Fan placement question

The_Staplergun · Feb 2, 2017

http://www.phanteks.com/Eclipse-P400-TemperedGlass.html

I am getting this case. The top port has the capability of mounting a radiator. Should I mount the 280mm radiator (Corsair H115) in the front of the case, or at the top pushing air out?

If i put it in the front, should I get additional fans that vent air out of the top along with the one pushing out the back?

I'm looking to understand the most efficient way to place it. If I put the radiator in the front, the air that's passed over the radiator will get vented into the case, and onto my 1080. If I have 2 140 MM fans in the front pulling in air (but not through the radiator) it will draw in cool air from the outside without warming it before it comes in, but the hot air will be vented over the CPU radiator. I would automatically assume that the GPU puts out much more power than the CPU, so the radiator might be better placed in the front across the intake?

geofelt · Feb 2, 2017

You have discovered one of the conundrums with liquid cooling.

My suggestion is to buy a good tower type cooler and concentrate your fans on the intake side.
Two 140mm fans is plenty. If they are filtered, you will have a positive pressure setup which will keep your case cooler.
You will only need a small exhaust in the rear for airflow direction.

A top liquid cooler may let you overclock one multiplier higher than any of the noctua s suffix coolers.

In the process, your pc will be quieter, more reliable, less costly and cool about as well.

Just my opinion.

The_Staplergun · Feb 2, 2017

Ok, so I will put two 140 MM fans in the front, the radiator in the top of the case (that has two 140mm's on it, but reversed to direct airflow out of the case), and the one smaller fan in the back to help direct airflow? (The back fan is only a 120)

The_Staplergun · Feb 2, 2017

Actually, you say tower type cooler, can you reference me what you mean? Maybe a link to one, so I can get an idea and browse around?

If the idea posted above this one is sufficient, and what you meant, then just let me know.

EDIT: It just clicked. Positive pressure. The top vent port needs to be blowing into the case, not out.

geofelt · Feb 2, 2017

The key to good cleaning positive pressure is that all of the cooling air must be from one source and filtered.
All the intake air will find an exit someplace.
If one has too much exhaust capability it will draw in unfiltered air from nearby openings.

If you must use a liquid cooler, I might use it as intake, assuming your cpu is the most important part to be cooled.

For less than the price of a H115, you can buy a noctua NH-D15s which will cool equally well, be quieter, more reliable, and cheaper.
Actually, the smaller NH-U14s would be the most I would buy.
And... pay attention to the s variants, there are redesigned to clear ram sticks and graphics cards.

The_Staplergun · Feb 2, 2017

Ok. Understood. If I buy the h115, place the radiator in the front, with no fans on the top of the case.

The real question is, is a GTX 1080, or a I7 7700k (OC'd) more important to cool first? Which one generates more heat?

geofelt · Feb 3, 2017

The_Staplergun :

Good question.
A GTX1080 needs a 8 pin connector which is a max of 150 watts.
Add to that the pcie slot which is 75w, and you get a max draw of 225w.

A i7-7700K has a design tdp of 91w.
I suppose one could exceed that with overclocking.
I7-7700K starts at 4.2.
If you are going to overclock, this is what you can expect:
As of 1/13/17
What percent can get an overclock at a somewhat sane 1.4v Vcore.

I7-7700K
4.9 74%
5.0 56%
5.1 26%
5.2 5%

Here is a chart of what the various noctua coolers are designed to handle.
The nh-U12s, nh-u14s, and NH-d15s coolers which I can recommend are each capable of handling a I7-7700K with a maximum overclock
http://noctua.at/en/tdp-guide

I do not see the tdp capability spec on the corsair web site.
But, I am certain it is sufficient.

If you insist on using the H115I you must decide on some sort of tradeoff.
Mounting the cooler in front drawing fresh air in will keep your case cleaner.
But, the graphics card will get hotter air.
If you mount the cooler up top drawing intake from inside of the case, your spu will not get cooled as well, but I think it will be cooled adequately.
The negative of the top mount is that you will no longer have filtered air.
Of course, you can try it both ways and see which works best for you.

I submit that a good simple air cooler resolves both conflicts.
You get adequate cooling for both the cpu and graphics card as well as a cleaner pc.

I cool my i5-6600K with a NH-U12s
The graphics card is a GTX980ti which needs both a 6 and a 8 pin connector.
I have no heat issues. My only intake is a undervolted , filtered 180mm fan.

The_Staplergun · Feb 3, 2017

So, what I went with is research. I did some research and found that the GPU can handle more heat load. I got the GTX 1080 Strix which has 3 fans blowing directly on the card. I'll place the CPU cooler in the front and see how that works. If that doesn't work I'll place the radiator on top blowing down into the case (there's a dust filter there too on the case). I'll use the PWM feature on the ML series fans I got to manage airflow to keep positive pressure inside the case while allowing cool air into the places I need it to be.

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