Most efficient case cooling setup

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530
I have the InWin Dragon Slayer Micro-ATX case shown below:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108236

There is a total capacity of 8 fans, but I'm just wondering what would be the best setup?

There are 4 fans pre-installed:
- 120mm intake on middle front
- 90mm intake at bottom front (for hard drives)
- 140mm exhaust on top of case
- 120mm exhaust on back at top

The 4 remaining are 120mm fans on the left panel, should I have these as intake or exhaust?

Am I right in saying that because the case has so much mesh, positive/negative pressure won't be as much of an issue? If I had all intake, would the two exhausts be enough to expel hot air?

My gut feeling is to have all four as intakes, especially as my CPU cooler will likely be down-draft, but I would appreciate a second opinion.

Thanks!
 
Generally try to move air from bottom to top, keep it flowing.

Front/bottom/side - intake

Rear/top - exhaust.

I am now messing around with mine and found that adding a bottom intake actually upped my temps.

Its down to trial really, try a setup under load note down the temps, change something, load it up again and keep going until you get the best setup.
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530


Thanks for your reply! I guess I'd better do some experimenting then once I finish my build =)
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530


Thanks for the advice, I plan on trying to make my case as neat as possible, so the only thing that should restrict airflow will hopefully only be my GPU.

I haven't actually decided on a CPU cooler yet, and I've been looking for hours :/ I was thinking about posting a question for some help, but If you could help me out it would be brilliant!

The cooler needs to be <110mm, preferably a bit less so there no chance of it conflicting with my side fans. I know there are plenty of good options out there, but I don't want a watercooler and I don't want to spend excessive amounts on one (£30+). I may possibly be slightly overclocking my i5 3570k in the future if I see any performance benefits.

I was originally just going to go for this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005J2IS3U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
But was told it was a bad choice (despite good reviews)

This is near my maximum price range, but looks like it's a poor performer:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001R2KSZW/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3

This price is perfect on this, but I don't know how good it is (looks better than stock?):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007ECF7ZU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A2HRKCU1J371LX

This is apparently good, but pricey and noisy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0072IQHJ6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

I'm so confused! I just want to find a reasonably priced, decent performer, quiet, low profile cooler. Know of any?
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530
Thanks for the reply :)

I've been on FrostyTech a fair bit looking at low profile coolers, but they haven't updated that section since LGA775; it where I got the Zalman cooler I linked above from though.

Most places I look people are recommending the Hyper 212, but I'm not sure if it will fit in my case. I saw a youtube video of someone with exactly the same case who managed to fit in a Gelid Tranquilo in there (not sure if it's bigger or smaller than the 212), but I'm pretty sure they didn't have fans and it would hit them if I did.

That Noctua cooler is probably the best for a low profile, but I'm too tight to spend £47 on a cooler, when I would rather put it towards another component like a better GPU or an SSD. I'm probably asking a bit much for a cooler I am only willing to spend around £25 on xD Do you think that Spire cooler I linked would be decent enough? I doubt I would overclock with it, but I'm hoping I could do a very mild overclock when coupled with some Arctic MX-4 if the need arises.
 
The 212 is 160mm.

Your case is 196mm wide (external??)

That leaves 36mm for your fan/mobo and case thickness.

Cooling your cpu is important and unless you want to change your case I'd spend the money.
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530


Ok, thanks for your advice. I'll give the 212 a go and hope it fits. I should be able to return it hopefully if I need to.
I read reviews on the case that say 110mm is the max, but I can't really see why.

There only one problem with big coolers, is that I will be travelling back and forth from uni a lot with my PC, so it may put strain on the mobo. Would it be best to remove the cooler before moving it?
 



Definately not, you'd have to remove and replace your thermal paste every time and you want it to bed in.

The coolers brackets are well designed to ease the strain on the mobo and its not that big anyway.

That Coolermaster looks pretty good but if the 212 will fit I'd go for that.
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530


I saw some benchmarks on the Scythe Shuriken and wasn't all that impressed, but that coolermaster heatsink looks perfect!
I saw the older version of it in the list on FrostyTech, but thought it was only LGA775, so ruled it out. The M4 version looks like it will fit 1155, so I think I will go for that! The benchmarks look pretty impressive too.

That good news that I won't have to remove it, that would be a real pain in the ass! :D

I can't measure yet, because I haven't finished my build! I'm about to order the CPU and a few other bits along with a cooler. I have the case, and there is a big gap on one side for cable management + the clearance needed for side fans, so I guess this explains why people say <110mm max. The 212 would be nice, but the GeminII looks almost as good and a lot smaller.

Thanks for your help!
 
No problemo.

I'd be interested to see what that CM is like also.

Good thing is with a top down cooler it will help keep the chipset cool and the side fan (depending on position) should feed it direct cool air.

Hope all goes well and just incase you haven't seen this heres a good cpu installation guide. http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.html#
 

SamWoodcock

Honorable
Jul 11, 2012
26
0
10,530


Thanks for the guide, the is my first build so I can use all the help I can get :p I'm a little bit dubious of the 'line' of thermal paste method because I think that will cause far to much to be applied, but I'll give it a go.

The cooler has generally good reviews, it keeps idle temperatures low, but cannot cope with overclocking well. I'm sure it could manage a slight overclock though, I'll have to test it out.
I have only read one review that contradicts all the other by saying its terrible and the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 is a huge improvement, although I'm not sure if they got dodgy results.

Thanks again!