As with the Arc Midi R2's predecessor, Fractal Design built this case to provide a balance between cooling performance and noise. This is illustrated, in part, by the three bundled fans that spin at a maximum of 1000 RPM at a full 12 V. The integrated controller offers two additional settings that let you dial this back even further to 7 and 5 V. Our Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 LT measured 1030, 714, and 539 RPM for each voltage level, respectively.
Those numbers could be a little lower with all of the fans attached to the controller at the same time. Unfortunately, we found its fans to be the Arc Midi R2’s biggest weakness. If one of them (and we tried all three) is installed horizontally with the blades aiming down, then it starts to vibrate. These vibrations are transmitted to the case, where they can easily be heard. We'll quantify this shortly.
| Benchmark Gaming System | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge), 3.3 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3.7 GHz Maximum Turbo Boost, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache |
| Processor Cooler | Thermalright Macho HR-02 SE |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4, Z68 Express PCH |
| System Memory | 1 x 4 GB G.Skill DDR3-1333 F3-1333C9S-4GNS |
| Graphics Card | MSI N470 GTX TwinFrozr II, GeForce GTX 470 |
| Drives | Hard Drive: Samsung HD322GJ |
| SSD: 60 GB Kingston SSDNow V+ 200 | |
| Power Supply | 850 W Xilence XQ R2 |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium |
We similarly tried to strike a good balance between usability and airflow for our benchmarks. For this reason, we removed the upper hard drive cage to achieve unrestricted airflow to the CPU cooler and the graphics card. This should allow us to run the system stably with lower fan speeds. We went with Intel's Core i5-2500K processor and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 470 graphics card on a Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 motherboard. Each component ran at its stock settings.
Sticking with Fractal Design's color scheme, we settled on the older second revision of the 850 W Xilence XQ PSU finished in white, along with Thermalright's Macho HR-02 Special Edition with its black-and-white fan. The latter runs at 1300 RPM, but can easily be slowed down significantly thanks to the sink's copious surface area. For our testing, it was adjusted to run at the same speed as the case fans for consistency's sake.
Thermals on both of our storage devices were tracked as well. The hard drive occupied the lowest internal bay, while the SSD was installed on the back of the motherboard tray, closest to the CPU interface. We assumed this would yield higher SSD temperatures, which we wanted to measure for the folks planning to actually use both mounting positions.
A combination of Prime95 with Small FTTs and MSI Kombustor with the Furry and Tessy tests provided our load, and temperatures were recorded after 60 minutes.
- Fractal Design's Arc Midi R2 ATX Case Review
- The Arc Midi R2's Technical Specifications
- The Arc Midi R2's Exterior
- Air Cooling, Dusty Protection, And Liquid Cooling
- Power Supply Installation And Cable Management
- Installing Optical Drives
- Installing Storage: Hard Drives And SSDs
- Motherboard And Add-In Card Installation
- Test Setup And Hardware Configuration
- Results: Fan Speeds, Temperatures, And Noise
- Addressing An Issue With Vibration
- Sizing Up Fractal Design's Arc Midi R2

Some Notes and Recommendations about Replacing the Fans
Let's say everything else about the Arc Midi R2 is ideal for you, and you simply want to replace its fans.
-Bruce
As for keeping the GPU cool, I don't that is an issue with 2 the fans in the front creating perfectly adequate airflow to keep the GPU cool unless you are using multiple GPUs. Although in time I would probably mod the window and inserting an extra fan there as that isn't a hard job to do.
Heat Sources: i5-3570K @ 4.4 GHz, Hyper 212 EVO, EVGA GTX 560Ti @ 900 MHz, 3 WD Cavier Black HD
With Define R4's often available for roughly $85 (on sale) and Arc Midi 2's typically about $65 online, I find the $20 additional cost for the sound-proofing included in the Define R4 models a very worthwhile investment.
Does your GPU have its fan at one end of the card and exhaust directly outside through the rear bracket? If it does, the reason you see lower GPU temps is likely that the slightly more positive (or slightly less negative) pressure in the case from going solid makes the GPU's HSF a little more efficient at shoving warm air out of the case. Cards with "mid-mount" fans may also benefit from this due to slightly increased vertical airflow between the GPU's top edge and case panel carrying warm air up through the case faster.
That is what I like to call structured airflow. Placing fans in the most effective places and shutting off meshed areas that allow air to escape without contributing to net cooling can achieve superior results with much less meshed area and fewer fans.
-Bruce
Side fans don't always help GPU temps, they can even hurt temps in some cases by interfering with the airflow from the GPU fan. It really depends on the case and GPU (and whether or not the front intakes do anything for the GPU), but saying categorically that having an intake there will improve GPU temps is certainly not true.
As for keeping the GPU cool, I don't that is an issue with 2 the fans in the front creating perfectly adequate airflow to keep the GPU cool unless you are using multiple GPUs. Although in time I would probably mod the window and inserting an extra fan there as that isn't a hard job to do.
in an idealist situation, the top panel fans should indeed be exhaust, but there are people in the rare occasion who want to focus on CPU cooling rather than the rest of the build, this generally calls for Watercooling with top intakes instead of top exhales. There's a moderately large temperature change when alternating the fans directions, the negative impact would be directly adding dust into your system, which can be cured by a decent air filter and regular maintenance.
Otherwise I very much like the case.
-Bruce
I did have a defective release clip for the front fan filter and an email to Fractal Designs support was answered right away and they sent me a replacement free of charge.
Very happy to see the thumbscrews on the 5.25 bays. Most snap locks now still have some give when you hit the eject button on a DVD drive. I don't like that so you still have to use screws anyway. Easy thumbscrews gets major points from me.
I did have a defective release clip for the front fan filter and an email to Fractal Designs support was answered right away and they sent me a replacement free of charge.
Yes, except the define cases still have a fan grill on the side walls. I mean a completely solid side wall, no mesh, no grill, for extra quiet.
Windowed models have no side-fan opening, and they are almost just as quiet as their standard brethren.