Case Airflow - Need help

kaesusama · May 27, 2017

Hello everyone!

I am building a new rig and I would like someone experienced to help me with the airflow of the case.

The case is NZXT Phantom 530.
It has:
Front 2x140mm/ 120mm or 1x200mm(1 x 200mm included) - filtered
Rear 1x140mm (included) / 120mm - not filtered
Bottom 2x120mm - filtered
Side 1x140mm - not filtered
Top 2x200mm/ 140mm or 3x120mm - not filtered
Interior 1x120mm/140mm - not filtered

I have Noctua NH-D15 for my CPU cooling.

So I am thinking about this method.
2x 140mm Noctua NF-A14 PWM Front - intake
Rear-stays the same - exhaust
Top- Moving the 200mm from the front - exhaust

I am thinking that I am not going to have positive pressure and I have to get another 120 for bot as intake or 140 for side.

Aeacus · May 28, 2017

Since hot air rises, case airflow rule of thumb is: front & bottom - intake; top & rear - exhaust; side - additional intake for GPU or top down CPU cooler.

To get positive pressure you can mount your fans as follows:
2x 140mm front intake
1-2x 120mm bottom intake
1-2x 200mm top exhaust
1x 140mm rear exhaust

If you run your intake fans faster than exhaust fans, you can have positive pressure.

kaesusama · May 28, 2017

What about putting
200mm top exhaust
140mm rear exhaust
2x 140mm front intake?

Aeacus · May 29, 2017

For 4 fan setup and if you want to get positive pressure, you need to run your intake fans faster than exhaust fans since 200mm fan will move more air out than 140mm can pull in. But the 4 fan setup will do just fine.
If you don't want to run your intake fans with high RPM, add a bottom intake as well, to compensate the air pushed out from your case by your exhaust fans.

Paperdoc · May 29, 2017

There's a wrinkle in here you don't seem to recognize. You are planning to buy and add some 4-pin PWM-type fans. The two fans that are included in your case are of the 3-pin type. Each of those requires control using a different technique. So, whether you can control them using mobo fan headers depends on what the mobo is designed to do. Certainly you can NOT control them if you simply use the "fan hub" included in the case. That hub and associated controller only allow you to MANUALLY set all fan speeds to a few settings, but will not allow the mobo to control them automatically.

To determine what your mobo can do, and how it can control both types of fans, please post back here the maker and exact model number of your mobo. Then we can look up its characteristics and advise. Also, comment to confirm or not: do you actually want the mobo to control your fans for you automatically, or do you want manual control?

kaesusama · May 29, 2017

My mobo is gigabyte z270 gaming k3 - it has 4 pin hubs and everything , i'm just worried about the airflow xD . The fans that come with the case will be plugged into the case fan hub - the noctua ones will be into the mobo.

So technically i can set more speed to the noctua ones using the bios/mobo interface.
@Paperdoc

Paperdoc · May 30, 2017

Any fans connected to the Hub included with your case will NOT be under automatic control. They will only run at whatever fixed speed you set manually with the case's Fan Control button.

IF you want to have all your case ventilation fans controlled automatically, do this. Disconnect fans from that Hub and just don't use it.
1. Get two Splitters. Get ones designed for 4-pin fan systems; the 4-pin Noctua fans require those, and they also will work for your 3-pin fans.
2. Use the splitters to establish two groups. The two 3-pin fans included in your case should be connected to one of the Splitters so they both can use Voltage Control Mode. The two Noctua PWM fans should be connected to the other Splitter so they can share PWM Mode control.
3. Your mobo has two SYS_FAN headers for case ventilation fans, numbered 1 and 2. Do not use the SYS_FAN3 header for this. Connect the Splitter with the two 3-pin fans to one of those mobo SYS_FAN headers. In BIOS Setup (see manual p. 26), select that mobo header to configure. Set it to use "Normal" Fan Speed Control, "VOLTAGE" Control Mode (NOT PWM), and to monitor (and control) the Motherboard temperature. For the Splitter with the two Noctua PWM fans, connect it to the other SYS_FAN header. Set its configuration similarly, BUT make sure to set its Fan Control Mode to "PWM".

Doing this will set all four of those fans to be automatically controlled by a temperature sensor in the motherboard. The two 3-pin fans will be controlled by a header that uses Voltage Control Mode (which they need), and the two 4-pin fans from Noctua will be controlled by a different header that uses PWM Mode.

Aeacus · May 30, 2017

There's no harm if you connect your case fans to SYS_FAN3_PUMP header since it acts both as a header for pump and case fan. Only difference is, that fan headers that support pump as well, have higher amperage rating (usually 3A) than regular fan header (usually 1A).
Further reading from MoBo manual, page 14.

MoBo fan headers control method is explained in MoBo manual as well, page 26.

And here's a 4-pin Y-splitter for fans,
amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-SYC1-Accessory-4-pin-Y-Cables/dp/B00KG8K5CY

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