Radial versus axial fans

[newbie1992]

Alright, I have been doiing some research on graphics cards and there's 2 different types of air cooling solution for video cards today. They are either reference cards using a radial(blower) fan that directly exhaust the video card's heat out the back of the case and the nonreference axial fans that blow the video card's heat into the case.

Now, I have a corsair 600T with stock fans a H80 CPU cooler and I like my case quiet when possible, but I also love eyecandy on my games, so I plan to buy a single high end graphics card like the upcoming HD7000 series or GTX 600 series. But I have run into the problem of choosing which type of graphics card.

Pros/cons of blower type GPUs (video cards):

Pros:
1) Sucks air from inside of the case to cool the GPU and directly pushes hot air out of the case.
2) Results in lower temperaturees of other components in the case.
3) Cools GPU even if case has bad airflow
Cons:
1) Loud under load (like a jet engine).
2) Subpar cooling performance.

Pros/cons of axial fans mounted GPUs:

Pros:
1) Lower GPU temperatures
2) Lower temperatures mean higher overclocks
3) Generates less noise

Cons:
1) Blows hot air back into the case causing the other components in the to get hotter.
2) Bad for cases with bad airflow because heat keeps recirculating in case.

All these pros and cons are based off articles and topics from varous websites, if any of these pros and cons are false please let me know and explain they are wrong.

Like I said, I have a corsair 600T with stock fans a H80 running push/pull, I'm not sure which route to take, would you guys say my case has good or bad airflow? And I need advice on which type of graphics card to go for.

How much louder are blowers compared to axial fans anyways...?

Thanks for reading and replies are appreciated.

 

[cbrunnem]

people buy reference design cards???

in all seriousness i would get a non reference design card. they have better cooling and who cares about noise? i can never hear my cards fans on full speed while gaming. could just be a personal opinion

 

[cbrunnem]

my gigabyte GV-R695OC never sees higher then 54* in game so yeah case temps and a good fan design are what matter.

 

[newbie1992]

Like I said though, my case has average cooling, I would really like to keep my side window and the front 200mm fan is smaller than other 200mm fans cause its only 20mm thick instead of 30mm, so my cooling wouldn't be the best. I currently have a EVGA GTX560 Ti superclocked DS, and it gets up tp to the low 70s on battlefield 3 and high 60s on starcraft. So I don't really think my case has the best airflow for a non reference design unless I add a 120mm fan between my harddrive cage right infront of the end of thrr graphics card.

 

[newbie1992]

I haven't updated my sig but I only have a single gtx 560ti and the corsair 600T as my new case. The HAFX definitely has the best air cooling I've ever seen but I needed a smaller case cause I move every once in awhile.

 

[cbrunnem]

I haven't updated my sig but I only have a single gtx 560ti and the corsair 600T as my new case. The HAFX definitely has the best air cooling I've ever seen but I needed a smaller case cause I move every once in awhile.

take the side panel off while gaming and see if you get the same temps

 

[newbie1992]

Temperature on my gpu caps at 60 without side panel, and 71 with it on

 

[cbrunnem]

poor case air flow it is then lol

 

[hihis]

The HAFX definitely has the best air cooling I've ever seen but I needed a smaller case cause I move every once in awhile.

 

[newbie1992]

Well, maybe its cause the front intake fan doesn't move enough fresh air into the case due to 20mm thick instead of 30mm thickness fans on the HAFX but the 600T can't take the 30mm thick fans because the harddrive cages prevent it unless all drive cages are taken out.

I appreciate positive feed backs and discussions on the 2 different types of gpu cooling from you guys, but telling me what I already know or mocking my statements aren't welcomed, take your trolling somewhere else, up your "fill in the blank".

My case has average cooling, I don't want to add a sidepanel, current gpu is an EVGA GTX 560Ti Superclocked with 2 axial fans so it exhaust hot air into my case, my GPU doesn't go pass 70c at full load (battlefield3), CPU doesn't go pass 55c on full load.

So my question, I am planning to get a dualGPU like the 7990 or the GTX 690 if they ever debut. Do you guys think my 600T can sufficiently cool a dualcard GPU? And if so, would it be a card with direct exhaust(radial fan) or axial fans like the one I have today.

 

[cbrunnem]

add a fan to the side panel. you might not want to but it sounds like your hard drives are blocking your airflow from the front so your going to have to get more air into the case. also try and figure a way to get the hot air coming out of your radiator out of the case. for instance in my case i have my fans through my heatsink directed back and blowing right into an exhaust fan. my case is never above 30*c

 

[newbie1992]

add a fan to the side panel. you might not want to but it sounds like your hard drives are blocking your airflow from the front so your going to have to get more air into the case. also try and figure a way to get the hot air coming out of your radiator out of the case. for instance in my case i have my fans through my heatsink directed back and blowing right into an exhaust fan. my case is never above 30*c

I refuse to put a side fan =(... I want to hear from people who have the 600T if possible to tell me what they think.

 

[cbrunnem]

the only thing i can recommend is taking out the bottom hard drive rack and moving the top behind were to bottom one should go. then make sure your front fan is blowing in and your back fan is blowing out. i assume since you have a water cooled cpu that your radiator is in the top with the two fans pulling air out and through the radiator. if that all is the case your not going to see any improved airflow without a mod. also make sure you have your fan speeds at max.

 

[newbie1992]

My fans are at max speeds, and I did remove the top harddrive cage completely and only have a ssd as my hd for this computer.

 

[cbrunnem]

My fans are at max speeds, and I did remove the top harddrive cage completely and only have a ssd as my hd for this computer.

yeah but the hard drives sit perpendicular so the sides of the holders deflect air from moving towards the back. it is my understanding that you can remove the top one and mount it behind the bottom one and then remove the bottom one. id do that and then see what happens. if that doesnt help then the four fans your using now aren't enough, you will prolly need another intake fan as you have 1 intake and 3 exhaust

 

[newbie1992]

yeah but the hard drives sit perpendicular so the sides of the holders deflect air from moving towards the back. it is my understanding that you can remove the top one and mount it behind the bottom one and then remove the bottom one. id do that and then see what happens. if that doesnt help then the four fans your using now aren't enough, you will prolly need another intake fan as you have 1 intake and 3 exhaust

I have 2 exhaust and 1 intake. I can move the drive cage next to the psu, this will mean nothing will block the intake fan's air from reaching the gpu, however I think the problem is that the fan does not have enough pressure to push the hot air released by the gpu out the back of the case...

 

[cbrunnem]

you should have an exhaust fan out the back and two exhaust fans pulling air through your radiator then an intake in the front without the hard drive cage in front of it. if you dont have the config why not?

 

[newbie1992]

you should have an exhaust fan out the back and two exhaust fans pulling air through your radiator then an intake in the front without the hard drive cage in front of it. if you dont have the config why not?

I'm sorry, maybe my explanation isn't that good and should take a picture to explain what i mean.

So I did another test with the side panel off and side panel on, no change in GPU or CPU temperature. So I am guessing my computer has enough airflow.

So my fan configuration is a 200x22mm top exhaust, 2x 120mm fan push/pull rear exhaust (corsair H80), front intake 200x22mm fan, and of the 2 drive cages, i removed the top one and added a 120mm fan in place of it, similar to this picture here except mine is vertical and blows the air directly into the GPU. (scroll down till you see the picture)

http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=100297&highlight=gtx+590+600t

 

[cbrunnem]

sounds good to me.