[SOLVED] Need Additional Cooling - advice please!

[DevilsPox]

Alright - I need help!

I want to include additional cooling in my recent computer build. Currently, I am averaging about 70 degrees for my CPU, and 83 degrees for my GPU while playing at 120 FPS. Computer works great, and is not that loud - just a tad hotter than I’d like.

I’ve tried adding fans and putting them in different configurations, but I’m not really an expert on air-flow. And, I do not know any additional hardware options - anything other than adding fans is foreign territory for me. I’ve tried everything I know how (which isn’t very much), and nothing seems to cool down further.

Here are a few pictures that show my base configuration, and then added 3 additional fans in desperation.

This project has the the following parameters:

1. No liquid cooling
2. Must use this case
3. Budget of $1000 or less
4. Sits in ~43 degrees (~80 Fahrenheit) room

I’m very open for critique of my current build, suggestions for what to add / how to configure my hardware, and any additional help on my BIOS / Settings that you think would help.

My build:

https://imgur.com/a/XKLKadO

• NZXT H510 Elite - CA-H510E-W1 - Premium Mid-Tower (Back and Top exhaust fans have been upgraded)
• GAMEMAX Power Supply 850W Fully Modular 80+ Gold Certified
• GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS PRO AX ATX Intel Motherboard
• GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 ATX Video Card
• Intel Core i9-11900K - Core i9 11th Gen Rocket Lake 8-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1200 125W
• Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type Premium CPU Cooler, NF-A15 x 2 PWM Fans
• 4x 16gig (64gigs) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 4800 Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory
• 2x Sabrent 1TB Rocket 4 PLUS NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 Internal SSD Extreme Performance Solid State Drive

 

[avg9956]

That's definitely an improvement
However if you still find the temps unsatisfactory, the only way to move forward from here is unfortunately, replace the case.

A case with more vented holes and dust filters allows for more intake fans to be placed, but that would also entail you shouldn't have any liquids placed on your desk (drinks/coffee/etc.) or poof goes the magic smoke!

From personal experience, I do find that a case with a vented top cover (i.e. porous holes on top like mines) rather than a top cover with vents on its sides, really helps with cooling if you set the top fans as intakes. It will introduce a lot of cold air and sink it onto your build. Cold air sinks. Hot air rises.

 

[avg9956]

Also a closer look, your GPU seems to be sagging.
Does that GPU not come with an anti-sag bracket?
I see you used a makeshift stand instead. You have to be very careful with it and make sure it stays firmly in place, otherwise if it falls and goes through a fan, it can spell disaster...

Usually this is used over a stand. It ensures that the GPU doesn't sag.
Lay your case flat first. Would never try installing a GPU that comes with an anti-sag bracket while the case is upright because it implies the GPU is quite heavy.
You install the GPU first before installing this anti-sag bracket.
Make sure the anti sag bracket's edge is actually touching and supporting the GPU, otherwise it would be useless.

 

[DevilsPox]

Does that GPU not come with an anti-sag bracket?

I believe the GPU drooping was actually just the angle I took the picture, thanks for the advice / posts there though. You’ll see below I think it’s quite straight and seems sturdy.

OK! Made revisions to the build, and I think this will be much better received by those of you who have commented so far:

• Put the 3 small fans underneath the chassis, next to but about 6 inches away from the PSU below. They are pointing upwards, and are positioned directly over the airflow intake to hopefully draw as much air through them as possible. (The LEDs are only a little bit visible, and in this picture not at all.)
• Removed the free-floating fan at the top which was attached to the stabilization bar - it was not helping, as this thread had suggested.
• Cable management pass, which condensed the in-case cables. I made sure the GPU cables were not blocking any of the exhaust points visible. Made a bit more sanity and room in both underneath the chassis and behind the side panel.

With these changes, I’ve dropped the GPU to a steady 80 degrees and the CPU to 68 degrees at 120+ FPS max gameplay in fairly warm (80 F.) room temperature.

Questions I still have:

1. Is there benefit to getting one of the air-flow front panel replacements?
2. Should I do anything (Intake / Exhaust) with the PCI slots under/side of the back of the case under the GPU? (40mms in or out, or remove the metal?)
3. Are my 3 fans under the chassis positions well?
4. Anything I should do within my BIOS / Settings to optimize my hardware?

For reminder, here are the specs of my build again - just so that it’s not lost in the early portions of the thread.

• NZXT H510 Elite - CA-H510E-W1 - Premium Mid-Tower (Back and Top exhaust fans have been upgraded)
• GAMEMAX Power Supply 850W Fully Modular 80+ Gold Certified
• GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS PRO AX ATX Intel Motherboard
• GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 ATX Video Card
• Intel Core i9-11900K - Core i9 11th Gen Rocket Lake 8-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1200 125W
• Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type Premium CPU Cooler, NF-A15 x 2 PWM Fans
• 4x 16gig (64gigs) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 4800 Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory
• 2x Sabrent 1TB Rocket 4 PLUS NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 Internal SSD Extreme Performance Solid State Drive

 

[Phaaze88]

Questions I still have:

1. Is there benefit to getting one of the air-flow front panel replacements?
2. Should I do anything (Intake / Exhaust) with the PCI slots under/side of the back of the case under the GPU? (40mms in or out, or remove the metal?)
3. Are my 3 fans under the chassis positions well?
4. Anything I should do within my BIOS / Settings to optimize my hardware?

1)Yes. More straightforward and less restricted air intake. You're still screwed on exhaust though.
2)Remove them. Keep in mind that there's no filtration there.
3)Say what now?
4)No overclocking or raising/removing power limits for you - undervolt cpu and gpu. Also use Windows balanced power plan.

 

[DevilsPox]

3)Say what now?

I have 3 small 80mm fans under the area visible here, positioned under the front panel vent, pushing air upwards.

As you can see in the image, they are about half under the front panel fans and half under the casing with holes.

Is this a good idea?

 

[Phaaze88]

I have 3 small 80mm fans under the area visible here, positioned under the front panel vent, pushing air upwards.

As you can see in the image, they are about half under the front panel fans and half under the casing with holes.

Is this a good idea?

It's neither good, nor bad. It's redundant.
The larger front fan already does this.
It's just like earlier, when you had that one NF-A15 fan on top of the cable management bar - it was not hurting anything, but it wasn't helping anything either.

 

[avg9956]

It's just like earlier, when you had that one NF-A15 fan on top of the cable management bar - it was not hurting anything, but it wasn't helping anything either.

Indeed, the net effect is just additional power drain from your PSU, albeit negligible since fans don't use that much power.
The 3 small fans at the bottom don't do anything much.

The only use case I have seen a great benefit so far from using small 80mm fans is via what I did, but that requires jury rigging and a larger case for you.
It is to push off that hot pocket of air that my NVMe SSD M.2 drive generates and sandwiched between my CPU and GPU.
It pulled my M.2 Temps down by a whopping 5C on idle.
It is an unorthodox solution, but I did what I had to

Not condoning you to try that on your case right now as it is too small and I can see no feasible mounting points to do so.

Definitely that's as far as you can go right now with your current case. Would not recommend trying any overclocks and you must power limit your GPU and under volt it to reduce its heat output if you find that your GPU temps are high.

 

[DevilsPox]

Appreciate the input everyone, I've learned a lot and made a lot of improvements to my system.

Indeed, the net effect is just additional power drain from your PSU, albeit negligible since fans don't use that much power.
The 3 small fans at the bottom don't do anything much.

I've removed the 3 fans, for all the reasons discussed in this thread. And, its much (about 50%) quieter now.

I have purchased a replacement ventilated (stippled holes, dark-translucent plastic) for the front-panel glass. I'll post an image and any questions / concerns I have once it arrives. I am a little intimidated by the removal of the existing glass, as it doesn't seem easy or straight forward. Any tips on this? I feel this will be the next big jump in improvement.

Question...

As for the back PCI slot plates... the recommendation so far has simply been to remove them all. But, I'm not understanding what this does exactly. My main question is, if it's because it allows for more intake -> Shouldn't I also put some small fans there sucking air into the case?

 

[avg9956]

I have purchased a replacement ventilated (stippled holes, dark-translucent plastic) for the front-panel glass.

As long as it will fit into the dimensions of your case and it can mount, then it should be good. This is equivalent to case modding.
It is important as well that this must have a dust filter as your fans are set into intake for the front panel glass.

You should check closely first if it will actually fit and if its mountable, otherwise it would be a waste of money.

As for the back PCI slot plates... the recommendation so far has simply been to remove them all.

No you don't remove PCI back plates. They are meant to keep foreign objects from going into your PC, and they are vented to allow some air to pass through.
If some metal ball manages to get into your case via the back side where you removed these back plates and bounces off to your motherboard, it would introduce the magic smoke.

Shouldn't I also put some small fans there sucking air into the case?

Again, only place fans where there is actually a mounting slot to do so for screws. Don't try to fit a fan where you normally can't unless you know what you're doing.

 

[DevilsPox]

Hello everyone!

I realized I never posted the final result - so here it is! This was a very helpful thread for my overall build and knowledge. Thanks.

My favorite game / test right now is Mortal Online II. I play at about 110-130 FPS, with GPU temps never rising above 80, and CPU temps never rising above 65.

This project had the following parameters:

1. No liquid cooling
2. Must use this case
3. Sits in ~43 degrees (~80 Fahrenheit) room, so must remain at or below room temperature
   
   The build:

• NZXT H510 Elite - CA-H510E-W1 - Premium Mid-Tower (Back and Top exhaust fans have been upgraded)
• GAMEMAX Power Supply 850W Fully Modular 80+ Gold Certified
• GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS PRO AX ATX Intel Motherboard
• GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 ATX Video Card
• Intel Core i9-11900K - Core i9 11th Gen Rocket Lake 8-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1200 125W
• Noctua NH-D15 SSO2 D-Type Premium CPU Cooler, NF-A15 x 2 PWM Fans
• 4x 16gig (64gigs) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 4800 Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory
• 2x Sabrent 1TB Rocket 4 PLUS NVMe 4.0 Gen4 PCIe M.2 Internal SSD Extreme Performance Solid State Drive

 

[Phaaze88]