WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:07.839 This video is brought to you by the Intel Core i5 4670K unlocked processor. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:12.639 Add an Intel 520 series SSD to your Haswell system for unbelievable overall 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:17.359 performance. The Fractal Design Define XL is so large that I had to No, I'm 00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:21.279 just kidding. Actually, I raised my table a little bit. We're going to lower 00:00:19.439 --> 00:00:25.600 that. Uh, welcome to my unboxing and first look at the Define XLR2. This case 00:00:23.439 --> 00:00:29.840 from Fractal Design is pretty much as B-roll put it before we started. Is this 00:00:27.680 --> 00:00:36.960 kind of like the Define R4 but bigger? And I said yes. Yes indeed. It is an XL 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:43.040 version of their Define series case that has that same Scandinavian clean lines 00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:46.239 look to it. And B-roll is indicating to me that the microphone's over here. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:50.879 Thank you for that. Um has that same Scandinavian clean lines look to it but 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:57.120 in a larger enclosure. So, this case only supports four 5 and 1/4 in bays and 00:00:54.000 --> 00:01:01.280 eight 3 and 1/2 in or 2 and 1/2 in bays. 00:00:57.120 --> 00:01:03.280 So, in terms of sort of mere mortal 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:07.200 expansion, the kind of thing most normal people would do with their systems, it 00:01:05.199 --> 00:01:13.200 doesn't really seem to offer that much over the Define R4. 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:16.320 However, and there goes the chandelier. See, it is actually quite 00:01:16.600 --> 00:01:22.720 big. There we go. However, when you get into some of the more exotic things you 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:27.759 might want to do with your system, like liquid cooling, for example, that is 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:30.560 where the XR XL really shines. So, we've 00:01:27.759 --> 00:01:33.759 got a very hard foam here. Not my personal favorite. However, it does 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:40.000 compensate by at least being quite thick. So, hopefully your case won't 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:45.360 undergo more than one significant impact on its way to you, particularly if you 00:01:42.479 --> 00:01:48.479 have a system built and loaded into it. So, there we go. We're done with the 00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:52.479 packing material there. comes with a plastic sleeve over top that is of 00:01:50.720 --> 00:01:57.600 course, and this is very important, folks, recyclable. Okay, got that 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:01.680 recycling logo on there on my side. You couldn't see it before, but don't worry 00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:07.360 too much about that. All right, the case itself. So, for the sake of getting sort 00:02:04.479 --> 00:02:12.640 of a an idea of the scale of this case, go ahead and take a step back. This is 00:02:08.640 --> 00:02:15.760 what it looks like next to a hulking 6'4 00:02:12.640 --> 00:02:17.200 figure of masculine unbelievably. No, 00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:21.760 actually I'm I'm 5'6, so that should give you a better idea of how big the case actually is. So, we're going to go 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:28.319 ahead and peel off the front. It is available in black or titanium gray. In 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:29.760 terms of the door, it's pretty much what 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:34.160 you'll expect if you've ever seen a Defined Series case before. So, there is 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:37.599 noise dampening foam on the inside of the front door here that helps some of 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:42.480 the noise that would otherwise escape from the front be harnessed and used for 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:47.040 good rather than evil. We've also got toollessly removable 5 and a/4 in bay 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:50.800 covers. Hopefully I can. There you go. See, the thing about toolless 5 and 1/4 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:54.239 in bay covers is that you have to not be a tool in order to remove them and put 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:57.120 them back in correctly. So, if you guys uh if you guys aren't able to do it, 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:02.560 don't feel too bad, but you're you're a tool. Uh so, no, I'm just kidding. At 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:09.840 the front, we've got two 140 mm cooling fan spots with built-in filters that you 00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:12.319 can go ahead and do that with. Okay. You 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:16.560 also have the option to mount 120 mm fans here using the optional holes. But 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:21.599 you can see that the toolless mechanism that uses clips right here to mount the 00:03:18.640 --> 00:03:26.480 fan is only available with 140 mm fans. The case itself includes their new R2 00:03:24.480 --> 00:03:31.599 series fans which have better bearings than the older fans. They spin at 1,000 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:34.480 RPM which is in line with the cool and 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:38.959 quiet but mostly silent, mostly quiet theme of this particular case. You can 00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:46.879 also see that there are mounting options right here for 140 or 120 mm things from 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:48.400 the inside as well. More on that. Look 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:53.120 at this. I'm using the word tool. I'm using the word I'm not trying to 00:03:50.959 --> 00:03:57.599 say anything about, you know, the case. Don't worry. Good case. Fractal Design 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:02.879 makes good stuff. I like it. All right. Up at the top of the case, two USB 2.0 00:04:00.959 --> 00:04:07.200 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a power button, a reset button, a headphone 00:04:04.720 --> 00:04:12.640 jack, and a microphone jack. Also, on the top of the case, we have two modu 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.640 vents. So, these are for 140 mm fan 00:04:12.640 --> 00:04:18.560 slots as well, and you can either leave them in for optimal silence or you can 00:04:16.320 --> 00:04:22.160 take them out for better cooling. Also, for cooling are these vents on the 00:04:20.239 --> 00:04:26.800 front. So, down both sides of the front of the case, there is airflow access for 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:31.120 that front fan because if it was up to the door, nothing would be getting 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:37.360 through. No window on this particular case, but we do find another modu vent. 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:39.120 Oh, there we go. With a 120 or 140 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:43.759 millimeter fan mounting option available to it, but it's screwed into the 140 mm 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:49.759 fan mounts. And finally, let's move around to the back where we've got 00:04:45.440 --> 00:04:52.320 another 140 or 120 mm fan mount IO as 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:59.199 well as nine PCI slots. So you can fit your XLATX motherboard in there and your 00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:01.360 firstborn child and a muffin and 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:05.040 probably some like cigarettes if you're trying to hide them from your family. 00:05:03.520 --> 00:05:10.160 Not that I condone smoking. It's terrible for your computer. Never mind your lungs. I mean, it's bad for your 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:14.960 computer. That should be all the reason you need to stop. That tar gets into 00:05:12.400 --> 00:05:18.639 your heat sinks and your fans and gums them up and makes it so they don't work 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:23.039 very well. And heaven forbid you smoke and you have pets because then you're 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:26.400 going to have tar and hair in your heat sinks. And let me tell you, heat sinks 00:05:24.479 --> 00:05:30.080 don't work very well when they are full of tar and hair. Speaking of things that 00:05:28.400 --> 00:05:36.479 are full of tar and hair, actually these are not full of tar and hair, but they are high density noise dampening pieces 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:40.240 that go on both the left and right side panel of this case. They increase the 00:05:38.320 --> 00:05:45.199 weight of the case significantly, but they also make it more resistant to 00:05:42.960 --> 00:05:50.080 noise passing through it. So, I consider that a good thing. especially given that 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:52.560 it's a silence optimized case, which I think I've mentioned at least a couple 00:05:51.280 --> 00:05:55.680 times. Now, here's the other one. So, you can see that modu has a slightly 00:05:54.320 --> 00:05:59.600 different kind of foam on it. It's a bit of a a lower density foam. So, it has 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:05.120 some you can press it in a little bit there, but it's thicker to compensate 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:08.960 because we all know, what did I say when I did my unboxing of the 900D? It's not 00:06:07.280 --> 00:06:13.680 about the length, it's about the girth. There you go. All right. Inside the 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:17.120 case, we find five four five and a quarter inch bays rather and no toolless 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:20.960 mechanisms on them. That's kind of an interesting one. Those have been standard for a while. Personally, I 00:06:19.520 --> 00:06:24.960 don't care. The last time I mounted something in a 5 and 1/4 in bay, it was 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:29.759 a gerbble and I wasn't planning to use it for anything useful cuz what can a 00:06:27.440 --> 00:06:34.400 derbal do that's useful? Nothing. Let's go ahead and take off these. This is 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:39.039 what I was alluding to on the inside. So, you can go ahead and remove these 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:44.199 thumb screws, and that allows you to achieve something very interesting, 00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:46.400 which I'm buying time before I get 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:50.880 to. Let's see if I can take this off. There we go. All right. So, you can 00:06:48.400 --> 00:06:55.759 reposition the drive cages. So, you can open this up to get more airflow access 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:59.599 for your graphics cards. So, that front 140 mm fan, you can see, is right there, 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:04.080 and that will allow it to blow directly on your graphics cards. This also gives 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:10.160 you access to the Aha. Yes, those mounting points there. So, the Define 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:14.720 XLR2 supports a 240 or 280 mm radiator 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:17.039 in the front, a 240 or 280 mm radiator 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:23.759 up here in the top. It also supports a 120 or 140 mm radiator in the back, and 00:07:20.479 --> 00:07:26.560 a 140 mm radiator in the bottom of the 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:32.080 case without much difficulty whatsoever. So, it is extremely flexible in that 00:07:29.039 --> 00:07:35.360 regard. Radiator support on this case is 00:07:32.080 --> 00:07:39.120 extensive. It supports a 2x1 120 mm 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:40.800 radiator in the front, a 2x120 or 2x40 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:46.160 if you're using a slim radiator in the top. It supports a single 120 or 140 mm 00:07:44.479 --> 00:07:49.199 radiator in the back. Although I'd say 140 might be a little bit little bit 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:52.880 tight, but you might be able to kind of figure it out in there. And a single 120 00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:57.599 in the bottom. However, it should be noted that in the bottom here, did I say 00:07:55.520 --> 00:08:01.199 140? Cuz I meant 120. in the bottom here. You might have a little bit of 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:05.520 difficulty with that if you decide to reposition the front hard drive cage. 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:09.759 So, this hard drive cage, let's go ahead and close that. Can move in about this 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:13.759 much, giving you the ability to install thicker radiators up there, no problem. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:18.160 But that will obviously interfere with this fan. And then this hard drive cage, 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.599 which I showed you before, can either be installed the way that it was out of the 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:27.319 box, or check this out. It can be installed this way, giving you a good 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:30.400 compromise between airflow 00:08:27.319 --> 00:08:31.919 and well, basically airflow, but you 00:08:30.400 --> 00:08:38.399 sacrifice aesthetics a little bit because instead of the hard drives plugging in in the back of the case back 00:08:35.680 --> 00:08:41.200 here, there we go. They plug in from the inside of the case where you would be 00:08:39.680 --> 00:08:45.760 able to see them if you had a window on the chassis, but we don't. So, not too 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:50.640 worried about that. Also, on the back of the case, we find lots of other things. 00:08:47.760 --> 00:08:54.880 We've got a large CPU cutout as well as cable management holes for your 8 pin, 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:58.800 your, you know, I don't know, other pin, your 24 pin, your six pin, your 8 pin, 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:02.720 your other more different 8 pin, uh, your U front connectors. So, these are 00:09:01.040 --> 00:09:07.120 all black cables, which is nice to see. There's your front USB, there's your 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:12.240 front HD audio, there's your front USB 2, as well as your power and reset. All 00:09:10.160 --> 00:09:17.279 things that you will most assuredly need. The case does have built-in fan 00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:22.320 control that I missed when I was at the front here because I totally forgot. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:24.080 12vt, 7V, and 5V are available with 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:28.560 three different positions on the switch. And these can be plugged into three 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:33.839 separate fans. Conveniently, the case includes three fans. Boom. Mind blown. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:38.640 So, you plug that in using this guy right here. So, there's Molex power for 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:43.760 that, as well as the four three pin connectors for the fans themselves. I 00:09:41.839 --> 00:09:48.320 think that is pretty much going to wrap it up for the Define XLR2. Thank you for 00:09:46.880 --> 00:09:53.279 checking out my unboxing. Let me know what you think. Would you prefer the 00:09:50.800 --> 00:09:57.920 compact functionality of the Define R4, which is significantly smaller than this 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:02.720 guy, or do you prefer the largess and the flexibility to add more advanced 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:06.160 cooling options to the case or a longer motherboard or more graphics cards? And 00:10:05.040 --> 00:10:10.560 would you go with something like the Define XL instead? Don't forget to 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:18.079 subscribe to this tech tips. Don't forget to like the video. It helps me out a whole lot. And just trying to 00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:22.640 think. Ask them to comment. Ask them to subscribe. Ask them to 00:10:19.800 --> 00:10:38.909 like. I could use a new hat while we're at it if that's not too much work. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:51.570 Heat. Heat.