Best Cooling Layout for Case?

Feb 25, 2018
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I need advice on what the best cooling option would be. The case I will be building with is the Corsair Carbide Clear 600C Inverse ATX Full Tower Case, which supports various different layouts and options for cooling. For my CPU cooler, I will either be going with the H115i PRO 55.4 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler with a 280mm radiator or a Corsair Hydro Series H150i PRO with a 360mm radiator. The 280mm radiator would be placed on the front of the case, whereas the 360 would be put on the bottom.

For my GPU, I will be using an open air card to maximize performance. This obviously is connected with cooling, so I thought it would be important to mention. I am going to be making a high end build, so solid GPU cooling is a top priority.

To summarize, I'm looking for the best cooling option for my case. Is it better to have a 360mm radiator on the bottom of the case or a 280mm on the front? Should I use it for intake or exhaust? Depending on that, where should I put my fans to prevent my other components from overheating?

Any advice is deeply appreciated. Thanks in advance to any responses.
 
Solution
I would go with a 280mm front mounted radiator and back exhaust. The remaining 2x140mm case fans can be placed to the bottom of the case as intakes.
The case determines it pretty clear, as I would not use any opening without a dust filter for intake. So the front and bottom mounting points are intended as intakes. Have a fan at the higher front position blowing towards your graphics card, and exhaust at the back even if you change other things.
Depending on the length of your graphics card, and thickness of the radiator a front radiator mount must be possible. Bottom mounting could lead to clearance issues with VRM heat sink or taller memory modules.
Since you have 5.25 inch bays, you can also go with this custom building kit...

zoltan.boese

Estimable
Jan 30, 2018
1,550
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2,960
I would go with a 280mm front mounted radiator and back exhaust. The remaining 2x140mm case fans can be placed to the bottom of the case as intakes.
The case determines it pretty clear, as I would not use any opening without a dust filter for intake. So the front and bottom mounting points are intended as intakes. Have a fan at the higher front position blowing towards your graphics card, and exhaust at the back even if you change other things.
Depending on the length of your graphics card, and thickness of the radiator a front radiator mount must be possible. Bottom mounting could lead to clearance issues with VRM heat sink or taller memory modules.
Since you have 5.25 inch bays, you can also go with this custom building kit:
https://www.aquatuning.de/water-cooling/kits-systems/internal-kits/phobya-pure-performance/19027/phobya-pure-performance-kit-280lt-bayone
Once you have the case you can shuffle around your fans and run stress test to fine tune fans positions and fan curves.
The case caught my attention as well, please report back on its temps and noise output!
 
Solution
Feb 25, 2018
19
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Sorry for the late reply. I have ordered the parts needed for my build and will be using your suggested cooling layout. The 280mm radiator will be mounted in the front as an intake, two case 140mm fans will be mounted on the bottom as intake, and the final 140mm case fan will be placed on the back as an exhaust. I will be sure to report back to you on my various component temperatures.

Thanks!