CaseCalc › CaseDatabase › Define 7 XL Black - Light TG vs Define 7 XL Black Solid

Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black - Light TG vs Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black Solidcomputed

Datasheet figures next to each other, and the airflow balance, pressure verdict and case air heating that the fans in each box compute to behind that case's own front. Calculated with the CaseFlow model, not measured.

Side by side

Fractal Design Define 7 XL Black - Light TGFractal Design Define 7 XL Black Solid
FormFull towerFull tower
Volume82.0 L82.0 L
Dimensions604 × 240 × 566 mm604 × 240 × 566 mm
Frontsolid solid or glass frontsolid solid or glass front
Fan mountsfront 3 × 140, top 3 × 140, rear 1 × 120, bottom 2 × 120front 3 × 140/120, top 3 × 140/120, rear 1 × 120, bottom 2 × 120
Radiator supportfront 480 mm, top 480 mm, rear 120 mm, bottom 280 mmfront 480 mm, top 480 mm, rear 120 mm, bottom 280 mm
Dust filtersfront, top, bottom, psufront, top, bottom, psu
GPU length530 mm530 mm
Cooler height185 mm185 mm
Stock fans2 × Dynamic X2 GP-14 (front), 1 × Dynamic X2 GP-14 (rear)2 × Dynamic X2 GP-14 (front), 1 × Dynamic X2 GP-14 (rear)
Stock airflow, max rpm68 in / 60 out CFM68 in / 60 out CFM
Stock pressure verdictmarginal: mid +8.2 CFM, worst -10.3 CFMmarginal: mid +8.2 CFM, worst -10.3 CFM
Case air at 290 W+7.8 K+7.8 K
Stock fan noise23.9 dB(A)23.9 dB(A)
All mounts, reference fans217 in / 251 out CFM 5 / 4 mounts217 in / 251 out CFM 5 / 4 mounts

Both are close enough that the choice is not an airflow question. The pressure verdict describes the stock fan set, not the case: stronger or extra intake fans in the free mounts, or slower exhaust fans, turn a negative balance positive.

Define 7 XL Black - Light TG — mounts and stock fans

TOPBOTTOMREARFRONT · solid

Define 7 XL Black Solid — mounts and stock fans

TOPBOTTOMREARFRONT · solid

Case air heating with the stock fans — computed

0 5 10 15 0 100 200 300 400 450 W GPU (open cooler) + 40 W board Define 7 XL Black - Light TG Define 7 XL Black Solid K case air above room

Use it

Both in CaseComparison Define 7 XL Black - Light TG in CaseFlow Define 7 XL Black Solid in CaseFlow
How these numbers are computed

Each stock fan contributes CFMmax · derate · rpm/rpmmax behind its wall's mounting class: filtered mesh front and side mounts as dust filter, bottom as floor + filter, top and rear as open grille, solid and glass fronts as side-slit intake at roughly half of a mesh front. Front, bottom and side blow in; top and rear blow out.

MountingAirflow bladesPressure-optimized
Open grille0.88 (0.80–0.95)0.88 (0.80–0.95)
Dust filter0.70 (0.60–0.80)0.78 (0.70–0.86)
Floor + filter0.64 (0.52–0.74)0.72 (0.62–0.80)
Solid or glass front0.50 (0.40–0.62)0.58 (0.48–0.68)

Worst case sums intake at the low end of each band and exhaust at the high end; positive there means positive regardless of how the estimates fall. Case air: ΔT = 3.1 · W / throughput (m³/h), with an open-cooler GPU putting its full board power into the case air plus board, RAM and drives. Capacity puts a reference pressure-optimized fan on every mount at max rpm — 120 mm 60 CFM, 140 mm 75 CFM — a generic good fan, not a product.

Mount counts, radiator support and clearances are datasheet figures. Nothing here is measured; the same model runs in CaseFlow.