Convince me

Aenra

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 15, 2017
Messages
191
That i'm a moron; total fucking idiot, OCD hitting red, all abort, all abort.

Fact 1: I have an empty, empty Caselabs S8+2 pedestals. Empty.
Fact 2: I have a secondary rig, 6900k all 8 cores at 4500, 32gigs of 3400 CL15 RAM, 1TB 960 Pro NVMe, ZXR sound card, etc. etc. It's no longer custom cooled, now has a Corsair H115i Extreme or whatever cooling it, the 280 kind. Recently something happened, got me idle temps around 52Cs; either paste, or the AIO going bye bye. Needs tearing down.
Fact 3: Because this is a democracy, i do what she tells me to; like with all proper democracies, the world over. So for reasons i won't get into, lol, it's currently inside a Fractal Arc XL chassis, which is shit and totally unfit for this rig. And i also fucking hate this chassis, i want to set it on fire and stuff it under her desk.

Facts end. My fucking idiocy begins.

Solution one: I tear everything out, put it inside the S8.
Problem one, part one: The 280 won't fit, as the chassis is meant for custom 120-based liquid cooling. I'd need buy a new AIO, plus a couple of extra fans; think around 200euro total. Paste i have, got Kryonaut for the next two decades of rigs or so.
Problem one, part two: Worse temps, going down from a 280 to a 240. And i'll be paying to do that.
Problem one, part three: I wanted to keep the S8 "virgin", put my TR+ in it when the time comes.. i don't wanna pop its cherry with Intel crap.

Solution two: I tear everything out, and buy a new chassis to fit it all in.
Problem two: Other than feeling like a fucking moron for obvious reasons, none. Cost is again around 200 euro, possibly less (just a new chassis).

Solution three: I keep it inside the Arc XL, which means that even after i fix it it will have horrible airflow plus some serious warm air recycling, as this chassis is not meant for this kind of heat/cooling. Ever. Wrong is wrong and it irks me.

What do i do, lol..
 
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Solution three: I keep it inside the Arc XL, which means that even after i fix it it will have horrible airflow plus some serious warm air recycling, as this chassis is not meant for this kind of heat/cooling. Ever. Wrong is wrong and it irks me.

What do i do, lol..

My vote.
If your airflow is bad either I dont understand what youve got going on inside, or you're doing it wrong. I love my Arc XL. The default fan arrangement was dumb, and the gigantic drive cage needs removed (super easy to do), but after that and you put the fans where they should be, it breathes great.

2nd vote, from experience, if its pissing you off, spend the money and make it what you want. Or resign to being eternally pissed off.
 
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Thanks :)
The thing is, regarding the XL, apart from the CPU's 280 i also have the GPU's rad (one of those 'by default WCed' models), so i got 3 rad exhausts (or would have, ideally) and only two intakes -the bottom is covered by the PSU- both of which are low and front; resulting to negative pressure. Three out, and at great speeds at that, only two in.
I could alleviate that by having one blowing inwards, but.. hence my saying warm air recycling. This chassis is at best for a single AIO (single as in unit, not fans), not for this kind of setup. My hating it amounts mostly to my being stuck with it ^^

As to what i should do, i like your attitude!
 
Pics or didn't happen! Seriously though, show us your current situation, warts and all. My thoughts are it is an airflow issue, possibly compounded by a need for new paste.

If it were me, and my AIO could reach, I would intake with the AIO on the front, intake with the GPU on the rear, and exhaust out the top. That said, if it were really me, I wouldn't have an AIO or a factory WCed GPU, everything would be on a custom hardline loop. But I'm also an idiot, and I like the frustration (and the added cost, derp) that comes with building my own loop.

Keep something in mind: an AIO in an S8, especially one with a pedestal, tends not to be a great fit. There is often only one place an AIO will reach, which is directly above the CPU in one of the top mounted slots. If you are going to use an AIO in an S8, the pedestal is basically useless.

I had, at one point, 2x 360MM rads, a WC'd CPU, 3x WC'd GPUs, and an XSPC Photon 170 crammed into an S8, with room to spare. Sticking a couple of AIOs in an S8 might end up feeling like a half measure.

Good luck on your spend fest! :ROFLMAO:
 
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If it were me, and my AIO could reach, I would intake with the AIO on the front, intake with the GPU on the rear, and exhaust out the top. That said, if it were really me, I wouldn't have an AIO or a factory WCed GPU, everything would be on a custom hardline loop. But I'm also an idiot, and I like the frustration (and the added cost, derp) that comes with building my own loop.

I'm an idiot too! Hii! :)

Regarding the first, it's a viable option, yeah.. i'll be blowing all the heat straight onto the NVMe, but it could be done. Am just, i don't know, i like doing things proper, you know? And this will be yet another half measure, of sorts. But thanks for mentioning it, will at least take the measurements, see if everything fits. Zero cost your way, so that's an incentive.
As to the latter, it's been a bit of a Frankenstein situation; was originally two different builds, updated the one the missus is using, then re.. re-arranged them because she liked my chassis more, except the little one wouldn't fit her GPU, so i 'inherited' it; hence the above.
(it's that typical situation were everything is in order, everything; and of course, you did it all unassisted, lol.. and she gets a look at things and nope, no sir, things have to change! Sensitivities! The colors are wrong dear! And you want to kill someone..)

As to proper loops, agreed! I just try to impose a limit; already got one rig, this is a secondary one and i don't like to throw money away. Well, lol, i do, but within limits ^^
And thanks for posting! So far, it seems like it's gonna be either your suggestion, or a new cheap chassis.
 
With all this in mind, recycle the heat, then visit a batting cage or firing range (your preference) then never think about it again.
 
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The dog understands me; there's comfort in that......

Anyway, i had a look and it seems that a 280 rad can't fit in the front without my popping the rivets out, removing the entire front bay contraption. More work. OCD pre-emptive alerts ensue.
Saw someone necroing the Air 740 review thread yesterday, maybe i'll get one of those and call it a day.

* Am very liberal with my editing times, i know. Sorry.
 
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I think the heart of the problem for you is that 280 rad. Even though more cases are starting to accept 140mm fans, very few are built to take a 280 rad. Even fewer are built to take all 280 rads; marketing speak tends to take the ability to fit one of something as the opportunity to claim compatibility. Unless their website shows your rad in the location of your choice, don't trust it.
 
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I think the heart of the problem for you is that 280 rad

Thanks for replying! It is, yeah.. :)
Am just trying to find the cheapest solution that allows me to keep the rig as close to how it is and maintain its current OC settings, bit of a hard combo given all the constraints. That yes, i've put on me, that's true.
(i prefer this to her nagging about the colors being wrong; choices and consequences, lol)

Been having a conversation about this with some Corsair forum user who owns one, it does appear as if it might do the trick after all; now personally speaking i find this chassis butt ugly, but i want function not form, so that's thankfully not an issue.
Only just sat down (in my desk), will start making a list and compare costs; if it gets too high, i'll just drill the living hell out of my current one and make do.
 
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