Building on the success of its award-winning Define XL case, the updated Define XL R2 includes the same cooling and ventilation capabilities as well as excellent expandability.

Especially around this time of year, it’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the consumer world – the bells and whistles, the gimmicks, the distractions - sometimes it’s hard for us to keep track of the key things we were looking for.  If this is a concern, the Define XL R2 is the way to go.  It sports a slew of high-end features and tons of space, but the aesthetic design is very minimalist in nature.  No fancy lights, no bold patterns or colours.  Plain and simple, this is exactly what a case is – a whole bunch of sheet metal bent and formed and engineered into the specifications necessary to not only house all your major components, but keep them safe and cool as well.

Now, don’t let that mislead you – the case is minimal strictly in appearance.  Fractal took care to make an excellent case that has an updated internal layout versus the original Define XL that offeres greater expandability, modularity, and flexibility.  It has room for up to nine PCI cards and has two HDD bays that can be repositioned if you need just a little bit more space for a water cooling radiator.  The case is made from a high density noise reducing material and the sides are reinforced with what is essentially a form of asphalt, creating a much more dense sidewall and therefore providing optimal sound reduction.  For cooling concerns, there’s a number of features to note: Fractal Design’s patented ModuVent design, allowing the choice between optimal silence or optimal airflow, three included Silent Series R2 fans featuring hydraulic bearings for longer life, and a three-speed fan controller with support for up to three fans, and accomodations for water cooling solutions in the front, top, rear, and bottom, without requiring major modifications.  Tooless front fan mounting makes changing over to your preferred brand of fan a breeze.

Full specs:

• ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ATX, E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboard compatibility
• 4 – 5.25″ bays
• 8 -  3.5″ HDD trays – all compatible with SSDs
• A total of 9 expansion slots
• 3 – ModuVent™ plates – two in the top and one in the side
• 7 – Fan positions (3 fans included)
• Filtered fan slots in front and bottom
• CPU  coolers up to 170 mm tall (when no fan is installed in the side panel)
• PSU compatibility: ATX  PSUs up to 190 mm deep when using the bottom fan location; when not using this  fan location longer PSUs (up to 345 mm deep) can be used
• Graphics card compatibility: Graphics cards up to 330mm in length with the top HDD cage installed – With  the top cage removed, graphics cards up to 480mm in length may be installed
• 26 mm of space for cable routing behind the motherboard plate
• Thick  rubber grommets on all holes on the motherboard plate
• Colors available: Black Pearl, Titanium Grey, Arctic White
• Case dimensions (WxHxD): 232  x 559 x 560mm
• Net weight: 16.4kg
• Package dimensions (WxHxD):  322  x 637 x 655mm
• Package weight: 19kg

The Fractal Design Define XL R2 will be available starting in early February 2013, and at $129.95 USD MSRP, the Define XL R2 is a full size tower that delivers all of what you need and none of the unnecessary bells and whistles, so to speak.  More details available at the Define XL R2 product page.