Just bought an aio cooler and cant get it to fit

[bluekryptonite]

Hello, as the title says I just bought a kraken x52 240mm aio cooler for my gaming pc. Now while my case supports it my motherboard, which is an msi z97 gaming 5, doesn't seem to because at the top my ram chips get in the way of the radiator and other things that protrude from the motherboard do as well. If it were just the fans or just the radiator it would mount correctly. My case also supports a radiator in the front but i'd think it would be to thick to fit there. Any ideas on what I can do because right now I have a useless $150 aio cooler just sitting here. My case is a Vivo case v07. CLICK HERE TO SEE PIC and CLICK HERE TO SEE MOTHERBOARD PIC

 

[n0ns3ns3]

it's not your MB, it's the case that has not enough clearance for mounting the RAD + fans on top.
even mounting on front does not seems to be an easy task. You might need to mod the case (for example cut the PSU shroud) to mount the rad in front.

 

[bluekryptonite]

Oh I just had an idea. How about I mount the unit in front but with the fans on the outside of the mesh and the radiator on the inside of the mesh. The only problem I have is that I removed the top part of the mesh to make way for an internal dvd drive but I have since removed that and have gotten an external usb one. The only way the mesh came out was by breaking it off and now I don't see how it would go back in but I still have the bottom half if that's enough to hold it. What a headache!!

 

[n0ns3ns3]

that might work. at least until you decide to get a more suitable case.

 

[bluekryptonite]

Yeah I guess that's ultimately what I'm gonna have to do is upgrade the case because I don't really like the fact that it's going to be in the front acting as an intake instead of an exhuast and also the way it will be screwed in. Is there a case you can maybe recommend. I'll try not to cheap out on it I promise LOL! Oh and I had to go out and buy longer screws to mount it because of the mesh that will be in the way.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

do you have a budget in mind ?
any features (color, window, form factor)

 

[bluekryptonite]

$150 maybe? Yes on the window. Definitely enough space to install my kraken at the top. ATX Midtower and I generally like black and blue(same with the lighting too). The tower I have now fits 2 hdd's, 1 cd rom drive, and a couple ssd's. I'd like to fit at least 1 more hdd.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

the CD (optical) drive is a bit of a problem.
Do you really use it ? I don't remember when used one last time.
If CD drive is not a requirement:
Fractal Design Define S or Define C
Phanteks ENTHOO EVOLV ATX GLASS or ENTHOO EVOLV ATX

In case you need the optical drive:
Define R5
ENTHOO PRO M

 

[bluekryptonite]

No I'm using a usb external optical drive now and thank you for the recommendations. I'll certainly look into those. I did install the kraken in the front and everything is working fine but the radiator is able to move a little bit since the mesh only has like 1 inch slots not small holes and the screws won't tighten enough so it's tight but I don't think that will be a problem for now. What bothers me is the fact that it's in the front and used as an intake instead of an exhaust which is more ideal. Anyways, thanks for the help and I'm gonna choose your most recent reply as the best solution since that is the answer in the long run. Take Care!

 

[n0ns3ns3]

don't worry about front placement.
In theory, the ideal placement of the rad is exhaust, but practically, you are cooling only CPU and the difference will be a couple of degree for the internal case temperature and components.

 

[bluekryptonite]

Ok that's good to know. By the way I thought i'd share my new temps with you. I was playing GTA 5 for 2 hours with the clock speed at 4.4GHz(4790K processor and GTX 1080 graphics card) and the hottest core was 62 degrees celsius at max. That's definitely an improvement over 70 degrees + with my coolermaster hyper 212 evo. Oh and I had idle temps as low as 15 degrees. Wow! Well take care of yourself and thanks again for the help!