Fractal Define 7 Review - The ultimate home server chassis?

[@CraftComputing]

Minor correction, because I can't count (again). The Define 7 actually holds 14 3.5" hard drives. I missed an additional HDD sled mount when counting. Even better value for the money!

[@PriceyBuilt]

Also, the R6 holds up to 11 x 3.5" drives, not 8

[@Romnipotent]

How many 2.5" drives can it add in excess to the 3.5's?

[@equintar]

​ Romnipotent , in specs mentions about two included brackets exclusive 2,5" and another two additional (not included), so I think you can add 4 to the count.

[@Will-ws6gb]

buy fourteen 3.5 to 2.5 dual ssd adapters and you could have 28 drives.

[@evilepiceye]

this build looks simple.. and that case looks horrid! you should get a case like i have, so many things you can do with it.. its in my videos..

[@hilldog95]

That revolving shot at 6:28 of the different configurations seamlessly put together is super neat dude

[@TheCptnOfFail]

I can have glass, cooling, a DVD drive, all my hard drives, and cable management? Hell yes i'm in.

[@nanolog522]

I found myself having to constantly switch cases as my hard drive count increased. The D 7 will stay for a while.

[@dorrzun685]

I always love how solid your videos are! You maintain an air of professionalism and honesty through your disclaimers and mannerism. It’s genuinely enjoyable to watch your reviews!

[@reecehanson3952]

FYI, You can mount an AIO in the front even with HDDs installed (see Define 7 Manual).

[@ScottFitton]

"It's like Blue Moon made a light beer." Nope. Hard pass.

[@yoonseo-kang]

Excellent review. Thank you for mentioning that the Define 7 comes with 4 HDD mounting trays.

[@ziaride]

A lot of nice improvements over my old R5. Really like the side panel latching from the top vs the back, mine can be a pain in the butt to align properly in tight quarters under the desk not to mention getting those screws back in after it's closed.

[@CYBONIX]

Omg... I was driving and had to pull over to comment on this video. I about DIED when I saw the look on your face drinking that beer! Love you show! Awesome review on the case!

[@rdsii64]

After transferring my daily driver to a Rosewill 4U rack mount chassis I can’t go back to vertical case. The ease of getting inside to add a drive or whatever is too much to give up. This is one of the better vertical cases though

[@freakyweirdo92]

Hi there.. i got a question, hopefully you can enlighten me. i just bought the fractal design 7 and i'm trying to screw in the hard disk to the trays provided. Added the rubber spacer and screwed it in with the slightly long screw. However, the hdd still have some small movement in it even after tighten all screws. is this by design? thanks in advance

[@duckdodgers2843]

Do you have any tutorials on building a fairly powerful home server / NAS from scratch for noobs? I'm no computer guy, but would love to learn how to build a home server with multiple VM stations to cover things such as a plex, private DNS, etc, etc. Sadly, I have no idea where to start or what equipment to buy that would suit my needs. In addition, I know drives can be pretty expensive so I'd like to start small, but build it in a scalable way. This case, maybe the XL version, seems like it would be great for the type of project I'm interested in.

[@ja8020]

Oh my word. I picked up the white 7 and what a case. I’m old school and have a Blu-Ray drive and a bunch of SSD and hdd drives. This is a quality and versatile case. Best I have owned so far. The review is spot on and I just like looking at it. Massive fanboy. And thanks god it doesn’t have LED #*%+%*#. Great review and content. Keep it up.

[@guywhoknows]

Ohhh . You kind of hard me sold at solid design. Improved. Multi configuration. Price is good too. Wonder if that will translate to our GBP.?

[@MasterOfMisc]

Just found your channel. Love the review. Im interested in this case for a NAS and you said you recommend that case for that. But what motherboard would you recommend to put in the case to support that many drives? Thanks in advance.

[@darylmorse]

Thanks for the review. How many 3.5" drives do you give up if an optical drive is installed? Not clear if the optical drive takes the space for one or two 3.5" drives.

[@martinrandall3735]

Excellent review - this is the first case I've considered buying for over ten years, mostly down to the drive bay configuration as a smallish a home server.

[@180doman]

Seriously you need 14 or 12 or even 10 drives setup at home? Im curious what kind of uses require that?

[@martinrandall3735]

@@180doman Photos, large video files, ISO images of CDs and OSes. VM storage for my homelab. Currently have 30TB+ over three NAS units.

[@Parker9357]

I just subscribed. Your video is excellent. Fades and transitions - outstanding. Content very good, almost as smooth as my Guinness Stout, Cheers!

[@datapro007]

I prefer the R5 over the 6 and 7. It has a more solid construction, no logo, comes with 8 x 3.5 drive sleds, and at $129 is the better value. Did I mention 2 x 5.5 bays? Also, the R5 has no PSU shroud. Yay!

[@atlanteean]

was looking for a case to upgrade from my (still wonderful) Phanteks Pro M, because i plan to buy some additional 8TB HDDs. this is superb, aesthetically and functionally

[@csguak]

I have the XL version. It's one the only few that can fit Arctic Liquid Freezee ii 420mm radiator. Very quiet home gaming machine.

[@federalist46]

The floppy coaster is a nice touch. The faces you made were very similar to my first and last taste test of any Stone Brewing Co. product.

[@zoomzabba452]

Ahh Stone. The AC/DC of hop profiles.

[@skozzy1968]

can you do max drives and still fit a 3 fan video card and a top mounted 3 fan water cooler or what about a 2 fan water cooler and 3 fan video and 1 bluray, how many hdd's can fit then

[@mr_beezlebub3985]

I love Fractal's mesh cases, so hopefully they'll make a mesh version!

[@VIPERRED229]

Please fully configure the case with HDDs so I can see what cable management is handled.

[@justDIY]

X2 show it loaded up with drives and fans please

[@asdf51501]

Ok, I like the case review + beer review format. And your reaction to the beer was hilarious. :)

[@TheRogueBro]

Damn... That's some smooth editing in this one! I went with Jason's advice on a small home server enclosure tho. The Slverstone DS380B. Had some issues with it, but it's been a great case!

[@KayJay01]

Damn, I *just* bought an XL R2a couple months ago, and now this (specifically the XL version) comes out and has 18 (!!!!) HDD mounts, compared to the XL R2's "measly" 10. Now I'll have to take it all apart, spend another ~$220 on a new case, put it all back together, and have a case just lying around as it's outside the return window.

[@lee__1707]

Great review, Could this case fit a RTX 3080 Gigabyte Eagle OC 320mm card with the hard drive trays in place?

[@Haki1112]

Another solid review I got the meshify c and wanted to upgrade to something else. This just might be my go to case

[@Andrew_M_Ward]

(New Subscriber) Hey, at least you kept giving the beer an honest chance... and the Fractal is on my shortlist of cases - love the flexibility and build quality

[@RubyRoks]

I don't care for the new design language, but the define line is so minimalistic, you really wouldn't notice unless you were staring at it. If i were just scrolling passed it on a website, it'd look identical to the 6, and the 5, and the 4

[@lachiu1]

I'd seriously look at either a rackable chassis or a cooler master storm trooper (se for TG), it can hold up 12 3.5" and 4 2.5" by default, if you get cheaper cages from ebay you can have up to 15 3.5" drives and with the 2.5" cage from the non se version you can have, I believe, 8 2.5" drives on the TG version.

[@oscarcharliezulu]

The ultimate home server would be a Cray, but putting that to one side, this is a big black box with space for lots of drives. It looks like their other ones. How mod worthy is it? Beer review really awesome!

[@shadowtheimpure]

Hmm...might be a good case to replace the Node 804 I'm currently using for my storage server. The uATX form factor is very limiting

Thumbnail: Check out the Define 7 Me: Cool. Another SpaceX Boca Chica video has dropped and they've finished the VLB

[@sjftech]

Interesting that you had no problems with an air cooler CPU temperature wise. Most reviews seem to say that without opening the front door, the temperatures were pretty high.

[@jasonhowe1697]

i have to ask where do you 7x 3.5" i count 5x 2.5" and plausible 4-6x 3.5 inch under the hidden area what the psu goes noting that you would have to add a sata raid card ti cater past the onboard sata given a min 1 sata slots are shared with the m.2 sata/nvme drives..

[@hughw.]

Thank you for th video! Makes Leap day a better day!

[@Strickland325]

I’d like to see a meshify version of this case. The meshify s2 is basically the same case minus the hard drive area

[@raiscl]

GlutenFree white? Weird is the adjective I first would think of... BTW, I also like FD Node 804 for home server, has tons of drivers and space for fans, My only problem is the drive cage over the PSU has a tight fit.

[@Mdipinto13]

I really wish it came out earlier... I really dig it, but I bought another case already.

[@Barrosy]

I own a Fractal Design Define R4 case, a problem which I'm having is that I like the amount of storage space there is available, especially with the bays that come with it. Thing is that when using an AIO, the bays are required to be removed. Now I can only install like three drives to make sure the radiator of my AIO fits on the front of the case. The R4 doesn't offer any side glass panels, which I would like to change up. Are there any cases out there that meer similar requirements I am looking for? I also like the reset button and the 2x 2.0 USB and 2x 3.0 USB on the front (4 total).

[@jjasic]

Can You put a 360 rad on top or front of the case + having a 5.25" drive bay? Thx

[@NTATchannelNickTaylor]

I lived in Germany for almost 4 years. Hefe Weizen and most Bock bier is very cloudy. Pils and Crystal Weizen is klar.

[@mattiaippolito1625]

Does exist some sort of hot swap hdd backplane for this case????

[@hotstovejer]

I can not wait to get my hands on a XL. Big boy build, here I come!

[@Perplexer1]

Does anyone know of any hands-on review of Define 7, showing clouse-ups of the connectors of the front panel USB ports and stuff like that? I'm tired of seeing these basic reviews which are all the same.

[@liangzhou8611]

I enjoyed your reaction and comment to the beer like a lot!

[@espi8997]

2x1 review. I don't see a massive improvement over the R6 or Meshify S2. The key features are still there, they simply tweaked some things for the better (TG panel, top radiator mount....). Overall another solid option which continues the successful Define RX legacy.

[@soucouyant]

Awesome Video. what's your recommendation for a multi-drive case under $50-75. Thanks a Million !!

[@CraftComputing]

Not a lot of options in that range. Best bet is the upcoming InWin C200. $79 and holds 4x 3.5" drives. You can expand capacity using the 2x 5.25" bays as well.

If you don't mind an older case, the Cooler Master N400 has 7 3.5" internal slots and 2 5.25" ones if you require further expansion pcpartpicker.com/product/wNrG3C/cooler-master-case-nse400kkn2

[@RealLargeManTheGiantOne]

As Enio says, most older cases have plenty of drive bays, so if you don't mind one of those you can probably find plenty.

[@ruinerschwinkler962]

all videos forgot try to install an optical drive or 5 1/4 front panel?

[@jscancella]

How do you feel about the node 804 for a nas case? I am thinking about using it for the small factor but can still hold 10 drives

[@questionablecommands9423]

As fantastic as this case _really, truly_ is, the only feature I've ever really wanted in case was a box that clipped into a drive bay for holding expansion slot covers and spare screws. These days, I can 3D print such a thing, but it seems like such an obvious addition to me...

[@SianaGearz]

Box? When i made customer PCs, i'd put them a ziploc baggie with extra screws, and just taped it down somewhere on the side panel or the floor. If it's my own PC, the extra bits just go into the mainboard box.

[@questionablecommands9423]

@@SianaGearz I've always done the motherboard box thing, but it's been the case, far too often, that I swap hardware around and would loose track of which expansion slot covers were in which box. Really, I just want a clean way to keep that stuff with the right case without hunting for the part with the right sheet metal stamp or matching cut-outs.

[@SianaGearz]

@@questionablecommands9423 Ah OK i never could afford enough hardware to lose track of it :(

[@Gilinator]

There is one thing I hate about my R6 and that's the overtightened screws that just strip too easily.

[@OldNorsebrewery]

I would like to build a freenas server. Since I`m a beginner in this pc building I want to know how to attach 18 drives to the motherboard? I believe MB supports 4 sata connectors? Anyone with a solution?

[@CraftComputing]

You'll need what's called an HBA, or Host Bus Adapter. It's a stand-alone SATA controller. Don't do with a RAID card, as TrueNAS needs direct access to the drives. To get up to 18 drives, you'll need to add 16-ports to the PC. Each of these cards can run 8x SATA drives, so you'll need two: amzn.to/37jOB8n You'll need four of these cables to connect the drives (2x for each card): amzn.to/35e5SgV And these are handy for running power, you'll need four of these as well: amzn.to/37jOLN1 I'm assuming you're going to be running 2x drives for the OS, and 16x drives for storage. Connect the 16x drives to the HBAs, and the 2x OS drives to the motherboard. After that, you should be good to go.

[@OldNorsebrewery]

@@CraftComputing Thank you for your quick reply. I will follow that tip when I build. I have just a couple more before I commit to buy expensive stuff that might not work. I´ve read somewhere that MB can´tr work with huge disks? and may not work with several huge disks? and that some drives will not work in a raid larger than 6 drives, but other disks will? I´m not tech savvy at all so I´ll ask all the dumb question. Hope you can clear up a few things before I start to buy stuff. Cheers

[@180doman]

If your storage needs require 14 drives then most probably you should choose something much more appropriate than home server in atx case anyway. . For home use those 4/6/8 disk bay Cases for ITX mobos from aliexpress are more than enough. Personally i have Micro case with 6x2.5" disk shelf in 3.5" bay and i have only 2 x 1tb drives in RAID1 as nextclod (mainly) server.

[@David_Quinn1995]

now I know what case I am getting for the home server.

[@BrandensOutdoorChannel]

Best Define 7 review

[@thebigzapfer8696]

2:18 Howdy, so just to confirm out of the box could I mount 2 GPU horizontally as shown?

[@sneekeruk]

Thats a dual slot for a single gpu. and its vertically, it still has normal slots for horizonal mounts off the motherboard.

[@thebigzapfer8696]

@@sneekeruk Thanks but still unclear, as he has it setup in the video, could you run 2 GPU's out of the box or do you need the extra bracket/adapter he mentioned? Or is that just for vertical install?

[@sneekeruk]

@@thebigzapfer8696 It would be a single pcie slot on a ribbon to mount it vertically, horizonally it would be fine as your just plugging straight into the motherboard as usual.

[@haroldmemes6987]

Is that the dark tinted or light tinted tempered glass?

[@Bradl3y42]

Anyone know the GPU clearance while using the storage layout?

[@NYCamper62]

According to spec sheet; GPU max length • Storage layout: 315 mm, 491 mm open layout, 467mm open layout with fan

[@mcmcx5514]

Can you remove the IO shield from the top and the feet as well or are they fixed?

[@andrewjones3606]

Is this the define 7 or 7xl in video

[@PhilipWojcik]

can you use hot swap bays in the case?

[@VedranKlemen]

You cannot fit 4th gpu because of psu cover. The same is on Define C.

[@justDIY]

Any idea when or if this is hitting Newegg or Amazon? Is it a concept case for a trade show and not in production?

[@CraftComputing]

It was just released last week. It'll show up very shortly.

[@Dragon151415]

I can personally atest,i loved building in the define r6 tg,it was an absolute dream and cable management was a plenty

[@M1America]

But.... Its not rackmount

[@Michael-OBrien]

ICY DOCK has a 3x2.5” drive bay sled. So if you want SSD storage, that’s 52 drives…

[@tommytomtomtomestini3894]

SOLD! Ordering 2 of them :D

[@asdf51501]

I'm a fan of Fractal's design aesthetic. :)

[@Bewefau]

why didn't you show the cd rom ?

[@pducharme]

It can hold 12 HDD on the master bay, 4 more at the bottom and 3 in the top, 1 in the rear ! So a total of 20 drives!, Linus just made a video about it and he added 20 HDD. Edit: sorry i thought it was the define 7 XL...

[@Byrthor]

I bought the 7 XL to be my new home server chassis. Unfortunately, I have to wait until the drive trays start shipping from coronavirus-land before moving my system into it.

[@coryandrum]

H440 by NZXT holds 11 drives for like $70 if anyone is looking for a slightly outdated budget sever/back up gaming rig. Got a used 100 dollar r7 1700 on a cheap x370 with 2 old 970's. I did not want to buy a nice new case just to stick in a dusty basement....

[@josephjohnson6626]

were does the dvd go?

[@mncllama]

Blue moon did just come out with a light beer! 😂😂😂

[@mncllama]

It's called "blue moon light sky" btw, and honestly won't be surprised if John shows up with some for talking heads lol

[@CraftComputing]

Don't give him any ideas...

[@blackmennewstyle]

My only beef with Fractal Design is that their cases are insanely hard to find on my side of the world :'(

[@stormshadow9002]

i got the XL but definitely should have gone with the standard size its huge lol other than that no complaints its a fantastic case

[@TheDeeGeeNL]

I really wish they sold a light panel...

[@giovannip.1433]

Personally I like lots of ventilation on my cases. Front looks nice but blocks air flow...

[@skaal_]

Do the Define R6 drive sleds work in the Define 7?

They seem to be the exact same sleds.

[@thomasschraubt7497]

Still waiting for a EATX case from Fractal :(

[@JaiPhoto83]

The R6 supports that.

[@CraftComputing]

MOST Fractal cases support EATX. I have a Vector RS and a Meshify S2 both with EATX boards installed within 15ft of me.

[@awesomearizona-dino]

Nice Case...i just got an H1 from NZXT...cant wait to start on it

[@coryandrum]

What did you get for a gpu?

[@awesomearizona-dino]

@@coryandrum Well, nothing yet...not a gamer, just day trading (btw bad now)..i want an 8 core ryzen, prob 3700 becuz its only 65 watts..maybe 1660 video card. want to run some VMs too.

[@coryandrum]

@@awesomearizona-dino Oh, that's cool! I was really considering upgrading to the H1, but my gpu is too big. In every video i saw they use the founders edition of the higher end cards.

[@buggatiauston873]

There is only one question about the case design. only one dilemma.... How will HDDs feel with this type of installation? I mean, only 3 points of hard contact with the case? After how much time will your HDDs die due to other vibrations, including those created by the hdds themselves or random impacts on the case)) I would not recommend this case for reasons of data security and disk health. These things are extremely sensitive, and over time and generations, they become even less reliable, more complex and sensitive to external influences... If you don't care, or you change disks every 2-3 years, or use raids, or use backups. Or are able to create such conditions for disk operation, in which neither the case nor the disks have anything to fear. Then this case will probably suit you for a home NAS. Otherwise, you are an ordinary user who assembles an ordinary PC in this case, not a server...

[@SianaGearz]

But can you insta... 6:20 OH THANKS YEAH EXACTLY!

[@sasquatch6237]

Such a cool case!

[@paul2609]

They made the look worse than the Define R6, why is there a tramp stamp on the bottom left of the front panel now? What are there random hole pattern shapes? They couldn't decide minimalism or sporty look, it looks bad and incoherent.

[@jarsky]

The Define R6 can hold 11 x 3.5" drives. Mine has 10 because I have a triple AIO that takes up the 11th slot.

[@TheDuerden]

Hey, I enjoy your videos, but your popping sound of your intro logo is way too loud. Can you fix that for future episodes? It worryingly loud for my speakers.

[@tcntad87]

Yea, they better make a rack version of it:) Or just make a much shorter version

[@equintar]

Fractal... The Case Case for a FreeNAS build by default for a pretty performance in silence. I think you, Jeff, oversized your build with your cooler. Don't you?

[@nathanscarlett4772]

Lol Blue Moon did make a light beer! I'm sure it's gross.

[@dzenny9950]

this case dont have power led for hard disk.. too bad

[@mrb3991]

Hi, and ijust bought the Lian li II , dam it

[@yfs9035]

I've been very happy with my cheap rosewill case that I bought a really long time ago. It holds 6 HDD'... My $140 Corsair doesn't do that... and I think I got it for like $30

[@notname3790]

but u can get a p600s for the same price

[@ryn5302]

i like you still finish some brew u dont like ^^ no waste ^^

[@dreamingflurry2729]

XL all the way! - Why? Because I am one of those old school people who insist that a PC needs (two!) optical drives and the regular Define 7 only allows for one -.- Air-Cooling (I'd rather spend the money a watercooling system costs on a better CPU and GPU! Especially since watercooling can go wrong and aircooling really can't - unless you are a dumbass IMHO!) all the way...BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4 :)