A stupid question about blocking exhaust fan vents with radiators .......

[Traemandir]

Okay so I have a question and it is probably pretty stupid.

I have built a few gaming rigs, but now I'm trying to get serious about cooling, and experiment with liquid cooling solutions.

I have a Phantom 410 case with two 140mm vents on the top, and one 120mm vent for the rear. My tentative plan is to put a Corsair H105 radiator in the top vents for the CPU, and a Corsair H75 in the rear 120mm vent for the GPU. At first in my mind this made a lot of sense, but now I'm thinking my air flow might suck if I have a radiator in all three exhaust vents.

Will my exhaust vents still allow proper airflow out of my case if each one has a SP (Static Pressure) fan? OR should I rethink my strategy ...

 

[rubix_1011]

I wouldn't consider using 2 Corsair closed loop coolers as getting serious about cooling. There are some much better options, depending on what your actual budget is.

What CPU and GPU are you planning to cool? Overclocking either? If so, how much and what TDP vs stock?

 

[Traemandir]

I wouldn't consider using 2 Corsair closed loop coolers as getting serious about cooling. There are some much better options, depending on what your actual budget is.

What CPU and GPU are you planning to cool? Overclocking either? If so, how much and what TDP vs stock?

By "getting serious about cooling" I just mean reevaluate my air flow and put in water cooling just for the heck of it. Don't feel daring enough to do a custom loop, I just want to slap these on there for experimentation purposes. I will probably over clock at some point once I have some form of water cooling, whatever I decide to go with.

My question still stands, will the radiators be a serious obstruction to the air flow through the case?

Not that it's important in the context of the question, but I currently have a Core i7 3770K and two GTX 670's in SLI. Going to replace the SLI with a single 970 because SLI has proven to be a hassle.

 

[rubix_1011]

For the money, those coolers are going to be mediocre for what you want to achieve.

GTX 970 has a stock TDP of approx 150w and the CPU has a stock TDP of 77w.

H75 = $75? H105 = $110? Plus the mounting bracket + RAM sinks for the remainder of the card = ~$40?

Total $225; a lot for an experiment when for not much more you can go with a full watercooling loop.

Or, that money could be applied toward a 980 or 980Ti for better gaming performance.

Radiators block airflow, but it depends on the airflow direction. Closed loop coolers are almost always very high FPI radiators, meaning the fin density is quite high compared to most watercooling radiators normally used. This causes a lot of airflow restriction and requires loud, high CFM fans to perform well. It also depends on what fans are used on the other openings - just saying you have a 140mm fan is very vague as to what the fan specs are - RPM/CFM, static pressure, etc.

 

[Traemandir]

For the money, those coolers are going to be mediocre for what you want to achieve.

GTX 970 has a stock TDP of approx 150w and the CPU has a stock TDP of 77w.

H75 = $75? H105 = $110? Plus the mounting bracket + RAM sinks for the remainder of the card = ~$40?

Total $225; a lot for an experiment when for not much more you can go with a full watercooling loop.

Or, that money could be applied toward a 980 or 980Ti for better gaming performance.

Radiators block airflow, but it depends on the airflow direction. Closed loop coolers are almost always very high FPI radiators, meaning the fin density is quite high compared to most watercooling radiators normally used. This causes a lot of airflow restriction and requires loud, high CFM fans to perform well. It also depends on what fans are used on the other openings - just saying you have a 140mm fan is very vague as to what the fan specs are - RPM/CFM, static pressure, etc.

Okay so radiators do block airflow? Pretty much all I'm asking. Just in theory here: proper air flow involves intake fans blowing into the case from the front/bottom, with exhaust fans blowing out from the top/rear. If my exhaust fans are exhausting through closed loop radiators, instead of just exhausting into the open sky .... how bad for air flow is that on a scale of 1 to 10.

 

[rubix_1011]

It isn't that they 'block' airflow, they reduce it given that you're placing metal and fins in direct path of fans and exhaust vents on the case. With good fans or push/pull, you can minimize this impact.

Also depends on what the overall airflow in your case is doing, as well. Most people choose to have their radiator mounts act as intakes, not exhaust, and allow top or rear fans to operate unrestricted.

 

[Traemandir]

It isn't that they 'block' airflow, they reduce it given that you're placing metal and fins in direct path of fans and exhaust vents on the case. With good fans or push/pull, you can minimize this impact.

Also depends on what the overall airflow in your case is doing, as well. Most people choose to have their radiator mounts act as intakes, not exhaust, and allow top or rear fans to operate unrestricted.

Okay I see. Hmmmm I guess it's kinda a win/lose using the radiators as intakes. I see how that is better for airflow, but I imagine that would raise the ambient temperature inside the case, blowing hot air into it from the radiators.

 

[rubix_1011]

Not necessarily - it depends on your case airflow. And the idea that watercooling causes air to be hot from the radiators is somewhat incorrect unless you have calculated your Delta-T incorrectly and have a higher DT than you should.

For example, air coming out of my radiators at full load is barely warm. If the air is hot, you are adding more heat to the loop than your radiators, fans and pump are able to dissipate out.