Case CPU cooler height

[alehei]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a case to replace my current one and I am feeling really in love with the Corsair 760T.

I mainly want to change my case for better cooling capabilities.

Now this case takes either up to 170mm air cooler or up to 360 mm radiator on top.

I really love this case cause apart from the looks, I like having to ability to fit either or liquid as a cooling solution

Now probably, I will still choose air cooling over AIO (although I might try AIO's since now I have decent space for a rad) and I am not sure if that max cooler height is enough for most high end coolers.

So my question is,
Is a 170mm max CPU cooler height enough to be able get the best air cooler I can find if I don't go the water cooling route?

Thank you

 

[azaran]

A 170mm clearance should be enough for most big air coolers. For reference, the Noctua NH-D15 is 165mm tall with fans at stock height.

Keep in mind when you're figuring out your overall CPU cooling height that you need to take in to account if the cooler/fans overlap the RAM slots. If they do, you'll need to figure out if your RAM can 1) fit under the cooler/fan and 2) if fitting under the fan requires the fan to be raised up at all.

As an example, using the NH-D15. While it's RAM clearance on the cooler is 64mm, the outside fan has a stock clearance of 32mm. So if you were to put a G.Skill Trident Z RAM kit in which has a 44mm height, you would need to raise the outside fan up 12mm to compensate. That now puts that cooler in with a height of 177mm, which means it now can not fit in to the Corsair 760T.

That said, there are a ton of cooling option, and RAM options out there, so finding a setup that will work with the case you want is pretty easy to do. It just takes a bit of diligence to make sure it all fits together.