312mm card in a 310mm max case?

[Harrybo11]

I'm looking to build my first pc and I am planning to use the Fractal Design Define R5 with a Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce which is 312mm long. The R5 says it can fit up to 310mm cards or bigger without some of the the drive bays. Would I need to remove the drive bays or not? Sorry if this is a stupid question, just wanted to make sure and thanks for any help.

[MrChavelo]

Yes, you would

[manikyath]

depends on how tightly the card and case manufacturer measure, but i wouldnt count on having those drive bays.

[BelatedFungus]

Sometimes you may get lucky, but it's unlikely. Say goodbye to your drive bays.

[Lays]

It'll fit, if it doesn't, just take one of the cages out.

You're not planning on having like 20 hard drives, so it's not like they're needed anyways, right?

[CapricaBuccaneers]

These Fractal cases come with the ability to remove or reorient (hdd) the drive cages at the front of the unit.

You will be able to reposition the middle cage so that the sleds exit out into the case main compartment and fit a G1 as well. You'd have to remove a couple of the sleds to do this but if you really wanted to have the cages and a G1 inside it can work this way. You will lose 2-3 of the drive slots but it'd be better than losing the entire Middle cage.

I tried this with my Arc and it works, also helps the front fans airflow into the case, however I only use 1 hdd and the 2 SSD slots on the motherboard tray rear. For aesthetic/airflow reasons I just removed all the cages, whatever works for you.

Edit: I had a G1, so I used it for this example - any of the triple fan cooler Windforce models would be the same.