Case Layout and Details
Contents
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This is the front of the case, you can make out the 3 white fans there. We can also make out some vents along the side.
Removing the front panel, we can see the fans are Prisma AL-14 PWM Addressable RGB fans.
We can also see the filter pulled out a bit. In order to remove the front panel, we have to slide the bottom filter out a little. It is also necessary to remove the front panel to remove the film covering the glass on the inside. It is a bit of a needless pain I would say to have that film on the inside, since removing the panel is not incredibly easy, though it is in the build video in case you are curious.
The side vents to let air in are almost an inch wide, which is great to let some air in. The vents are on both sides.
Since the side panels do no t need to be unscrewed to be removed, you can pull on these 2 handles circled in red, to remove the side panel. If you chose to, Fractal Design included extra screws if you preferred to screw them in, but since it clamps shut, it is not required for a stationary machine. It might be a good idea though to screw them in if you have kids, just in case.
The push-to-Local latching system has the peg circled on the bottom of the pic that snaps into the latching mechanism circled at the top of this image for a bolt free design. There are 2 of these pegs on each of the side panels on both sides as well as the latching mechanism.
Removing the scratch resistant tempered glass side panel, we have the inside of the case. Let’s get a better look at what it has to offer.
Along the front of the case, we can see the rear side of the 3 x Prisma AL-14 PWM Addressable RGB fans. The motherboard side has what looks to be vents, but actually those are the spots for the reservoir brackets as well as the rear side of the drive cages. We will get into the drive cages later in this review.
We can also make out 2 rubber grommets on the motherboard tray, one over the power supply shroud and one on that little square just in front of the bottom fan.
Along the bottom, we can see another location for a reservoir, but there are also more vents on this panel. The panel has a grommet and 2 circular cut outs. This panel can be removed or left on, we go over this in the build video.
You can also see towards the front of the case, Fractal Design etched their logo onto the power supply shroud.
Just next to that reservoir square on the bottom, we see the rubber grommet again as well as the one on the motherboard tray.
Along the rear of the case, we can see there are 7 PCI expansion slots, as well as 2 vertical slots. Here we can make out 4 rubber grommets, as well a hole on the bottom left hand side, which also comes in handy. We can also see another Prisma AL-14 PWM Addressable RGB fan.
On the motherboard tray, we can find the legend to what all the holes are where our motherboards would go screwed into. The motherboard tray comes pre-fitted with 8 stand-offs already and one special stand-off.
The very center stand-off is a reverse stand-off used to help you fit your board in perfectly, without the need for a pilot screw to be screwed in. This will save you time and frustration, especially if you build your PC standing up like I do. As per the legend, this stand-off is necessary for ATX, Micro-ATI and Mini-ITX boards. Since this case also does support E-ATX motherboards, you would be using the ATX layout for E-ATX boards.
On the rear, I am a bit surprised coming from the R6, though it seems to be very similar to the S2 with a few slight changes.
At the very bottom right-hand corner, we can see the power supply shroud. You can fit up to a 300mm power supply. It comes complete with rubber pads to absorb vibration from the power supply, helping to keep the system nice and quiet.
Just above that, we find 2 x Removable SSD trays.
These trays can be fitted either on the rear of the case as you see here, or on the power supply shroud itself in any combination you would prefer.
Here we can see how the power supply shroud is not just a solid piece, it is vented. Here is also a little preview of the build coming up. Stay tuned for it.
Making a return with a few enhancements, we find the Nexus 9P PWM Fan Hub. Previously the Nexus+Smart Hub would only allow for six case fans and only 3 x PWM controller PWM fans, this Nexus has all 9 controlled by PWM. We can see that it requires SATA power, and the 4 x Pin PWM header to be connected to a fan header on the motherboard.
In the picture above, we can also see they included their signature Velcro straps.
A little closer look, shows all 9 of the fan headers on the Nexus 9P. They even went as far as labeling them FAN1~9 to make it easier for you to know which fan is connected where.
Along the front of the rear of the case, we can see 3 of the 3.5” HDD enclosures.
These not only can be used for 3.5” mechanical drives or 3.5 SSDs, if they still make them, but these can also be used for 2.5’ mechanical drives or SSD’s. This was already possible on the S2, but was not on the R6.
The top of the case comes fitted with the glass panel you see on the right but can be changed with the vent you see in the middle.
A view of the top with the glass panel.
Looking up from the inside of the case, we can not only see the other side of the glass panel, but we can see the RGB strip as well. We will go more into this a bit later.
The panels can be popped up with a simple push of this button, but I will go over it in the build video as well.
The vent can be used as is, if you do not have additional fans or you can add fans or a liquid cooling unit, but you will have to change the inner top panel with the liquid cooling bracket as you see on the left.
That liquid cooling bracket also comes with a fill hole in case you chose not to go with an All-In-One unit (AIO) and go with a custom unit. I will go over in the video on how to build with a liquid cooling unit.
The top of the unit can be fit with a 120, 140, 240, 280 and 360mm liquid cooling unit as can the front. The bottom can support a 120, 140 and 240mm liquid cooling unit. The rear supports a 120mm liquid cooling unit.
Along the same lines, you can fit 3 x 120mm or 140mm fans in the front of the case as well as the top. The rear supports a 120mm or a 140mm fan, though it already includes 1 fan.
- Front: 3 x 120mm or 140mm
- Includes 2 x Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-14 140mm
- Top: 3 x 120mm or 3 x 140
- Rear: 1 x 120mm or 140mm (140mm included)
- Bottom: 2 x 120mm or 140mm
Important for those of you that want to put fans along the bottom, this is about .70 inches from the ground with these feet. Not a bad height.
Along the top front of the case, you can find a 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone jack. Next to that, we can find a reset button, USB Type-C connection and a power button. To the right, we can find 2 x USB 2.0 ports along with 2 x USB 3.0 ports. This is fully loaded.
This shot shows you all of the different parts that you can utilize in your build.
With all that, I am sure you are going crazy to see the build, so let’s jump into the next chapter, How to build a PC inside of the Fractal Design DEFINE S2 Vision RGB and testing.
Continue to: How to build a PC inside of the Fractal Design DEFINE S2 Vision RGB and testing
We are influencers and brand affiliates. This post contains affiliate links, most which go to Amazon and are Geo-Affiliate links to nearest Amazon store.
I have spent many years in the PC boutique name space as Product Development Engineer for Alienware and later Dell through Alienware’s acquisition and finally Velocity Micro. During these years I spent my time developing new configurations, products and technologies with companies such as AMD, Asus, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA and more. The Arts, Gaming, New & Old technologies drive my interests and passion. Now as my day job, I am an IT Manager but doing reviews on my time and my dime.