Case of apples and oranges… The O11 dynamic, the 3.5″ drive bays appear to be an afterthought, as though they repurposed the second PSU bay to hold spinning rust. There is no air circulation in that portion of the casing, so when I installed two 7200rpm drives in there, they ran very hot.

Some larger GPU waterblocks, such as EVGA’s Hydro copper blocks, will also not fit in the O11 Dynamic (ask me how I know:face vomiting:). If you’re willing to spend $200 on a case, the O11 Dynamic XL should be your first choice.

If noise is an issue, I’d say the Define 7XL wins yet another point. The O11 Dynamic series of cases are extremely attractive, but they are composed of thin steel with no insulation and numerous ventilation holes. Excellent for cooling. Not ideal for noise isolation.

In terms of utility, the Define 7XL is the clear victor.

It can accommodate a large number of HDDs, SSDs, and 2×5.25 devices.

The O11 Dynamic supports two HDDs, four SSDs, and no 5.25 devices.

In the front of the Define 7 XL, you can install either 4×120 or 3×140 mm fans.

Oh, and your NH-D15 isn’t going to work in the 011 dynamic.

With fans, the nh-d15 stands 165 mm tall.

The maximum CPU cooler height in the Define 7 XL is 185 mm, whereas it is 155 mm in the o11.

The o11 is primarily intended for use with AIOs or bespoke watercooling.

ALSO SEE: Fractal Design R5 Vs R6 Vs R7

Conclusion

Core 3500 of Fractal Design. Supports up to ATX (and SSI-EEB or something). Compatible with the Noctua NH-U14S (also using the 150mm fan). There are four HDD mounts and two SSD mounts (behind the motherboard, without sleds). It’s past its prime, but it’s held up fairly well. Mine has a pair of X5550 Xeons (saved from work) running on a NOS Intel board.

The Bay insert is a Chenbro-SK412 and the twin SSD Hot swap gadget is frequently referred to as a Rosewill RX-C202 2, however, it is offered on eBay under several names. Overall, with a tiny DVD drive, the entire package costs $60.

It appears to be rather high, but I find the usability to be good enough for it to make sense. It is currently installed in my Core 500 mini-ITX system.

I’m not sure how the Define R5 Series aged, but they had to have dropped in price, right? The only problem I notice is a lack of front. Higher-than-3.0-USB.