[SOLVED] Do I need to change my case?

[MattCS09]

A few months ago I got myself an Arctic Freezer 34 eSports DUO. I installed it and it didn't completely fit in the case, but I didn't care much about letting it open because it was summer anyways and I didn't mind if I had to clean it more often if I could get lower temperatures.

The thing is, I own a Corsair Carbide Air 540, so I checked the specs again just to be sure and it says the maximum cooler height for this case is 170mm while the cooler is 158.8mm tall, yet it doesn't fit, not just for a few mm, but for like 2,5cm.

So, did I miss something in the specs or I just installed it wrong? I really don't want to replace them, so if they really don't fit, is there any kind of extension to make the case a bit wider? I've seen there are a few for some cases, but I don't know if this one does since it's been a while since it was released.

 

[Lutfij]

The side panel won't go on if you want to offset it to allow that cooler to fit. I'm curious though, what is the make and model of your motherboard? Are you sure it's seated in properly? I've worked in that case and the cooler, should fit without complications.

 

[MattCS09]

The side panel won't go on if you want to offset it to allow that cooler to fit. I'm curious though, what is the make and model of your motherboard? Are you sure it's seated in properly? I've worked in that case and the cooler, should fit without complications.

I have a MSI H510M-A PRO. The motherboard specs don't include its height but I've read that it's already taken into account for the maximum CPU height. The screws are a bit old and two or three of them are missing, so maybe that's what adding the extra height, although I didn't think it would be that much.

 

[geofelt]

Can you post a pic of the situation?
Perhaps you do not have the case you described.
It should fit most any cooler.

What screws are missing?

 

[MattCS09]

Can you post a pic of the situation?
Perhaps you do not have the case you described.
It should fit most any cooler.

What screws are missing?

Yeah, it wasn't the Air 540, it's the Air 240, it was my brother who got it a long time ago and then gave it to me, so he got confused when I asked him and since they're so similar I didn't notice those two panels at the front. So I guess I'll have to get another CPU cooler, at least I got it when it was a bit cheaper.

Thanks for the replies and sorry for the inconveniences ^^U.

 

[geofelt]

I like the air 240 case except for the limited air cooling height capability.
What cpu do you need to cool?
If it is an intel processor that comes with a cooler, they will fit and do the job.
Probably amd stock coolers would do also.
Such stock coolers do get noisy when under heavy load on strong processors.

The air 240 is very limited for an air cooler.
It can handle a cooler as tall as 120mm.
Perhaps the best I can readily think of would be the Noctua NH-D9L
https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d9l/p/N82E16835608068?quicklink=true

If you really need top cooling, a 240 sized aio is what you need to plan for.

 

[MattCS09]

I like the air 240 case except for the limited air cooling height capability.
What cpu do you need to cool?
If it is an intel processor that comes with a cooler, they will fit and do the job.
Probably amd stock coolers would do also.
Such stock coolers do get noisy when under heavy load on strong processors.

The air 240 is very limited for an air cooler.
It can handle a cooler as tall as 120mm.
Perhaps the best I can readily think of would be the Noctua NH-D9L
https://www.newegg.com/noctua-nh-d9l/p/N82E16835608068?quicklink=true

If you really need top cooling, a 240 sized aio is what you need to plan for.

I'm cooling an i5-11600k. I think I already got enough fans (I've got 3, but I could add a 4th if I get a fan splitter), so I don't think the aio is completely necessary. I was looking at the NH-D9L as well and since it also comes with thermal paste, I think it will be my go-to.

 

[geofelt]

Two front 120mm intake fans should supply all of the airflow you need for cooling.

Noctua maintains a list of their suitable coolers for various processors.
Here is the list for the 11600K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i5-11600K-1280
The NH-D9L is on the list with a 88 nspr(look it up on noctua) rating.
That is not sufficient for max performance if you are overclocking.
A slightly better unit at nspr 119 is the NH-C14S
https://noctua.at/en/nh-c14s
It is a top down cooler with a 140mm fan.
It is 115mm tall when the fan is mounted in the low profile mode.
How tall is your ram?
In low profile mode, it will clear ram up to 39.5mm.
The cooler is asymmetric and can be mounted rotated 90 or 180 degrees to clear ram or motherboard vrm coolers.
Look at the diagram carefully.

Looking at photos of the case, You may want to not use a top exhaust fan.
No matter, all the cooling air that comes in the front will exit somewhere, taking component heat with it.
A top exhaust tends to redirect the intake up and out of the case before it passes the cooler. I might put a 80mm exhaust in the rear to direct the airflow. The noctua 80mm fans are surprisingly quiet.

 

[MattCS09]

Two front 120mm intake fans should supply all of the airflow you need for cooling.

Noctua maintains a list of their suitable coolers for various processors.
Here is the list for the 11600K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i5-11600K-1280
The NH-D9L is on the list with a 88 nspr(look it up on noctua) rating.
That is not sufficient for max performance if you are overclocking.
A slightly better unit at nspr 119 is the NH-C14S
https://noctua.at/en/nh-c14s
It is a top down cooler with a 140mm fan.
It is 115mm tall when the fan is mounted in the low profile mode.
How tall is your ram?
In low profile mode, it will clear ram up to 39.5mm.
The cooler is asymmetric and can be mounted rotated 90 or 180 degrees to clear ram or motherboard vrm coolers.
Look at the diagram carefully.

Looking at photos of the case, You may want to not use a top exhaust fan.
No matter, all the cooling air that comes in the front will exit somewhere, taking component heat with it.
A top exhaust tends to redirect the intake up and out of the case before it passes the cooler. I might put a 80mm exhaust in the rear to direct the airflow. The noctua 80mm fans are surprisingly quiet.

I don't plan on overclocking anytime soon and my budget is around $50-60, so the NH-C14S is a bit expensive for what I can afford right now. Another option would be replacing the case, but I assumed that replacing the CPU cooler would be easier than finding a similar or better case for that price.

 

[geofelt]

How is performance with the AF34 and the side panel removed?
If satisfactory, you could continue to run as is.
No side panel will also improve the cooling.
Not a great solution if you have nosy cats or kids around.

Normally, a gamer will not overclock a modern Intel processor.
They allow the turbo mechanism to boost one or two cores to higher clocks than an all core OC would allow. One of the conditions for max turbo is a core temperature of 70c. so one needs to pay attention to cooling.

The ability of any cooler is closely tied to the volume of the cooling radiator.
It looks to me like the twin radiators of the NH-D9L are a bit more robust than the AC34. What would you need to pay for one?
Do you shop in the US?

If your AC34 is satisfactory and you want the case buttoned up, shop for a case.
Cases are a personal thing.
If you decide to shop for a case, buy one you love.
Bust your budget if you need to.
It will be with you for a long time.
If you go to Newegg and look at cases, the detailed specs will usually state the cooler height available as well as the front intake capability.
If you need a 5.25" dvd bay, they are increasingly omitted on new cases.
You can probably find something decent for $60 or so.

 

[MattCS09]

How is performance with the AF34 and the side panel removed?
If satisfactory, you could continue to run as is.
No side panel will also improve the cooling.
Not a great solution if you have nosy cats or kids around.

Normally, a gamer will not overclock a modern Intel processor.
They allow the turbo mechanism to boost one or two cores to higher clocks than an all core OC would allow. One of the conditions for max turbo is a core temperature of 70c. so one needs to pay attention to cooling.

The ability of any cooler is closely tied to the volume of the cooling radiator.
It looks to me like the twin radiators of the NH-D9L are a bit more robust than the AC34. What would you need to pay for one?
Do you shop in the US?

If your AC34 is satisfactory and you want the case buttoned up, shop for a case.
Cases are a personal thing.
If you decide to shop for a case, buy one you love.
Bust your budget if you need to.
It will be with you for a long time.
If you go to Newegg and look at cases, the detailed specs will usually state the cooler height available as well as the front intake capability.
If you need a 5.25" dvd bay, they are increasingly omitted on new cases.
You can probably find something decent for $60 or so.

It performs quite well without whe side panel, so the thing I was more concerned about was having to clean it more regularly, since I won't have as much time as before and my cats tend to spend more time with me now that it's getting colder.

I live in Spain (I'm used to use dollars when asking online but now they're practically the same) so I get my components from Amazon Spain or PcComponentes, but I usually prices between countries don't change that much. I can't spend that much since the money isn't mine and I'm planning on getting a new monitor in the next months, so I'll check for cases to see what's more convenient to me and if I were to get a new cooler, I guess I'll go for the NH-D9L.