Cases and CPU cooler Clearance Question

[XplosiveNoctua99]

Hi People...

I'm trying to find a good case that will allow me to use a Hyper 212 TURBO

http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-led-turbo/

and i'm not sure if the required clearence is 160mm or 163mm...

also.. when a case says that the max cpu height is 160... does that mean a tight fit? or that there is a small gap in between side panel and top of cooler?

Thanks

[Zyndo]

7 minutes ago, XplosiveNoctua99 said:

Snip

Clearance would be 163mm... heatsink says 160mm, but I doubt they're including the plastic finish on the top of the heatsink... or the cooling plate... or something like that. the overall unit is 163mm tall so it should stand to reason its required clearance is 163mm

and when a case says that it has 160mm of clearance it means that if you install a cooler that is 160mm tall it will fit and if its 161mm tall it will not fit.

[XplosiveNoctua99]

Just now, Zyndo said:

Clearance would be 163mm... heatsink says 160mm, but I doubt they're including the plastic finish on the top of the heatsink... or the cooling plate... or something like that. the overall unit is 163mm tall so it should stand to reason its required clearance is 163mm

and when a case says that it has 160mm of clearance it means that if you install a cooler that is 160mm tall it will fit and if its 161mm tall it will not fit.

 

ok thanks.... finding a case thats got a bigger clearance than 160mm is hard

[Oscargot]

Normally there's a little bit (like 2mm maybe) of fudge factor in this specification, I've seen people install a Dark Rock Pro 3, a 163mm tall cooler, in a NZXT S340, a case with supposedly only 161mm of CPU tower clearance.

 

Additionally here's a build that puts a hyper 212 evo in this case, it's only 1mm different in height so this is basically representative of what you'll see.

I won't be helpful enough to give any outright recommendations but it looks as though the S340 might work fine, and I can vouch for it in other ways as an owner myself.

[Zyndo]

8 minutes ago, XplosiveNoctua99 said:

ok thanks.... finding a case thats got a bigger clearance than 160mm is hard

there are plenty of cases that are more than a 160. nothing small form factor, but most mid towers should be able to handle this just fine. and @Oscargot is correct, the number given by a case is usually a bit on the conservative side just to account for manufacturing intolerance, measurement inaccuracies, and customer carelessness... you usually have a little bit more than the listed number, but if you take that risk and it don't fit then you've no one left to blame but yourself haha.

and based on the pictures I believe I was correct about the difference between 160 and 163mm.... that extra 3mm appears to be for the coloured plate on the top. if you remove that it should fit 160 just fine.

[XplosiveNoctua99]

2 minutes ago, Zyndo said:

there are plenty of cases that are more than a 160. nothing small form factor, but most mid towers should be able to handle this just fine. and @Oscargot is correct, the number given by a case is usually a bit on the conservative side just to account for manufacturing intolerance, measurement inaccuracies, and customer carelessness... you usually have a little bit more than the listed number, but if you take that risk and it don't fit then you've no one left to blame but yourself haha.

 

Yeah, There's plenty of cases out there i know... but the choice in Australia is super limited.. and then there's the fact that you have to actually like the case, and it has to be the right form factor etc.