Compatibility PSA: Fractal Meshify 2 + Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 + ROG Strix X570-F

Soldato
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Hi all,

I recently upgraded my Haswell era PC to something more current, and with the addition of a 5950X to my system, I decided to do it some justice with the biggest cooling I thought I could fit in my PC without going custom water loop... As the title suggests, I hope to be informative about certain barriers along the way.

I'll start off with a picture of the final build:
9odVAm8.jpg

Nice, right? I like to think so. But getting to this stage wasn't without (about a day of) strife!

Components
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
NVIDIA RTX 3090 Founders Edition
32GB (2x16GB) Kingston HyperX 3600 MHz C18
ASUS ROG Strix X570-F
Fractal Designs Meshify 2
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420, 3 x 140 mm case fans
Corsair RM850X
Samsung 840 Pro SATA for Windows Boot
Crucial MX500 SATA for Linux Boot
Corsair MP100 NVME for hi-speed cache
Various other storage drives

I needed to make some adjustments for a very tight fit. The components that caused a small amount of difficulty were the motherboard, case and AIO. I hope to describe how I managed to get it to fit as well as show off my non-flashy build. I am not recommending against these components, but just letting people know what my experience was with this particular combo, in case they were considering this combo.

Main snags
  • The AIO was very snug at the top of the case
  • Spatial hindrance of the AIO with the front intake and rear exhaust fans
  • Pressed close against the front I/O cables
  • Pressed against the rear I/O shroud
  • Offset Mount Brackets touching some motherboard capacitors
Solutions
Inserting the AIO rad
To get the rad into this case, you must remove a fan. You cannot remove the case top, screw it to the rad, and then place it back on top. The reservoir and pipes will clash with the fans. This leads to the next part...
Shift case fans lower
Miraculously, the Meshify 2 allows for sliding fans up or down as you please, so down they went. The rear fan needed to go particularly low, such that the bottom to screws wouldn't line up with their holes. I believe I can find rubber screw replacements that can stretch through the partially showing holes if there is any vibrational noise.

Sq6qkZj.jpg

DRRh584.jpg
Loosen and shift front I/O cables
The front I/O cables are tidily taught through a hole which they pass around to the back of the case. In most scenarios this is ideal, but the stacking of a couple thick cables stops the cooler from being in comfortably. Shifting the rear exhaust fan down helped a bit but I pulled the front of the case off to move the cables around enough so the radiator would set in place. I would do this step as a last resort because it may not be the most essential to fitting a a 420mm rad in here.
ZBaH4hO.jpg
Remove the Strix X570-F rear I/O shroud
The rear I/O shroud pushed against the rear of the radiator enough that it misaligned it with the screw holes at the top-rear of the case. To get it flush, I removed the GPU, unscrewed the motherboard, unplugged a few critical cables and moved it out just enough so I could access screws on the back of the motherboard. The I/O shroud is screwed in with two small Philips screws, their positions denoted by a grey outline on the PCB - one near the extreme top and another roughly in the middle. Be warned, there is a thin cable for the RGB LEDs in the shroud, so be careful removing the shroud, and gently shimmy the connector out of the port in the motherboard. Removal gave 1-2mm clearance, enough for the radiator to sit flush against the I/O shield, and enough to let the screw holes align between the case and rad.

Mobo Top
jABQtrT.jpg
Mobo middle (front)
I2BYSqy.jpg
Mobo middle (back)
oD6A1YP.jpg

Ongoing monitoring
Brackets touching capacitors:
This was a little concerning when I first mounted the the cooler. The brackets, when screwed in, seem to touch some of the capacitors to the left of the CPU socket. I would call it a little off-flush but I judged it to be workable. I'll keep an eye on performance and stability and revisit this if I think its causing a problem.
kBYYOWp.jpg
Temperatures:
Initial prime95 testing didn't see the CPU go over 54oC, which is nice. I will consider undervolting (like I have done for my RTX 3090) to keep temps in check and (more importantly for me) noise levels low. I will also consider checking on mounting pressure, and reapplying thermal paste (I used up the last of my thermal grizzly kryonaut and spread it very thin with the spatula. I usually prefer to just throw an excess on the IHS and let it spread itself).


Concluding thoughts
Anyway. That was my modest looking build, with far from modest hardware. It's the first time I've personally owned high-end computing parts for myself (and it sure is more pricey than it used to be) but it does the work I need it to, as well as breeze through any game I throw at it. The case was quite user friendly and hides drives and cables really well. I am confident that the airflow is unimpeded to the GPU and radiator. I like how the removal of the shroud got rid of the only bit of RGB in my case. Nothing against it, just not my style preference. I am aware that many other motherboards out there will not have as bulky of a rear I/O shroud so it won't be a problem - I just happened to be unfortunate with my combo. I imagine it is the same story with other Strix motherboards, if they have the same shroud. I've yet to do further tweaks like fan profiles and tuning, but a busy schedule doesn't permit me much freedom. Maybe I'll have more updates in the future... I hope this is helpful for anyone in the meantime.


Bonus
The Old Cooler
Alpenfohn Mount Doom K2 - Was used for an i5 4670K (7 years) and a 5800X (a few months, with an AM4 mounting kit for the Matterhorn...)
Ig8hFTx.jpg
My cats :)
bBZWPOv.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thank you for sharing this. I just bought this case and I think 420mm is too much for a first time builder, so I am hoping to mount the 360mm version of this AIO.
Based on your amazing battle with the 420mm, may I ask if I still have to stick to low profile ram such as the one you using or it does not really matter?
Many thanks.
 
Thank you for sharing this. I just bought this case and I think 420mm is too much for a first time builder, so I am hoping to mount the 360mm version of this AIO.
Based on your amazing battle with the 420mm, may I ask if I still have to stick to low profile ram such as the one you using or it does not really matter?
Many thanks.


Hi Nick,

Thanks, I'm glad it's helpful. Using the 420mm, there is a very small amount of clearance from the RAM DIMMS. These sticks are not big or chunky, I guess they could be called low profile. With the 360, you should have the clearance for larger RAM sticks. Can get back to you with measurements tomorrow if you have the patience.
 
That will be great. Thanks mate.
At this point, I am going for Corsair Vengeance LPX to be safe and may I assume you are still using the two stock 140mm fans at the front?
 
That will be great. Thanks mate.
At this point, I am going for Corsair Vengeance LPX to be safe and may I assume you are still using the two stock 140mm fans at the front?

Just had a look. With a 360 rad (or any 120mm based rad) on top, you will have the option to mount the radiator either flush with low profile memory or 20mm offset away from the memory. Should be plenty of room.

Yes I'm using the two stock 140mm fans at the front shifted down. I opted to keep using the stock 140mm at the back too, but you could use a 120mm instead for a less hack-y finish.
 
So 36mm + 20 mm that gives a total of 56 max for a rgb ram option if so desired
Once again, many thanks for your time and advice, really really appreciate it. Cheers.
 
Is it even a custom build if it doesn't have at least one "I'm going to throw this damn thing through the window" moment?! Definitely worth the hassle though, that's a very classy looking build
 
2 questions:

1) Is it possible to remove PSU shroud on Meshify 2,and slide MOBO 5-10cm down

2) Can i install 2 or 3 intake fans on the bottom instead of the front
 
2 questions:

1) Is it possible to remove PSU shroud on Meshify 2,and slide MOBO 5-10cm down

2) Can i install 2 or 3 intake fans on the bottom instead of the front

Hi there,

1) You can remove the shroud but an ATX motherboard will be in direct contact with the PSU below. The Meshify 2 XL may be more to your liking if you need space the for rads or anything else.

2) There is space for 2x120 or 2x140 at the bottom if you remove the HDD cage.


The manual for the case has a good set of example configurations and dimension considerations included.
https://www.fractal-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Meshify-2-manual-v.1.2-2020-05-18.pdf
 
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