Clearance inside a chassis is essential to enthusiasts, in this section we will be looking at all areas to reveal just how flexible R3 really is.

Firstly the CPU cooler clearance. Fractal Design claim 165mm for the maximum height of the CPU cooler before it touches the side panel. This covers most flagship CPU coolers including Noctua NH-D14 and Thermalright Silver Arrow (160mm). Installed inside R3 is the Noctua NH-U12P which is 158mm in height. It’s good to see this chassis can accommodate big, flagship CPU coolers.



Next the GPU clearance. Though R3 doesn’t have any removable HDD cages there is enough room to cater for most graphics cards currently on the market. Pictured is the NVIDIA GTX 480 which is 11” in length.



Behind the motherboard tray is a total of 1.7cm of clearance. There are no convex side panels so this isn’t especially generous but it does mean that the majority of cables will tuck away behind the motherboard tray with the side panel on without too much hassle.