[SOLVED] Phanteks P400a cooling setup

[BradHP]

I'm trying to make some final decisions on replacing my stock CPU cooler (Wraith Prism on a Ryzen 7 3700x) and wanted to get a little advice on the best setup for this case to help me decide.

This case came with 3 120mm fans mounted as intake in the front. I kept two of them where they were (top and middle) and moved one to the top rear as exhaust. I also put another 120mm as a rear exhaust.

The case supports up to a 360mm radiator in the front (which I believe requires moving the hard drive cage back). I've read some people saying that you can have the radiator with fans as well as still having 3 fans in front of the mounting area.

I don't want to get into any discussion here about air vs AIO's, I know that air can usually perform better for lower cost, and has less chance of catastrophic failure, but I really want to go with an AIO for the aesthetics and not having to worry about clearances with RAM and the case itself. Some of those air cooler are damn huge!

If I put a 240mm (or possibly 280mm) AIO in the front, without adding any more fans right now, what would be the best use for the 2 fans I currently have in front? Should I keep them up front and do a push/pull? Move another one to the top exhaust? One top exhaust and one in the empty space below the radiator?

 

[Phaaze88]

The best setup will vary based on the chassis design, chassis fans, cpu and gpu coolers, and the hardware being cooled. You need to be willing to do your own individual testing to find 'the best'.
If you are not interested in doing that, then follow the general setup recommendation of front to back, bottom to top; it is practically foolproof, except in rare instances.

I don't want to get into any discussion here about air vs AIO's, I know that air can usually perform better for lower cost, and has less chance of catastrophic failure, but I really want to go with an AIO for the aesthetics and not having to worry about clearances with RAM and the case itself.

Okey-dokey. Just make sure you have a back up cooler on hand for when the pump in the hybrid cooler inevitably dies, because you can't continue to use the PC until it's replaced.
That's probably one of the greatest downsides to these coolers. So at the very least, don't toss the Wraith Prism in the trash.

Some of those air cooler are damn huge!

Uh-huh... and hybrid coolers are even larger, so where is this going?

If I put a 240mm (or possibly 280mm) AIO in the front, without adding any more fans right now, what would be the best use for the 2 fans I currently have in front? Should I keep them up front and do a push/pull? Move another one to the top exhaust? One top exhaust and one in the empty space below the radiator?

Again, you really should test those combinations yourself. I could speculate and still be wrong:
A)Push-pull intake to rear exhaust only
B)Push intake to rear exhaust only
C)Pull intake to rear exhaust only
D)Push-pull intake to rear and 2x top exhaust
E)Push intake to - you see where this is going by now...
The best? Could be B. Could be D... I'd have no way to prove it.