IT SEEMS we’re long past the days of
Fractal’s iconic Define series. With
the launch of its Vector RS chassis, it’s
left a lot of questions among the tech
community as to where the company is
heading. Compared to the prestigious
Meshify and Define R6 cases, the Vector
RS is somewhat lacking. Both the quality
of the materials and the design decisions
fail to keep up with modern expectations,
and those failings don’t help justify that
$180 price tag. Yet before we consign
this to the sin bin, let’s look at what it is,
exactly, that’s grinding our gears.
At first glance, and on Fractal's
website, the Vector seems to be a stylish
chassis. Its clean sharp lines convey
a sense of modernity, following in the
footsteps of the dramatic Meshify series.
Its angular roof, solid front panel, and
melding of tempered glass, RGB, and
metal bring it to life in a way that, from
the site at least, give it some serious
character. In real life, however, things
are not so good. The black glass is prone
to fingerprints, the angular roof less than
desirable, and the standard painted steel
that lines everything else attracts every
mark going, and is something we’re more
used to seeing in the sub-$100 market.
Some may find it stunning, but it’s just
not that appealing to us especially with
the likes of the Phanteks Evolv X and
NZXT H710i costing around the same.
Then there’s the airflow. To be fair, the
front of the chassis has a good half inch
of ventilation running down either side,
but there’s not a whole lot front or top.
In its default configuration, you get just
two 140mm fans, the same ones found in
the Define R5 and R6, and that’s about it.
The roof panel is also a solid tempered
glass affair, but Fractal does include a
replacement mesh option with additional
mounting for a top rad, too.
The interior layout is as strong as we
saw in the Define R6, which launched in
late 2017. Mostly because it’s identical.
For those keen on 3.5-inch hard drives,
this supports up to 11, with six included,
all mounted in the front of the chassis;
the drives and caddie are removable toCompromises and
direction changes
Fractal Design
Vector RS
6
VERDICT Fractal Design Vector RSNEW ARCHITECTURE Strong
internal layout; good level of
hardware support.
14NM+++++++++ Poor default airflow;
pricey; two-year-old internal design;
below-par materials.
$180, http://www.fractal-design.comSPECIFICATIONSForm Factor Mid-tower
Motherboard Support E-ATX (up to 285mm),
ATX, microATX, ITX
Colors Available Black
Window Available Windowed only:
clear and smoked
3.5-Inch Support 11 (6 included)
2.5-Inch Support 4 (2 included)
Radiator Support 360mm front, 420mm
roof, 120mm rear,
240mm bottom
Fan Support Up to 3x 140mm front,
3x 140mm roof,
1x 140mm rear,
2x 140mm bottom
Dimensions (WxHxD) 9.2 x 19.6 x 21.7 inches
Graphics Card
Clearance
17.3 inches
CPU Tower Clearance 7.3 inches
Weight 27.87lballow for better airflow or liquid-cooling
support. But bear in mind that if you do
take that route, there’s no obvious way of
hiding the cables from the front I/O and
any fans behind it, once the towering HDD
structure is gone.
You also get two 2.5-inch hard drive
mounts on the back of the motherboard
tray, a full-length PSU cover, plenty of
rubber cable grommets, and mounting
locations for a vertical GPU (for which
you need to buy a separate adapter).
Once you’re past the poor quality
materials and aging interior design, and
have circumvented the airflow issue with
some powerful static pressure optimized
fans, the Vector RS is quite pleasant to
build in. We didn’t find any major foibles
outside of having to rigorously cable-
manage our front fans.
The thing is, the Vector RS is just a
two-year-old case design with some new
panels and RGB thrown on top, and that’s
not good enough. You can pick up a Define
R6 for $142 now, so you’re paying $40
more for some angular external panels.
This might have been fine back in 2017,
but when you have the likes of the H710i,
Evolv X, Lian Li PC011-Dynamic, Silent
Base 801, Enthoo Luxe II, and H510 Elite
all nipping around the same if not lower
price point, it makes the Vector RS feel
utterly lackluster. Unless you absolutely
need 11 3.5-inch drives, the Vector RS is
one to be missed. –ZAK STOREYmaximumpc.com DEC 2019 MAXIMUMPC 89