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[solved] Fan setup advise for summer

4K views 55 replies 14 participants last post by  VindalooJim 
#1 ·
Hello Overclock forum, i'm asking for your help with my case fan setup!

I setup my new PC this winter but i have some thermal issue now that summer arrive, my CPU rise up to 68C while playing yesterday and the motherboard shut down my gaming because of PCI rise to 60C so i open the case to check this out and its was really hot in there!

CPU : i5-2500K
GPU : Sapphire 7850 2GB
Motherboard SABERTOOTH P67 : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_P67/
Case Elite 361 : http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mini-tower/elite-361.html
80mm fan NF-R8 : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=9&lng=en
120mm fan : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=55&lng=en
CPU fan NH-L9i : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=50&lng=en

First of all i can not change my case it has to be this case.

I wonder what can i do to improve my setup so i draw some schema :

My actual fan setup => Every fan in the case bring hot outside

Possible improvement => The top 120mm fan bring cold inside (every other fan extract hot outside)



Do you think of other possible fan setup improvement ???

Thx a lot for your time
 
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#2 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Hello Overclock forum, i'm asking for your help with my case fan setup!

I setup my new PC this winter but i have some thermal issue now that summer arrive, my CPU rise up to 68C while playing yesterday and the motherboard shut down my gaming because of PCI rise to 60C so i open the case to check this out and its was really hot in there!

CPU : i5-2500K
GPU : Sapphire 7850 2GB
Motherboard SABERTOOTH P67 : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_P67/
Case Elite 361 : http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mini-tower/elite-361.html
80mm fan NF-R8 : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=9&lng=en
120mm fan : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=55&lng=en
CPU fan NH-L9i : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=50&lng=en

First of all i can not change my case it has to be this case.

I wonder what can i do to improve my setup so i draw some schema :

My actual fan setup => Every fan in the case bring hot outside

Possible improvement => The top 120mm fan bring cold inside (every other fan extract hot outside)



Do you think of other possible fan setup improvement ???

Thx a lot for your time
Ummm, no offense but that design is horrible. You want positive pressure for air cooling, meaning more intake than outtake (slightly)

What you have right now is just silly. You will also want to consider your fans flowrate (measured in CFM, that is Cubic Feet Per Minute)

Here's what you will want to do, figure out the CFM of your fans, then calculate how you can have 60% of that on intake, and 40% of that on outtake.

This will allow for proper airflow for the heatsinks in your comp case.
 
#3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZytheEKS View Post

Ummm, no offense but that design is horrible. You want positive pressure for air cooling, meaning more intake than outtake (slightly)

What you have right now is just silly. You will also want to consider your fans flowrate (measured in CFM, that is Cubic Feet Per Minute)

Here's what you will want to do, figure out the CFM of your fans, then calculate how you can have 60% of that on intake, and 40% of that on outtake.

This will allow for proper airflow for the heatsinks in your comp case.
Well its 53 m³/h x 3 fans = 159 (2 rear + 1 front)
107,5 m³/h x 2 fans = 215 (1 top + 1 side)
total fans = 374 m³/h

thats a total of 218.79 CFM

But what do you suggest for fan IN and what fan for OUT ?

The top and rear fans are really close to each other and close to the CPU's fan
The side fan is right in top of GPU's fans
 
#8 ·
Can you just leave the cover off the case and put a fan blowing into the case?
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by VindalooJim View Post

Use the front 80mm as an intake fan. Install a 120mm intake fan on the side panel. Use 2 80mm exhaust fans on the rear and use a 120mm top fan as an exhaust.

You really do need a better case though if you're having issues with temperatures.
I know i need better case but i only have 150mm for the case space to go in!!
(my wife dont let me have any more space lol)

* Use the front 80mm as an intake fan => OK still the space cable problem for cold air to go throw...
* Install a 120mm intake fan on the side panel => OK but if it intake cold air directly in the GPU, will it not disturb the GPU's intake fan (i dont know if you understand what i mean)
* Use 2 80mm exhaust fans on the rear and use a 120mm top fan as an exhaust => OK

=> With your setup i'm afraid that the intake air don't go throw the case to the exhaust fan
But i know that the top fan can intake cold air in the case and be exhaust throw the side fan

Thx
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by VindalooJim View Post

Then you really need a new case. I really don't understand why you would use Noctua fans in a case like that.
Best fan quality, good CFM/Silence performance (silence is very important for me and as i gaming a lot i need good air blow with silence)

New case is impossible, as i say previously i only have 150mm Height space in the room for the case
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

I know i need better case but i only have 150mm for the case space to go in!!
(my wife dont let me have any more space lol)

* Use the front 80mm as an intake fan => OK still the space cable problem for cold air to go throw...
* Install a 120mm intake fan on the side panel => OK but if it intake cold air directly in the GPU, will it not disturb the GPU's intake fan (i dont know if you understand what i mean)
* Use 2 80mm exhaust fans on the rear and use a 120mm top fan as an exhaust => OK

=> With your setup i'm afraid that the intake air don't go throw the case to the exhaust fan
But i know that the top fan can intake cold air in the case and be exhaust throw the side fan
The cold air isn't supposed to go to your exhaust fans, its supposed to go to your components. You want the cold air to to blow directly on to your GPU. The exhaust fans just suck out the hot air in your case that your components have created.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Best fan quality, good CFM/Silence performance (silence is very important for me and as i gaming a lot i need good air blow with silence)
I know all about Noctua fans. But they are not going to perform well in a case like yours. Its like putting a turbo on a Reliant Robin.
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Well its 53 m³/h x 3 fans = 159 (2 rear + 1 front)
107,5 m³/h x 2 fans = 215 (1 top + 1 side)
total fans = 374 m³/h

thats a total of 218.79 CFM

But what do you suggest for fan IN and what fan for OUT ?

The top and rear fans are really close to each other and close to the CPU's fan
The side fan is right in top of GPU's fans
I would swap your 80mm side fans to intake, and your top 120mm to outtake. Then I would swap your 80mm front fan as an intake.

Hard to do much else, as swamping your fan by the GPU would just be intaking hot air,

Truthfully any positive pressure setup would be better than what you have right now. Right now you have a negative pressure setup which makes your CPU heatsinks fan near useless.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Hello Overclock forum, i'm asking for your help with my case fan setup!

I setup my new PC this winter but i have some thermal issue now that summer arrive, my CPU rise up to 68C while playing yesterday and the motherboard shut down my gaming because of PCI rise to 60C so i open the case to check this out and its was really hot in there!

CPU : i5-2500K
GPU : Sapphire 7850 2GB
Motherboard SABERTOOTH P67 : http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_P67/
Case Elite 361 : http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/mini-tower/elite-361.html
80mm fan NF-R8 : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=9&lng=en
120mm fan : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=55&lng=en
CPU fan NH-L9i : http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=50&lng=en

First of all i can not change my case it has to be this case.

I wonder what can i do to improve my setup so i draw some schema :

My actual fan setup => Every fan in the case bring hot outside

Possible improvement => The top 120mm fan bring cold inside (every other fan extract hot outside)



Do you think of other possible fan setup improvement ???

Thx a lot for your time
So far I see very little posted that will help your cooling problems but I do have some experience and can usually get a system to cool.
If you want help drop me a note.
 
#17 ·
Thx you all for your replys, it may me think and have things a little bit more clear!

So to sum up you advice me to :

1/ top 120 outtake
2/ rear 80mm outtake
3/ side 120mm intake (once again it will intake air directly on the top of the GPU! i'm afraid about the GPU fans because they intake into the GPU and the side fan will blow IN the GPU where GPU fans want to blow air out...)
4/ front 80mm intake

Anything else ?
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Thx you all for your replys, it may me think and have things a little bit more clear!

So to sum up you advice me to :

1/ top 120 outtake
2/ rear 80mm outtake
3/ side 120mm intake (once again it will intake air directly on the top of the GPU!)
4/ front 80mm intake

Anything else ?
You're welcome. Yeah that is pretty much the best fan set up for your case in my opinion. Give it a try.

Your case isn't the easiest to do cable management with but try to tie your cables up as neatly as possible and out of the way of your fans and components so not to impede airflow.
 
#19 ·
I agree with kejyko. I would also add that since that config would be 'prone' to creating negative pressure in the case (more outtakes than intakes), if you have the option, I would run the two intakes at a higher speed, and the three outtakes at a lower speed. Negative pressure in my experience is less efficient overall than positive (or neutral) pressure, and it definitely leads to more dust buildup in your case
thumb.gif


The other thing about negative pressure (beside more dust) is it's more likely than + pressure to lead to 'hotspots', i.e. places where the air is not circulating well.

One way to tell if you're + or - pressure is to find somewhere on the case (not near an active fan) where air can either escape or be sucked in (often times the easiest way is to remove a front bay cover ... one that covers where an optical drive would be, for instance). Or if there's some mesh area somewhere, you can use that as well. Either way, hang about 3 squares of TP down over some 'hole' in your case, and observe whether the tissue is sucked TOWARDS the hole (negative pressure), or AWAY from the hole (positive pressure).
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

=> With your setup i'm afraid that the intake air don't go throw the case to the exhaust fan
It's still bringing in ambient air that will make its way through the case. I may even try having the rear 80mm fans as intake, blowing directly over the cpu cooler, and the top working as a low rpm exhaust. Just experiment with different layouts; it's part of the fun.
 
#25 ·
Hello all,

Thx again for your recent replys

I'm still having some temp issu with the GPU, i think there is a "cold air" problem (GPU may not receive enough new cold air)

The CPU is now stable at 60C in load, before it was rise up to 70C thx to the 120mm top INTAKE

But the GPU is still going up to 70C in some part of the gaming

Is it possible that the INTAKE 120mm top fan bring hot air to the GPU since it go throw the CPU first before reaching the GPU ?
So maybe going with 80mm rear INTAKE and 120mm top OUTAKE ? It will allow new cold air for CPU without blow air to the GPU and the top wil outake the hot CPU air ?

Later i will try to INTAKE both side and front fan for blowing cold air to the GPU.

So to sum up :

Top OUTAKE hot CPU (1000 speed)
Read INTAKE cold CPU (2000 speed)
Side INTAKE cold GPU (1000 speed)
Front INTAKE cold GPU (2000 speed)

Looks good for you ?
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kejyko View Post

Hello all,

Thx again for your recent replys

I'm still having some temp issu with the GPU, i think there is a "cold air" problem (GPU may not receive enough new cold air)

The CPU is now stable at 60C in load, before it was rise up to 70C thx to the 120mm top INTAKE

But the GPU is still going up to 70C in some part of the gaming

Is it possible that the INTAKE 120mm top fan bring hot air to the GPU since it go throw the CPU first before reaching the GPU ?
So maybe going with 80mm rear INTAKE and 120mm top OUTAKE ? It will allow new cold air for CPU without blow air to the GPU and the top wil outake the hot CPU air ?

Later i will try to INTAKE both side and front fan for blowing cold air to the GPU.

So to sum up :

Top OUTAKE hot CPU (1000 speed)
Read INTAKE cold CPU (2000 speed)
Side INTAKE cold GPU (1000 speed)
Front INTAKE cold GPU (2000 speed)

Looks good for you ?
Those temps are acceptable but like I said in my previous post I would suggest using this fan set up:

Front-intake
Side-intake
Rear-exhaust
top-exhaust
 
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