Cooling ZOTAC GTX970 using fan setup in a CORSAIR CARBIDE 200R (windowed) CASE

JC De Castro · Jun 17, 2015

I worry that my GPU gets too hot when I play The Witcher 3: WIld Hunt.

Can anyone help me how to setup fans to maximize cooling my GPU using my case? Unfortunately, I have the CASE version where there are NO SIDE PANEL FAN MOUNTS. Only a plastic window. Here's what I'm looking for:

-It must be a negative air pressure setup (my preference).
-It must be detailed (what fans, what are the intakes, where to put, how many, etc.).
-It must maximize cooling my GPU (Can also be postive air pressure, if it's better).
-Please limit only to air cooling (my preference).
-Budget isn't a problem.

SUMMARY: How to maximize air cooling the GPU using the mentioned case.

Thanks!

Robert Cook · Jun 18, 2015

could I have the case name and model? then I ca know what is best where. just throwing it out there, positive pressure might mean less dust inside.
how tolerant of noise are you?

Sapphire Thunder · Jun 18, 2015

Robert Cook :

His case is written in the title....

To OP:
What kinds of temperatures are you getting?
If you are getting to around 65-70, it's normal.

As for the fan config, Carbide 200R doesn't really give you too many options.
It would be best to have the front fan as intake and rear fan as exhaust.

You can have 1 or 2 fans on top as exhaust too.

Robert Cook · Jun 18, 2015

^ well at least some one can read, because I can't today it seems...
I'll have a look at that case.

Mohd Mamat · Jun 18, 2015

You can try modding your cooling fans by using zipties and place them like my config in my case, should give you a picture on how to do it for your case, as it pushes the hot air to the back. It works perfectly for me as a replacement for a noisy side window fan.

JC De Castro · Jun 18, 2015

His case is written in the title....

To OP:
What kinds of temperatures are you getting?
If you are getting to around 65-70, it's normal.

As for the fan config, Carbide 200R doesn't really give you too many options.
It would be best to have the front fan as intake and rear fan as exhaust.

You can have 1 or 2 fans on top as exhaust too.

Well, around 80c when playing in ultra TW3WH. It doesnt get any hotter than that though.
Currently, I have 1 120mm FRONT intake, 1 120mm REAR exhaust, 2 120mm TOP exhaust. I should have bought a fan side panel version in the first place. LOL!

JC De Castro · Jun 18, 2015

Maybe I should put 2 140mm exhaust fans at the top instead of 2 120mms?

Sapphire Thunder · Jun 19, 2015

JC De Castro :

It might be good.
Also, is it the Zotac with a reference cooler, like in the picture below?

Because getting to 80C is normal for the rear exhaust blower type cooler and you can't really do much to get it down.

No amount and type of air circulation will help it. having fan blowing to it from bottom helps slightly.

JC De Castro · Jun 21, 2015

Sapphire Thunder :

No, this one:

http://

It never goes higher than 80c though. I checked with GPU-Z, fan goes 50% when playing TW3WH in ultra settings. Stable at 80c. I don't overclock though.

Sapphire Thunder · Jun 22, 2015

JC De Castro :

Hmm...getting up to 80C with that is a bit unusual. Can you check if both fans are spinning?
Maybe the other one isn't working.

Or maybe Zotac's cooler just isn't that good.
Most other dual to triple fan coolers keep the gpu at 70-75 at maximum, under full load.

JC De Castro · Jun 22, 2015

Sapphire Thunder :

lol! The only game that does that to my GPU is THE WITCHER 3 WILD HUNT. Not even GTA V does that to it. LOL!

Sapphire Thunder · Jun 22, 2015

JC De Castro :

Oh, I had a understanding that it happened in all games of that graphical quality level.
Well, if it only happens on one game, then there's nothing wrong.

Mohd Mamat · Jun 24, 2015

do you crank everything to max with hairworks on?
Then thats the problem. I guess the [strike]blower fan[/strike] cant keep up with the extreme ultilization of the GPU core.
Ultra+ Hairworks is an extremely taxing stuff and you need adequate cooling to help the [strike]blower[/strike] fan too.
Whoopsee didnt see that you're using the dual fan ones.
Why dont you try my setup like my picture before? It surely helps the cooling to keep up with demanding games.

JC De Castro · Jun 24, 2015

Mohd Mamat :

I suspected as much. I just worry about the temps.. though its stable at 80c.. LOL! That.. or I buy a new case with fan side panel support! LOL!

Mohd Mamat · Jun 25, 2015

JC De Castro :

Not really, side fans dissipate heat and prevents heat from lingering around the GPU for a long time. You'll do the same with bottom/modded HDD cage fans, but it'll dissipate much slower than a normal side fan would do.
Good ventilation on the other hand helps alot with the GPU temps, where my case has fans literally everywhere to help the airflow,preventing any stagnant air territories or air loops.

JC De Castro · Jun 25, 2015

Mohd Mamat :

JC De Castro :

Not really, side fans dissipate heat and prevents heat from lingering around the GPU for a long time. You'll do the same with bottom/modded HDD cage fans, but it'll dissipate much slower than a normal side fan would do.
Good ventilation on the other hand helps alot with the GPU temps, where my case has fans literally everywhere to help the airflow,preventing any stagnant air territories or air loops.

Could you show me a vid or a 360 view of your modded case? ^^

celtic_warrior99 · Jun 25, 2015

Try using MSI Afterburner to set the fan speeds to increase as the temps rise.

JC De Castro · Jun 25, 2015

celtic_warrior99 :

Thanks. I'm considering doing that but then increasing fan speeds also depletes the life of the fans itself, right? The fan speed go up or down automatically during load or idle usage.. So, I abandoned the idea...

And MSI Afterburner causes The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt to crash periodically even if I don't tweak anything. Just running it in the background crashes the game.. And I built my pc specifically for that game. LOL!

Mohd Mamat · Jun 25, 2015

JC De Castro :

rn im back at my hometown, so in another 2 days ill be able to show you my case, left my pc at my uni residence for a while, only had my MacBook with me. but the picture i messed with outlines on how the airflow should look like (tested it with coloured smoke before, saw the path of airflow) should give you the idea. Have a fan blowing underneath the GPU or the front of the GPU(the HDD cage) or rather have a positive airflow setup,draws fresh air more than it can funnel out, but maintains cool air overall inside the case. all fans except the rear exhaust should be turned into intake fans.

Here is the temps on Idle and after Witcher 3 using my setup (with GTA Online for a few minutes)
Idle:

After The Witcher 3 (Ultra + Hairworks on,patch 1.05)

(mine is ASUS Strix OC'ed to 1323mhz with stock fan profiles,
Ultra and hairworks possible after patch 1.05)
Min:37fps
Max:117fps
Avg:54.7fps

celtic_warrior99 · Jun 25, 2015

Only running the fans at 100% all the time might wear them out over time but it will take a very long time for the fans to begin to die. If afterburner doesn't work you can try some other programs like evga precision X.

Cooling ZOTAC GTX970 using fan setup in a CORSAIR CARBIDE 200R (windowed) CASE

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