Clearance is a major thing for enthusiasts; especially where computer chassis are concerned. Knowing how much space there is for key components can mean the difference between something being compatible and incompatible.

First up, the CPU cooler; thanks to R4 being particularly wider than other cases helps to accommodate big CPU coolers, pictured is Noctua’s NH-U12P which is 158mm in height. As you can see there is lots of clearance for this cooler to reside within R4. There is sufficient space for even bigger coolers such as Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Silver Arrow and Alpenfohn K2 which are all 160mm in height.



Moving to the graphics card there are two options available for clearance; with upper HDD cage installed and without. Of course, taking the HDD cage out is going to cover any current graphics card on the market but with the HDD cage installed, there is a limitation. Pictured below is XFX HD7970 DD which is 10.5” in length, at a push we could install a graphics card that is 11” in length but the PCI-E connectors would need to be mounted on the top of the card and not at the end.



Due to clearance limitations water-cooling is an option but enthusiasts will be constrained to slim radiators that are below 3cm in thickness at the top of R4. Fractal Design even specify on their product page for R4 that this case “Top 120/140mm fans - positions also support some models of 240 radiators, depending on configuration”. The same can be said for the front too, both HDD cages can infact be completely removed to allow for a 240mm radiator.

Turning our attention to the clearance behind the motherboard tray there is approximately 2.3cm of space between the back of the tray and side panel; a very generous amount of clearance that allows for any redundant cables to be arranged behind the system.