Question Looking for a quiet case with good airflow and sound dampening materials out of the box

[Wolverine2349]

I know often silence with good airflow is contradictory and hard.

This is for all air cooling no liquid cooling at all

Will use an Intel Core i9 12900KS with a Noctua NH-D15S dual fan and Asus Tuf RTX 3090 video card

No HDDs and only 2 SATA SSD and 2 NVME M.2s


Does not have to be whisper quiet, but want quiet and low noise and also smooth noise that is more consistent without vibrations and pitches which makes it more bearable.

A case with a good optimized meshify front panel with at least 3 in take 120/140mm fans or at least 2 200mm fans that can provide good airflow at low RPM and thus low noise

And of course at least 1 exhaust 120/140mm or 200mm fan that provides good exhaust with low noise

And rest of case and mounts have good anti vibration and sound dampening material that does not impede airflow where the fans are.
Like side panel and top cover sound dampening material

Also a PSU shroud in cable management back of case so bottom of case can be wide open for best GPU thermals as Gamers Nexus tests seem to indicate cases without bottom mounted PSUs in the main area have top tier GPU thermals. So an open mesh at bottom of case good as well.

I like Be Quiet cases, but unfortunately even their airflow models do not have a separate PSU chamber that is away from main bottom area.

I would like one with included good fans and ready out o the box.

Closest things I have found is Thermaltake View 51, but it has solid front panel and not a mesh.

And Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 as well but no included fans so who knows how well airflow is optimized

Is there any other cases anyone knows of




I have searched and such a case I would like does not seem to exist at least not that I know of based on reviews.

 

[velocityg4]

I think the Corsair 4000D meets your criteria. I use it with 3x Arctic F12 PWM PST fans. They are quiet and low RPM with good airflow. You can also use it with 3x F14 fans for more airflow. I already had the F12 . I who I used them instead of the F14.

I don’t bother with exhaust. But you can add more if you want.

 

[Wolverine2349]

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I am brand new here ironically though I have read so many articles here going all the way back to 2002-2003 as well as other tech sites. Its amazing it took my until now to register an account here lol.

Anyways, how would you rate those Arctic F12 PWM PST fans compared to Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 or Pure Wings 2 fans and such?? Are Be Quiet fans the be end all for silence and air flow and as good as they say or are those fans you mentioned above better?? And no not worried so much about cost of them. What are best fans period for airflow and low noise?? Do not care at all about RGB or Aesthetics.

 

[Wolverine2349]

Which of these 4 cases would you pick if you had to choose?

For a 12900KS build cooled by a Noctua NH-D15S with dual 120/140mm fans and a Asus Tuf GeForce RTX 3090. No HDDS/Optical disc drives

Which case would provide best balance between cooling and relatively low noise for that setup out of all of them??

And which case is best for sound dampening to drown out coil whine and vibrations while still providing good/decent airflow??

I am leaning towards the Silent Base 802 it seems good with airflow config front mesh with a foamed top and side panel.

 

[Phaaze88]

Which of these 4 cases would you pick if you had to choose?

1)Based 802(pun intended).
2)Toss up between Torrent and Meshify.
3)Pro 900.
[Torrent would've been my #1, but liquid cooled gpu isn't that great in there.]


"Which case would provide best balance between cooling and relatively low noise for that setup out of all of them??"
All speculation with no real concrete answer being possible, without testing all 4 models in your room, equipped with the same hardware, whatever fans you're going to use, as well as your custom fan curves, and running several tests based on what apps you're going to use.


"And which case is best for sound dampening to drown out coil whine and vibrations while still providing good/decent airflow??"
Probably the Torrent. The fewer 'obstacles' there are, the smoother, and more efficient things will be.

 

[hotaru.hino]

In my experience, case placement matters a heck of a lot when it comes to hearing it. Unless you have a wind tunnel for a case and modify all of the cooling for high airflow and low static pressure (like how Apple designs the cooling systems in the Mac Pro), you're going to have to crank up the fans to keep the temperatures moderate, especially with power hungry components. For instance I once had a case sitting under my desk. I could barely hear the thing even when the fans were going full blast. I also had a sub 15L Mini ITX build that was sitting behind the monitor. I also could barely hear the thing.

As far as vibrations and coil whine goes: 1. No amount of dampening is going to suppress the high pitch sound of whining and 2. If something's vibrating, that's a problem because the only major moving parts in your set up would be the fans and a vibrating fan means its unbalanced, which indicates it's either defective or damaged.

 

[Wolverine2349]

I am starting to decide between Fractal Torrent and Be Quiet Silent Base 802.

The torrent appears to have much better airflow, but GPU temps bother me especially noise normalized per Gamers Nexus in that they are no better and maybe even slightly worse than Be Quiet Silent Base 802.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtyWUAjmmZA&t=14s
15:57 in video

I also like how the Fractal Torrent fan mounts do not impede any airflow by having 120mm mounts partly in way of 120mm fan mounts which can cause turbulence and potentially unwanted high pitched or harmonic noise . Most cases unfortunately have that including Silent Base 802, but I am thinking of switching Silent Base 802 to 120mm Noctua NF-A12x25 fans which are expensive but top notch in terms of quietness and could add an additional and they provide as much or more airflow than the Pure or

Also it seems odd that Fractal Torrent has bottom fans and they do not unless spinning fast help GPU thermals much at all.

Where as many other cases with open bottom and no PSU shroud blocking the way have GPU thermals below 50C above ambient??

How much stock should I put into Gamers Nexus reviews??

Where Overclock3D has Fractal Torrent even with low fan speeds with much better GPU thermals:

https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews...rrent_review_-_the_ultimate_air-cooled_case/3



Which review is more accurate??

 

[Phaaze88]

How much stock should I put into Gamers Nexus reviews??

None or any other reviewer's, especially when your hardware will not replicate their testing setup.
What appears to be a negligible change could end up making a bigger difference than expected - that's why users need to do their own temperature testing(comparing stock to final build) instead of all these 'what's the best fan setup' and so on.

Here's an example that doesn't play out as expected:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ERchM9Q6g

 

[Wolverine2349]

None or any other reviewer's, especially when your hardware will not replicate their testing setup.
What appears to be a negligible change could end up making a bigger difference than expected - that's why users need to do their own temperature testing(comparing stock to final build) instead of all these 'what's the best fan setup' and so on.

Here's an example that doesn't play out as expected:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ERchM9Q6g

True. SO only way is to do your own testing. Its pretty hard unless you can buy tons of cases and return ones you do not like I have a local Micro Center and could do that. But in the past with changing my mind on parts, my account got black flagged for excessive returns in March 2021 after a few expensive monitor returns in addition to some RAM and motherboard and CPU returns prior Fall 2020. So I had to sell off stuff I did not want going forward.

Then I just had to come up with a plan to ensure I could return things again and just make sure I do not make it excessive as a black flag in permanent. I put in a different phone number and name and have been able to return some stuff successfully and the same department manager is no longer there. However last thing I need is to do it too many times (who knows how many is too much) and get flagged again and then they find out I am same person and who heck knows what happens but last thing I need to do is find out and get banned form buying anything or even worse who knows.

Problem is reviews are often only thing you can go by as there is no rental of computer parts to test them. Only option is buy then return if it is not what you wanted.

Problem is Micro Center refuses to do any restocking fee as a compromise. It is return within time period for full refund or if you are black flagged nothing.

My new account I can return things, but last thing I want is to get black flagged again so I need to be careful.

I understand stores have to sell open box at a loss, but why give full refund. Why not unlimited returns and a restocking fee for opened items or unlimited unopened items for full refund. Micro Center wants you to believe you can always return anything you do not like for full refund, but if you do it excessively it will ban you forever from returns under same account name. Just do a restocking fee for opened items for crying out loud!!!

 

[hotaru.hino]

What appears to be a negligible change could end up making a bigger difference than expected - that's why users need to do their own temperature testing(comparing stock to final build) instead of all these 'what's the best fan setup' and so on.

Case (ha!) in point

I decided to take out one of my fans in my case, which sat on the top-rear mount. It was an exhaust fan so naturally people would think it would help since it was in the spot where exhaust is supposed to go and it's on top because "heat rises, yadda yadda yadda." Removing it did very little, if anything, to my components' temperature. So one could also conclude having it in there also did very little, if anything.

Although I'm probably an outlier. I've tuned my computer so it can float around 200W between the CPU and GPU

 

[Wolverine2349]

None or any other reviewer's, especially when your hardware will not replicate their testing setup.
What appears to be a negligible change could end up making a bigger difference than expected - that's why users need to do their own temperature testing(comparing stock to final build) instead of all these 'what's the best fan setup' and so on.

Here's an example that doesn't play out as expected:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ERchM9Q6g

Based on your logo do you work for Noctua?? Is the Noctua NF-A12X25 fans superior to any of Be Quiet Shadow Wings or Pure wings fans? I know Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 are supposedly the best version of Be Quiets fans which the Silent Base 802 does not come with.

Are the Noctua NF-A12X25 fans the quitiest per RPM and good airflow for any application on market like Noctua sites says they are meant for any application

 

[Phaaze88]

Problem is reviews are often only thing you can go by...

Yes. Best to use them as a reference, as results can and will change with the hardware and fan curves used.

I've never even considered trying any of the other stuff.

Based on your logo do you work for Noctua?? Is the Noctua NF-A12X25 fans superior to any of Be Quiet Shadow Wings or Pure wings fans? I know Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 are supposedly the best version of Be Quiets fans which the Silent Base 802 does not come with.

Are the Noctua NF-A12X25 fans the quitiest per RPM and good airflow for any application on market like Noctua sites says they are meant for any application

I don't work for them. I consider myself a bit of a fanboy, but lately... haven't stood behind them as much as before.
Believe it or not, their most cost efficient cooler is the NH-D15/D15S, if the user can fit it. Below that, there's so many competitive and more affordable options from other brands... their other coolers are too expensive for what they offer, IMO.
The NF-F12 is not a good radiator fan, even though Noctua advertises it as such. It gets rather audible about the 1000rpm mark+ and doesn't move that much air even at 100%. I don't believe it's a bad batch; I've tried 6 of them, and 11 of the IPPC 3000 version. Yes, the IPPC version moves some serious air, but it's way too audible by that point...
Might be time for an avatar change, XD

Your fan question can be easily answered with the fans running at 100%, but hardly anyone does that, save for server owners? So that might not be a valid answer anyway.
Below 100%, it's Speculation Metropolis. No one really posts fan curves anymore, so it's impossible to tell how fans will perform at a given rpm range, leading to guesses being futile.

Case (ha!) in point

I decided to take out one of my fans in my case, which sat on the top-rear mount. It was an exhaust fan so naturally people would think it would help since it was in the spot where exhaust is supposed to go and it's on top because "heat rises, yadda yadda yadda." Removing it did very little, if anything, to my components' temperature. So one could also conclude having it in there also did very little, if anything.

Although I'm probably an outlier. I've tuned my computer so it can float around 200W between the CPU and GPU

Running dual AIO right now(cpu front intake, gpu top exhaust), and I've removed the rear fan and installed a Silverstone filter there.
The fan doesn't really do anything as either intake or exhaust but add more noise or dust; the top AIO's fans aren't so weak that they can't draw cool air from that way... then again, I can tolerate higher fan rpms.
I wouldn't be surprised if a number of top AIO users wouldn't benefit from removing the rear fan, but they probably won't, because it doesn't look as good...

 

[Wolverine2349]

Yes. Best to use them as a reference, as results can and will change with the hardware and fan curves used.

I've never even considered trying any of the other stuff.


I don't work for them. I consider myself a bit of a fanboy, but lately... haven't stood behind them as much as before.
Believe it or not, their most cost efficient cooler is the NH-D15/D15S, if the user can fit it. Below that, there's so many competitive and more affordable options from other brands... their other coolers are too expensive for what they offer, IMO.
The NF-F12 is not a good radiator fan, even though Noctua advertises it as such. It gets rather audible about the 1000rpm mark+ and doesn't move that much air even at 100%. I don't believe it's a bad batch; I've tried 6 of them, and 11 of the IPPC 3000 version. Yes, the IPPC version moves some serious air, but it's way too audible by that point...
Might be time for an avatar change, XD

Your fan question can be easily answered with the fans running at 100%, but hardly anyone does that, save for server owners? So that might not be a valid answer anyway.
Below 100%, it's Speculation Metropolis. No one really posts fan curves anymore, so it's impossible to tell how fans will perform at a given rpm range, leading to guesses being futile.



Running dual AIO right now(cpu front intake, gpu top exhaust), and I've removed the rear fan and installed a Silverstone filter there.
The fan doesn't really do anything as either intake or exhaust but add more noise or dust; the top AIO's fans aren't so weak that they can't draw cool air from that way... then again, I can tolerate higher fan rpms.
I wouldn't be surprised if a number of top AIO users wouldn't benefit from removing the rear fan, but they probably won't, because it doesn't look as good...

Yes Noctua NH-D15S is great. You say their other coolers are too expensive? Isn't the NH-D15 and NH-D15S the most expensive coolers they have?? If not which cooler is most expensive they have??

 

[Phaaze88]

You say their other coolers are too expensive?

The performance you get for the price? Yes.
U14S, U12S, U9S, C14S, and so on? Scythe's FUMA 2, Vetroo V5, and Thermalright's Frost Spirit/Commander are a couple of easy recommendation over most of those, if they're available.
The performance per buck you get with Noctua is at its best with the D15 and D15S. There are not as many competitors where those 2 sit.

Isn't the NH-D15 and NH-D15S the most expensive coolers they have?? If not which cooler is most expensive they have??

By far, the NH-U12A.
I like Noctua, but that cooler... yikes, too expensive. If someone insists on getting a Noctua cooler, get a D15 or D15S if they can fit 'em.

 

[Wolverine2349]

The performance you get for the price? Yes.
U14S, U12S, U9S, C14S, and so on? Scythe's FUMA 2, Vetroo V5, and Thermalright's Frost Spirit/Commander are a couple of easy recommendation over most of those, if they're available.
The performance per buck you get with Noctua is at its best with the D15 and D15S. There are not as many competitors where those 2 sit.



By far, the NH-U12A.
I like Noctua, but that cooler... yikes, too expensive. If someone insists on getting a Noctua cooler, get a D15 or D15S if they can fit 'em.

Wow NH-U12A. It is only single tower but like $15 to $20 more. Yikes and not as good. Though ore compatible I imagine with mobos and cases. Though so is Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212. Yet I found out hard way it struggled to cool a 9700K where as Noctua NH-D15 did with ease in late 2018.

With powerful 8+ core CPUs at mid 4.X GHz or higher all core speed, a large dual tower cooler was a must for good thermals.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I am starting to decide between Fractal Torrent and Be Quiet Silent Base 802

the Silent Base 802 with it's included high airflow modular panels is a very nice option for airflow, easy to build in design, one of the nicer looking options, and still some sound dampening.
using their included solid front & top panels will dampen sound even further but it will slightly increase temperatures so fans would need to run at even higher RPMs to compensate and would be producing more noise that way.
one of the nicest options i've ever built in. i recommend it for any system builder.
if you're not interested in a glass side panel the solid side version offers even further sound dampening.

Fractal Design also makes some nice cases.
my Vector RS still offers very nice airflow even with it's solid front panel due to the design of the side-front intakes.
also includes some sound dampening materials and my ceiling fan is even louder than this system.
everything stays perfectly cool, idling in the low 30°s, maxing out under 60°C for CPU & GPU running intensive games, without producing any noticeable amount of noise.
you can see the current setup in my signature though i've removed all modular interior panels and drive housing.

if the Silent Base 802 had been available at my time of purchase i definitely would have chosen it over the Vector RS,
but i don't regret my purchase and really enjoy this Fractal Design.

Are Be Quiet fans the be end all for silence and air flow and as good as they say

i've compared the 120 & 140mm be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM fans to many different varieties of fans and they are the best option i've found for case fans.
i keep them maxing at ~85% and they are completely silent while still pushing tons of air.

while some like the Noctua iPPC versions can offer higher airflow & pressure, they also get quite a bit louder at higher RPMs.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Random thing to contribute and maybe to throw yet another data point. I have a Meshify C case, which isn't that much different from the Meshify 2 C case.

Specs:

• CPU: Ryzen 5600X
• GPU: EVGA RTX 2070 Super
• CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo
• Fans: 2x 140mm Noctua NF-P14s redux-1500 RPM, 1x 120mm Notctua NF-P12 redux 1300RPM

Notes:

• CPU is undervolted. I believe the values are -30 or close to it in PBO Curve Optimizer, with a +100 MHz bump
• GPU is undervolted, the curve is shown in the screenshot
• NZXT CAM is used to control the fans. The graphs shown are for the two front intake fans. The rear fan is basically 50% until 50C, then it does 15% per 5C until 60C, then it's 10% per.
• I can certainly hear the computer under this state, but no different than having a standing fan on the lowest setting blowing my way.
• Cyberpunk was running at 1440p, Ray Tracing Ultra, DLSS Quality and the scenery was outside of V's apartment complex.

 

[Wolverine2349]

the Silent Base 802 with it's included high airflow modular panels is a very nice option for airflow, easy to build in design, one of the nicer looking options, and still some sound dampening.
using their included solid front & top panels will dampen sound even further but it will slightly increase temperatures so fans would need to run at even higher RPMs to compensate and would be producing more noise that way.
one of the nicest options i've ever built in. i recommend it for any system builder.
if you're not interested in a glass side panel the solid side version offers even further sound dampening.

Fractal Design also makes some nice cases.
my Vector RS still offers very nice airflow even with it's solid front panel due to the design of the side-front intakes.
also includes some sound dampening materials and my ceiling fan is even louder than this system.
everything stays perfectly cool, idling in the low 30°s, maxing out under 60°C for CPU & GPU running intensive games, without producing any noticeable amount of noise.
you can see the current setup in my signature though i've removed all modular interior panels and drive housing.

if the Silent Base 802 had been available at my time of purchase i definitely would have chosen it over the Vector RS,
but i don't regret my purchase and really enjoy this Fractal Design.

i've compared the 120 & 140mm be quiet! Silent Wings 3 High-Speed PWM fans to many different varieties of fans and they are the best option i've found for case fans.
i keep them maxing at ~85% and they are completely silent while still pushing tons of air.

while some like the Noctua iPPC versions can offer higher airflow & pressure, they also get quite a bit louder at higher RPMs.

Would using a mesh front, but sealed dampened top keep temps the same. Or is it important the top can breathe a bit for temps even if most air exhausts out the back??

And yes I as well would move all modular panels and drive housing as well as I will use none of it. Better airflow that way.

Impressive 60C max load temps for 3080 Ti Tuf GPU. How high does VRAM get. Does it stay in low 80s or lower?? Though is much of that helped by using an AIO instead of a large air cooler??

And in you Fractal Vector RS< did you swap the fans for 140mm Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 fans??

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

did you swap the fans for 140mm Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 fans?

comes stock with 2x front 140mm & 1x rear 140mm louder Fractal Design fans that offer quite a bit less air pressure.

How high does VRAM get. Does it stay in low 80s or lower?

have never seen VRM temps above 55°C, currently idling ~36°.
will have to track while gaming and stress testing for max temp.

this board has very nice heatsinks and the AIO pump has an embedded 60mm VRM fan also blowing heat away.

but a lot of boards now offer an option to setup your own 40\80mm VRM fan.
this one came with a clip-on accessory to attach one directly to the board.

is much of that helped by using an AIO instead of a large air cooler?

i don't notice much difference in performance with a really nice large air tower cooler vs an equally nice AIO.

it's become more of an aesthetic thing these days it seems with air coolers like the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 & Noctua NH-D15 offering such great performance.

 

[Wolverine2349]

comes stock with 2x front 140mm & 1x rear 140mm louder Fractal Design fans that offer quite a bit less air pressure.

So are you saying you did not swap them?? And is less air pressure a god thing for case fans for airflow??

have never seen VRM temps above 55°C, currently idling ~36°.
will have to track while gaming and stress testing for max temp.

No I am not talking about VRM temp. Not worried about that with a quality VRM on motherboard.

I am talking about the Video RAM (VRAM) temp on the Asus Tuf RTX 3080 Ti GDDR6X RAM. I know that runs hot almost no matter what when high end gaming. You can see it via memory junction Temp with HWInfo64. I know low 80s are considered fine and it is rated to 110C, but I hate anything higher than low to mid 80s like some Gigabyte cards and Founders edition cards put out getting to 100C and throttling. The Asus Tuf cards have very well cooled VRAM overall,

don't notice much difference in performance with a really nice large air tower cooler vs an equally nice AIO.

it's become more of an aesthetic thing these days it seems with air coolers like the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 & Noctua NH-D15 offering such great performance.

Yeah I agree. Aesthetics
ahve seen to become an obsession among many and one of the reasons why I cannot find the perfect case as everyone liquid cools.

And yeah large air coolers perform as well for cooling CPU. However I wonder if the large air cooler being somewhat close to video card would cause video card to run warmer since all the heat is around the area form large heatsink as opposed to AIO where it is pumped out to radiator farther away??

For CPU itself not much performance difference I assume??

 

[Karadjgne]

Quiet case, sound damping, good airflow. Doesn't exist. Those are opposites. The better airflow cases have plenty of fan ports (where sound escapes), plenty of venting (where sound escapes) and are basically hollow shells (which creates harmonics) with little to no air flow impedence.

Your better quiet cases go the opposite route, using things like sound deadening doors at front, baffles, shrouds, smaller/less fan ports etc all designed to limit avenues of sound escaping, transmitted sounds from panel sides, harmonics etc. Which has a net affect of making airflow somewhat difficult.

All of which is somewhat different from using a good airflow case and filling it with components designed for silence or quiet operation.

So are you saying you did not swap them?? And is less air pressure a god thing for case fans for airflow??

Yes and no. Exhaust fans are very important in most cases, yet have zero need for static pressure, exhausts should always be cfm. Intakes are different, and depend on need. Some gpus require large amounts of fresh air, but the intake is a mile away from the gpu fans, so higher pressure fans are needed to get that air there. Some cases are short, intakes right up on the gpu, so benefit from higher cfm as higher pressure isn't needed to cover the distance.

The fractal fans used are actually very good fans, especially for the case they are in, right amount of pressure and cfm. Some will change those fans, because Noctua are quieter or Arctic has higher cfm etc, but not realize that better paper specs are not exactly helping them with temps.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

are you saying you did not swap them?

you can easily see what the setup is in my signature.

I am talking about the Video RAM (VRAM) temp on the Asus Tuf RTX 3080 Ti GDDR6X

no, does not pass 70°C ever.
i imagine the majority of users are just letting default manufacturer cooling settings remain and do not think to add direct cool intake to their card.

I wonder if the large air cooler being somewhat close to video card would cause video card to run warmer since all the heat is around the area

this is where case fan setup plays the largest role.
you have to ensure that the heated air is properly exhausted before it interacts with other components and does not get recycled throughout the system causing higher temperatures system-wide.

For CPU itself not much performance difference I assume?

still depends on system-wide setup.
if everything in the chassis is not properly cooled with maximum cool air intake and warm air exhaust then these static higher temperatures will make it more difficult for the CPU to maintain lower temps.

 

[Wolverine2349]

you can easily see what the setup is in my signature.

no, does not pass 70°C ever.
i imagine the majority of users are just letting default manufacturer cooling settings remain and do not think to add direct cool intake to their card.

What kind of direct cooling intake do you have on your Asus Tuf 3080 Ti??

this is where case fan setup plays the largest role.
you have to ensure that the heated air is properly exhausted before it interacts with other components and does not get recycled throughout the system causing higher temperatures system-wide.

Do you think most cases have that setup by default? A good airflow case that is like the Fractal Torrent despite having no actual exhaust fan?

That is to cool 12900KS with Noctua NH-D15S and stock RTX 3090 Tuf?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

What kind of direct cooling intake do you have on your Asus Tuf 3080 Ti?

a 140mm Silent Wings 3 blowing directly into it from the bottom plus the 3x front intakes providing a solid wall of cool air intake from the front, with some of it hitting the graphics card before being diluted by other hot components.

and also having adequate exhaust.
though some of it is displaced into the radiator,
which in theory slows CPU cooling potential.

having lots of cool air pulled into the system
and adequate amounts of warm air exhausted from the system is a big factor.
but also deciding where exactly the temperature is dispersed from and may be absorbed into plays a large roll.

experimentation with each particular build is the only way to find the best path.

 

[Wolverine2349]

a 140mm Silent Wings 3 blowing directly into it from the bottom plus the 3x front intakes providing a solid wall of cool air intake from the front, with some of it hitting the graphics card before being diluted by other hot components.

and also having adequate exhaust.
though some of it is displaced into the radiator,
which in theory slows CPU cooling potential.

having lots of cool air pulled into the system
and adequate amounts of warm air exhausted from the system is a big factor.
but also deciding where exactly the temperature is dispersed from and may be absorbed into plays a large roll.

experimentation with each particular build is the only way to find the best path.

How is a 140mm Silent Wings 3 blowing onto the card from he bottom with the PSU blocking the way? Is it on top of the PSU shroud or next to the PSU so PSU is not in the way?

And are the Be Quiet Silent Wings 3 fans the regular or high speed ones? I know the regular ones only go up to 1000 RPM and are still very quiet but high speed ones at 1600 RPM get loud as all fans do at that RPM.