[SOLVED] Trying to figure out best H150i radiator location in silent base 802

[dmavro]

Im in process of building new 12900k rig. I bought the beQuiet! Silent Base 802 for the build because its possible to invert the case so i could have the window on the right side. Since i have it apart, i was thinking of mounting H150i's radiator in the front of the case because i saw some thermal benchmarks that were done saying it was coolest configuration for CPU. I mounted fans to radiator and then tried to mount to the front of the case and realized that i cant do tubes down because the tubes dont line up with opening for motherboard tray. They actually end up being closer to HDD cage. I can however pull off mounting it with the tubes on top of radiator, but I read a few articles that mentioned possible gurgling with that configuration.

2 questions...

1. Since i have inverted case the CPU socket is now much lower in case and GPU will be above it. Would a better config now actually be just to mount the radiator on the top with fans as exhaust and case fans as intake in front like they originally were?

2. If top mount is better then should I let fans push air through radiator and out of case or have them on top of radiator pulling air out of case?

GPU's are going to be a MSI Gaming Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 Video Card RX 6800 XT Gaming Z Trio 16G and a VisionTek Radeon HD 7750 SFF 2GB GDDR5 4M (4x miniDP) running a 8 monitor array. Computer is for work(trading) and plan on some gaming.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Phaaze88]

1)No.
Inverted, the gpu's fans just became top intake. You'd just hurt the gpu cooler with top AIO exhaust.

2)Looking at the answer to number 1, well...
You'd probably have to resort to top intake, not exhaust.

 

[dmavro]

1)No.
Inverted, the gpu's fans just became top intake. You'd just hurt the gpu cooler with top AIO exhaust.

2)Looking at the answer to number 1, well...
You'd probably have to resort to top intake, not exhaust.

So would that be front radiator with fans exhausting and case fans on top as intake? Or top radiator with fans on top of it as intake pushing through radiator and case fans as exhaust out front? If front radiator placement is answer will i be ok with tubes on top. I found article this morning that said as long as pump is lower like mine will be then i should be ok with tubes up. Just trying to figure out best placement of everything so i dont have to break down case again.

Thanks

 

[Phaaze88]

So would that be front radiator with fans exhausting and case fans on top as intake? Or top radiator with fans on top of it as intake pushing through radiator and case fans as exhaust out front?

You can test(which is optimal), but you might not notice a difference. It's a split between slightly weaker top intake and slightly weaker front exhaust.
Or you could just make 'em both intake(slightly weaker top or slightly weaker front); it can still exhaust out the back... or did you block that off?

If front radiator placement is answer will i be ok with tubes on top.

Would that even reach with the motherboard inverted... that would be one heck of a stretch.
Most likely tubes down is the only option.

 

[dmavro]

Was thinking about something. Since computer is really for work and im only going to game once or twice a week for an hour or two could i maybe get away with the top exhaust and front radiator intake like i planned? Im assuming i wont be asking much of the 6800xt during the day while i work and wouldnt see any thermal issue. Also, my gaming really only consists of MSFS2020 and Oculus headset games via Steam so im wondering what I'll actually be asking of GPU to begin with. Assuming i could see thermal issues while planning MSFS more then when i use Oculus but really have no clue. Ive built many rigs over years but have never had to worry about GPU temps because Ive never had gaming GPU before so could use some input.

Thanks in advance

 

[Phaaze88]

VR is 4K territory.
Top exhaust is a non issue when the gpu isn't being used. When it is, the fans will fight each other for air, and what air does go into the gpu will get exhausted out the sides and pulled back into the gpu... and repeat.
Past that, I could only speculate.

 

[dmavro]

You can test(which is optimal), but you might not notice a difference. It's a split between slightly weaker top intake and slightly weaker front exhaust.
Or you could just make 'em both intake(slightly weaker top or slightly weaker front); it can still exhaust out the back... or did you block that off?



Would that even reach with the motherboard inverted... that would be one heck of a stretch.
Most likely tubes down is the only option.

Back of case is not blocked off. I still have the PureWing 2 case fan there. I also mounted mobo on tray and put back in case and found out I actually can mount radiator in front with tubes up without a problem. I just cant do tubes down because bottom of radiator is lower than opening into motherboard tray like i originally mentioned.

With that new info, would u suggest top and front intake? If so which of these configs do you think might be better?

1-Intake on top via case fans and intake in front via radiator with single fan exhaust out back. I could then add a 3rd fan to top for more intake since theres room for one.

2- Intake on top via radiator and front intake case fans with back exhaust? I could add a 3rd fan in front too but it would blow into PSU cage area basically.

Also, could i try intake in back and front and exhaust out of top? Back fan is much lower now since i inverted case. Not sure if that kind of configuration is ever recommended.

Thanks again!

 

[Phaaze88]

As said earlier, you would have to test those configurations yourself to see which works out better in thermals overall across your hardware. Case design is one of the greatest influences to cooling configurations, followed by the type of cpu and gpu cooler.
Natural convection does little in the face of fans - except when the air is outside the case - and there's many fans present here. [Some cases work with natural convection - the chimney stack/style models.]


The rest is more speculation on my end.
#1 is probably the best overall.
#2 is runner up.
#3 wouldn't be very effective since the interior is inverted. It'd probably tie with #2 if the interior was in the normal position.

 

[dmavro]

As said earlier, you would have to test those configurations yourself to see which works out better in thermals overall across your hardware. Case design is one of the greatest influences to cooling configurations, followed by the type of cpu and gpu cooler.
Natural convection does little in the face of fans - except when the air is outside the case - and there's many fans present here. [Some cases work with natural convection - the chimney stack/style models.]


The rest is more speculation on my end.
#1 is probably the best overall.
#2 is runner up.
#3 wouldn't be very effective since the interior is inverted. It'd probably tie with #2 if the interior was in the normal position.

Thank you very much for your input. Im going to give #1 a shot to begin with and monitor temps for a while. I actually dont have GPU yet so after mounting radiator to front of case i looked at GPU dimensions online and thats how i came to my conclusion that i could reach CPU with that setup. Using same method i just realized i dont think ill be able to do top mount anyway because I dont think ill be able to get around or over GPU after i install it. Im going to see what happens when it comes later today.

Thanks again!