Quick water cooling question

[BifTheUnderstudy]

I have an extra 120 mm fan, is there any performance benefits to having fan-radiator-fan or is it better just to have one fan on the radiator? The rad is mounted on the front of the chassis due to space restrictions if that helps.

Thanks

 

[sirheck]

if you can put the other fan in the back
to help pull any hot air out of the case

 

[BifTheUnderstudy]

I have 3 120mm fans, ones on the back in exhaust mode and one is on the rad pulling in fresh air. Would it be a good idea to put the extra fan on the rad as well, one on the front and the other on the back one pulling one pushing?

 

[phreejak]

I have dual 120 rads (2 of them) and both have two 120mm fans on each side in a "push-pull" configuration (4 total fans per rad) and yes, it does make a difference since the rads are cooling a peltier system.

 

[shawnlizzle =]]

depends on what rad you have, if it is a thick radiator like the bix or a heater core, then the extra static pressure will help.

if you have a thing radiator like the bip, then it woudln't make a noticiable difference

 

[wun911]

Any fan will help disipate the heat off the rad in any orientation..... what is optimal is up to you to find out....

 

[phreejak]

Actually, MaximumPC did a trial on fan placing on rads and their testing suggested that optimal fan placement for a rad is pushing air "through" a rad but it yielded a difference of no more than 3 degrees.

 

[MasterLee]

Having a fan shroud drops temps too since the air flows over the entire radiator instead of it being concentrated where the fan is when mounted flush. My water is always 2 C below room temp when not being chilled.

 

[phreejak]

Yeah I totally agree. I use shrouds on all my rads as well.

 

[chuckshissle]

The better fan orientation on the radiator is the front side or blowing air towards the radiator. But having 2 fan installed on the radiator to have an intake and exhaust airflow would be better but that is when one fan setup is not effecient enough to draw cool air. So you're best bet is to experiment with it and take notes on the temperatures to find out which setup is better wether front , back or dual fan setup.

 

[wun911]

depends how thick the rad is too.... the thicker the rad the more restricitve the air the more fans you need... Ive seen double stacked rads with push pull works quite well....

Push should be just as good as pull.... both orientations displace the same volume of air over the same amout of time....(in theory)