Fractal Design Define R4

Enclosures and acoustic damping to help quiet them.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Devonavar

Post Reply
silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Fractal Design Define R4

Post by silenceorgtfo » Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:41 am

I was considering buying it because my current case is a NZXT and there is some vibration that is driving me insane since I bought it like 2 years ago. The fan noises are also annoying.

But then I've read here the R4 has no HD activity LED. WHAT where they thinking? :?
A LED HD activity is essential and very useful to know if the computer is doing something or not. Waste of case.

[Mod: Split post into a new topic]

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Wed Jan 09, 2013 7:08 am

It looks like there is a cheap work around. Some guy connected the cable the LED cable to the HD activity one in the motherboard and it blinks

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1728271

Did anyone try it?

edh
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:49 pm
Location: UK

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by edh » Wed Jan 09, 2013 7:26 am

silenceorgtfo wrote:But then I've read here the R4 has no HD activity LED. WHAT where they thinking? :?
A LED HD activity is essential and very useful to know if the computer is doing something or not. Waste of case.
Not everyone needs one. Not everyone can see their computer in use anyway in which case it would be wasted. I'm all for disconnecting LEDs nowadays just out of anti-bling, efficiency and reducing cable clutter.

Mxx
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:39 pm

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by Mxx » Wed Jan 09, 2013 8:45 am

silenceorgtfo wrote:I was considering buying it because my current case is a NZXT and there is some vibration that is driving me insane since I bought it like 2 years ago. The fan noises are also annoying.

But then I've read here the R4 has no HD activity LED. WHAT where they thinking? :?
A LED HD activity is essential and very useful to know if the computer is doing something or not. Waste of case.
While the lack of an hdd activity light is silly, I solved this problem simply by connecting power light to hdd activity pins. Even case's manual states you can do that. :lol:
I don't need a light to know when my puter is on, so it's not a loss.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Wed Jan 09, 2013 8:56 am

edh wrote:
silenceorgtfo wrote:But then I've read here the R4 has no HD activity LED. WHAT where they thinking? :?
A LED HD activity is essential and very useful to know if the computer is doing something or not. Waste of case.
Not everyone needs one. Not everyone can see their computer in use anyway in which case it would be wasted. I'm all for disconnecting LEDs nowadays just out of anti-bling, efficiency and reducing cable clutter.
You said it, not everyone but some need it. Sometimes you open a program, it gets stuck and you dont know if its still loading or if the program has frozen. No hdd led = retarded imo.

edh
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:49 pm
Location: UK

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by edh » Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:21 am

silenceorgtfo wrote:Sometimes you open a program, it gets stuck and you dont know if its still loading or if the program has frozen. No hdd led = retarded imo.
OK, but a lot of software doesn't have high HDD load anyway and with SSDs the HDD loading time is very short so the HDD LED becomes less relevant in knowing whether a program is working or not. What if the program has a massive memory leak and starts paging to the hard disk? Then your HDD LED is going to be going crazy even when the software has failed. This is a really bad way of telling if a program is running or not.

You could instead check in software what tasks are running on your computer or run from the command line and view what happens in the terminal. An HDD LED as a workaround for poor software is a pretty poor workaround.

Oh, and please I know the term 'retard' is used a lot on the Internet but it is a little unkind on people with mental problems. The work stupid would have been fine and not discriminated against anyone.

mkk
Posts: 687
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:51 pm
Location: Gefle, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by mkk » Wed Jan 09, 2013 5:38 pm

Feeling a need for a HDD led would mostly come from habit really. It would be flashing pretty constantly in many systems too, and all would be well. Get an SSD or fix the broken system to avoid long waits. Even the power led is pretty redundant, but too many would complain about that one missing.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:48 am

edh wrote:
silenceorgtfo wrote:Sometimes you open a program, it gets stuck and you dont know if its still loading or if the program has frozen. No hdd led = retarded imo.
OK, but a lot of software doesn't have high HDD load anyway and with SSDs the HDD loading time is very short so the HDD LED becomes less relevant in knowing whether a program is working or not. What if the program has a massive memory leak and starts paging to the hard disk? Then your HDD LED is going to be going crazy even when the software has failed. This is a really bad way of telling if a program is running or not.

You could instead check in software what tasks are running on your computer or run from the command line and view what happens in the terminal. An HDD LED as a workaround for poor software is a pretty poor workaround.

Oh, and please I know the term 'retard' is used a lot on the Internet but it is a little unkind on people with mental problems. The work stupid would have been fine and not discriminated against anyone.
Not everyone uses SSD yet. Lots of times during load times of demanding games I thought "this crashed" but then when I was about to ctrl+alt+del it I looked at the HDD led and it was blinking. So I just waited a bit more and it loaded.

Also, personally I work with audio, so I need massive storage drivers (just got a 7200 rpm Seagate of 2TB), sometimes you dont know if your DAW is loading a sample or if it got stuck. HDD led makes you more patient. If it wasnt for HDD led I would have gotten pissed up a lot of times at long loading times thinking the program just crashed when it didn't.
Last edited by silenceorgtfo on Thu Jan 10, 2013 5:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:48 am

mkk wrote:Feeling a need for a HDD led would mostly come from habit really. It would be flashing pretty constantly in many systems too, and all would be well. Get an SSD or fix the broken system to avoid long waits. Even the power led is pretty redundant, but too many would complain about that one missing.
I dont have money for both SSD and R4 now.

mkk
Posts: 687
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:51 pm
Location: Gefle, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by mkk » Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:42 am

Then skip the case, SSD is more important. :mrgreen:

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Fri Jan 11, 2013 5:28 am

I know. Im still running XP :roll:
My plan is to get an SSD of a decent size enough to fit in Win 7 + games installed, and have the regular disks as data storage. I guess 300GB would be enough for the SSD.
Thing is, im going nuts with the vibrating sound and fan sounds. I hope to get it solved asap with the R4.

Olaf van der Spek
Posts: 434
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:10 am

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by Olaf van der Spek » Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:00 am

silenceorgtfo wrote:Also, personally I work with audio, so I need massive storage drivers (just got a 7200 rpm Seagate of 2TB), sometimes you dont know if your DAW is loading a sample or if it got stuck. HDD led makes you more patient. If it wasnt for HDD led I would have gotten pissed up a lot of times at long loading times thinking the program just crashed when it didn't.
Does stuff crash or get stuck so often for you?

CA_Steve
Moderator
Posts: 7650
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Jan 13, 2013 12:33 pm

silenceorgtfo wrote:I know. Im still running XP :roll:
My plan is to get an SSD of a decent size enough to fit in Win 7 + games installed, and have the regular disks as data storage. I guess 300GB would be enough for the SSD.
300GB is overkill. 128GB works fine for this - just store the unused games on the HDD.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4 launches

Post by silenceorgtfo » Mon Jan 21, 2013 5:52 am

Olaf van der Spek wrote:
silenceorgtfo wrote:Also, personally I work with audio, so I need massive storage drivers (just got a 7200 rpm Seagate of 2TB), sometimes you dont know if your DAW is loading a sample or if it got stuck. HDD led makes you more patient. If it wasnt for HDD led I would have gotten pissed up a lot of times at long loading times thinking the program just crashed when it didn't.
Does stuff crash or get stuck so often for you?
I've had the HDD for a week and its working great. XP managed to read the 2TB without doing anything fancy.

I expect to not hear a thing once I get the R4.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4

Post by silenceorgtfo » Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:11 am

Btw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVDyMTJ334I

Anyone knows what is that?

edh
Posts: 1621
Joined: Mon Mar 17, 2008 1:49 pm
Location: UK

Re: Fractal Design Define R4

Post by edh » Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:24 am

silenceorgtfo wrote:Btw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVDyMTJ334I

Anyone knows what is that?
My answer here:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=65760&p=570959#p570959

kaitracid
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:31 pm

Thermalright True Spirit 120 Rev A in Fractal Design Define

Post by kaitracid » Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:41 pm

Hello, can anyone confirm that the "Thermalright True Spirit 120 Rev A" CPU cooler fits into R4? It seems that the dimensions are 133 x 77 x 160 mm and on Fractal Design website they say that "CPU coolers up to 170mm tall (when no fan is installed in the side panel)".

Aside from that, any opinions on the cooler? Is there a better choice in this price range?

LE: I bought the True Spirit and it fits nicely.

silenceorgtfo
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2012 3:39 pm
Location: Spain, Europe

Re: Fractal Design Define R4

Post by silenceorgtfo » Tue May 14, 2013 10:33 am

Finally pulled the trigger, will arrive this friday. Cant wait to retire my old noisy case. That vibrating noise is driving me insane lately plus the fans. It's interesting how when I bought it years ago it seemed so quiet compared to my older one, and now I can't tolerate it anymore. I hope the R4 is near silent.

HellDiverUK
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:56 am

Re: Fractal Design Define R4

Post by HellDiverUK » Thu May 16, 2013 5:17 am

Little mod I did with both my Define XL and Define Mini.

Remove the front facia.
Remove the 3mm Blue LED
Replace the 3mm Blue LED with 3mm Green LED
Glue 3mm Red LED with lead (ripped out of old scrap case) to side of clear plastic button surround, beside the Green LED. I used hot glue.

Now the clear plastic part glows Green during normal operation, and flashes red when the HDD is working. Looks very neat, and isn't the distracting blue of the standard light.

Post Reply