[SOLVED] want input on AIOs for use with 9900kf/eVGA z390 dark in MCM-H500M case

[technotic]

hi all.

I recently built/am building a new PC. Specs are:
Intel i9 9900kf
eVGA z390 dark Mobo
2x16gb G.Skill TridentZ Royal 3600mhz
eVGA RTX 2070 Super XC GAMING
Cooler Master MCM-H500M case
1tb HDD / 250gb SATA SSD / 500gb NVMe m.2

Ive replaced the rear 140mm fan with a thermaltake riing white led max 1400rpm fan
I also added 3 pccooler 120mm max 2000rpm fans to the top of the case (mounted between the glass and radiator mount bracket), and am currently using a SilverStone PF240 240mm radiator in a push/pull, with the radiator mounted under the frontmost 2 120mm outer fans, and the included SS 120mm max 2200rpm fans under the radiator, with air flow direction as intake (as well as the front 2x 200mm 800rpm fans), and the 140mm rear fan as exhaust.

I've been doing a lot of research since, and optimal cooling recommendations seem to be either mounting the radiator in the front in push/pull intake inside the case, or reversing my current top mounted radiator setup to exhaust, leaving only the 2 front-mounted 200mm fans as intakes.

I'm considering replacing the AIO with either the 360mm version, or possibly a 280mm kraken x63 or Corsair h115i pro platinum. The Silverstone PF240 does seem to have good reviews and tests, but I am new to liquid cooling (last system build was Dec 2012). Most recommendations seem to be that the 240mm radiator isn't going to cut it for my setup, which reflects in RealBench stress test, with the CPU reaching temps at a max of 91-93 before I stop it. I tweaked my fan speeds for the push/pull to try to match beat I could, setting the 2 pull fans to slightly lower rpm than the push fans (to account for resistance from the mounting bracket and the radiator itself), which seems to have helped, keeping me around 86c after 10 minutes of stress test. I haven't flipped the top from intake to exhaust yet, as I'm most likely going to swap out the radiator anyways.

So my question is, with price currently being a somewhat limiting factor (I'm trying to stay at or under $170, which is the price of the 280mm Corsair), are there any recommendations for radiator positioning front push/pull vs top exhaust push/pull, and whether I should go with a 280mm (would have to front mount that, possibly top-most so additional fresh air comes in from the bottom to get sucked up past the gpu), 360mm up top as exhaust push/pull (I could do pull-only but asthetically optimal would be push-pull rgbs like I currently use), or even front mounting a 360mm push/pull?

The 200mm front fans have low static pressure but about 90cfm. so I was looking at a 280mm with a 97cfm fan rating (I believe the Corsair h115i pro platinum?) so the pull negates the need for static pressure from the 200mm's or the Silverstone PF360 with 94cfm max. I'm not worried about running the fans at max. I just want to keep my CPU under 80c for at least a full 15m stress test, ideally staying below it for a much longer extended period of time.

The top cover on the H500M is glass with angled mesh inlets on all 4 sides. I'm using the preinstalled mesh front cover.

One additional question.. would vertically mounting my GPU offer and significant cooling improvement? the cooler master vert mount kit is around $65, which puts it at the "I'll do it if it's going to significantly help with cooling" price point, but if it's just asthetic, it can wait.


I hope I've provided enough info to get a few detailed suggestions with explanations as to why. I appreciate any and all help. Aside from replacing the cooler, I'm sticking with all other hardware. I'm not ready to do a custom loop, I want to research that much much more, I can do that some other time.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Well yeah, a 240mm AIO is on par with high end air coolers, and they can barely handle the thing on stock operation, from what I've heard.
So for this chip, you're really looking at 280mm - 360mm if you're going to overclock.

2)When choosing where to mount the rad, there's a trade-off(very minor) regardless of the position - pick your poison:
-Front mounted: slightly higher gpu temps
-Top mounted: slightly higher cpu temp

3)Most people don't like running their fans at max, but it also important to know the specs of the AIO and its fans when considering a purchase. There are basically 2 types of coolers:
-Performance oriented: fans have high rpm ceiling, loud at max, and the radiator design is optimized for performance with those fans running at max(high FPI). You can run the fans at lower speeds, but at that point, silence-focused units usually outperform them.
I don't know if you'd actually care too much for the Corsair h115i pro platinum, with it's loud fans at 37dBA... I mean, you don't HAVE to run the fans that high, but why bother?

-Silence oriented: fans have low max rpm ceiling, quieter at max, and the radiator design is optimized for low rpm fans(low FPI). The fans can be run at max, but honestly, there's nothing to really gain from that, since the fans have a low ceiling anyways.
They tend to outperform the performance models at low fan rpm, and aren't even that far behind the latter when it's running at full blast.
Alphacool Eisbaer 360
Thermaltake Water 3.0 Riing RGB 360
Deepcool GAMERSTORM CAPTAIN 360X WHITE
Corsair H115i PRO
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280
Those are merely some suggestions. If you prefer something else, then by all means, go with what you like.

One additional question.. would vertically mounting my GPU offer and significant cooling improvement? the cooler master vert mount kit is around $65, which puts it at the "I'll do it if it's going to significantly help with cooling" price point, but if it's just asthetic, it can wait.

Vertical gpu is purely aesthetic, and offers no temperature benefit whatsoever - quite the opposite, actually.

 

[technotic]

1)Well yeah, a 240mm AIO is on par with high end air coolers, and they can barely handle the thing on stock operation, from what I've heard.
So for this chip, you're really looking at 280mm - 360mm if you're going to overclock.
2)When choosing where to mount the rad, there's a trade-off(very minor) regardless of the position - pick your poison:
-Front mounted: slightly higher gpu temps
-Top mounted: slightly higher cpu temp

3)Most people don't like running their fans at max, but it also important to know the specs of the AIO and its fans when considering a purchase. There are basically 2 types of coolers:
-Performance oriented: fans have high rpm ceiling, loud at max, and the radiator design is optimized for performance with those fans running at max(high FPI). You can run the fans at lower speeds, but at that point, silence-focused units usually outperform them.
I don't know if you'd actually care too much for the Corsair h115i pro platinum, with it's loud fans at 37dBA... I mean, you don't HAVE to run the fans that high, but why bother?

-Silence oriented: fans have low max rpm ceiling, quieter at max, and the radiator design is optimized for low rpm fans(low FPI). The fans can be run at max, but honestly, there's nothing to really gain from that, since the fans have a low ceiling anyways.
They tend to outperform the performance models at low fan rpm, and aren't even that far behind the latter when it's running at full blast.
Alphacool Eisbaer 360
Thermaltake Water 3.0 Riing RGB 360
Deepcool GAMERSTORM CAPTAIN 360X WHITE
Corsair H115i PRO
ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280
Those are merely some suggestions. If you prefer something else, then by all means, go with what you like.


Vertical gpu is purely aesthetic, and offers no temperature benefit whatsoever - quite the opposite, actually.

thank you much for the input. I'll check out those rads. I assumed the sound-optimized AIOs didn't offer comparable performance. I've read a handful.of reviews, watched a handful of review videos, and gone through a number of posts on various forums. Unfortunately, I couldn't find enough info specific to my setup that made things clear.

The main reason I'm not as concerned with noise levels is that I like background white noise. I have fans running in every major room. 2 in my bedroom. silence bothers me. I'm weird like that.

Still, I'll check out your recommendations as I have no experience with water cooling except for the tons of mostly conflicting opinions and the currently installed cooler.

I will also pass on the vertical mount, thanks for clarifying that.


One additional question, if you are familiar with it... NZXT has a gpu cooler shroud that is supposed to allow mounting of a NZXT CPU AIO cooler to it. One consideration for the near future was to go this route with a 140mm rad replacing my current rear exhaust fan. but I'm not sure now if a 140mm aio would offer any advantage over the default air cooling. any input?

Thanks again for the response.

 

[Phaaze88]

Not a big deal. As I said, they were just suggestions. If you like something else - hey, no problem.

One additional question, if you are familiar with it... NZXT has a gpu cooler shroud that is supposed to allow mounting of a NZXT CPU AIO cooler to it. One consideration for the near future was to go this route with a 140mm rad replacing my current rear exhaust fan. but I'm not sure now if a 140mm aio would offer any advantage over the default air cooling. any input?

You mean the Kraken G12?
https://www.nzxt.com/product-overview/kraken-g12

Unfortunately, I have no experience with using the unit myself.
The problem with products like this, or full gpu waterblocks, is that they're almost exclusively compatible with the reference PCB designs.
Fortunately, your specific model is built on the reference RTX 2080 PCB, so you should have no fitment issues at all.

IMO, the gpu sees the most benefit from liquid cooling, especially Nvidia's 10, 16, and 20 series gpus.
Power limits aside, gpu boost clocks are also affected by temperature, so the cooler it runs, the higher it'll boost - to an extent, of course.
As for how much of a difference slapping an AIO on your gpu will make, will depend on:
-room ambient temp
-case design and fan setup
-how effective the gpu's current air cooler already is
Liquid cooling the gpu could see drops of 5-10C or greater, depending on the above.