Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid ATX Case
Fractal’s flagship quiet case: sound-damped steel panels, a hinged aluminium front and room for six hard drives.
The Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid is a mid-tower case built for quiet running. Both side panels and the top are industrial sound-damped steel, the front is anodised aluminium on a reversible hinge, and the whole case opens up to expose the interior for building. It takes E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards and offers one of the most flexible storage layouts available. It suits workstations, home servers and quiet office or editing PCs rather than showcase gaming builds, and Punch can build a new system into it.
Noise and cooling
Three Dynamic X2 GP-14 140mm fans are supplied, two at the front and one at the rear, running through the included Nexus+ 2 fan hub. There are nine 120mm or 140mm mounts in total: three front, three top, two bottom and one rear. Radiators up to 420mm fit in the roof, 360mm at the front, 280mm in the floor and 120mm at the rear. With the ModuVent top panel in place the case is closed for silence; swapping it for the ventilated panel opens up the top for radiators or exhaust.
Storage and clearances
Six universal 3.5in/2.5in brackets are included, with fourteen positions available, plus two dedicated 2.5in trays (four positions) and a 5.25in bay. Graphics cards up to 470mm long fit in the open layout, CPU coolers up to 185mm tall and power supplies up to 250mm long with the drive cage fitted. Seven expansion slots are provided, along with front, top and full-length bottom dust filters.
Build and connectivity
Cable routing is handled by grommets, fixed velcro straps and 30mm of space behind the motherboard tray, and thumbscrews are captive so they do not get lost. The front I/O offers one USB Type-C 20Gbps port, two USB-A 5Gbps ports, two USB 2.0 ports and separate audio and microphone jacks. Empty weight is 13.5kg and the internal volume is 57.7 litres.
Ideal for
- Quiet workstations and content-creation PCs
- Home servers and NAS-style builds with many hard drives
- Office systems where noise matters more than lighting
Specifications
- Case type: Mid tower
- Colour: Black
- Part number: FD-C-DEF7A-01
- Materials: Steel chassis and sound-damped steel side panels; anodised aluminium front
- Motherboard support: E-ATX (up to 285 mm), ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
- Dimensions (L x W x H): 547 x 240 x 475 mm; volume 57.7 L
- Fans included: 2 x Dynamic X2 GP-14 (front), 1 x Dynamic X2 GP-14 (rear); Nexus+ 2 fan hub
- Fan mounts: Front 3 x 120/140mm; top 3 x 120/140mm; bottom 2 x 120/140mm; rear 1 x 120/140mm
- Radiator support: Top 120/140/240/280/360/420mm; front 120/140/240/280/360mm; bottom 120/140/240/280mm; rear 120mm
- Max graphics card length: 470 mm
- Max CPU cooler height: 185 mm
- Max PSU length: 250 mm with HDD cage fitted (ATX)
- Drive bays: 6 x 3.5in/2.5in universal brackets (14 positions), 2 x 2.5in trays (4 positions), 1 x 5.25in
- Expansion slots: 7
- Front I/O: 1 x USB Type-C 20Gbps, 2 x USB Type-A 5Gbps, 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A, audio jack, microphone jack
- Dust filters: Front, top, full-length bottom
- Cable routing space: 30 mm
- Net weight: 13.5 kg
