Question Looking to put a 13700k into a Fractel Design Meshify 2 Compact and need some opinions on AIO's please!

[Anthony82093]

Hello all! Had a quick question. I am looking to put a 13700k into a Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact, and im at a cross roads with a AIO. I want to get the CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD, but that case only has a spot in the front for it, so the top 2 fans, and 1 back fan would be exhaust, and I feel like id have more pressure exhausting than entering the case with that, so i might get alot of dust. So i thought about getting the CORSAIR iCUE H100i ELITE LCD instead, so i could put it on the top. But with it being a 13700k, i feel like im losing out quite a bit if i get the 100i over the 150i, especially when they're only $20 difference. Any opinions on this? Comparing the air pressure, and the difference in the 100i and the 150i? Thank you!

 

[Lutfij]

I feel like id have more pressure exhausting than entering the case with that, so i might get alot of dust.
The front is filtered, so that takes care of the front fans. The rear fan being set to exhaust will be pulling in filtered air from inside the case. you're going to be fine, provided you don't relocate/repurpose the fans that come in the case. I'd have the front fans on the case as spare, then use the AIO's fans as intakes for the chassis. The rear fan in the case will be left as is.

Ofc, if you went with a beefy air cooler, you could retain all the fans as they are in the chassis, would also be cheaper and you don't have leftover hardware.

 

[geofelt]

What is your intended use of this pc?
If it is for running fully loaded multithreaded apps, with an all core overclock, then a large liquid cooler may be in order, and that would need a better case for it.
OTOH, if the main use is for gaming, then a good air cooler is sufficient.
Noctua maintains a suitability list for different processors.
Here is the list for the 13700K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-13700K-1640
Your case can handle any of them.
Games depend on the performance of a few cores and that does not generate the heat that benchmarks show.
Here is an interesting article on testing that:
https://www.tomshardware.com/features/intel-core-13900k-cooling-tested
The cpu tested was the 13900K which may operate differently, but you get the idea.

 

[Anthony82093]

I feel like id have more pressure exhausting than entering the case with that, so i might get alot of dust.
The front is filtered, so that takes care of the front fans. The rear fan being set to exhaust will be pulling in filtered air from inside the case. you're going to be fine, provided you don't relocate/repurpose the fans that come in the case. I'd have the front fans on the case as spare, then use the AIO's fans as intakes for the chassis. The rear fan in the case will be left as is.

Ofc, if you went with a beefy air cooler, you could retain all the fans as they are in the chassis, would also be cheaper and you don't have leftover hardware.

Mainly want a AIO because it looks cleaner, and I hear it'll make it a bit quieter. So I thought about the 360 aio on the front, and move the existing fans to the top, but was unsure if the front fans would be able to pull in enough air through the radiator by themselfs.

 

[Anthony82093]

What is your intended use of this pc?
If it is for running fully loaded multithreaded apps, with an all core overclock, then a large liquid cooler may be in order, and that would need a better case for it.
OTOH, if the main use is for gaming, then a good air cooler is sufficient.
Noctua maintains a suitability list for different processors.
Here is the list for the 13700K:
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/Intel-Core-i7-13700K-1640
Your case can handle any of them.
Games depend on the performance of a few cores and that does not generate the heat that benchmarks show.
Here is an interesting article on testing that:
https://www.tomshardware.com/features/intel-core-13900k-cooling-tested
The cpu tested was the 13900K which may operate differently, but you get the idea.

I'd be gaming's mainly, but I do want a 2nd monitor to do side things with, like surfing the web, watching movies, etc. Going from a 3570k from 10 or so years ago, so really not sure what a beefy 13700k will require. I just want to keep it cool, and quiet. And I like the look of AIOs compared to air coolers. Just unsure if the 360 aio will be able to pull enough air through the front with the radiator on it, compared to the top 2, and rear 1 exhaust fans. I'd rather put the AIO on the top, but the case doesn't support it, and after having such a big case for so long, I'd like a more compact one. So I'm trying to see how I can make the 360 work with the case, in the most sensible way, without hindering anything.

 

[Lutfij]

The fans included on the AIO will have high static pressure, I'd set them to intake air through the front and push said air through the radiator. Would also illuminate the front filtered mesh fascia.

 

[geofelt]

Looks count.
Do what you want there.

But, NH-D15 is likely to be quieter.
The max fan speed is 1500 rpm.
Here is an older review:
https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1
Compared to a 280 size aio, there is little difference in performance.
A 360 sized aio may cool better, but with three high speed fans, it will likely be quite loud.

Do you know that aio coolers do not last forever?
Think 5 years.
In time, air intrudes through the tubes, and the unit must be replaced.
Or, the mechanical pump fails or gets clogged.
When an aio fails, you are down until it can be reordered and replaced.
If an air cooler fails, a fan replacement is easy.

 

[Anthony82093]

Looks count.
Do what you want there.

But, NH-D15 is likely to be quieter.
The max fan speed is 1500 rpm.
Here is an older review:
https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1
Compared to a 280 size aio, there is little difference in performance.
A 360 sized aio may cool better, but with three high speed fans, it will likely be quite loud.

Do you know that aio coolers do not last forever?
Think 5 years.
In time, air intrudes through the tubes, and the unit must be replaced.
Or, the mechanical pump fails or gets clogged.
When an aio fails, you are down until it can be reordered and replaced.
If an air cooler fails, a fan replacement is easy.

I'll take these into consideration. Thank you! I do like the look of the black NH-D15 with the Torrent compact case from Fractor. I'll look into things some more!