Fractal Design Define XL R2 with Corsair H105 water cooling options

[caramon]

I apologize if this is in the wrong forum, however I've been racking my head trying to figure out if my build is going to work in this case. I've been reading and watching reviews to no end and haven't found a definitive answer, so I'm hoping that someone on this forum might have this setup or have tried it.

List of relevant parts:

MSI EATX DDR4 3000 LGA 2011-3 Motherboards X99A GAMING 9 ACK
Corsair H105 Extreme Liquid cooling
4 Corsair SP120 Fans
4 Samsung 2.5 SSD's (thus the need for a HDD cage still)
EVGA 220-P2-1000-XR 80 PLUS Platinum 1000 W Power Supply

In watching YouTube reviews, I noticed that it probably isn't feasible to have the Corsair H105 Water cooling up top in this case, even just the push method as it's mentioned that only slim radiators can fit up there (~25mm). The complication comes in that I want to do push/pull config with Corsair SP120 fans. I see that the HDD cages are modular and can be removed or even moved into two different positions to put the radiator up front, however what appears to be impossible to find is that if I can fit a push pull config in there while retaining one of the HDD cages for my SSD's while fitting in an EVGA 1000W XR PSU and being able to route the cables.

I currently have a CoolerMaster 932 HAF case which fits the Corsair H105 in push/pull just fine with my LGA 1366 build and while I like it, it's dated and would like something newer with the relevant connections, like USB 3.0, etc as well as less wire mesh for my upcoming X99 build. The Fractal seemed to fit that...for the most part.

I've also looked at the CM Storm Trooper, but the same issues appear to exist there.

Any wisdom or advice welcome.

 

[mhenley]

The issue I had when trying to use push/pull on a NZXT Kraken x60 inside my Fractal Design XL R2 was that the thickness of the fans along with the radiator would prevent me from installing the motherboard. If the mounting holes and vents were positioned half an inch closer to the left side panel there would be enough clearance, but sadly, they are not.

So, I went with just a single pair of fans in push/exhaust and my OC'd 4770k ([email protected]) doesn't come anywhere close to thermal limit using my preferred fan settings. The dampening material in the case allows me to run the fans slightly higher than I would have otherwise, and the additional surface area of the 280mm radiator was enough to offset the lack of push/pull. You could, of course, mount two fans outside of the case, but I doubt that will be necessary.

Naturally, your results may be different than mine.

 

[caramon]

Thanks for the reply.Did you ever try, just for the sake of seeing if you could, mounting the cooler in the front of the case by moving the HDD cages?

 

[mhenley]

I read that it is possible, but I did not test it. Best of luck to you in your decision and build.