E
xternally,FractalDesign’srecentcasesdon’tappear
tohavechangedmuchfromtheirpredecessors,
butthecompanyhasbeenbeefingupaccessory
packs,customisationoptionsandfeaturesquitesignificantly
comparedwithitsATXtowersfroma yearortwoago.The
Define7 CompactfollowsonfromthelargerDefine7 case,
whichwe’llhopefullybereviewingsoon,butit sportsa much
lowerpricetagand,asitsnamesuggests,a smallervolume.
It measuresjust21cmwideand42cmlong,whiletheDefine
7 stretchestoover 24 x 54cm.It’sa suitablyspace-efficient
case,then,butyoudolosesomeofitslargersibling’sfeatures
asa result.There’snofanhub,nomulti-purposebracketsfor
harddisksandpumps,noverticalGPUmountandnooption
tostackharddisksinthefrontwithoptionalbrackets.There’s
muchlessspaceforwater-coolingradiatorstoo.
However,manyofthebestfeaturesremain.Yougettwo
casetops,cateringforsolidorventedroofoptions,andthey
evenfitaroundthefrontpanelports,replacingtheentireroof
eachtime.What’smore,therooffanmountsandtheframe
beneaththemcanalsoberemoved,alongwiththecasetop.
Niftily,thiswholesetupmeansthe entireroofsectioncanbe
peeledawaytomakebuildingyourPCfareasier.Giventhe
compactdimensions,thisfeatureis perhapsevenmoreuseful
herethaninthelargercase.TherearesixVelcrotiesspread
around the back of the motherboard tray too, so you shouldn’t
need many fiddly cable ties to anchor your cables.
Meanwhile, the side panels, one of which is tempered glass
on our sample, can be removed without tools. They pop into
place using metal pins, with small but handy grips at the rear
to pry the panels open. If you don’t need the tempered glass
panel, a solid panel version of the case is available for around
£10 cheaper than this model.
The side other panel is covered in noise-absorbing foam
and, to prevent dust ingress, the case sports pull-out filters
in the base and roof. The brushed aluminium front panel is
closed at the front, but uses large side vents to allow air intoREVIEWS / CASES
SPEC
Dimensions (mm)
210 x 427 x 474 (W x D x H)
Material
Steel, plastic, glass
Available colours
Black, white
Weight
11kg
Front panel
Power, reset, 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 2, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, stereo, mic
Drive bays
2 x 2.5/3.5in, 2 x 2.5in
Form factor(s)
ATX, micro-ATX
Cooling
3 x 120/2 x 140mm front fan mounts (1 x 140mm fan included), 1 x
120mm rear fan mount (1 x 120mm fan included), 2 x 120/140mm
roof fan mounts (fans not included), 1 x 120mm base fan mount
(fan not included)
CPU cooler clearance
169mm
Maximum graphics card length
341mmBROADBAND
Good cooling
Features focused
on build process
Customisable roof
panels
DIALUP
- Only two hard disk
mounts - CPU cooling isn’t
chart-topping - No lighting
AT X C A S E
FRACTAL DESIGN
DEFINE 7 COMPACT
/£107inc VAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukcc
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