A Look Inside
Getting inside this case is quite easy, just remove the two thumbscrews on the side panel. Unlike most tempered glass side panels that are a solid piece of tempered glass Fractal Design has gone with a different design. They have put a solid tempered glass panel on a normal side panel. This design makes it much easier to handle the tempered glass panel and you can attach it to the case just like a normal side panel.
With the side panel removed we can get a better look inside the case. Fractal Design has a two chamber design, but as you can see internally the design is very open. As far as motherboard support the Define S2 supports up to E-ATX, but keep in mind there are only 7 expansion slots. You’ll also notice four large cable routing holes on the motherboard tray itself.
A big addition to the inside of the Define S2 is the full length power supply shroud. The shroud is ventilated where you’ll power supply will sit and the front part can be removed to make room for fans or large radiators. There are also two cable routing holes in the shroud.
Taking the opposite side panel off the case we can see that it is lined with sound dampening material. With this side panel off we can see how the rest of the case is designed.
The first thing I noticed when I took a rear side panel off the case was the 9-port fan hub. This allows you to connect all of your fans to one central location, and just use the attached PWM cable to connect to your motherboard for control.
Fractal Design has also redesigned their storage brackets on this case. The three larger removable brackets support either a 3.5-inch hard drive or 2.5-inch hard drive. There are also two smaller SSD brackets on the back of the case.
The bottom of the case is reserved for your power supply. Fractal Design has decided to make this section open (instead of closed with a cable routing hole), which I think is a better design and should make installation easier. Regarding space behind the motherboard tray, there is just under an inch of space.
