Fractal Design Define R4 Case Review

The Disk Drive Bays

The Fractal Design Define R4 has two 5.25” external bays, eight 3.5”/2.5” internal bays, and two 2.5” bays behind the motherboard tray.

Figure 17: Disk drive bays

The case has two hard drive cages. The upper one has five 3.5”/2.5” bays, and the bottom one has three 3.5”/2.5” bays. The top cage can be easily removed (it is fastened to the case using thumbscrews) if you want to install video cards longer than 11.4” (290 mm) or if you want to improve the airflow inside the case, as it won’t be blocking the front fan anymore. The lower hard drive cage is also removable, but it is attached to the chassis using regular screws.

Figure 18: The case with its top hard drive cage removed

The case has rubber rings to reduce the vibration and noise produced by 3.5” hard drives.

Figure 19: One of the 3.5”/2.5” bays

Figure 20: The two 2.5” bays behind the motherboard tray