When comparing Phanteks Enthoo PRO vs Fractal Design Define R6 TG, the Slant community recommends Fractal Design Define R6 TG for most people. In the question“What are the best desktop computer cases under $150?” Fractal Design Define R6 TG is ranked 2nd while Phanteks Enthoo PRO is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Fractal Design Define R6 TG is:
This case gives you lots of room to work with. The 3.5” drive panel can be moved back, sacrificing the drive bays, and leaving you with 2 2.5” brackets in the back, where there are some velcro straps and plenty of space for cable management.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great value for money
For the price bracket it's in, the Phanteks Enthoo PRO is equipped with a lot of features that most cases in this price bracket do not have. It’s a large, sturdy, modular case that can easily fit a 420mm radiator and a custom water cooling loop.
Pro Included fan controller
Back of the case has a 3-pin fan controller with room for up to 6 fans, which will allow you to control the installed fans directly from your operating system.
Pro Extensive water cooling support
One of the things that this case does not lack is room for cooling. It can have up to 10 fans installed at once, bottom and front can have a radiator of up to 240mm. At the top there’s enough space for a 420mm radiator. The case also comes with a bracket for a liquid cooling reservoir, that can be installed onto the 3.5” drive bay.
Pro Easy to build in
There are a few options for customizing the look of the internal layout. You can remove the hard drive bays and push the dividing wall back to create a more open space. There’s also a bracket that will help you hide your power supply and the cable mess that comes with it. You probably won’t have any clearance issues installing a large gpu, since there’s 347mm of room even without removal of the 3.5” drive bay. The back of the case is covered with velcro straps for cable management, yet still has plenty of spots for zip ties.
Pro Easy to build in
This case gives you lots of room to work with. The 3.5” drive panel can be moved back, sacrificing the drive bays, and leaving you with 2 2.5” brackets in the back, where there are some velcro straps and plenty of space for cable management.
Pro Ample space for cooling
If you’re looking to make your case as quiet and cool as possible and the included fans are not doing the job, there's enough space to fit a 420mm radiator at the top, 360mm in the front, 240mm at the bottom, if you’ve moved the 3.5” drive bay panel back.
Pro All air intakes have dust filtration
All 3 possible fan intake spots are covered by dust filters and the top can be completely opened up with a modular panel, that can either be a dust filter or a solid surface, if you don’t plan on using the top fan mounts.
Pro Toolless panel mechanism
Both of the side panels work on a tension mechanism, so you don’t have to unscrew them, they just pop off with some pressure applied. The front panel works on a hinge and the direction of the swing can be changed.
Pro It’s pretty quiet
Front, top and side panels are covered in sound dampening material, helping keep the case quiet. Even at 100% included fan usage the case produces less noise than an average library at around 35dB.
Cons
Con Limited storage drive room in the back
If you were to remove the 3.5” and the 5.25” bays to make more room in the front, you’d be left with only one 2.5” drive bracket on the back. While there are two slots for drives, the case only comes with one bracket.
Con Poor quality packaging
A lot of buyer complaints are about the case arriving broken. Some of the most common areas for breaking are the front panel attachment points. Another issue seems to be the included accessory box breaking open in the case and scratching up the paint and the windows from inside the case during travel. Buying the case in person might save you some trouble.
Con Pretty heavy
The Define R6 comes in pretty heavy at 12.4 kg / 27.3lbs.
Con Tempered glass stains easily
The entire side panel is tempered glass and there's not a lot of room to grab it by, so fingerprints on the glass are very likely to happen every time you want to open the case up, since you also have to apply some pressure to remove the panel.