Confirm the case supports 360mm top radiator mounting plus 27mm fan thickness before ordering, since SA cases vary on motherboard clearance and front fan spacing between brands and chassis lines. Match specs to your build and use case before you commit to the upgrade.
Before buying a radiator or AIO, measure your case's maximum radiator length, check fan mount screw hole spacing (120mm vs 140mm fans), and verify clearance between the radiator and motherboard's first PCIe slot or VRM heatsinks. Most modern mid-tower cases sold in South Africa support a maximum of 360mm (3 x 120mm fans) in the top position or front position, but not all support both simultaneously.
Case spec sheets list radiator compatibility by mount location. A typical mid-tower entry reads: "Top: up to 360mm / Front: up to 360mm / Rear: up to 120mm." This tells you the maximum radiator length for each position, but not the fan size. A 360mm radiator uses three 120mm fans; a 420mm radiator uses three 140mm fans. Verify which fan size is supported at each mount point because fan screw spacing differs between 120mm (105mm centre-to-centre) and 140mm (125mm centre-to-centre). Installing a 420mm radiator kit in a case designed for 120mm-fan mounts is a common mistake that leads to misaligned screw holes.
Top mounting exhausts hot air directly out of the case, which is thermally efficient and takes advantage of natural convection. Front mounting allows a thicker radiator and potentially a push-pull fan configuration, providing marginally more cooling capacity at the cost of restricting front-panel airflow to the rest of the case. In South Africa's warmer inland climate (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Kimberley), top-exhaust radiator placement is generally preferred to prevent heat from the radiator recirculating into the case. Coastal builds (Cape Town, Durban) with high ambient humidity benefit from ensuring radiator fans are pointed to exhaust rather than intake to avoid drawing humid air directly over hot components.
Front-mounted radiators require clearance between the radiator fans and the motherboard.
A 360mm AIO plus two or three additional case fans requires four to six fan headers on your motherboard or a separate fan hub. Mid-range motherboards on B850 and B760 chipsets typically provide three to four fan headers. Count your total fans before finalising your build to avoid needing an additional fan hub, which adds cost and cable management complexity.
Compact and micro-ATX cases typically support a maximum of 240mm in the front and 120mm at the rear. A 360mm AIO will not fit these cases. Confirm maximum radiator support on the specific case's product page before purchasing your AIO.
Front-mounted radiators can slightly reduce fresh intake air reaching the GPU if the radiator is pulling air in from the front. For a GPU-intensive gaming build, top-mounting the AIO radiator and using the front panel for intake case fans is often the better thermal layout.
Yes, standard 120mm fan mounting uses a 105mm centre-to-centre screw spacing, which is universal across case and radiator manufacturers. The physical fan size (120mm blade diameter) versus the mount frame (typically 120mm x 120mm x 25mm) is standard and fully interchangeable.
Planning your next SA gaming build and unsure which case fits your AIO? Evetech lists full case dimensions and radiator compatibility for every chassis in stock, so you can match your AIO size to your case before anything ships.
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