- Mar 5, 2008
- 28
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I plan to install a CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler (Link to Legit Review) in a Coolermaster Stacker 830 (Link to Hexus Review) and am looking for fan placement advice.
My goal is to keep the PC cool, while as quiet as possible. Noise is why I have chosen the watercooling CPU heatsink... well that, and apparently it works very well.
The Corsair CPU heatsink does have a fan included, but it is rather low noise at 29.75 dB(A). I actually plan to replace that fan with 2 Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1200RPM 68.5CFM 24DBA (Link to NCIX), one on each side of the radiator in what Corsair calls the push/pull configuration. This configuration is similar to the "What if?" section of the Legit Reviews article (page 6).
What I am not sure of is the best fan placement inside the case. The Corsair CPU cooler apparently recommends an installation configuration that defies general fan / cooling setups. It recommends you install the fans on the CPU cooler so that cool air from outside the case blows through the radiator and into the case, which is how the Legit review article I linked does it (this is mentioned on page 4, installing where he also had doubts). Now with that setup you then have to reverse the fan on the front of the case to blow out, and not in. They say this works better at CPU cooling, and that is surely true, but would this be worse for cooling the rest of the case?
Also I have an 120 mm fan mounted at the top of my case which currently is blowing cool air down into the case, and over the RAM in particular, it sounds like that would need to be reversed.
*** I should mention I have taken off the side "door" of the Stacker 830 that allows you to install 4 120 mm fans, as I found it was not needed to keep my current PC cool. (q6600 OCed to 3.0 GHz) ***
I am seeing two possible options:
1) Install, as recommended at the back of the case, an 120 mm fan blowing cool air through the radiator and an 120 mm fan blowing that air into the case. The front and top 120 mm fans blowing out of the case.
I am thinking that possibly since my case is so open (a huge mesh grill on both sides, on top and on bottom, and because it is such a large case, that extra warm air blowing into the case wont matter. So perhaps for that reason my case would be one of the best for this CPU cooler since it is not as small and closed in (with plastic windows or solid case sides) as regular cases.
however... option 2:
2) Install, as a normal PC, and have the CPU radiator also be the exhaust, and have the top and front fans blow into the case.
I am thinking that possibly since my case is so open and large the ambient temperature is already very cool and wont make much of a difference compared to sucking outside air into the case.
Additional informaton: Currently I have a Scythe "INFINITY" 5HeatPipes CPU Cooler Product website link in my case with a Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1900RPM 110.3CFM 37DBA at the back of the case blowing out, and another one mounted to the side of the "Infinity" blowing through the CPU cooler straight towards the 120 mm at the back of the case.
PC Probe II says my CPU temp is 26 C (78 F) at idle and my MB temp is 37 C (98 F) at idle.
PC Probe II says my CPU temp is 38 C (100 F) at load and my MB temp is 40 C (104 F) at load. When I say load I mean after gaming for hour, not full load from using a torture test like Prime 95.
So I like my current setup, but those fans are a little on the loud side. Not bad, but I would like to make a more silent PC this time around all the same.
I am going to upgrade to an i7 930 and I would like to Overclock it to 4.0 ghz.
I likely will have to experiment myself to find the answer a month or so from now when I get the hardware, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask the knowledgeable folks here at Tom's Hardware Forums.
What are your thoughts?
My goal is to keep the PC cool, while as quiet as possible. Noise is why I have chosen the watercooling CPU heatsink... well that, and apparently it works very well.
The Corsair CPU heatsink does have a fan included, but it is rather low noise at 29.75 dB(A). I actually plan to replace that fan with 2 Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1200RPM 68.5CFM 24DBA (Link to NCIX), one on each side of the radiator in what Corsair calls the push/pull configuration. This configuration is similar to the "What if?" section of the Legit Reviews article (page 6).
What I am not sure of is the best fan placement inside the case. The Corsair CPU cooler apparently recommends an installation configuration that defies general fan / cooling setups. It recommends you install the fans on the CPU cooler so that cool air from outside the case blows through the radiator and into the case, which is how the Legit review article I linked does it (this is mentioned on page 4, installing where he also had doubts). Now with that setup you then have to reverse the fan on the front of the case to blow out, and not in. They say this works better at CPU cooling, and that is surely true, but would this be worse for cooling the rest of the case?
Also I have an 120 mm fan mounted at the top of my case which currently is blowing cool air down into the case, and over the RAM in particular, it sounds like that would need to be reversed.
*** I should mention I have taken off the side "door" of the Stacker 830 that allows you to install 4 120 mm fans, as I found it was not needed to keep my current PC cool. (q6600 OCed to 3.0 GHz) ***
I am seeing two possible options:
1) Install, as recommended at the back of the case, an 120 mm fan blowing cool air through the radiator and an 120 mm fan blowing that air into the case. The front and top 120 mm fans blowing out of the case.
I am thinking that possibly since my case is so open (a huge mesh grill on both sides, on top and on bottom, and because it is such a large case, that extra warm air blowing into the case wont matter. So perhaps for that reason my case would be one of the best for this CPU cooler since it is not as small and closed in (with plastic windows or solid case sides) as regular cases.
however... option 2:
2) Install, as a normal PC, and have the CPU radiator also be the exhaust, and have the top and front fans blow into the case.
I am thinking that possibly since my case is so open and large the ambient temperature is already very cool and wont make much of a difference compared to sucking outside air into the case.
Additional informaton: Currently I have a Scythe "INFINITY" 5HeatPipes CPU Cooler Product website link in my case with a Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1900RPM 110.3CFM 37DBA at the back of the case blowing out, and another one mounted to the side of the "Infinity" blowing through the CPU cooler straight towards the 120 mm at the back of the case.
PC Probe II says my CPU temp is 26 C (78 F) at idle and my MB temp is 37 C (98 F) at idle.
PC Probe II says my CPU temp is 38 C (100 F) at load and my MB temp is 40 C (104 F) at load. When I say load I mean after gaming for hour, not full load from using a torture test like Prime 95.
So I like my current setup, but those fans are a little on the loud side. Not bad, but I would like to make a more silent PC this time around all the same.
I am going to upgrade to an i7 930 and I would like to Overclock it to 4.0 ghz.
I likely will have to experiment myself to find the answer a month or so from now when I get the hardware, but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask the knowledgeable folks here at Tom's Hardware Forums.
What are your thoughts?
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