Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

Over the years we tested many fractal Design Chassis, some good, some average. The new Compact model falls in between the lot. It's a good decent and sturdy build with great build quality and lovely aesthetics. That said, not everything is peachy perfect as you'll quickly stumble into limitations of your PSU cables, or better explained where to tuck them away. I mean it all fits, but just barely. Good is the option for LCS coolers, less good is that if you'd go with a heatpipe cooler again, you'll quickly run into space restriction in hight of that cooler. Also, the 120+140mm fan has been designed with low acoustics in mind, ergo the performance coming from the two is a bit average. Probably Fractal design anticipated on that and that's where they decided to offer an included mesh top cover. As so often, Fractal design went for clean and dark looks, I mean have you ever spotted a Fractal Design logo throughout the photo-shoot? They are there though, but you can hardly see them. That fact alone kind of proofs that FD designed and thought through every little aspect of this chassis. It is a chassis series that appeals to me very much, purely from an aesthetic point of view to be honest. The features are plenty for any normal build you do only have two HDD slots, though admittedly the demise of the HDD is getting closer and two likely will be enough for the vast majority of people.

So is it any good?

The amount of airflow the chassis offers is a bit tricky to explain, there are plenty of vents, the panels that aren't glass are sound dampened. Luckily FD includes a top side panel mesh. It's going to be a little challenging to cool hot-running components as the two fans included while silent, isn't the best offer in airflow. However, that problem would be resolved if you'd use an LCS cooler in the top exhausting air to the top side. So if you build something more normalized, you should be totally fine and silent. There are bottom and front side intakes, so for most setups, it will not be a problem. Cable routing and management are done right and for a chassis of this size, I'd label it good even, however, space hat motherboard side is a little ample, and there is not a lot of space to tuck away cables. So a modular power supply is recommended alright. The overall build quality is extremely good, just lovely. The new side panel design is intricate with the tempered glass left side panel, the mounting system for the side panels is superb really, you'll so quickly take them out and re-insert them. 

Aesthetics

The looks then; hey, I already spilt the beans in the first paragraph, I like the new Define 7 Compact with its all dark colour and see-through finish, you can't argue about taste as it is the most subjective thing, which doesn't always make the job of reviewer any easier. Some will dislike it, and others will love this chassis for its looks. Every little aspect of the chassis has been thought through really well. The design of the chassis has been made to make your life a little easier while combining the best features an enthusiast crowd seeks in a chassis. The tempered glass will make you look inside the PC. Nice to see is that everything is color matching. Fractal Design kept things subtle with the logos an all. I would have liked to see some white elements in there, which in the past was Fractal Design's signature. Perhaps that's just my grasp to nostalgia though.

Features

The internals are decent, a normal-sized form factor motherboard will fit up-to ATX, the more lengthy graphics card will fit as well and there is space for liquid cooling on the front side and topside, the drive bay has space for two HDDs and/or two SSDs. The chassis has nice motherboard cut-outs and there's mucho enough space left for cable routing through the grommet holes, all in the interior. The gentle touch is the ability to hide cables behind the cover at the backside in that separate compartment as well as the usage of velcro straps. 

The Verdict

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact is a pretty one. But yeah compact does come at a couple of compromises, often to be found in real estate (component space) and airflow. That's not any different for this chassis. Also, you have seen that in our acoustic test the fans are silent but do not offer massive amounts of airflow, we think it's enough though even for a pretty okay PC.  There are meshes and air intake/exhausts to play around with. In a worst-case scenario, you might need to add a fan, though we doubt that will be required. Of course, if you'd mount LCS or regular liquid cooling there, you'd have that 'issue' covered instantly. The replaceable top cover with mesh helps here as a viable alternative as well of course. Overall the chassis is easy to use and relatively maintenance-free, with the easy to clean dust-filters where applied. You have excellent storage options alongside decent (at best) cable routing options. The one (nitpicking) gripe might be that ample space for PSU cables to tuck away as their HDD cages get in the way, but then again you can use that extender. Overall, we're certain you will not be disappointed with the Define 7 Compact, but you'll need to pick your components wisely. At 100~110 USD, we do think that Fractal Design has a splendid proposition here, for those that like a small yet powerful DIY build gaming PC. 

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