How to setup fans????? Please help!

[infamousk12]

Hello,

So, I'm finishing gathering all my parts for my PC build. And I have a few questions on fan orientation and setup. I have the Corsair 780T case. Very large, and air flow friendly. It comes with 2 140MM fans in the front as intakes, and a 140MM fan in the rear for exhaust. I also got a Corsair H115i, which comes with 2 fans. The 780T has a special bay in the top of the case to mount fans above the bracket. I'm thinking that the best idea is to put the fans on the top of the bracket, and the radiator below. I am interested in push/pull but only if it's necessary. I have read that it doesn't necessarily improve temperatures too much. But I am open to it.

Questions:
1. Should I plug the case fans into the PSU to be controlled by the built-in case fan controller?
2. Assuming the previous question's answer is yes, should I plug the radiator fans into the CPU header so that it automoatically scales to the needs of the processor?
3. How will I know if I need a fan splitter? (Please forgive me, this is my first build)

btw, here is my build
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $119.00)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII FORMULA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($348.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($139.81 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $463.00)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $69.99)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card ($670.00)
Case: Corsair 780T ATX Full Tower Case (Purchased For $170.00)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $204.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $159.99)
Other: Mouse Pad (Purchased For $30.00)
Total: $2803.64

 

[coozie7]

1: Yes.
2: If I remember correctly the H115i requires you to do this anyway, the fans and pump are PWM controlled.
3: When you run out of motherboard fan headers.

Splitting the rad/fans sounds like a good idea, it'll improve air movement below the rad/fans and should allow that big rear fan to pull some of the hot air expelled by the GPU out and away from the CPU cooler intake.

 

[infamousk12]

1: Yes.
2: If I remember correctly the H115i requires you to do this anyway, the fans and pump are PWM controlled.
3: When you run out of motherboard fan headers.

Splitting the rad/fans sounds like a good idea, it'll improve air movement below the rad/fans and should allow that big rear fan to pull some of the hot air expelled by the GPU out and away from the CPU cooler intake.

Thank you so much for your reply! I am a bit neurotic because this is my first build and I want to get it right (blame my OCD). Lastly, just to be sure, I should orientate the fans on the top of the case in pull config? So that it pulls fresh air from the top and pushes air thru the radiator grills? Is that right?

 

[coozie7]

The top fans should draw air from inside the case and push (or pull) it outside, if they draw air from out of the case and push it in they'll be fighting the front intake fans which, in turn, will hurt the GPU cooler.

 

[infamousk12]

The top fans should draw air from inside the case and push (or pull) it outside, if they draw air from out of the case and push it in they'll be fighting the front intake fans which, in turn, will hurt the GPU cooler.

Really? Hmm, I would think bringing in cool air from the top and thru the system would be optimal, even with front intake fans.

 

[coozie7]

No, if all 4 fans are drawing air In, where's it going to go? 😉

 

[infamousk12]

No, if all 4 fans are drawing air In, where's it going to go? 😉

hmm. wouldn't it just be exhausted out the back?

 

[DustinV]

Front, bottom, and side as intakes.
Rear and top as exhausts.

All CPU coolers use air from inside the case, unless you put the radiator at the front

 

[infamousk12]

Front, bottom, and side as intakes.
Rear and top as exhausts.

All CPU coolers use air from inside the case, unless you put the radiator at the front

So, if I wanted to do push/pull on the roof of the case, I would set the fans to pull the air from inside, up thru the rad, and the fans on the top bracket would push that air up and out of the case, correct?

 

[coozie7]

^ Yep.