Question Fractal Design Meshify C - Top AIO and Vengance RGB Pro RAM

[Spartan2077]

I'm looking to downsize from a corsair 570x to the Fractal Design Meshify C as current case is extremely cumbersome and its footprint is a bit large for my tastes. My only concern is the clearance for a top mounted Corsair H100i Pro AIO (240mm) and my Corsair Vengance RGB Pro RAM hitting one another due to the Meshify having a lower ceiling compared to the 570x (Mobo is Maximus Hero XI) can anyone confirm if this will be a issue?

 

[Barty1884]

I don't have 100% of the components you're looking at - but I have the Meshify C and a Z370-A (similar VRM heatsink size). I have 140mm Noctua fans on the top, and there is plenty room for a Rad too, before impacting DIMM slots etc.

Not the best image to make the point, but it's the only one I have at the moment.

You'll be fine.

 

[Karadjgne]

Still think you should have a Tom's emblem on that shroud the LTT sticks out like a sore thumb..

But I do like the setup, just enough White accents. 😁

The AIO shouldn't have clearance issues on top, but if it does, there's always the front. Leaving the stock fans in place at intake won't hurt performance, they are very decent fans, you can still put the RGB's topside.

 

[Barty1884]

Still think you should have a Tom's emblem on that shroud the LTT sticks out like a sore thumb..

It's coming....

https://teespring.com/toms-hardware...er_trans_shipmentshipped&utm_swu=9572&pid=794

If only it hadn't taken until Black Friday for something to be available from TH....

 

[Spartan2077]

Thanks for that! Would you recommend the Meshify C as a good case then? Any other issues you could think of I may run into with building in it? Also I've heard the tinted TG side panel for this case is too dark, can you confirm?

 

[Karadjgne]

It's honestly an excellent case. But ultimately it's on you. Some prefer clear glass, some prefer dark glass, some light tint, no glass, no RGB, the plain box, fancy power-ranger look boxes, etc etc etc. So asking whether or not the glass is too dark is definitely a user thing.

I like TG. I also like a more classic look where there's limited accenting and minimal lighting. So an overly dark TG just means turning up whatever lighting is inside, if I want to see in. Clear/light tint being almost/no interior lighting. No worries either way.

 

[Spartan2077]

I've checked the Youtube Trailer showcasing this case and can see it says Max component clearance is 44mm with AIO installed now I'm pretty sure my RAM is 55mm so I may have to front mount my RAD.

 

[Barty1884]

Thanks for that! Would you recommend the Meshify C as a good case then? Any other issues you could think of I may run into with building in it? Also I've heard the tinted TG side panel for this case is too dark, can you confirm?

Karadjgne has covered it off well. But from an objective standpoint, it's "good", yes.
Airflow is solid, albeit with an upgraded fan config beyond stock.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3061-fractal-meshify-c-review-vs-define-c

Agreed on the dark TG, I'm not a fan so went with the regular. If you're populating with RGB, then the dark tint appears to work fine.

I've checked the Youtube Trailer showcasing this case and can see it says Max component clearance is 44mm with AIO installed now I'm pretty sure my RAM is 55mm so I may have to front mount my RAD.

That's speaking to the VRM heatsink etc, components that are right at the edge of the motherboard - 44mm clearance is basically saying you have 44m before components on the edge of the board could be problematic.

RAM height isn't going to impact AIO clearance, unless it's a particularly thick Rad/Fan implementation - and I don't believe any exist that would cause concern.

RAM doesn't sit at the top of the board. While the ATX standard doesn't 'require' specific placements, DIMM slot edges are generally ~20mm from the top of the PCB. So you're looking at a combined (Fan+Rad) clearance somewhere in the ballpark of 55-60mm before your DIMM slots are of any concern*.

A typical AIO's Rad is anywhere from 27mm on the low end, to 38mm on some of the thickest offerings.
Generally speaking, a 120-140mm fan will be around 25mm in thickness (although there are some outliers).

*of course, VRM headsinks might be a concern, but the heatsink looks very similar in dimensions to the Prime Z370-A I have, so I'd expect you'd be fine.

Worst case scenario, you could front-mount the Rad - but I don't think that'll be necessary.

The most common location I see people using is the front... So maybe there's more of a conflict that I'm imagining.
Just a quick PCPP search shows this build, full custom loop with dual RADs, utilizing the top:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/PVBbt6

And that is using a Crosshair VI Hero, with a similar VRM heatsink:

 

[Karadjgne]

There's a couple of reasons why ppl are gravitating towards front mount rads.

The biggest is dimensions. Cases are much taller now than prior, there's no optical bays in most, and with severe lack of necessity for multiple hdd bays, one can easily be mounted under a shroud, on the bottom etc, well out of the way. That's leaving a huge gaping hole on the front side, which still has to be tall enough for a ATX standard mobo and psu. So you get 3x 120mm fans right off the rip.

Without the need for depth, other than to seat any gpu, the 360mm AIO got extremely popular overnight. Massive cpu OC, high wattage top line mainstream cpus like the 3800x or 9900k/s make a 360mm a probability. So case designers are sticking it in front, because that's the best spot for it. A couple of top fans, and you are golden for airflow, don't even require a rear exhaust at all. Unless you go with an air-tower.

A 360mm exhaust on top would tip airflow well out of balance without something equitable in front, and you'd end up with an ATX mid tower case bordering on full tower specs, that'd be the fractal design R5/R6. I not only had room to interior mount my Kraken X61 in pull config, I still had just over 2" (about 55mm±) of space between the fans and gpu. Not to mention all the wasted space above the gpu until running into the optical bays where my hdd/ssd sits. Love the case, but with my air-tower now, I could stick my foot inside the case and not hit anything, there's too much room.

Aesthetics. Feng Shui. Balance. With everything big parked at the rear of the case, mobo psu gpu etc, a rad in front makes a whole lot of sense.

 

[Spartan2077]

Karadjgne has covered it off well. But from an objective standpoint, it's "good", yes.
Airflow is solid, albeit with an upgraded fan config beyond stock.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3061-fractal-meshify-c-review-vs-define-c

Agreed on the dark TG, I'm not a fan so went with the regular. If you're populating with RGB, then the dark tint appears to work fine.



That's speaking to the VRM heatsink etc, components that are right at the edge of the motherboard - 44mm clearance is basically saying you have 44m before components on the edge of the board could be problematic.

RAM height isn't going to impact AIO clearance, unless it's a particularly thick Rad/Fan implementation - and I don't believe any exist that would cause concern.

RAM doesn't sit at the top of the board. While the ATX standard doesn't 'require' specific placements, DIMM slot edges are generally ~20mm from the top of the PCB. So you're looking at a combined (Fan+Rad) clearance somewhere in the ballpark of 55-60mm before your DIMM slots are of any concern*.

A typical AIO's Rad is anywhere from 27mm on the low end, to 38mm on some of the thickest offerings.
Generally speaking, a 120-140mm fan will be around 25mm in thickness (although there are some outliers).

*of course, VRM headsinks might be a concern, but the heatsink looks very similar in dimensions to the Prime Z370-A I have, so I'd expect you'd be fine.

Worst case scenario, you could front-mount the Rad - but I don't think that'll be necessary.

The most common location I see people using is the front... So maybe there's more of a conflict that I'm imagining.
Just a quick PCPP search shows this build, full custom loop with dual RADs, utilizing the top:

https://pcpartpicker.com/b/PVBbt6

And that is using a Crosshair VI Hero, with a similar VRM heatsink:

I can't thank you enough for such a thorough breakdown and explanation, I'll go with the dark tinted glass as I've got a full suite of Corsair RGB fans ect.. if its too dark im sure I can hunt down a clear replacement side panel and I'll try my luck with top mount AIO setup, worst case as you say is front mounting the rad instead!

 

[Spartan2077]

Found a build with same Ram and similar MOBO with RAD and fans. Looks good to me