I'm looking for inspiration for doing a Fractal Define R5 build.
If you have done one, I would love to hear about it, your experience, your components etc..
I purchased the case and am researching what to put inside it.
Thanks!
While my Freenas box is build in a Sharkoon case I own actually 2 Fractal Design Define R5 cases. One for my main desktop and one for a "lab" computer. I wanted to have my drives for my Freenas box in hot-swap bays I already owned, otherwise I most certainly would have used an R5 for the Freenas box as well. The R5 is sturdy, nice looking (to me anyway), silent and roomy. It's finish is great and you don't have to be afraid to cut your hand on rough edges. It has 8 internal slots for 3.5 inch drives and behind the motherboard tray 2 slots for SSD's. If you don't need the 2 external 5.25 slots you can use that space for harddrives as well. The case accommodates all ATX format motherboards (mini-itx is also possible). There is also plenty space for case fans (7) and you can easily find place for a radiator in the top of the case. A radiator in the front is possible as well. Building a system in this case is a breeze. Everything is good accessible. And the cable management is excellent with Velcro straps.
Of course the current configuration of my desktop and lab pc is completely irrelevant for a Freenas build. But beside the fact that you can house a limited number of harddisks in the R5 you will find plenty of room room to accommodate a good Freenas system. To give you an idea about my build here is my desktop system (the configuration of my lab system is always changing)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5
PSU: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus 650 Gold
CPU: Intel Core i7700K 4.2 GHz
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Advanced C1
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-A (ATX)
Memory: HyperX Black Fury 32 GB DDR4-2666 Kit (2 x 16)
SSD for OS: HyperX Savage, 240 GB
Storage: 2 x WD Black 2 TB
Graphical Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6G OC
Optical: ASUS BC-12D2HT Silent, Blu-ray combo
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR