an extra and maybe even a tempered glass conversion.
Only 2 things I'd like to see which would make this perfect and in all seriousness I'd smash the "buy it now" button right now if it came with the meshify front panel and as stated in the review a blanking plate for the PSU cover. It is so close to being a master piece and the perfect enthusiast chassis.
So close..
Only 2 things I'd like to see which would make this perfect and in all seriousness I'd smash the "buy it now" button right now if it came with the meshify front panel and as stated in the review a blanking plate for the PSU cover. It is so close to being a master piece and the perfect enthusiast chassis.
So close..
Surfie
New member
Personally, they've nailed it for me, except for two things.
1 - the front should have no cd mount, and be meshify-ed. I would also accept the front panel being white. Either way: no door, no optical slot.
2 - that black interior... On a white case... Omg...
I don't care about the hole in the psu cover; it would be filled with my rad and res anyways.
Those two things, and i would abandon my custom cube case, and replace my Define S with it.
As it is though, I would need to invest in some white paint, and some extra screws to get that door closed permanently.
So now I'm in a quandary on which imperfect option i actually want: this, or my custom build case...
Wraith
Bettyswollocks
Agreed, Fractal has done it again and thrown a spanner in the works. I was quite happy planning and searching for "The One" and then this.. :huh:
Surfie
New member
Agreed, Fractal has done it again and thrown a spanner in the works. I was quite happy planning and searching for "The One" and then this.. :huh:
For me, it's the cost. At that price, i want something I don't need to do anything to.
The tin of paint, the couple of screws - not a big deal, but at this price, those two things should already not be needed.
Given that i would need those anyway for my case: it's just puzzling out. I think I'll go with the cube: if just for the experience. The cost will be lower. And keep this as a fallback in case i mess up big time.
Edit; if it comes in at the same price as the define S though, consider me sold. Just need to see what price the e-tailers slap on it.
Last edited:
Avet
Active member
I hope they follow previous trend. First there was R5 and everyone was OMG!, few months latter we got The S. If we get Meshify variant i am pitching a tent in front of the store. Delivery takes too long.
Surfie
New member
Yep. Meshify, tempered glass, psu cover, and in white, then the S would be perfect IMO.
