Question Anyone know why the Corsair H115i Pro XT is longer than a standard 280mm radiator ?

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All Out of Bubblegum

Nov 28, 2022
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Looks like they positioned the holes so that the fans have a 5mm gap between them rather than being as close as possible, but this means that the H115i is 5mm longer than a standard 280mm radiator, and won't fit the holes in the top of the Thor Atlas V2 case. Seems like a bad decision to go non-standard.

Are there any full ATX cases that will take the H115i Pro XT without modification on top (don't want it anywhere else) ?
 
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All Out of Bubblegum said:
Are there any full ATX cases that will take the H115i Pro XT without modification on top
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the majority of nicer cases designed for top mounted radiators do not use predefined holes for radiator mounting.
instead they use long open lanes so that you place/slide your radiator wherever along the vents you wish.

so yes, there are very many cases out there that will "take" this type of AiO.
just look at the provided images of any case you're interested in and see what type of mounting option there is.
 
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JohnBonhamsGhost said:
so yes, there are very many cases out there that will "take" this type of AiO.
just look at the provided images of any case you're interested in and see what type of mounting option there is.
Click to expand...

I don't think looking at images would tell me anything definitive. Just seeing a bunch of holes (or rails in the cases you allude to) doesn't indicate which radiators will fit. Even with rails, the total length of the rails may be limited, and would be hard to discern from a photo.

That's why I asking if anyone knew for a fact that certain radiators fit, or knew why Corsair is selling non-standard-length coolers.

Actually, I have pretty strict requirements for a case which is probably not going to leave many optinos - no window, 280mm top radiator fits, fan on the left panel (protected by a steel mesh), but no vents on the right panel.

That's really a different subforum though I guess.
 
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There is no standard for radiator length:
Cougar Aqua 280: 310mm
ID-Cooling Frostflow X 280: 311mm
Deepcool Castle 280EX: 322mm
EVGA CLC 280: 312mm
Alphacool Eisbaer Aurora 280: 313mm
Corsair H115i Pro XT: 322mm
EK-AIO 280 D-RGB: 313mm
Cooler Master ML280 Mirror: 318mm
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280: 317mm
NZXT Kraken X63: 315mm
10 different units... what's the standard?


All Out of Bubblegum said:
I don't think looking at images would tell me anything definitive. Just seeing a bunch of holes (or rails in the cases you allude to) doesn't indicate which radiators will fit. Even with rails, the total length of the rails may be limited, and would be hard to discern from a photo.
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It kinda does, except when otherwise stated in the case's specs that there is a clearance limit when using 140mm class radiators+fans - it sometimes gets left out by mistake.
iu
^Not much flexibility with this.
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^Or this, but it's a little better.
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^You can 'slide' the hardware back/forth so all the screws are accessible.
The earlier mentioned Deepcool Matrexx 70 uses a tray like this.
 
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Cases are not built to support radiators. That's a secondary consideration. Cases are built to support fans.

That said, there's only a few companies that build rads for aios, and most aio brands use those. Very few, such as fractal design, Arctic, EK, go outside the norm. As such, those aio rads all have the same spacing. The only differences being in the design of the end caps which can be longer, shorter, square, rounded etc.

So case manufacturers have a choice. They can either proscribe to the aio mount spacing or not. There are prior examples of cases that fit 120mm fans on top, but were oddly spaced so would not mount a radiator, even though there was space underneath to accommodate an aio and not impede on the motherboard. They didn't sell well, it took away that option.

That's the purpose of the slots, not to accommodate screw spacing but to allow differences in radiator lengths. Many older case designs had set holes for fans which stopped certain rads from working because the holes put the end caps or tubing connections in contact with the frame. Make the holes slotted, can shift the rad in either direction lengthwise, but the 120/140mm spacing remains, sideways.

Rad mount holes are never 'as close as possible' because there must be allowance for the frames of the fans, but the holes are still the same distance apart as any other 140mm aio. To change that spacing would eliminate multiple cases as an option, and with as fierce as competition is between aio brands, the last thing you want to do is eliminate potential buyers.
 
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Karadjgne said:
Cases are not built to support radiators. That's a secondary consideration. Cases are built to support fans.
Click to expand...

I agree with that.

All Out of Bubblegum said:
no window, 280mm top radiator fits, fan on the left panel (protected by a steel mesh), but no vents on the right panel.
Click to expand...

If not having a window is a hard requirement, you can do what I did and buy some sheet metal from Home Depot/Lowes. If you look at the links in my signature, you'll see that my Deepcool Matrexx 70 has had the front glass replaced with mesh and the obverse panel has also been replaced with mesh. If I reinstall the obverse panel I can install the mesh where the glass is.

May I ask why you specifically don't want glass? Are you worried it will break?
 
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Everyone likes pretty glass windows for some reason. They have a bunch the both sides and even the front is glass. Getting hard to find one that does not,and they tend to be more expensive even though you would think the glass costs more to make.

Having a fan mounted on the side also makes it harder.

I can't recommend one but I got suckered into building a couple machines for other people used as christmas gifts. We used the new lian li 216 case. It is a $100 case that you can put a full 360 in the top. It will also take a 280 in the top.
It seems to have really good ratings from all the sites that do reviews of cases. It has 2 very large front fans included so it has good air flow.
 
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All Out of Bubblegum said:
I don't think looking at images would tell me anything definitive. Just seeing a bunch of holes (or rails in the cases you allude to) doesn't indicate which radiators will fit.
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reading case specification along with looking at what type of radiator placement(holes or rails) will definitely give very definitive answers as to what radiators or AiO will fit.

there will be max radiator thickness and length information with any good case plus seeing what method is used to supports the screws gives you your answer.
 
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