Cryorig R1 Universal - Airflow & Compatibility issue

[businessms]

Dear all,

I'm facing a compatibility issue between my Cryorig R1 Universal and my Geforce GX 1080. First my hardware:

Mainboard: MSI Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium
CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Universal
GPU: 2x Palit GeForce GTX 1080 GameRock Premium (SLI)

Installation of the CPU cooler was smooth enough, but now I am facing the problem that the GPU does not fit in the first PCI-E x16 slot. As this is a SLI setup I absolutely have to use the first PCI-E slot. Second problem: this rig is going to be overclocked as high as possible - that's one of the reasons I chose this mainboard. Bottom line: I need powerful CPU cooling as well as the first PCI-E slot. Find below my ideal airflow setup, which now is not possible (the indicated fans are all PWM case fans):

I'm thinking about changing the CPU cooler orientation and case airflow as follows:

I'm concerned about two things:

* Too much positive pressure? In the new scenario I have 4 intake fans and only one (large) outtake fan.
* The CPU cooler takes (presumably warm/hot) air directly from behind the GPU backplate - will this hinder airflow substantially? Will the air behind the GPU be "too warm"?

Please share your insights if you have encountered similar setups and problems - thank you!

 

[Mr Kagouris]

The direction of the cooler's airflow does not affect cooling as long as it's not actually going against the airflow of intake fans. Orient it whatever way you want.

 

[businessms]

Thanks for your answer!

Yeah, I definitely want to avoid conflicting airflow, good point. So what are your ideas regarding the new suggested setup, with special regard to the (now intaking) 140mm rear fan? Could this potentially conflict with the CPU cooler (now directed upwards). As you probably have noticed my original setup had the rear fan as an outtake fan. My sole reason for changing it to intake was purely speculative: if both the rear and top fan are outtake, and the CPU fans are only millimeters are away from the GPU backplate, maybe the CPU cooler fan has not enough cool air available for intake? Do you have any experience with such tightly-packed fan intakes?

Thanks again!

 

[Mr Kagouris]

No need to change the case fans' orientation, just rotate the cooler so that it fits properly and doesn't conflict with intake airflow. The air from the GPU backplate won't be an issue, however the (much larger) intake of dust from rear intake will.

 

[businessms]

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I was not able to turn the R1 Universal, now my RAM is in its way - well, that was to be expected. I've returned it and am awaiting a Corsair H110, that should do the trick.