Fractal DesignDefine 7 XL Black Solid Brushed Aluminum/Steel E-ATX Silent Modular Full Tower Computer Case

Just finished a server build in the Define 7 XL. Fantastic case to build in, you can tell a huge amount of thought went into flexibility and compatibility. Modern 2025 cases from what I know are very aesthetic and are innovating, especially in airflow and fan/rad mounting. However, this case is insanely compatible and flexible and, if not supported, a little MacGuyvering could get just about any amount of PC components into this chassis.Even with an extended motherboard, loads of drives, SSDs, add in cards, an AIO, an extended PSU, and cabling to support all of these peripherals, the case feels roomy and airy. All of the exterior parts, top, sides, dust filters snap together in a really satisfying way and the (mostly) tool-less design makes building a breeze because you can just get to the build and don't have to work "around" the case.Excellent cable management with built-in velcro ties. Built-in fan controller adds lots of flexibility and 3 included 140MM fans are a nice to have, especially considering fractal's big fans are so quiet and reliable.Removable PSU mount gives me the flexbility to add my PSU and plug everything in and test before committing to mounting it. Alternatively, I can now 3D print a SFX or smaller PSU adapter for dual PSUs or just because.I have to really stretch to find any nitpicks with this case, truly. If I had to say *something* I would say the hole behind the motherboard tray could be a bit bigger (or shifted) in case you make the timeless mistake of forgetting to mount the CPU cooler backplate. My threadripper motherboard's CPU socket did not line up with this hole in the mobo tray although it is already pretty large. however, this is a nitpick I have to search to find since that wasn't even an issue for my build.10/10 case - the sound material, quit built in fans, airflow, and build quality made for a whisper quiet server chock full of components and it's not even halfway full. I like this case even more than my beloved Fractal Node 804, though they have slightly different use cases.

If you look at one of my attached photos you will see two 16TB standard hard drives; two 8TB standard hard drives; a couple of NVME SSD's (4TB and 2TB); and 12 SSD drives of various sizes. My Garmin watch is attached to transfer my fitness data and it shows up as device D.Anyway, all the hard drives, SSD's and NVME SSD's are tucked away just fine inside this case. I do a lot of photography/video so I have an additional 48TB (six 8TB standard hard drives) tucked away in the upstairs closet.This case is designed to handle numerous drive configuration and does so exceptionally. Still a lot of cables but under the circumstances I think the appearance is great.A VERY HEAVY CASE (Steel Construction) but once in place, who cares?My only negative (a very small one) is there is a POWER L.E.D. on the case, but no HD ACTIVITY L.E.D. Sometimes I want to know if something is going on -- especially if what I am doing appears to be taking much longer then I expected. I will include FRACTAL's reply to this issue, but I just had a real-life experience where knowing there was something going on would have been beneficial.I just downloaded Microsoft Flight Simulator which was released last week. If you have seen articles about the download (once the game was released) many buyers were concerned about the length of time of the download, etc. Often they could not tell if the download was doing anything. I too wondered if the download was working. IT WAS A HUGE DOWNLOAD and install process. It would have been nice if I had a HDD ACTIVITY L.E.D. to let me know something is going on and data is being downloaded and written to my 4TB NVME PCI 4 SSD.Anyway, this is a great case and for the price worth every penny. Quality construction; well designed internal layout; multiple cooling fans; parts and materials packaged well; manual well written; etc.Lastly, here is FRACTAL's reply to my inquiry about the lack of the HDD L.E.D.Hello,The Define 7 XL does not have a Hard Drive activity light. The Define series was originally made to be a media center PC, but the product developers thought it would be annoying to have a light flashing while you are trying to enjoy a movie. It was added to the Define R5 and R6 but we decided to remove it again for the Define 7 cases, as it seems to be waning in popularity these days.So we decided just to have the power LED and if someone wanted to have the HDD LED they could plug the power LED connectors into the HDD LED pins on their motherboard and use their power LED as their HDD LED, because the HDD LED wouldn't flicker if there wasn't any power provided to the system.If you have anymore questions or concerns feel free to ask.Best Regards,ShaneUPDATE 08/2/2021 Since I first built the computer I was referencing in my original post, I have changed the motherboard, et al. I now have 2 Sabrent NVME PCie 4 drives; 3 HDD - Two 16GB drives and Two 8GB drives; and 8 SSD drives from 4TB down to 1TB. None of these changes impacts my opinion of this case - it is fantastic.