Air flow of Fans and/or Water Cooling

[glenquagmire]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119266

This is my Case. I need help with fans and/or water cooling. I am OC'ing my CPU and GPU.

This is my first "real" build.

-My case has two fans on the front mounted
-I have one on the back of the case
-There are open slots with no fans currently (2 under the window; 2 under the case (one slot is taken up because of the PSU (fan down with filter)); top of the case has basically either one fitting for a Corsair h100i or two larger fans)

I know nothing about the flow of air or where to put what fans as well as should air suck in or blow out. I know its going to need to be cool.

 

[P1nnacle]

Put your intake fans at the front and bottom of your case, this is where the most cool air is. Your exhaust fans should be put on the top and rear of the case, as heat rises.

 

[glenquagmire]

Put your intake fans at the front and bottom of your case, this is where the most cool air is. Your exhaust fans should be put on the top and rear of the case, as heat rises.

Cool thanks.

Any recommendations for fans or water cooler?

 

[manofchalk]

Water-cooling, dont bother TBH. If your buying a case at that budget, there are better things you can sink your money into than a CLC cooler. If you want aftermarket CPu cooling, get something like a 212 EVO.

Two intake fans and one exhaust, I would think that would be enough. If you want more, I would buy two nice LED fans (Bitfenix Spectres look amazing), throw them in the front and move the front fan to the top. Get some more airflow and get a better looking rig.

 

[glenquagmire]

Water-cooling, dont bother TBH. If your buying a case at that budget, there are better things you can sink your money into than a CLC cooler. If you want aftermarket CPu cooling, get something like a 212 EVO.

Two intake fans and one exhaust, I would think that would be enough. If you want more, I would buy two nice LED fans (Bitfenix Spectres look amazing), throw them in the front and move the front fan to the top. Get some more airflow and get a better looking rig.

so you think air cooling the CPU with more fans and better fans is as good as water cooling it? Keep in mind I am overclocking the CPU and it's an AMD 8350

 

[manofchalk]

If you compare CLC's and air heatsinks at similar price-points, you will find that air-cooling is often the better option. A 212 EVO goes toe-to-toe with a H60 for performance and costs a fair bit less, same at the high end like NH-D14 against a H100i.
Proper water-cooling (so custom loops, not CLC's like the Corsair Hydro's) is expensive and on the value front is pretty abysmal, but you get performance you simply cant achieve on air.

What heatsink to get will depend on how far you intend to clock that chip. 4.3-4.4Ghz, yea you likely would be fine with a 212 EVO, higher than that you would want something like the NH-D14 or Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

 

[P1nnacle]

Water-cooling, dont bother TBH. If your buying a case at that budget, there are better things you can sink your money into than a CLC cooler. If you want aftermarket CPu cooling, get something like a 212 EVO.

Two intake fans and one exhaust, I would think that would be enough. If you want more, I would buy two nice LED fans (Bitfenix Spectres look amazing), throw them in the front and move the front fan to the top. Get some more airflow and get a better looking rig.

so you think air cooling the CPU with more fans and better fans is as good as water cooling it? Keep in mind I am overclocking the CPU and it's an AMD 8350

It depends on your overclocking target. If you're looking for about 4 GHz, you shouldn't have much of a problem with air cooling. However, if you wan't to crank it up to 5 GHz, it can be pretty challenging to get a stable build without some sort of water based solution. Corsair's H100i is a good cooler if you're looking for just CPU cooling. Also, manofchalk has a point, you should try to have more fans putting air into your system than exhausting it, this will help keep your internal case temperature down.

 

[glenquagmire]

I'm not doing custom water cooling. I was was thinking h100i or or something comparable. I don't care whether air or water but want the right solution for less than what I would have paid for a h100i.

I have just front fans now in the front of the case having in in flow . The is is a spot on the bottom for a fan, two spots on top and two on side. I have one exhaust fan on on the rear. What's the recommendation for my 5 slots that are vacant? I have white lights on on the front that came with the case. Yeh I want it to look cool but I want efficiency and quiet more. If there there are fans that do have lights blue or white than okay.

My colors are....
White storm Scout 2 case (looks like a storm trooper)
Black and brush aluminum mobo
Blue g skill ram
Black gpu with blue pcb
White and black interior case walls.

 

[P1nnacle]

I'm not doing custom water cooling. I was was thinking h100i or or something comparable. I don't care whether air or water but want the right solution for less than what I would have paid for a h100i.

I have just front fans now in the front of the case having in in flow . The is is a spot on the bottom for a fan, two spots on top and two on side. I have one exhaust fan on on the rear. What's the recommendation for my 5 slots that are vacant? I have white lights on on the front that came with the case. Yeh I want it to look cool but I want efficiency and quiet more. If there there are fans that do have lights blue or white than okay.

My colors are....
White storm Scout 2 case (looks like a storm trooper)
Black and brush aluminum mobo
Blue g skill ram
Black gpu with blue pcb
White and black interior case walls.

I'd leave your side fans off, put intake at the bottom and exhaust at the top. If you're asking for fan recommendations, You need to give us the size of fans you're looking for. If you're looking for something cheaper than an H100i, you could try the H60. It's the single fan variant.

 

[manofchalk]

^ Except the H60 performs nowhere near as well as a H100i and is on par with a far cheaper heatsink.

I'm inclined to think as far as case airflow is concerned, the stock fans are sufficient. Buy the rig, set it up and then decide if you need more fans. An easy way to test for insufficient airflow is to run a benchmark and record temperatures. Then pop the side panel and go again, if temps are significantly lowert, you know airflow is an issue.

 

[P1nnacle]

^ Except the H60 performs nowhere near as well as a H100i and is on par with a far cheaper heatsink.

I'm inclined to think as far as case airflow is concerned, the stock fans are sufficient. Buy the rig, set it up and then decide if you need more fans. An easy way to test for insufficient airflow is to run a benchmark and record temperatures. Then pop the side panel and go again, if temps are significantly lowert, you know airflow is an issue.

I wasn't trying to imply that the H60 was anywhere near the H100i in terms of performance, I was just offering an alternative since he stated that he didn't want to pay the H100i price.

 

[glenquagmire]

^ Except the H60 performs nowhere near as well as a H100i and is on par with a far cheaper heatsink.

I'm inclined to think as far as case airflow is concerned, the stock fans are sufficient. Buy the rig, set it up and then decide if you need more fans. An easy way to test for insufficient airflow is to run a benchmark and record temperatures. Then pop the side panel and go again, if temps are significantly lowert, you know airflow is an issue.

I wasn't trying to imply that the H60 was anywhere near the H100i in terms of performance, I was just offering an alternative since he stated that he didn't want to pay the H100i price.

No more than the h100i price. I was am willing to get one at $110 or less.

My PC in in the laundry room where I have a air vent pumping cold area into the room. Its sits on a white wire shelf so completely air ventilated on the bottom with no obstructions. I really don't care about water or air cooling just which is going to sound quiet, last long, and do the best job. I have stock fans 2 120mm on front and 1 120mm exhaust on back. 5 open slots (1 on bottom, 2 on side, two on top). I don't care about the size, but the slots are all fitted for 120mm fans. The CPU fan again, don't care about size, just want the best for no more than the cost of the h100i since that's what I am willing to pay. I do plan to OC the CPU to what I can get it to for 24/7 use (why have something OC'able if not maximizing you investment??).

 

[P1nnacle]

^ Except the H60 performs nowhere near as well as a H100i and is on par with a far cheaper heatsink.

I'm inclined to think as far as case airflow is concerned, the stock fans are sufficient. Buy the rig, set it up and then decide if you need more fans. An easy way to test for insufficient airflow is to run a benchmark and record temperatures. Then pop the side panel and go again, if temps are significantly lowert, you know airflow is an issue.

I wasn't trying to imply that the H60 was anywhere near the H100i in terms of performance, I was just offering an alternative since he stated that he didn't want to pay the H100i price.

No more than the h100i price. I was am willing to get one at $110 or less.

My PC in in the laundry room where I have a air vent pumping cold area into the room. Its sits on a white wire shelf so completely air ventilated on the bottom with no obstructions. I really don't care about water or air cooling just which is going to sound quiet, last long, and do the best job. I have stock fans 2 120mm on front and 1 120mm exhaust on back. 5 open slots (1 on bottom, 2 on side, two on top). I don't care about the size, but the slots are all fitted for 120mm fans. The CPU fan again, don't care about size, just want the best for no more than the cost of the h100i since that's what I am willing to pay. I do plan to OC the CPU to what I can get it to for 24/7 use (why have something OC'able if not maximizing you investment??).

I misread. I would definitely use W/C if you plan on running an overclocked CPU 24/7. The H100i would be a good choice in terms of keeping your CPU cool. If you use W/C on the CPU you should be able to get away with 3-4 fans total.

 

[manofchalk]

What cooling solution to get all depends on how big an overclock you intend to push. Theres a world of difference between a 4.5 and 5Ghz overclock, and each requires a completely different level of cooling.
But anyway, if you just want the best cooling for cheap, get yourself a Noctua NH-D14 or Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Those will perform the same as your 240mm rad CLC coolers for a fair bit less cash.