die2nite

I figured that title will get people into this thread.

After all the threads I created (sorry about that) I think I got a good config down. Anyways, I'm going to go all out and "recool" my P180 and Q6600.

I currently have a Rosewill Z3 CPU Cooler which doesn't even make full contact with my Q6600 and doesn't seem to be doing too good of a job so I'll be getting a prelapped TRUE from CrazyPC.

I'm going to put two Noctua NF-P12's on it a push-pull config. After seeing this review (and reading tons of forum posts) which put the two fans on a TRUE on a Q6600 I can see that they seem to be the best fans for the TRUE at a lower noise (beating out the highly acclaimed Yate Loons a bit).

What I'm also planning on doing is buying three more NF-P12's. One to use as in intake fan for the front of my P180 and the other two as exhaust fans on the top and rear of the case. I figure this way I can keep all the noise levels relatively the same (and low). However, will they function well as case fans? Also, since the P12's have high static pressure I take it they'll work well with fan grills and filters?

Another question. Should I buy another fan to put as an intake where the lower hard drive cage is? Will it help with overall system temps or will the air just get stuck there? (I have two harddrives and my PSU in the lower compartment of the P180) Problem solved

And finally I'll be getting some OCZ Freeze thermal compound .

So any comments or suggestions? I'm pretty set on what I've got here but if I've made any blatant misjudgments feel free to tell me. Also no need to make comments telling me to get a cheaper fan because the Noctua's aren't worth the 1 or 2 degree difference because well, I can afford it

Cheers,

bshan87

I dont own that case, so I can't comment on the fan situation near the hard drive. But I would use Artic Silver 5 thermal paste! Good Luck with everything

die2nite

Thanks, but I'm going to go for a higher grade TIM. Any other opinions?

The Duke

I'm going to try the IC7D next
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=2

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RayvinAzn

I haven't used my NF-P12 as a case fan just yet, but I can attest to it as a very nice CPU cooler. I honestly can't tell the different between it and the Scythe S-Flex 1600RPM fans in terms of noise though, and a brief test I did a few months back seems to indicate that the S-Flex is a superior fan in terms of airflow (and somewhat cheaper). I'll hopefully be doing a proper review next month (with several other fans included), but as it stands, you can't go wrong either way in my opinion. Maybe pick up a few of each yourself and see how they work for you.

And I'd definitely get a fan to cool your hard drives. I dropped around 6 or 7c off my hard drive temperature just from moving it from slightly above the intake fan in my old 3D Aurora case to directly in the airflow path - and lower operating temperatures are always good. It shouldn't mess up the airflow in the P180 at all, and it might even help a bit.

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Dusted.

die2nite

Yea I just tested out putting a fan in front of the hard drives in the lower bay and they're temps dropped by more than 10 degrees and I got some cooler mobo and GPU temps as well.

Bakes

Yeah, the noctua's are great
If you want ultra-high-end thermal paste, go for cool laboratory liquid metal. It does however have the nasty habit of fusing the hsf and ihs together though.

SG_Stryker

I have a P182 on order so it hasn't arrived yet. I was curious on some of your fan arrangements.

You said you added one to the front lower level of the case...do you have one in the upper hard drive section as well? What about the stock fan that comes in the lower PSU chamber...did you leave that one there as well?

I plan to have 2 intake Yate Loons(one in each hd area) but was going to leave the stock tri-cools in the PSU and the back and top of the case. So I was curious what setup you are actually using right now?

die2nite

I moved the fan that was in the lower area in the middle to make it an intake for the lower hd cage. What I actually did was remove the "cage" that was in the lower setup (I could not for the life of me figure out how to put hard drives in it and so I just moved the upper hard drive cage there (it's not a perfect fit but it is stable). And so I basically just forced the fan in between that cage and the fan grill, ghetto but everything holds better and it works.

So since I removed the upper hard drive cage I put a Scythe Slipstream 1900 intake there. I still have my top and rear exhaust tricools.

All these fans will be replaced by Noctua NF-P12's by next weekend though.

SG_Stryker

Okay so you no longer have the fan directly in front of the PSU, you have moved that to the front of the case?

I am curious to see if having a fan directly in front of the PSU as well as at the front of the case would cause PSU problems. Because you would basically be blowing the hot air from the HDs right into the fan that was blowing on the PSU. Would it help cooling at all or just make the PSU worse?

So the lower chamber would look like this.

PSU_________<FAN______HDS_<FAN