Performance Analysis

The Define S2 Vision is no more ventilated than the original case, but it does use faster fans (1,700 RPM versus 1,000 RPM) and there’s an extra intake fan as well. The good news is this leads to better performance, with a 2°C improvement to CPU temperatures and a whopping 7°C improvement for the GPU, which is much more sensitive to improved intake airflow.

We were also able to improve both measurements by a further 1°C by swapping to the ventilated roof panel, freeing this area up for natural exhaust airflow. However, this difference is within the margin of error.

The downside is that things are relatively loud. In the interest of keeping variables down, all our testing is done at fixed fan speeds, meaning only full speed for this case. With all four fans at full speed, the case is louder than we’d like.

Thankfully, the PWM fan hub will allow users with modern motherboards to play around with fan curves, perhaps even capping the maximum fan speed if it’s deemed too loud. Regardless, the limited ventilation means you’ll have to drive the fans higher and louder to reach equivalent performance levels to an airflow-optimised design, but the wide speed range of the fans does at least allow users to find a good balance and make the most of the Define S2 Vision’s design.

Conclusion

By being late to the party, Fractal has had the benefit of waiting and seeing how its competitors have succeeded or failed in their approaches to RGB lighting. As such, we can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by the fact that RGB control isn’t integrated directly into the chassis. The bundled controller is cheap feeling and inaccessible once the case is closed, so you’ll probably have to rely on motherboard software, which not everyone wants to do. Both the tempered glass and RGB additions here are quite clearly afterthoughts rather than design considerations from the get-go, an approach which sadly isn’t uncommon.

The core design of the Define S2 chassis is at least strong enough to carry it through this, and the small improvements to the PSU shroud and front panel are welcome. The higher RPM fans are a bit of a brute force way to overcome shortcomings in the case’s airflow design, but they do work very well and allow a better balance between noise and temperature to be struck – with a bit of user intervention and experimentation, true, but we’re not against that.

The on-trend design here may be off-putting to Fractal’s more loyal fans, but those are safely catered to with the original Define S2 and Define R6. Pricing for the Vision’s new bolder look, however, is quite difficult to come to terms with. The Blackout version with no RGB gubbins is the most useful comparison to the £140 original, and £50 feels like a lot for what really boils down to an extra fan and three glass panels, but you might disagree. An extra £45 for the RGB edition sees all fans upgraded to RGB and the inclusion of one LED strip and a controller, which isn’t too bad given how expensive some RGB solutions are.

Overall, we feel there’s enough quality and features here to warrant a Recommended award, but the Define S2 Vision has tight competition and lacks the finesse of the Phanteks Evolv X and, to a lesser degree, the Asus ROG Strix Helios. Meanwhile, Corsair’s 680X is a good alternative for anyone that wants to go all-out with RGB, because the iCUE ecosystem is so strong, but we do stand by our criticisms of that case. Finally, if you’re not desperate for a case right now, it could be worth seeing if Fractal delivers something in the future that has been truly geared towards tempered glass and RGB rather than just having them added to an existing design.