Product Showcase
At the backside of the chassis we notice the big hole in the motherboard tray. No it's not done to save on money and weight, this is actually a CPU back-plate cutout which allows you to remove and install a new CPU cooler much easier. Typically you'd need to take out the motherboard to install a new cooler, now you can access it from both sides without that unpleasant experience of removing a motherboard from the chassis. Very popular with many chassis manufacturers these days alright.
BTW once removed, we can see that the right side panel has been protected with sound dampening material. The left side panel with window does not have this padded in there. We assume that the closed model / SKU will have the same padding on the left side panel as well though.
There is decent space for cable routing here, not dramatic heaps of it but in-between the motherboard tray and backside panel a good 3 cm in the more narrow region, not bad and definitely something that has improved over last-gen products from FD.
We still need to talk about the top side. It is a bit of a marketing feature I agree, but meet ModuVent technology. Basically you can remove the top panel piece by piece.
Basically that allow for the option of additional cooling or maximum sound absorption. And there you have it you guys, the Define S, the first product in the Fractal Design Define S lineup.