Fans amount and positioning

dmovsho · Oct 20, 2014

Hey guys,
So I've bought a new PC, and was wondering about the fans.
I've read quite a lot about it in the past two days, buy couldn't find the most simple thing - how many fans should I put in (which is very individual after all).

My case is Corsair 300R windowed (http://www.corsair.com/en/carbide-series-300r-windowed-compact-pc-gaming-case)
I have 2 corsair fans (came with the case) - 1x140mm front intake, 1x120mm rear exhaust,
And 1 CPU-Fan (hyper 212x).
and would like to know if that's enough or not.
I'm not planning on overclocking (besides the GPU which is stock overlocked), but I will play games for long sessions.

Dust-wise - my computer is in the corner of the room, about 7cm above the floor, and next to a wall on the fan-opening side of the computer (about 10cm from the wall).
I don't really care about the noise (as long as it's bearable).

The rest of the build is:
PSU - Seasonic g650
CPU - i5 4690
GPU - Sapphire Radeon 280x
1 HDD (WD 1TB Caviar Blue)
1 SSD (128GB Crucial MX100)
12GB RAM (4GB Corsair Vengence, 8GB G.Skill Ripjaw)

tiny voices · Oct 20, 2014

Your fan setup should be fine. If anything I would only add one top exhaust if you really need it.

Dark Lord of Tech · Oct 20, 2014

Dark Lord of Tech · Oct 20, 2014

Your ram should be in matching pairs for Dual channel mode , 8gb or 16 gb.

menetlaus · Oct 20, 2014

Reason you can't find a simple answer - there isn't one.

I recall hearing a rule of thumb that for every 10C hotter a CPU/part runs - it halves the lifespan.

If you are in a very well conrolled climate with 20C ambient air all the time and aren't worried about maximizing the lifespan of yor parts - the two stock case fans is probably fine.

If you live in the auzzie outback, no AC, so the ambient air gets 35+ and you want to maximize the life of the parts - you need TONS of additional airflow in the case.

Personally, I would leave it as stock for now but after a month or so of use would do some temperature monitoring and if the CPU/GPU/system temps are higher than you would like I would then buy a second 140mm (or 120) fan for the front intake and remove one of the side panel guards and allow air to escape there without a fan.

tiny voices · Oct 20, 2014

I 100% disagree with the 10c halves the life statistic. That's ridiculous.

menetlaus · Oct 20, 2014

tiny voices :

Do a search on temperature reducing lifespan of CPU and there are lots of people who use/agree/follow that rule of thumb. Is it perfect - no, but it at least gives most people an understanding on the trade-off of heat vs lifespan.

If you have some factual, comparative test results that scientifically show that heat does not effect the lifespan on CPU/GPU/silicon chips/etc - I would love to see it (as would all computer engineers).

tiny voices · Oct 20, 2014

I agree that ALOT of heat will affect a chip, but it is nowhere close to 1/2 the life of the CPU for every 10c. No chance.

dmovsho · Oct 22, 2014

Thanks everyone for your help.
Another question though.
I read a lot of good and bad stuff on side fans. They help cool the GPU in the dead spot, but they interfere with the airflow in the case.
Should I get a small, 60-100mm fan, strong enough to get some cool air to the GPU, but not strong enough to interfere with the airflow?
Or will another top exhaust do better?

tiny voices · Oct 22, 2014

I would not bother with a side fan. Add a top exhaust IF temps are an issue.

dmovsho · Oct 22, 2014

That article kinda made me think differently:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/02/10/the-big-cooling-investigation/1

tiny voices · Oct 22, 2014

So what is your consensus now?

dmovsho · Oct 23, 2014

rear and side,
Or rear, side and front
Depending on the amount of fans I'll get.

tiny voices · Oct 23, 2014

You NEED one on the front. DO NOT use a side intake with no front intake. I recommend just rear and front. That article is not very accurate as they only tested one case and one single fan. People agree that, while good for the uneducated masses, it is really 100% truth and there are WAY too many variables they didn't eve talk about.

dmovsho · Oct 23, 2014

I hope you're right.
BTW - right now, while playing, I'm getting my CPU at around 50c, and my GPU at around 58c.
Is that normal, or too hot?

tiny voices · Oct 23, 2014

For the GPU that is cold. Like 20c lower than it should probably run at under load.

The CPU is perfect as well. Perfectly cool.

menetlaus · Oct 23, 2014

Those temps look great, though the "gaming" usage can cover a wide range of loads.

If playing a big fish, very old, or other very low requirement/casual game the GPU seems about reasonable and CPU maybe a touch high (though easily explained if the game does most work on the CPU in order to run on systems with integrated graphics)

If playing an older/less demanding game (especially with vsync on) those numbers are bang on as the GPU isn't stressed as much by the older game and has a hard FPS cap that it can easily handle.

If playing a new, demanding game - I agree with tiny above and the GPU seems to be running very cold, which probably means you could up the resolution/settings as there is available headroom in the GPU to do more.

dmovsho · Oct 23, 2014

Well, it was Civilization V (I'm old-school and a sucker for turn-based strategy), on highest defenitions.
I guess it meets your second defenition - moderete graphics with most work done on CPU...

tiny voices · Oct 23, 2014

Either way you have no heat problems at all.

Fans amount and positioning

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