First time build PC ( airflow & side panel question noob )

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MQGreyF

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Hello

Im building my first PC , somehow mid/high-end build and I have bunch of questions so if anyone could help me with the answers I'd be really happy. So I have few questions about airflow , now I bought this CoolerMaster HAF XM case and I got the side window version and I wonder which is better the window one or the one which have fan at the side?

Another question , I still wonder as it comes with option to put 2 fans at the top and 2 at the front , but the case came only with 1 at the front and 1 at the top , should I buy/add the other 2 to " fill the space " for better airflow or its not really necessary.

Also I saw this radiator thing , at what case should I consider to get one?

Thanks a lot!
 
Solution
edogawa
If you wanted to do the alternative method all you gotta do is reverse the 140mm on the case, have the Noctua fans blow towards the front of the case, and buy a second 200mm so the top fans exhaust air out the top. That's pretty much it.

The standard air flow setup will be adequate though, so I say just stick with that so you don't need to buy another fan and hassle with all this.
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edogawa

edogawa

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The side fan one would technically be better, but the improvement would likely be negligible, so you're fine.

Putting two fans at the front for intake, and two fans at the top for exhaust would improve air flow, but not necessary.

What heat-sink do you plan to use?
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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You don't have to build it all at once. Hard to answer w/o knowing what is inside, what you are doing with it and how far it is overclocked. Put it together and run it..... if ye need more cooling, ya can add it. Cooling is a balance between noise and air flow and there's no need to go further than y have to.
 
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MQGreyF

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Im gonna use , noctua nh-d14




Ah okay thanks , so the radiator is kind of irelevant for me now.




So basically I should just build it and see later , thanks! Well its not overclocked yet but I do plan to do some in near future. One more question which airflow paths should I choose guys?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Just be aware that if you buy RAM stick with the unnecessary 'cooling fins', and want to use 4 of them...the cooler will impinge on doing that for slot 1.

Solution? Get low profile RAM sticks.
 
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MQGreyF

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I have been already warned about that problem , but thank you anyways sir!
 
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USAFRet

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In from the front, out the back and/or top.
CPU cooler pointing towards the back or top.
 
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MQGreyF

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Yeh I know , been deciding between these 2 for quite some time , but then I decided to get the noctuna , as for the Phantek wasnt at the stock at that moment + some other little issues. And I thought if I will put in some light it might solve the problem for the ugly colour of the noctuna fans.. ;D
 
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MQGreyF

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So 1 for the intake and 2 for exhaust , is that okay? I have heard the PSU is somehow also exhaust but Im not quite sure about that. Well im not sure bout the cooler , its kind of huge and Im not sure if it could be placed vertical.
 
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JackNaylorPE

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Here's a comparison

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_cpu_cooler_review,14.html

Phanteks, Silver Arrow and Noctua all are within 1/2 degree of one another ....so at that point it comes down to aesthetics. The normal HAF-XM has a red / black theme as do Asus and MSI MopBos......for those Id use:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709004
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709011

For gigabyte, I might use
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709002
 
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MQGreyF

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Thank you for your advice sir! Really appreciate it , but sadly I have already bought the noctuna :C I have been aware of this aesthetics issue but somehow the things didnt go smoothly as I planned so I had to choose the ugly way :/ hopefully it can be fixed somehow =)

 
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coastie65

coastie65

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I have a Cooler Master 912 HAF and came with the same fan cinfiguration. I removed the front fan and installed a 200mm fan for intake & two 120mm fans up top for exhaust ( along with the one in the rear ). The air that comes out of there is always cool. As for the side fan, I skipped that as it would probably disrupt the airflow I have now, which is good.
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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You will want the fans blowing air from the front to the rear.

REAR<<<<FAN-NOCTUA-FAN<<<<<FRONT

The Noctua will do the job fine, you do not need to worry about one being better by a degree or two as long as it's within a safe range. One of the best things you can do is set your processor to the lowest stable voltage you can get it to for temperatures.
 
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MQGreyF

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This case have 1 front fan 200mm , 1 top fan 200mm , and 1 rear fan 140mm.

 
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MQGreyF

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Ah okay , thanks! Actually I think I get that wrong , seems like there's only 1 option to use a front fan and its at the front bottom ( 200mm) , soo will it be okay if the intake will be at the front bottom ? Because it will not have straight airflow to the noctuna as you explained above , coz it will be at the top.
 
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USAFRet

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For the front, either the actual front, or the bottom, will be OK.
You want the air to go in kind of a diagonal, from the from bottom corner to the top rear corner. Fans close to those places will work.
 
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MQGreyF

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Hmm alright , I also found this picture http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail_print/case/mid-tower/haf-xm-with-side-window.html in the section " airflow " its sort of explained
 
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edogawa

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Basically yeah, the 200mm will push cold air onto the hard drives and through to the graphics card.

You could alternatively flip the fans on the Noctua, and the fan on the top rear of the case so it sucks cold air into and then it sucks it out the top if you desired too.

I used to own a Haf X before(which is very similar to Haf XM), I tried multiple configurations, it literally made a negligible difference which way the fans are set or if you added more. Lowering ambient temperatures, lowering voltage, and putting the case where air flows in your room are the best ways to keep your case cool.
 
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MQGreyF

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I kind of like this idea , but wouldnt it be sort of problem if there are 2 intake fans front 200mm and 1 rear 140mm and for exhaust it would be only 1 200mm ?

but then again , air from the front one would have to " travel " some path to get to the exhaust so I dunno , what do you think? BTW so far im not gonna use any HDD , I plan to try only 1 SDD and see how it goes.
 
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