VERDICT
If youwanta compact,understatedcasewithbigcooling
potential,it doesn’tgetmuchbetterthanthis.OVERALLSCORE
86 %
COOLING
25 / 30
FEATURES
16 / 20
DESIGN
28 / 30VALUE
17 / 20TEMPERATURE RESULTS
The CPU delta T of 54°C was enough to match the
Thermaltake H550 TG ARGB, but the better-ventilated
Phanteks Eclipse P600S offers superior CPU cooling, with a
4°C lower delta T, albeit with a little more noise. The be quiet!
500DX is also much better here, and includes some seriously
funky RGB lighting and a more spacious chassis.
The GPU delta T of 42°C is much more competitive, though,
leaving the Thermaltake H550 TG ARGB way behind, and
close to matching the best results of the NZXT 510 Elite and
bettering the be quiet! 500DX, thanks to its large 140mm front
fan pointing straight at the graphics card. Sadly, swapping the
top panel for the vented one only saw 2°C fall off the CPU delta
T – we suggest sticking with the closed panel unless you’ll be
installing extra fans or radiators in this location.Conclusion
As with most closed front panel cases, the Fractal Design
Define 7 Compact doesn’t top the cooling charts, but its stock
fan configuration still does a good job of feeding your CPU and
graphics card with air. You can certainly get away with using
the case in its stock configuration, even if you plan on building
a high-end PC.
There’s plenty of scope for expanding the cooling, though,
thanks to a well thought-out interior, and there’s ample space
for a modest water-cooling system too. The swappable top
panel is a nifty touch, as is the fact that you can remove the
entire top section for easier access. The be quiet! 500DX
offers more bang and pizzazz for your buck, but if you want
a more compact, understated case, it doesn’t get much
better than the Define 7 Compact.
ANTONY LEATHERthe case. Popping the front panel off is fairly easy, and doing
so reveals two pop-out filters, which are much easier to
clean than the fixed mesh in many cases of this type. You
also get full-fat USB 3.1 Type-C support on the front panel,
plus a generous count of four Type-A ports.
Out of the box, there are two fans included – a 140mm
model in the front and a 120mm fan in the rear, which is
how we’d ship the Define 7 Compact if we made it too,
although another front fan would be welcome. The front
fan area can cater for 360mm or 280mm radiators with a
width restriction of 145mm, or a trio/pair of 140mm fans.
However, thanks to a pair of pop-out plates in the PSU cover,
there’s an additional 120mm of space behind the front fan to
install a radiator.
A radiator in this area will quickly eat into the graphics
card clearance, though, which stands at 341mm, but there’s
plenty of short-PCB models out there. The roof can house
a 240mm radiator too so, despite its size, the Define 7
Compact can house a potent water-cooling system,
whether you opt for a DIY setup or an all-in-one liquid cooler.
If you’re building an air-cooled system, there’s 169mm of
CPU cooler clearance, which caters for most air coolers,
including very large models such as Corsair’s A500.
Finally, there’s space for two hard disks and two SSDs,
which is standard for a case of this size and is enough for
most people, unless you have a handful of hard disks to
transplant from your old system. None of these mounts
is tool-free, though, so you’ll need to deal with numerous
screws, but they’re at least vibration-dampened.
Performance
The Fractal’s fans proved to be extremely quiet out of the
box, spinning at under 1,200rpm at full speed, but shifting
a reasonable amount of air. They lack PWM connectors,
though, so you’ll need to head to your motherboard’s EFI to
make sure they’re not fixed at full speed.
CPUDELTAT
FractalDefine7 Compact 54°C
NZXT 510 Elite 49°C
bequiet!500DX 50°C
PhanteksEclipseP600S 52°C
ThermaltakeH550TGARGB 54°C
0255075100GPUDELTAT
FractalDefine7 Compact 42°C
NZXT 510 Elite 41°C
bequiet!500DX 44°C
PhanteksEclipseP600S 45°C
Thermaltake H550 TG ARGB 48°C
0255075100Lower is betterLower is better