Space, distance and clearance is of utmost importance to system builders because it helps to identify what hardware fits inside a case and what doesn’t.
In the CPU cooler department 230T can just about house flagship CPU coolers which are 160mm in height. Pictured below is Noctua’s NH-U12P which is 158mm.
Support for big CPU coolers
For graphics card support there is adequate space for high-end options. If you are planning to use the top PCI-E for a single card configuration then there should be no conflict with the HDD cage since this slot sits above the 2.5” adapter. For multi-GPU configurations using lower slots there is approximately 12” or 320mm of clearance for the total length of the card.
High-end graphics cards are accommodated
Since the top has 120/140mm fan support, this also means radiators such as Corsair’s Hydro Series H100 will fit here too. As you can see from the picture, this radiator is installed without the cooling fans attached and the edge of the radiator is directly above the top of the motherboard.
Success in attaching cooling fans to such a radiator will demand low-profile motherboard heatsinks at the very least.
H100 attaches but limited space for cooling fans
Around the back of the motherboard tray there isn’t a great deal of distance between it and the side panel - just 1.5cm. Thankfully though, the motherboard tray is concave in certain areas to assist with cable management in this regard. In our experience with 230T we had no problems getting the side panels on with all the cables routed behind the motherboard tray.
Clearance behind the motherboard tray
