Optimal airflow Fractal Design Arc mini r2

Denz13 · Aug 4, 2014

Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice if possible, firstly here's my setup:
CPU: Intel i5 2400
GPU: MSI R9 280X 3G
PSU: XFX 650W PRO
MOBO: ASROCK Extreme 4m
Ram: 2 x 4gb
Case: Fractal Design Arc mini r2

Although everything seems to be running fine performancewise, I've started to wonder whether there are heat issues. Where do I start when it comes to troubleshooting this?

All of the case fans are in their stock positions, yet the case really heats up under full load often enough to become noticeable in my living room. The PSU fan is the most noticeable source for noise under full load, not sure if this has anything to do with it.

Any advice appreciated

13thmonkey · Aug 4, 2014

is the psu fan sucking from inside the case? if it is then its not necessarily the PSU itself.
are your fans actually spinning, are the pulling in at the front and pushing out at the back and top?

volcanoscout · Aug 5, 2014

I have a build in that case - it's an awesome case, but the fans suck. You might consider replacing them with...well, just about anything really. I put two Noctua NF-A12 120mm fans in the front and two NF-S12A 120mm fans in the rear and top/rear. It stays nice and cool and is quiet. There are lots of other choices available that are cheaper though.

Denz13 · Aug 5, 2014

I'll check this and confirm.

volcanoscout · Aug 5, 2014

Denz13 :

To expand on 13thmonkey's post, the PSU can be mounted fan-up or fan-down. Fan down will draw air from outside the case, run it through the PSU case, then expel the hot exhaust out the back of the case. You need to make sure the bottom filter gets cleaned regularly and you don't want to go fan-down if the case is not sitting on a hard, relatively clean surface. For example, fan-down on carpet is bad.

You can also mount it fan-up, which means the PSU is pulling air from inside the case to cool itself. This works fine too, and can help exhaust warm air from the case, but if you do this you have to make sure that the case itself is getting a good flow of cool air from the case's intake fans and that the case exhaust fan is adequate. If the airflow inside the case, independent of the PSU, is poor, then the air the PSU is pulling to cool itself is too warm and makes the PSU work harder to cool itself, which makes the PSU hotter, and sets up a vicious feedback-loop.

You'll also want to make sure that all the intake filters are cleaned regularly. Even the best fans can rendered useless if the filters are clogged up.

13thmonkey · Aug 5, 2014

volcanoscout :

Denz13 :

To expand on 13thmonkey's post, the PSU can be mounted fan-up or fan-down. Fan down will draw air from outside the case, run it through the PSU case, then expel the hot exhaust out the back of the case. You need to make sure the bottom filter gets cleaned regularly and you don't want to go fan-down if the case is not sitting on a hard, relatively clean surface. For example, fan-down on carpet is bad.

You can also mount it fan-up, which means the PSU is pulling air from inside the case to cool itself. This works fine too, and can help exhaust warm air from the case, but if you do this you have to make sure that the case itself is getting a good flow of cool air from the case's intake fans and that the case exhaust fan is adequate. If the airflow inside the case, independent of the PSU, is poor, then the air the PSU is pulling to cool itself is too warm and makes the PSU work harder to cool itself, which makes the PSU hotter, and sets up a vicious feedback-loop.

You'll also want to make sure that all the intake filters are cleaned regularly. Even the best fans can rendered useless if the filters are clogged up.

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Optimal airflow Fractal Design Arc mini r2

Denz13

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Denz13

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13thmonkey

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