Push or Pull or both?

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mykelbuenrostro

mykelbuenrostro

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Aug 22, 2013
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Everyone,
I'm curious, what is the best way to setup water cooling? Push? Pull? or both? How much difference does it make to have either or? I ordered a Corsair h80i water cooler and it comes with push/pull configuration but somewhere I read that it doesn't make that much of a difference whether it's just pull or push/pull.. I need expert advice please.. This is my first ever time attempting water cooling so all advise is welcome.


Not sure if this matters but,

Current setup:

Case: HAF 912
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero
CPU: Intel i7-4770k
Memory: Trident X
 
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manofchalk
Depends on where your priorities are.
Having a rad intaking air will dump heat into the case, CPu will be cooler but the rest of the components will suffer.
Have a rad exhausting, the CPU is getting all that warm air and its temps will suffer.

I exhaust with my rads, would prefer not to be dumping heat into the case.
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mr1hm

mr1hm

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why not just use both fans that are provided for push/pull? it may be a small degree of improvement but, it's still an improvement :)
 
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mykelbuenrostro

mykelbuenrostro

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Aug 22, 2013
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Very true, I guess I have to see how it looks, I wanted to go with a minimal simplistic design, the less cluttered it looks the better so I figured 1 fan would be great considering what I read about how it's barely a 1 to 2 degrees difference. Of course, I haven't done water cooling ever so I have no idea if those statements I read were accurate lol. That's why I'm asking.
 
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japps2

japps2

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in a push configuration the air in the fins has higher pressure (think more air) and more air molecules to pull heat away from the fins. in a pull configuration there is a slight vacuum and there is a little less cooling.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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May 11, 2012
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Push/Pull is better due to the increased Static Pressure (how hard the air is being pushed) of the air moving through the rad. However on a slim, low FPI rad like a H80i you really wont see all that much benefit. Its only once your using thicker and denser rads where Push/Pull make a noticeable difference to performance.

As for Push vs Pull, there's no real difference performance wise to my knowledge.
I go for Pull, you end up with a cleaner look inside the case and due to the way air is moving, dust builds up on bare radiator where it is easier to clean. In Push dust will build up underneath the fan which is a pain to clean.
 
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mykelbuenrostro

mykelbuenrostro

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Ok, thanks for the explanation. Now my question is this, I've been reading that having the fans pulling cold air from outside of the case into the radiator is better than having the fans on the radiator setup as exhaust. I figured if you have good airflow then it wont make that much of a difference how you have it, but, does it?
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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Depends on where your priorities are.
Having a rad intaking air will dump heat into the case, CPu will be cooler but the rest of the components will suffer.
Have a rad exhausting, the CPU is getting all that warm air and its temps will suffer.

I exhaust with my rads, would prefer not to be dumping heat into the case.
 
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japps2

japps2

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I'm opposite...I have my rad intaking so my CPU is cooler, but yes...I pull that heat into the case. I do have a well ventilated case though...so it's not a big deal for my component temps...but it will depend on what case you have. I've tried it both ways and it only made a 1-2C difference.

The other issue is dust...the way I have it I pull dust through my rad...so I have to blow it out every 6 months or so. If you have filters on you case, then the way manofchalk has it set up you won't get nearly as much dust in your rad fins.
 
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mykelbuenrostro

mykelbuenrostro

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Aug 22, 2013
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good to know
 
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mykelbuenrostro

mykelbuenrostro

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Yeah, I ended up setting mine up as exhaust after all. I'll just have to purchase some air filters to keep the dust down to a minimum.
 
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SKf0rest

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Feb 27, 2014
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So, is intake or exhaust better?
 
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SKf0rest

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Yeah, but I was just thinking with an H100i exhausting, with a rear exhaust also, it seems like it wouldn't actually remove that much air, but I haven't yet installed my fans so I'll see then
 
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VADAR

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I have 3 rads in a coolermaster storm trooper, all are 30 fpi "Koolance system". All are going to intake are with a 240x30 mm for front intake, a 240x55 mm for bottom intake, and finally a 280x30 mm on top for intake. I have the stock 140 mm coolermaster fan for rear exaust and the corsair ax1200i exhausting air and the positive pressure escaping where ever it can. And the koolance fans for those rads have the highest special I've seen yet with there 2600 rpm models with 5.4 special and the 2200 rpms 4.1 sp. I feel just a push or pull is enough to sustain great temps but with higher rpms, but I was wondering if a person has high rpm fans that preformed great at high rpms would it be wrong to think that setting up push and pull for the 2 - 240 rads will allow me to get same performance with lower rpms.

I will be running them all through the mobile on the Rampage IV black Edition via fan expert 2, by the way they are 3 pin connectors but the mobile is capable of adjusting sppeds for 12 fans. And the top 280 well they have only 2 fan models at koolance and I cannot do push pull do to case restrictions because modding it is pointless and to hurt the design of an awesome case that degrades the product.

So will push pull allow for lower rpms without compromise?
*special = static preassure
 
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corbmonster

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyC3lZ5WFMk
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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There is a difference in Push and Pull when it comes to performance.

Use PUSH when you have higher CFM and higher static pressure fans to push cooler air over the radiator as much as possible.

Use PULL when you have lower CFM or lower static pressure fans and move cooler air over the radiator, if possible.

For consideration- it might be better to exhaust air from inside your case to outside, especially if you have a smaller case or one with lower airflow. This will allow you to vent warm radiator air outside your case and help pull in cooler air to the inside of the case. You can exhaust air using either PUSH or PULL, depending how the fans are oriented.
 
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Pharstar

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Not sure if my added question is inappropriate (needs a new thread) but if you have an aio water cooler set up as push/pull intake into case, do you add both fans to the total intake cfm? Or does the resistance of air going through the rad lessen effective cfm? I've read that you want a 3:1 ratio of intake to exhaust, BUT, if it's true that air that intakes over a warm radiator blows fairly warm air into the case (cpu being cool but rest of components getting that possible warm air), wouldn't a 2:1 ratio be better to make sure you ventilate the whole case properly?
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Most people don't go into that much depth in selecting fans for push/pull and will just get 2 similar or same fans. Your Push side fan will experience the most resistance, especially in an AIO cooler since they typically have higher FPI radiators.
 
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pc_workx

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push is better... more cooling for your radiator. you can get max 5 to 8 degrees difference with pull configuration. you only need to clean your system every 6 moths, or u may put a dust filter. I tried it with cooler master nepton 240m.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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push is better... more cooling for your radiator. you can get max 5 to 8 degrees difference with pull configuration. you only need to clean your system every 6 moths, or u may put a dust filter. I tried it with cooler master nepton 240m.
Click to expand...

This isn't necessarily correct as it is incredibly over generalized using high or very high performing fans.

Push and Pull should be defined by the RPM and static pressure stats on the fans being used AS WELL AS the fin density in FPI and the thickness of the overall radiator.

 
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