Where should my radiator/fans be?

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IamElohim

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Oct 30, 2015
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I have a case (Apevia X-Sniper 2) where above my motherboard, there is JUST enough clearance between the roof of the case and the motherboard to fit my radiator. I for sure don't have enough room to put my 120mm fans below the radiator, so I have the fans on top of my case, and the fans are blowing through the holes on the roof of my case, directly at the radiator. I COULD put my radiator on top and either put my fans in the case or on top of the radiator that would be on top, but I sincerely don't know what the best option would be. I have CORSAIR Hydro Series H105 Extreme Performance 240mm Liquid CPU Cooler. Also I'm not sure which way my fans should be blowing in any of said orientations. Please give me some direction :D
 
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photonboy


It's done both ways actually.

One way cools the CPU better but heats the rest up more. In general, you should only use INTAKE for the CPU's liquid cooler if you have difficulty keeping the CPU cool enough, otherwise you should have it a EXHAUST and run slightly warmer to keep the rest of the internals (including graphics card) cooler.

In his case apparently he'd have to put the radiator on top of the case which is probably not ideal since he might have to cut a HOLE for the tubes, whereas the fans can likely just run the wire through the existing holes.

*do NOT simply reverse the fans to act as exhaust though. You need to blow THROUGH the radiator...
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DeadRam

DeadRam

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I watched a YouTube review of your case and I think it's designed to use a smaller radiator/fan combo that attaches to the back. This setup exhausts air out of the case. If you want to keep the current radiator you can leave the fans on top but change them so they pull air out of the case.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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RADIATOR as INTAKE:
Pulling air in cools the CPU better, but it will build up heat inside the case more, so depending on the case cooling and graphics card it may be better to setup as EXHAUST.

May cause insufficient air flow over the DDR3/4 memory sticks as well.

RADIATOR as EXHAUST:
Opposite of above.

(the rear exhaust is 80mm?)

What about using the SIDE and setup as exhaust, or do you not want to mount anything there?

It's a weird case, but I might do something like THIS:

1) 2x120mm front (INTAKE)

2) 1x120mm/radiator side (exhaust)

3) 1x120mm TOP (exhaust)
- partly to setup some air flow across the system memory
 
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IamElohim

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Oct 30, 2015
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Yes, rear is 80mm, I have it pushing air IN the case, my 2 120mm fans on top of the case are aimed to push air at the radiator they sit on top of. But my radiator is 240mm, I don't see how I would put it anywhere other than above where it is, or where it is now.

 
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IamElohim

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Oct 30, 2015
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So you're saying my 2 120mm fans that are sitting on top that are aiming air at the radiator below them should actually blow air the OTHER direction? And if so, where should my rear fan blow for either case?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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It's done both ways actually.

One way cools the CPU better but heats the rest up more. In general, you should only use INTAKE for the CPU's liquid cooler if you have difficulty keeping the CPU cool enough, otherwise you should have it a EXHAUST and run slightly warmer to keep the rest of the internals (including graphics card) cooler.

In his case apparently he'd have to put the radiator on top of the case which is probably not ideal since he might have to cut a HOLE for the tubes, whereas the fans can likely just run the wire through the existing holes.

*do NOT simply reverse the fans to act as exhaust though. You need to blow THROUGH the radiator, not suck air through it. So if you want to EXHAUST then the fans must be on the other side of the radiator blowing through the radiator, to the outside air.

As per my SIDE comment, and the statement he could only have the 240mm radiator on top, I was going by THIS:
http://www.apevia.com/productsInfo.asp?KEY=X-Sniper2-BL

"..2 x 120mm fan - side (optional) "

Maybe the radiator doesn't fit, or maybe it looks horrible or whatever but it seemed like it MIGHT be an alternative to sticking the fans on top.

So I was hoping the RADIATOR might mount on the left, side panel so you could blow air through the radiator and out the left side.

In that case I'd again have the FRONT and TOP fans as INTAKE, or alternatively have TWO front fans as intake and the top fan as exhaust (preferably as close to the DDR memory sticks to create some air flow.
 
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