Digital Home Thoughts: Fractal Design Launches the Define Mini

"As the name implies, Define Mini is the smaller sibling of the acclaimed and award winning Define R2/R3 case. Being a Micro ATX version of Define R2/R3, it offers a number of interesting functions with a very stylish appearance. It's a case focused on low noise level, without neglecting other important features such as cooling, expandability and ease of use. The Define Mini excels in including a lot of features in a small size!"

A few years ago, I was an unabashed Shuttle XPC fan - all my computers were Shuttle XPCs. I loved the small form factor, but after a couple of years of breakdowns and tiresome noise, I migrated away from Shuttle XPCs and now have several computers using mid-sized towers. They're nice Lian Li cases, but ultimately they're still far bigger than they need to be - I don't need space for six hard drives, four optical drives, etc. That's why the Define Mini is quite intriguing - by using Mini ATX / Micro ATX motherboards, you can get a case that still manages to fit six hard drives, yet is only 40 CM (16 inches) tall. Not bad! It's a small, attractive case with a bunch of well-thought out of options - including sound-dampening side panels.