Define R4 and Watercooling AIO?

CeremonialSnips · May 19, 2016

I was looking into the spec alpha by corsair... but for 10 bucks more can get a r4. Has anyone used an aio 240 rad in this case (like the Corsair H100i) ? is it cramped or awkward?

Lehti · May 20, 2016

While I don't do watercooling, I own a define R4 and there's no way you can make it cramped, no matter how much stuff you put in there. A word of advice, though: try to get a 280 mm aio, because the two fan grids at the top are 140 mm and smaller 120 mm fans leave a 2 cm border that looks rather awkward.

nobelharvards · May 20, 2016

There is NO support for a 280mm radiator anywhere in a Define R4.

http://support.fractal-design.com/support/solutions/articles/138156-define-r4-what-size-radiator-will-fit-in-the-top-panel-

http://support.fractal-design.com/support/solutions/articles/143287-define-r4-front-radiator-mount

Largest radiator support is 240mm, front and top.

https://forum.teksyndicate.com/t/i-put-a-kraken-x61-in-to-a-define-r4/70625

This guy put a Kraken X61 (280mm radiator) in a Define R4, but required modding.

@Lehti Please do NOT spread misinformation like this, it is extremely irresponsible of you.

Lehti · May 20, 2016

Sorry, I just assumed you could use the holes the sound-dampening panels are screwed to to mount a 280 mm radiator.

Steel_Wind · May 20, 2016

17 hours ago, CeremonialSnips said:

I was looking into the spec alpha by corsair... but for 10 bucks more can get a r4. Has anyone used an aio 240 rad in this case (like the Corsair H100i) ? is it cramped or awkward?

Yes. I have both the R4 and R5 and it is awkward as all hell to install in the R4 up top. You should be aware that a 240mm cooler may not even fit in your case, depending on your mobo's placement of its 4/6/8/12 pin to the mobo's cpu power. Yes, it's that touch and go and a real pain in the ass. Sorry about that news. FWIW, the Asus Gaming Pro Z170 does fit in a Define R4 with a 240mm H100iGTX cooler up top. But only JUST. You might also have issues as well depending on the height of your heat spreaders on your RAM. They were fine with Corsair Vengeance DDR 4 3200 but just... FYI.

The good news is that the Define R5 shifts the top fan placement from on centre to move the fan mounting holes outwards off centre, giving you WAY more room and a H100iGTX installs MUCH easier.

I built my own system in a R5 in January. I installed a H100iGTX in it up top and had zero issues. I loved the case. I built my eldest son's system in March and decided to go for an R4 for his as it was on sale, saved me $50 and the aesthetics were almost identical. "Why spend the extra $50", I thought.

How wrong I was.

Short Strokes: There is a DAMNED GOOD REASON to spend the extra $50. The build experience in the R5 over the R4 is superior in every possible way. All of the little things -- and some big things -- make the R5 a vastly superior case. If you have the money, get the R5 instead. Really, it's worth it. Building in the R4 is frustrating as all hell in comparison to the R5. It is a night and day experience.

Now, at the end of the day, the new Skylake system fit in the Define R4 and looks great and it works well. It's not that it cannot work. It can and does (depending on your parts). But the comparison to the R5 is not a favourable one.

If I had it to do all over again, I think I probably would have just built my son's system in a Deepcool Dukase (which fits both 240mm and 280mm easily up top) instead of the R4 and saved an extra $50 off of the R4 -- or paid more and bought an R5 or NZXT H440. Either way, up or down in price will make for a build that would have made me happier than the R4 I got "on sale".