Tom's Hardware Member System Gallery

[NightHawkRMX]

I should get me a lancool mesh. This Deepcool case is nice, but it has substandard airflow and my GPU with a terrible cooler doesn't help.

I think I will be upgrading when next gen rolls around.

 

[vMax]

Yep it is a great case and the price is just too good. They are doing a deal in the UK where they throw in the USB Type C front port in for free...Fingers crossed that might still be available where ever you are based when the time comes..and it is easy to install.

I should get me a lancool mesh. This Deepcool case is nice, but it has substandard airflow and my GPU with a terrible cooler doesn't help.

I think I will be upgrading when next gen rolls around.

 

[TK31]

Not sure if anyone else has done this but recently did the Modbros Pi display and made some custom feet to mount it on as my screen choice didnt come with much of a bezel (excuse the poor craftsmanship).

It's pretty neat

 

[John Chesterfield]

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Man that cooler is massive

 

[John Chesterfield]

It is indeed. But I like a quiet system, hence the massive cooler and overspecced power supply. I also like a cool system, this evening it's idling at 30c and gets to 67c all cores 100% loaded. Got a big case too, makes sense.

I may also trigger someone's OCD, but I can't be bothered trying to get that SSD from being upside down. Too much of a pain to feed the cables in from the other side

 

[Phaaze88]

That cooler is sexy.

 

[John Chesterfield]

That cooler is sexy.

All big air coolers are

 

[Darkbreeze]

It is indeed. But I like a quiet system, hence the massive cooler and overspecced power supply. I also like a cool system, this evening it's idling at 30c and gets to 67c all cores 100% loaded. Got a big case too, makes sense.

I may also trigger someone's OCD, but I can't be bothered trying to get that SSD from being upside down. Too much of a pain to feed the cables in from the other side

You need to add your case model to the specs in your sig.

 

[John Chesterfield]

You need to add your case model to the specs in your sig.

Done.

 

[fuzzykiss]

This is my mini itx monster. able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding ps5
zen 7 3700x
core v1 case
rtx 2070 super
noctua cooling
32gb
1tb m.2 ssd
1tb ssd
1tb hybrid ssd

https://imgur.com/a/UfJ26oQ

View: https://imgur.com/a/UfJ26oQ

 

[fuzzykiss]

https://imgur.com/a/k61uMQg

View: https://imgur.com/a/k61uMQg

 

[fuzzykiss]

the only upgrade I need/want is the MSI b550i motherboard, waiting for it to come into stock. and then I have to rebuild it all over..what fun.

 

[1foxracing]

These are my main 4
System 1
Case- Phanteks P300A, all fan positions filled with Cougar Vortex PWM 120 models.
MB- Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro AC
Processor- R5 3600 cooled by Noctua NH-U12S (cougar PWM fans front & back)
GPU- Gigabyte GTX 1660 Gaming OC 6G
RAM Gskill F4-3600C16D-32GVKC
HD-Inland Pro 1TB QLC NVME
PSU- Corsair RM650
Display-LG 32" 4k
Keyboard- Microsoft sidewinder x4
Mouse Gigabyte GM-M6800

System 2
Case P400A all fan positions filled with Cougar Vortex 120/140mm PWM
MB- Gigabyte X570 Gaming X
Processor- R5 3600 cooled by Reeven Hans (outstanding budget cooler)
GPU- Gigabyte Radeon 5500XT Gaming OC 8G
RAM- Gskill F4-3600C16D-32GVKC
HD- Inland Pro 1TB QLC NVME
PSU- Phanteks AMP 650
Display ASUS 27" 1080P
Keyboard- Microsoft Digital Media
Mouse- Microsoft Digital Media

System 3
Case- Phanteks P500A all fan positions filled with Cougar Vortex 140mm PWM
MB- Gogabyte X570 Aorus Pro WiFi
Processor- R7 3700X Coole by Phanteks PH-TC14PE Orange
GPU Gigabyte 1660 Super Gaming OC 6G
RAM- Gskill F4-3600C16D-32GVKC
HD C-drive- Mushkin Helix-L 1TB PCIe NvMe 1.3-M.2 ( many more 1tb SSD storage as well)
PSU- Seasonic GX-650
Display Samsung 32" 4k
Keyboard- Gskill KM-780
Mouse Gskill- MX-780

System 4
Case- Lian Li Lancool 2 converted to Lancool 2 Mesh, all fan positions filled with Cougar Vortex 140mm PWM
MB Gigabyte X570 Aorus Ultra
Processor- R9 3900X cooled by Gigabyte ATC800
GPU Gigabyte Radeon 5700 Ganing OC 8G
RAM Gskill F4-3600C16Q-64GVKC
HD C-drive Samsung 970 EVO 1TB SSD 3-bit MLC NAND M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4
Boatload more SSD's including VVMe & 2.5 models
PSU Seasonic GX-650
Display LG 32" 4k
Keyboard- Gskill KM-780
Mouse Cougar Minos XT

All together

If you want to be board out of your skull video.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oDmE60-NnI&t=2s


I must add that I don't game at all and these are all used for content creation (photo/video) only. I use Vegas Pro17 (video editing) & Capture One Pro (photo editing) and Radeon cards work outstanding with both software's.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Your video link doesn't work. It says "The video is unavailable on this device"

That's an impressive setup there.

 

[Phaaze88]

Not sure if the top intakes are really doing anything, but if thermals are fine... whatever, yeah?

 

[1foxracing]

^ Video link should work now, was a privacy setting.
Phazze88- Only the fans in front of the CPU coolers are intakes, the top mounts behind the coolers are exhaust. The highest idling system is the R9 at 32c, the other 3 are at 30c or below in a 23c ambient, I show all that in the video. The R9 is will run the highest temp @ 71c when rendering 4k video.

 

[Phaaze88]

@1foxracing
I see that, but it's not really doing the PC any favors.

How Intake & Exhaust Fans Close to Each Other Can Cause Airflow Loop

Taken from here: https://www.overclock.net/forum/246...s-better-cooling-airflow-cooler-fan-data.html

 

[Darkbreeze]

Top intake fans are not only unproductive, they are counter productive. I don't get why some people, and don't this the wrong way because I'm not specifically trying to pick on you, but some people seem to THINK "hmm, maybe I know better than all those companies and reviewers and engineers" that have spend upwards of thousands and thousands of hours testing every imaginable configuration, orientation and fan placement in an effort to find the best and most efficient cooling designs. And basically, it's to just use it as intended.

Even those "inverse mounted cases" that supposedly "improve" on cooling, don't. That's why they've mostly been relegated to the "tried that, didn't work" category. Keep it simple. Front, bottom and sides as intake. Top and rear as exhaust, and don't put any exhaust fans in front of the CPU cooler unless you want them "stealing" most of your cooler ambient airflow before the CPU cooler, memory or VRMs ever see any benefit from it.

 

[1foxracing]

Thank for the link Phaaze88, I did read it and found it interesting. When I first started updating my systems this year I did watch many reviews and came across Tech Jesus at Gamers Nexus. When I built all these systems they had the top fan positions all as exhaust. After watching Tech Jesus's review of the Phanteks P400A he suggested if you were mounting fans in the top you might try positioning the front one as a intake so I tried it myself and under my own testing my systems run great.
There are many threads here were people say they need help with their R5 systems idling at 50-55c, all of mine are around the 30c mark in a 73c ambient room. Again highest Temp I've seen is 71c on the R9 system rendering 4k video. If I was a gamer where both the CPU and GPU wre being taxed much higher for long periods maybe things would be different but I don't think so. I've ran all systems through Prime 95, 3DMark, OCCT, & Passmark.
It sure is nice to read "I'm doing it wrong" yet all my own testing suggest that ain't just so.

 

[Phaaze88]

Thank for the link Phaaze88, I did read it and found it interesting. When I first started updating my systems this year I did watch many reviews and came across Tech Jesus at Gamers Nexus. When I built all these systems they had the top fan positions all as exhaust. After watching Tech Jesus's review of the Phanteks P400A he suggested if you were mounting fans in the top you might try positioning the front one as a intake so I tried it myself and under my own testing my systems run great.
There are many threads here were people say they need help with their R5 systems idling at 50-55c, all of mine are around the 30c mark in a 73c ambient room. Again highest Temp I've seen is 71c on the R9 system rendering 4k video. If I was a gamer where both the CPU and GPU wre being taxed much higher for long periods maybe things would be different but I don't think so. I've ran all systems through Prime 95, 3DMark, OCCT, & Passmark.
It sure is nice to read "I'm doing it wrong" yet all my own testing suggest that ain't just so.

The simplest way I can put this: It is going to vary for everyone.
-the chassis design
-the fans being used in the chassis and how they are set up
-the cpu and it's cooler
-the gpu and it's cooler
-obstacles, such as HDD cages and psu shrouds

There's no better way to know without doing your own testing.
For folks who can't be bothered to do that, the traditional front to back, bottom to top, is about as good as it gets. It's the jack of all trades to airflow; one literally can't go wrong following that method, but it may not be the best for everyone.

I did some extensive testing in my particular chassis - specs in the first spoiler.
3x NF-A14s pushing through a Fractal Celsius S36 with 3x NF-S12As on the other side as pull... that's it for my chassis cooling.
-rear exhaust isn't needed, or at the very least, the fan needs to be stronger than a NF-A14/A15
-top-rear exhaust also isn't needed for the same reason above
-top intake was no good either
-I discovered that the side folded design of Noctua's heatsinks promote more uniform airflow through their coolers, but it reduces the effect of fans placed above them, whether intake or exhaust
- @Darkbreeze I even ended up removing the top panel mesh mod I did, because to my surprise, the thermals were better with the acrylic panel installed. The airflow inside my chassis changed once I put that liquid cooler on my gpu.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Thank for the link Phaaze88, I did read it and found it interesting. When I first started updating my systems this year I did watch many reviews and came across Tech Jesus at Gamers Nexus. When I built all these systems they had the top fan positions all as exhaust. After watching Tech Jesus's review of the Phanteks P400A he suggested if you were mounting fans in the top you might try positioning the front one as a intake so I tried it myself and under my own testing my systems run great.
There are many threads here were people say they need help with their R5 systems idling at 50-55c, all of mine are around the 30c mark in a 73c ambient room. Again highest Temp I've seen is 71c on the R9 system rendering 4k video. If I was a gamer where both the CPU and GPU wre being taxed much higher for long periods maybe things would be different but I don't think so. I've ran all systems through Prime 95, 3DMark, OCCT, & Passmark.
It sure is nice to read "I'm doing it wrong" yet all my own testing suggest that ain't just so.

You do realize that idle temps LITERALLY have no meaning, at all, unless your maximum temperatures are exceeding the recommended safe specifications? There is absolutely no benefit, at all, to a system that idles at 25°C over one that idles at 50°C, if both peak at 75°C under a full, sustained load. Now, if the one idling at 50°C is peaking at 95°C, THEN that high idle is probably indicative of a cooling or voltage issue of some kind that needs to be addressed, but if the system is remaining within spec it is irrelevant. People get hung up on idle temps when the fact is, they really don't matter much. Most thermal sensors and diodes aren't even designed to be all that accurate at the lower end of the thermal range, only at the upper range where it's most important and throttle or boost behaviors are designed to be operated around the readings.

 

[Darkbreeze]

There's no better way to know without doing your own testing.
For folks who can't be bothered to do that, the traditional front to back, bottom to top, is about as good as it gets. It's the jack of all trades to airflow; one literally can't go wrong following that method, but it may not be the best for everyone.

I have to admit, I 100% agree with this and it's probably the better way to say what I was trying to say before. Except that, I also believe these case manufacturers and the engineers that they employ to design their products have to have tried every imaginable configuration with said case, and if there was some magical way to dramatically change the exchange rate for the better or increase and optimize airflow to accentuate the stack effect, they'd have already found it AND it would be the recommended configuration for that case.

But, I do agree that for some users, maybe even the variable of what FANS are used has a significant effect on changes in configuration to the fan orientation, there can be some minor benefits to experimentation.

Then there is also the obvious fact that some case manufacturers, or some CASES from manufacturers, especially budget models, might not see any significant testing or development at all, as evidenced by some of the ridiculously poor designs that make it onto the market.

 

[USAFRet]

as evidenced by some of the ridiculously poor designs that make it onto the market.

But they look flashy, and thats all that counts, right?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Apparently, if you ask ANYBODY that works in marketing, and 90% of those who work in editorial.