[Pictures] HAF-X Fan Setup & Airflow

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newbie1992

newbie1992

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Jan 9, 2011
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So I didn't buy any extra fans and this is my setup, please help me make improvements.


EDIT:So I put all my stuff together except the CPU & Hyper 212+(waiting for thermal paste) and optical drive, here are some pictures of my cable management, please let me know what you think. I did not add VGA shroud or air duct, should I?


IMG_20110613_183523.jpg


I feel like this is a bad clump of PCI-E cables, what do you guys think? Can I do anything about this clump?

IMG_20110614_145619.jpg


Here's the bottom of the motherboard

IMG_20110614_145629.jpg


And here's the back of the case.

IMG_20110614_145501.jpg
 
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I have seen the videos before, I am simply asking for advice weather or not to add more fans, especially the GPU duct and the second 200mm exhaust is my main concern right now.

I don't know much about positive and negative air pressures, and I just don't want to add more fans thinking it will improve airflow and air pressure, but instead making it worst by adding more fans.
 
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I would say get rid of fan 6, I have negative experience with side fans. Fan 5 would give awesome cooling for the GPUs without disturbing airflow. I would be nervous about the ram and CPU but the CPU cooler and the top fans will help get air up there.

I have a really similar setup and I have the equivalent to fans 1(I have two fans there), 5, 4, 3, and the CPU fan. This seems to be the best setup for me after much testing. I have the optional side fan too, but that raised CPU and GPU temps. Fan 5 seems like it wouldn't help because it seems redundant, but it forces the airflow to go through the GPUs rather than be pulled up towards the CPU and top fans. My Northbridge is also close to that area and it gets much cooler with that fan.

Once again, don't worry about the CPU and the upper area, those fans will pull enough air from the upper HD/DVD slots to keep cool.
 
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I like that idea. You will insure airflow in that top area for sure. Only testing will prove the effectiveness. One thing is though sometimes the NB and SB are very short and air may have a tough time moving across their heat sinks. That top optical drive fan may help with this.





Losing fan 4 goes against my intuition but who knows? I have noticed in my setup that the top fan doesn't really do much with the CPU fan and the rear fan. That might help pull more air up from the bottom. Im going to try it right now.
 
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fancompare.th.jpg
[/URL] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/img]

Losing fan 4 is not a good idea. Notice the CPU fan speed on the HWmonitor screen shots is higher with the fan closed. I have a smartfan setting in BIOS that kicks up the fan speed when it needs. These were both done with Prime95 on.

TMPIN0 = mosfets
TMPIN1 = Northbridge
TMPIN2 = Southbridge
 
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When you say fan closed Pearl, do you mean the gap is sealed up, or just that the fan is off?
this is the first time I've suggested blanking off that fan port but only because I believe the overall flow of the air is more balanced if the rear port and side window are shut up,
air rolls in through the front at the bottom and is pushed towards the rear and top, and obv the top fan/fans have to be good units but its good to see the extent of your testing, you're obviously too into fans like I am :)
Moto
 
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I turned off the rear fan and "sealed" it with a piece of paper quickly taped over. Not a 100% seal, but I would say 80-90% seal. The side was closed with the panel but with the fan opening open. The top fan is a 200mm fan that came with the case.

In my setup, I have a very strong front to back flow that I listed in a previous post. Closing the back impedes this flow. We have to ask ourselves: why close the rear fan? It may help bring air from the bottom up but I don't think you need that. The top front where the optical drives are has enough openings for air to come in to not need the air coming in from the bottom. All the air is pushed to the rear and escapes via GPU, PSU, cracks at the rear or rear fan. Anything in excess gets pulled from the rear top fan. Thats where I feel the most air coming out. The rear fan and the rear 25% of the Top fan.

With the rear closed, I did feel lots of air coming out of the top fan all over leading me to believe the RAM may be getting more air but the Northbridge showed hotter temps which is my only indication of RAM temps as it is the closest to the RAM. I couldn't stick my hand in there to feel because the side panel being on the unit is essential in this setup.

The fact is in my optimal setup, the top front of the case gets the least airflow but I feel adequate flow when I stick my hand in there. The CPU, rear and top fans pull air in all the cracks at the front very well. If i could add a front fan at the top, I think it would be even better.

And I do like fans Moto :)
 
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I can tell that by the extent of testing you've done 🙂
As you actually have the same case as Op I'm bowing to your experience over my hypothesis, you've worked with it, I'm just making educated guesses hehe
Have you posted on the fancount thread btw? I'll find the link for you if not,
Moto
 
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So I'm thinking I'll add 120mm or a 140mm fan in the optical drive bays.

My unanswered question is the 120mm in the VGA bracket, would it actually have better airflow? It's a fan inside the case, it wouldn't be bringing fresh air into the case, but pull the air that the big 230mm in the front had already pulled in past the hard drives, does this make sense?

I'm asking, will the 120mm in the VGA bracket actually help cool the GPUs? This fan is #5 in the picture.
 
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I mentioned it before, But I think that yes, it will help! It'll help force the air into the GPUs. Without fan 5, the top, cpu and rear fan will pull more of the air up and away from the GPU. From my experience, it helps the GPU and wont hurt the CPU or RAM, but try it both ways and see. It is a tough fan to get to in my case so I wont do anymore testing with it but it would be nice to see someone else's results.
 
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You have a bad ass setup, I don't even know what you need us for. Your cable management is exquisite. I actually didn't think to run the cables behind the mother board. My case is a bit smaller than yours and the cable management back there was a chore but I squeezed a whole mess of cords back there and my northbridge just lost 4 degrees :) So thanks for that inadvertent tip.

Anyway, your setup will be so cold. The only thing you can do to get colder is to buy an extra fan and move it around until you get results. If you see a component is hot then get another fan, otherwise you are good to go.
 
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Thanks for the praises, I just installed Windows 7 and I am typing from that PC right now. I want to bench this computer to check if all components are okay and I am also interested in Overclocking, I will go and ask the community again.
 
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@Moto wow that case is so clear of cables jeez, I regret not picking up a H50 to cool my CPU cause I tried overclocking my i5 to 4.8ghz and it was at 70C, not sure if that's idle or not, CPU-Z said it was 70C running at 4.8ghz.

I am also installing a 200mm fan up top, a 120mm in the vga duct, another 120mm on the Hyper 212plus and I am contemplating on adding the 120mm-140mm in the optical bay area.
 
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I got 1 megaflow 200mm fan to replace the side fan and moce that fan to the top for exhaust. I got 3 120mm fans 2000rpm fans 90 cfm with only 19db. Putting 2 on the hyper 212 plus and one at the vga duct, then using the stock fan as an extra intake at the optical drive bays, a total of 7 fans on the chassis and 11 total fans =)
 
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Okay I just replaced my CM Hyper212+ fan with 2 CM 2000rpm 19db red led fans (push/pull) configuration

Added another one under my optical drive in the drive bay for intake

My CPU @4.3ghz never hits 70C under load (prime95), to me these temperatures aren't that great... maybe because these are only 70CFM fans.

My Graphics cards idle at 34C and 31C for the second one

I will further test the loads on the graphics cards and let you guys know...

Overall I saw a 1-2 C improvement but that's it. =[

I'm waiting on my 200mm fan for the exhaust up top, i'll let you guys know when I get it and have it installed. I have more intake then outtake now...

Only 2 exhaust vs 3 intake.

EDIT: I played SC2 for two hours and my graphic cards never go above 70C I am impressed =] They are over clocked as well.
 
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