[SOLVED] Cooling 5950x (Case question and AiO question)

[Maaleek]

Hello guys,

I'm currently planning on switching my setup to a new case for better airflow and cooling (I know the chip is designed to run hot but I'd like to bring it down from the 86 degrees.)
I'm leaning towards the Lancool 3 and an Arctic Freezer II 360mm AiO for cooling my CPU. Second option would be the Meshify 2 XL and the Arctic Freezer 420mm. Do you think the 420mm version will be worth it enough to go for the Meshify 2 XL or do you think running with the 360mm version is good enough?

Since it's unclear or at least hard to run the 420mm with the Lancool 3 these are my two options right now.

Planning to mount the AiO as top exhaust (running a 6900 XT) unless y'all tell me mounting it as front intake would be way better for the temps.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Phaaze88]

Front intake is always better - for the cpu thermals. Being cooled by room ambient Vs being cooled by case ambient when in top exhaust.
Case ambient is always the warmer of the 2.

On paper, a 360mm rad is supposed to handle up to 350w of heat, and 400w for a 420mm. Ryzen 5000 just doesn't pull that kind of power on all core loads; the 5900X, the 'hungriest' of the 5000 chips, is still pretty light - compared to the competition, at least.
Only you can determine if something is worth it or not after having personally tried it... the Freezer 420 would probably seem more useful in a Core i9 build.

 

[Maaleek]

Front intake is always better - for the cpu thermals. Being cooled by room ambient Vs being cooled by case ambient when in top exhaust.
Case ambient is always the warmer of the 2.

On paper, a 360mm rad is supposed to handle up to 350w of heat, and 400w for a 420mm. Ryzen 5000 just doesn't pull that kind of power on all core loads; the 5900X, the 'hungriest' of the 5000 chips, is still pretty light - compared to the competition, at least.
Only you can determine if something is worth it or not after having personally tried it... the Freezer 420 would probably seem more useful in a Core i9 build.

Thanks for the fast response, I think I'll go with the 360mm version and the lancool 3 then!

So you think it's worth to front mount the AiO?
Doesn't it hinder the GPU temps in the long run? (Also when the AiO is running low RPM -> less intake?)

 

[Math Geek]

i have a peerless assassin III on my 5900x and it's pretty happy. only a torture test gets the power beyond 200w. any real world usage is easily handled by this cooler.

i'd suspect a 360mm AIO would be more than ample and a bit of overkill

this one would easily handle it

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-240

and likely fit into the case you already have

 

[Phaaze88]

So you think it's worth to front mount the AiO?

Again. That's something only you as the OP can answer; different values and all that.

Doesn't it hinder the GPU temps in the long run?

Cpu cooling is woefully inefficient compared to gpu. We got big ol' air coolers handling 600w gpus without breaking a sweat, but big AIO/CLCs struggling with cpus pulling half that or less...

You can't 'win' in either scenario, that something is going to feed(heat) into something:
A)Front intake cpu AIO/CLC feeding everything behind it.
B)Top exhaust cpu AIO being fed by everything below it.

The only setup that avoid the above scenarios is tower air cooler plus gpu blower.
Also, both your cpu and gpu scale their max boost clocks with temperature(as well as power).

Also when the AiO is running low RPM -> less intake?

So less exhaust is ok? Air in, air out... both are equally important to finding a balance.

 

[Maaleek]

Thanks for all the info, really appreciate it.

So less exhaust is ok? Air in, air out... both are equally important to finding a balance.

I heard it's advisable to have more intake then exhaust so that dust doesn't build up as quick.
Last questions from me (fans):

With the Lancool 3 (front AiO):
1 back & 3 top 140 as exhaust
360mm AiO Intake
Are bottom intakes worth it and if yes how much?

Same question for AiO as exhaust too.

 

[Phaaze88]

To me, dust is inevitable. I'm not that worried about it. Gotta clean the PC and other hardware at some point, just as long as I'm doing it at least once a year.
If a case has too many open seams/gaps, then the whole argument of more intake over exhaust doesn't even matter; there's no pressure.
Filters help keep dust out, but they in turn will clog and hinder airflow.

Last questions from me (fans):

With the Lancool 3 (front AiO):
1 back & 3 top 140 as exhaust
360mm AiO Intake
Are bottom intakes worth it and if yes how much?

Does more to bring in dust than anything else; will need to be cleaned more often than the other filters.
More valuable for case chimney(bottom intake, top exhaust only) setups.
No difference with AIO exhaust.