Fractal Design Define C, Tempered Glass

This feels like a nearly perfect case!I really like the fractal design Define series - the steel doors are made of thick steel that doesn't flex.They have a design that makes them easy to get on and off, there are no annoying tabs to line up when putting the doors back on.I like the clean look of the front panel.Working in the case is a pleasure with no sharp edges, and ample room for cabling in the back.I picked the C for a combination of it's size and sound absorbing qualities. The C is just about 18" tall and fits under my desk, whereas I don't think I could have fit a taller case. The C is also of limited depth, which means I can push it farther back under my desk, which is a plus so I don't hit it with my chair.From a noise perspective, the case is perfect. Since the case is near me, I did not want to remove the top piece as it has sound deadening material, and I worried that an open top case would make me more likely to hear the components inside.While the case can accommodate liquid cooling, I went for Air Cooling using a Noctua NH-D15S which fit in the case perfectly.The case comes with one rear 120 and one front 120 fan from Fractal and I added 2 more 120 fans to have 3 fans in front, this lowered temps on both the CPU and GPU. It's pretty normal for components to report temps of 33C during office use, and even doing video transcoding (GPU Based) temps seemed to stay in the 50's for the GPU and CPU, and I really couldn't hear anything over the rest of the noise in the house, with the case on the floor and me at my desk.This is not to say the case is 100% silent, I know if I get on my hands and knees I can hear the gentle whir of air, but the room's gotta be really quiet, AC/Furnace has to be off, etc for me to even hear that. Both my Power Supply and Video Card have the option to turn off fans completely under low load, but the case is so quiet, I opted to keep the fans on for both since I can't hear them anyways.The lack of Optical Bays doesn't bother me - in fact my intention is to never use a sata cable in this case - NVMe PCI storage goes cleanly on the board and leaves the case free of the traditional rats nest of wires going everwhere.That said this case does have room for 3x 2.5" and 2x3.5", so it could hold quite a bit of storage internally if that was needed for something like video editing.I have built several PC's in my lifetime and one of my biggest long term complaints over the years has been PC Case side panels. It's not something you often think about when you are making a decision on a case, but it turns out to be really important in the long run. The fractal design define series doors are perfect! They are heavy steel that doesn't bend and flex when you take them off, and they don't have any of those annoying tabs you need to line up. I can get them on or off in seconds. This is such a small detail to write about, but if you've ever built a PC and had to manage trying to line up tabs on the bottom and top while sliding a panel forward you'll appreciate this feature for sure.Prior to this I had an NZXT 500 case and while that case looks nice, it wasn't nearly as nice to work with, and it felt cheap in comparison to this one (It's also a bit cheaper case so that's fair) oh and the NZXT case was MUCH louder.Summary:I whole heartedly recommend any case from the fractal design "define" series!The series has models in multiple sizes with and without windows, so there's bound to be one that fits your needs!

This is a very well designed compact ATX case. The small volume, compared to other typical ATX cases, makes it easy to fit under or above your desk. I have it above a medium sized desk 48"x28.5" and I still have plenty of space left. The build quality is excellent for it's price point (I bought it for $90+tax). I got the solid model because I don't waste time looking inside of my case. Plus I don't want my oily fingerprints on the tempered glass.Cable management is pretty good. There are places to put cables ties and 2 velcro ties are already provided. All the cables can be laid out to avoid a spaghetti mess if you put in some effort.In terms of noise, I have a Scythe Fuma 2 CPU cooler, a NVIDIA GTX 1660, and a 3.5" HDD. I do not have the top cover open and it's nearly silent except when my GPU goes under full load. It's hard to tell there is noise unless you put your ear 1-2" away from the case.I have one complaint, which is the screws. Some of the screws are really tight and take some effort to remove.Another caveat is that the case can only handle one HDD even though it has space for two. The HDD tray is located at the bottom right next to the PSU cables. It can get really cramp down there and there is not enough airflow to keep the HDD cool. Either have one HDD or use SSDs. I already have one HDD failed due to temperature (granted it was 5 years old, but the heat accelerated its demise).Overall, I really like the case. I highly recommend it if you want something compact and silent, and you only have ATX boards. If you want something smaller, you could have gone with mATX or mini ITX boards.

First off, my RGB kit is beautiful through the tempered glass window. The colors left me amazed the first time I turned my PC on. I was very surprised by the amount of space inside of the case compared to how compact it is. Mounting the motherboard was a breeze. Excellent amount of room for cable management and I love how the have the angled wire slots as it makes getting into tight areas with large cables much easier. All of the front USB panels and audio ports work perfectly (previous Fractal case had issues with the 3.0 USB ports). I love having my SSDs mounted behind the motherboard panel and using the PSU shroud to hide lots of unnecessary cables. Plenty of room for my GTX 1070 and a Corsair h105i water cooler but this also sacrifices in other areas leaving me with only two complains mostly related to sizing.Complaint 1: The fans fit, but the slots for screwing in the bottom fan do line up with the case's slots. This is kinda frustrating now I just have an unused fan but I should have read the product description better.Complain 2: The case sits so low to the ground that I cannot even place my fingers underneath of it. This is very bad if you use carpet in your room because the PSU will be in danger of overheating. I have tried placing the computer on cardboard to help give it a more stable flooring but a harder and less malleable surface is needed. I also have found that the case is not too soundproof. You can definitely hear them but most of the time it does not bother me. It's always good to know how fast your fans are running.Overall I do love this case. Aside from my complains, looking into the glass pane and seeing all the RGB colors still amuses me. The style, design, and appearance is everything I look for in a computer case. Anyone can benefit from this case unless you want to pack 8 fans and have multiple graphics card then I would look for something that has more room. On average my computer is around 90°F ( current temp right now) at idle and can reach 120° while playing modded Skyrim and Overwatch so airflow and cooling is not an issue at all. Just remember to clean the glass!Pros: Excellent design, great airflow, attractive appearance, cable management room, accessibility, and of course the glass panel!Cons: Limited fan space on front panel, computer legs slightly too short (use cardboard or wood underneath if you have carpet), not very soundproofComputer Specs:Asrock x370 TaichiAMD Ryzen 7 1700x @ 3.8Ghz 1.36vG.Skill Trident Z RGB 2400Mhz 16Gb (2x8)mx300 Crucial SSD X 2WD 1Tb HDD hybrid X 2Corsair 750M PSU120mm Fan x 3 (2 on top, 1 in back)140mm Fan x 2 ( 2 in front)