[SOLVED] AIO placement on new case for best thermal?

[thtran6]

Hello guys,

I'm about to upgrade to a new case.
I'm considering the Fractal Design Meshify White case, since it was rated the best all around case on gamernexus.net
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811352087

This case can fit:
FRONT: 2x140mm fans OR 3x120mm
TOP: 2x140mm fans

Could you help me decide on which option would be the best for thermal performance?

Option 1: 360mm AIO on front for intake, and 2x140mm fans on top for exhaust
Option 2: 280mm AIO on front for intake, and 2x140mm fans on top for exhaust
Option 3: 3x120mm fans on front for intake, and 280mm AIO on top for exhaust

Additional question: for those who own this case, do you know if it can fit a push/pull AIO (either on top or front)? I really want to do push/pull because I have too many noctua fans (both 120 and 140mm) lying around.
My gpu is Gigabyte RTX 2080 Gaming OC.

If you feel like there exists a better case for me at around $100 or less (i live in the U.S.) that would give better thermal, please feel free to recommend!

Thank you so much guys!

 

[The Original Ralph]

first i own a Fractal Design Refine R6, not the Meshify but same company and at least in the manual they give you the actual physical dimensions the case will accept in terms of radiators, ie just because a radiator is described as 280mm, doesn't mean it measures the same as others - example, my R6 showed it would accept a radiator no wider (dimension from one long edge to the other) of 147mm and i was about to buy a radiator with a width of 153mm. It also stated max thickness (their term was "height") of 36mm. Especially in the roof of the case, the thickness is important - note in the image below, how much of the top of the motherboard is covered by the fans & radiator - about 1/2" of the ram is covered

UPDATE: and equally imprtant, Fractal didn't state that installing a 360MM radiator (or larger) up top meant doing away with the 5.25" external bay and even then it would crowd the bejesus out of the single exhaust fan. I went with a 240mm lenght radiator so i could keep my ext bay and leave a few inches between it and my exhaust fan, which i've turned around so it's blowing in and i'm fabricating a shroud to direct air down onto the VRM and the motherboard. Without an air cooler, there will be nothing moving air across the motherboad if i don't

point is,know your case's dimensional limits and the radiator you plan to install

2nd, the roof is considered the best place for a single radiator with the fans set to the "pull" mode, ie fans on top, radiator below exhausting heated air outward. Some folks believe having the radiator exhausting it's hot air into the case is acceptable or not a big deal but i can't accept that - it seems counterproductive to extract heat from the cpu into the coolant > radiator > and then to pump it back into the case

i render video files, quite a bit actually, and my CPU (in my sig), showing a load of 97-100% shows temps of 72 - 78C per core, with occasional spikes to 80C. We maintain the house at 72F - the wife unit bumped the thermostat to 74F, a two degree bump in ambient temp (computer has a temp sensor showing 22C which is 71.6F when thermostat is at 72F). Within 5 minutes of the wife bumping the thermostat up to 74C, the alarm on RealTemp was sounding, indicating spike temps had gone to 85C - so a 2F bump in ambient had shown a bump in CPU spike temp of 5C, and average core temps were 3-4C above what they were

in your case, try to have more fans or at least as many, blowing in as fans blowing out, and keep in mind your GPU is exhausting air as well

hope that helps