Is my case fan setup optimal?

[Evan Shaffer]

So I've been having freezing issues lately, and it appears to be temperature related. Mainly with the RAM, since when I set up a specific fan for it, the problem is less common. However, I'm not entirely sure if my unorthodox setup is the best configuration.

As pictured, I have an intake fan on top, but it's divided internally by a plastic spacer that I wedged inbetween the two fans. Is there any way I could reconfigure this setup to provide better cooling, or am I decent as is?

CPU: i5-6600 Skylake
RAM: 16GB 2400MHz DDR4
Mobo: MSi Z-170A Krait
GPU: 2x Crossfire R9 280 3GB
240GB SSD and 1TB WD Hard Drive configuration
850W Thermaltake Grand

CPU temps are 28C when idle, 40C under load
GPU 1 temps are 40C when idle, 75C under load
GPU 2 temps are 28C when idle, 60C under load

UPDATE: RAM temperatures during a crash read as 40 degrees C
Motherboard read 40 degrees C as well throughout the whole board.

 

[rwoody]

I would change that top intake to exhaust. Top intakes work against the natural flow of hot air, which is upward. By having an intake and exhaust next to each other, you're making your top fans work really hard to just circulate hot air. Turn down the RPM's on your exhaust fans and keep your intake fans a little higher, that way you create a positive pressure environment. If you don't already have a good CPU cooler, I would invest in one.

 

[mamasan2000]

And if you can fit a fan on the sidedoor to pull the air out from those 2 GPUs, I would do that. Before it reaches CPU and memory (but mainly CPU).

 

[rwoody]

Do you have your case in an open area? Make sure it's not sitting in an enclosed area (like inside a desk or entertainment center) or near a heating vent in your home.

 

[rwoody]

So I've been having freezing issues lately, and it appears to be temperature related. Mainly with the RAM, since when I set up a specific fan for it, the problem is less common. However, I'm not entirely sure if my unorthodox setup is the best configuration.

As pictured, I have an intake fan on top, but it's divided internally by a plastic spacer that I wedged inbetween the two fans. Is there any way I could reconfigure this setup to provide better cooling, or am I decent as is?

CPU: i5-6600 Skylake
RAM: 16GB 2400MHz DDR4
Mobo: MSi Z-170A Krait
GPU: 2x Crossfire R9 280 3GB
240GB SSD and 1TB WD Hard Drive configuration
850W Thermaltake Grand

CPU temps are 28C when idle, 40C under load
GPU 1 temps are 40C when idle, 75C under load
GPU 2 temps are 28C when idle, 60C under load

Your temps are not that high really. Can you take a measurement of the ambient temps inside your case? It's very difficult to get ram heated up to the point of freezing issues, so I wonder if it's something else. If your ram was getting that hot, you would be seeing alarms with other components too. If it is heat related, perhaps you have a defective stick of ram that can't handle even warm temps let alone hot temps.

 

[Karadjgne]

Very nice picture.

What cpu cooler is being used.

 

[Evan Shaffer]

Your temps are not that high really. Can you take a measurement of the ambient temps inside your case? It's very difficult to get ram heated up to the point of freezing issues, so I wonder if it's something else. If your ram was getting that hot, you would be seeing alarms with other components too. If it is heat related, perhaps you have a defective stick of ram that can't handle even warm temps let alone hot temps.

I've actually just bought an infrared thermometer to test that very thing and I'll update when it arrives. And that's what I've been afraid of. I specifically put the intake on top where the RAM is to bring cool air to it in order to bring temps down. Would it be more beneficial to make that an exhaust to bring air through the RAM sticks?

I'll post an update to show temps of the RAM, and of each stick separately once the thermometer arrives and I'm hoping that it's not defective, since that would put my computer out of commission for quite some time through the holiday season. I only have a few days to send it back.

So far, I've tried just about every troubleshooting technique in the book, and the only thing that's helped it is that intake fan, but I'll still get complete graphical freezes every once in a while.

 

[Evan Shaffer]

Very nice picture.

What cpu cooler is being used.

Coolermaster Hyper TX3 92mm. It's served me well through both AMD and Intel so far, and CPU temps are pretty good, so I'm not too bothered to upgrade unless for some odd reason the processor is the issue.

 

[rwoody]

Your temps are not that high really. Can you take a measurement of the ambient temps inside your case? It's very difficult to get ram heated up to the point of freezing issues, so I wonder if it's something else. If your ram was getting that hot, you would be seeing alarms with other components too. If it is heat related, perhaps you have a defective stick of ram that can't handle even warm temps let alone hot temps.

I've actually just bought an infrared thermometer to test that very thing and I'll update when it arrives. And that's what I've been afraid of. I specifically put the intake on top where the RAM is to bring cool air to it in order to bring temps down. Would it be more beneficial to make that an exhaust to bring air through the RAM sticks?

I'll post an update to show temps of the RAM, and of each stick separately once the thermometer arrives and I'm hoping that it's not defective, since that would put my computer out of commission for quite some time through the holiday season. I only have a few days to send it back.

So far, I've tried just about every troubleshooting technique in the book, and the only thing that's helped it is that intake fan, but I'll still get complete graphical freezes every once in a while.

Gotcha. I didn't realize that top intake was the one you were talking about pointing at the ram. For some reason I was thinking about a side mount or something. Have you tried removing one stick at a time to test each one independently?

 

[Evan Shaffer]

Gotcha. I didn't realize that top intake was the one you were talking about pointing at the ram. For some reason I was thinking about a side mount or something. Have you tried removing one stick at a time to test each one independently?

I have, and both sticks gave me the same issue. It was when removing each stick during troubleshooting that alerted me that it might be heat-related, since they were pretty warm to the touch when I pulled them out. How warm, I can't say for sure, but enough to notice and enough to worry me.

 

[Karadjgne]

What voltage is that ram running at?

 

[Evan Shaffer]

What voltage is that ram running at?

1.2V as default on motherboard BIOS and as the Panram Ninja-V's are rated at.

 

[Karadjgne]

I think you need to clean up your airflow. If possible, loose the hdd trays. You can mount the hdd in the optical Bay. Turn up front intakes. Lower speed of the up facing bottom intake. Turn the top fan to exhaust. Turn up speed of rear exhaust, turn down a little the top exhaust. Dunno what the 80mm sides are doing. What the plan is, is to get a flow of air, coming in, then leaving, in as straight a line as possible.

Why, exactly, your ram would be an issue, I'm insure, its possible it needs a voltage bump or even relaxing the timings slightly.

 

[mamasan2000]

Gotcha. I didn't realize that top intake was the one you were talking about pointing at the ram. For some reason I was thinking about a side mount or something. Have you tried removing one stick at a time to test each one independently?

I have, and both sticks gave me the same issue. It was when removing each stick during troubleshooting that alerted me that it might be heat-related, since they were pretty warm to the touch when I pulled them out. How warm, I can't say for sure, but enough to notice and enough to worry me.

Do a memtest on both sticks, one at a time.
http://www.memtest.org/

 

[Evan Shaffer]

Your temps are not that high really. Can you take a measurement of the ambient temps inside your case? It's very difficult to get ram heated up to the point of freezing issues, so I wonder if it's something else. If your ram was getting that hot, you would be seeing alarms with other components too. If it is heat related, perhaps you have a defective stick of ram that can't handle even warm temps let alone hot temps.

So the thermal thermometer arrived and I got some interesting reads. The freezing occurs mostly under load and during gaming now, and I recorded the temperatures as soon as a freeze happened. The CPU and GPU were at reasonable temps and mostly what the software told me. However, the RAM read about 40 degrees C. What was interesting to me as well was the motherboard was the same temperature throughout the whole board. Is it possible that the motherboard is having heat issues, even though 40 degrees isn't even that high for components?

 

[rwoody]

Your temps are not that high really. Can you take a measurement of the ambient temps inside your case? It's very difficult to get ram heated up to the point of freezing issues, so I wonder if it's something else. If your ram was getting that hot, you would be seeing alarms with other components too. If it is heat related, perhaps you have a defective stick of ram that can't handle even warm temps let alone hot temps.

So the thermal thermometer arrived and I got some interesting reads. The freezing occurs mostly under load and during gaming now, and I recorded the temperatures as soon as a freeze happened. The CPU and GPU were at reasonable temps and mostly what the software told me. However, the RAM read about 40 degrees C. What was interesting to me as well was the motherboard was the same temperature throughout the whole board. Is it possible that the motherboard is having heat issues, even though 40 degrees isn't even that high for components?

Halfway through reading this I thought to myself "I wonder if the motherboard is having issues..."

I wouldn't consider 40 degrees hot at all for computer components. Have you tried a stick (or set) of completely different ram? I know not everyone has extra ram lying around, nor would you want to purchase some just for a test, but it may come to that. I would buy a cheap pair of ram sticks just to verify that the problem isn't with them. If you can confirm that, then maybe you can narrow it down to the mobo.

 

[Evan Shaffer]

Halfway through reading this I thought to myself "I wonder if the motherboard is having issues..."

I wouldn't consider 40 degrees hot at all for computer components. Have you tried a stick (or set) of completely different ram? I know not everyone has extra ram lying around, nor would you want to purchase some just for a test, but it may come to that. I would buy a cheap pair of ram sticks just to verify that the problem isn't with them. If you can confirm that, then maybe you can narrow it down to the mobo.

I was just about to reply when it froze yet again... I took a reading and it was only 30 degrees C, so it appears not to be heat-related. And I've actually had my suspicions that it may be bad RAM sticks, but for temperature reasons, not something else. So I ordered new sticks and figured I'd just send them back if they freeze as well, and conclude that my motherboard needs an RMA. They just shipped them yesterday because of the holiday, so it will be a while before I can update on that.