My Fractal Define R4 Titanium PC Chassis - part 1

So, I decided to finally ditch the old Aerocool chassis I've had for the last 6 odd years. I never liked it to be honest, don't really know why I bought it in the first place.

Anyway, after looking at lots and lots of PC cases, the Fractal R4 drew my attention the most. It's a very plain case, no lights or fancy curves and lines like that, just a very good looking stylish design. So I also watched several videos on Youtube about it, and read tons of reviews - my conclusion was that this is probably the best case you can get for the price range.

I bought it through Pinnacle Micro here in South Africa. It cost me about R1150 (that's about $110) - now I'm a reseller (you can only buy from Pinnacle if you're registered as a reseller with them...), so it'll probably retail for about R1400 or so...

Like a kid with a new toy I immediately opened the box when I got home, only to discover no box with screws or manual or anything like that. Which was weird, I've opened up many PC cases' boxes before and there's always at least a leaflet and some screws... Anyway, I went to Fractal's website, and discovered that included in the box you get the case, toolbox and user manual. Now I only got the case...

I phoned dear Pinnacle, and the guy said "no they come like that, it's a screwless design". Ok fine, maybe that's how they're sold in SA...

Went back inside, only to discover a blue Intel i3 sticker on the bottom in the front (firstly, who would put an ugly ass sticker like that on such a sleek pc case!! Sacrilege!). It turns out, I bought a brand new second hand product.

Needless to say, I vented my frustration and irritation to Pinnacle on Twitter, and also sent them a snotty email explaining my situation.

The next day I was contacted by Pinnacle's social team and my sales lady, all extremely apologetic and promising to get to the bottom of this. Soon after, I got a call, and was invited to bring back the new old one I had, and they'll immediately replace it with a new one (which was a bit surprising, the guy said they were on back order and I would only be getting my replacement in two weeks...).

I went in, got my new one, and we opened it right there to check if it was, indeed, a new product. It was. And my sales lady gave me a bottle of wine as a sorry for my frustration and experience. Well done Pinnacle, you have restored my faith in you guys - for now ;)

Anyway, will do the whole swap on Sunday or so. Looking forward!