A Look Inside
Getting inside the Define 7 was is quite easy, simply press the button on the back of the case to release the side panel and it will easily come right off. Looking at the interior of the case we have a pretty standard 2-compartment layout with a large power supply cover extending the entire length of the case. The interior of the case is white of course.
Taking a closer look at the motherboard tray we can see plenty of cable routing holes with rubber inserts as well as a very large CPU cutout which should make installing an aftermarket CPU cooler quite easy. The Define 7 supports motherboard all the way up to E-ATX.
As I said the power supply cover extends the entire length of the case. It does have some ventilation on it and towards the front there are two sections that can be removed to make room for larger radiators and other water cooling components. For those wondering about GPU support the Define S7 can support graphics cards all the way up to 467 mm.
Taking the opposite side panel off the case is just like the main panel, just press the button on the back of the case and the panel will release. Removing the panel we can see that it also has sound dampening material installed. With the panel removed we can see how the rest of the case is setup.
One of the first things that catches your attention when you remove the back side panel is the included Nexus+ 2 PWM hub, which is installed towards the top of the case. This fan hub supports three 4-pin PWM fans as well as six 3-pin fans.
Next right under the CPU cutout in the motherboard tray are two removable 2.5-inch SSD mounts, yes they are made of metal.
Another interesting mount is towards the front of the case, which is the universal multi-bracket. This supports a single 3.5-inch hard drive, but it can also be used to mount a pump or reservoir. By default it is mounted on the backside of the case, but it can actually be mounted in any 120 mm fan position. It is so great that this bracket is included, typically reservoir and pump mounts are sold separately.
Fractal Design seems to have cable management under control as well. There are three integrated cable guides with Velcro straps, two more Velcro straps towards the rear of the case and a total of 16 tie-down points.
You’ll also notice that the bottom of the case is sectioned off with a cable shield which is easily removable as well. This allows you to easily conceal extra cables. With it removed we can see the bottom of the case which is where you’ll mount your power supply and there is a small hard drive cage which has two removable trays in it. These trays support both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and once again they are metal.
One thing that is really awesome about this case is that it can be configured in an open layout (default) or by moving things around you can configure it to the storage layout. The best part about this is that you don’t need to buy anything extra to do this. The first thing you are going to want to do is remove the modular storage plate from the case and install it on the opposite side of the case. This is easily done by removing a few screws.
With the modular storage plate installed on the other side it will cut down the space for graphics cards, which is now at 315mm. Now go ahead and install the included four hard drive trays on the backside of the case, they will clip right into the modular storage plate. This gives you room for four more 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives. If you need more storage you can purchase more of the storage trays.
