Did I Install My Cooler Properly and Do I Need to Buy a Fan Controller?

[Leto Atreides II]

I have a new build in progress (this is my second PC build from scratch ever):



Motherboard:

GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 (300 Series) Intel Z370 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard



CPU:

Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.7 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 95W BX80684I78700K



RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model CMK16GX4M2B3200C16



PSU:

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3, 220-G3-0850-X1, 80+ GOLD, 850W Fully Modular, EVGA ECO Mode with New HDB Fan



CPU Cooler:

CRYORIG H7 Plus Dual Fan Tower Cooler For AMD/Intel CPU



Case:

Corsair Graphite Series 760T CC-9011074-WW White Full Tower Windowed Case

Two main issues/questions:


1. Did I orient my CPU Fan (my Cyrorig H7 Plus) correctly? I tested both orientations before I installed it, and I went with pointing the fans away from the RAM sticks because it seemed to fit better. In fact, when I tested it before installing it, it didn't seem to go the other way (fans pointed towards RAM sticks) at all. Either way, it seemed like the first RAM stick slot would be blocked off (no matter which way I oriented it). Afterwards, I began to have doubts. There were no installation videos for the Cryorig H7 Plus, only for the H7 (which might be the same thing except with only one fan). But the videos I could find all seemed to show the fans oriented towards the RAM sticks (NOT the way I pointed it). So, do I need to reinstall my CPU fan to point it the other way (rotate 90 degrees, essentially)? Does it matter, and if so, how much?

Alternate view: https://imgur.com/vaXZ0xH


2. Do I need to buy a fan controller or anything else? The connectors for my case fans don't seem to fit any connectors from my PSU (in my last build, I connected my case fans directly to the PSU). It seems that I might need to buy a fan controller or something. If so, which one should I buy, and do I have to buy anything else in addition to the fan controller (cables, etc.)?

Alternate view: https://imgur.com/gv7bENY


Some minor questions:

3. I could probably figure this out, but I bought 2 additional case fans and I couldn't figure out where to put them (couldn't find anything in my case manual about that). So, any tips would be helpful.

4. Did I connect the power to my GPU correctly? I connected everything from one PSU cable to the GPU. It's an EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 XC ULTRA GAMING, 08G-P4-2183-KR, 8GB GDDR6, Dual HDB Fans & RGB LED

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487403

I'm pretty sure I did it right but it doesn't hurt to be sure.

(

 

[mda]

1. Orientation should be okay either way IF your temps are fine. MOST people orient the fans the other way, though. Although if you're running into clearance problems or something, then you don't have much of a choice.
2. Are these the original case fans that came with the Corsair case? The older Corsair cases' case fans came with proprietary headers that won't fit into standard plugs or the motherboard headers. The case fans plug into another header that ends up in a SATA connector of some sort. Can't see the pic clearly enough to give better info, sorry.
3. Typically you'd like some intake fans and exhaust fans. Intake fans = Front, side panel, bottom. Exhaust fans = Rear, Top. This may vary depending on your exact setup. What does your current fan config look like?
4. Should be ok if your PSU is fine (based on your spec, it should be). Some people like to use separate cables for each plug going into the PSU, but if you don't have any problems, I see nothing wrong with what you did.

 

[somebrains]

Plug your case fans into your motherboard fan headers. Smartfan 5 is all you need. Use the appropriate input like CPU temp, vrm temp, GPU temp, etc to kick the targeted fan up a gear.

Using smartfan 5 to ramp your CPU cooler and case fans if it hits temps you aren't comfortable with using the global setting will be noisy, targeting individual hot spots is better.

A top case exhaust fan isn't parallel to an air cooler, add an exhaust to the top to test for better cooling performance.

 

[Spartacus09]

1) Orientation does have some influence, but a minor one, the rear exaust fan will still provide case temp relief. The only reason to change it would be to remove one fan so you could use all the ram slots, or if you had temperature issues.

So its fine to leave it if it works for you.

2) Edit: Based off the case model those are inputs for the front fans (case a controller switch on the front to run at high or low speeds) and is powered by that psu power connector.

4) That gpu config is fine since your psu is a single 12v rail. I would only split the 8-pin and 6-pin back to the psu if you’re being overly cautious or have a multi 12v rail psu.

 

[kirbyrj]

I don't know if I'd personally want the hot air from the video card exhausting right into my CPU cooler, but I haven't done any testing. Might be fine.

 

[Spartacus09]

I don't know if I'd personally want the hot air from the video card exhausting right into my CPU cooler, but I haven't done any testing. Might be fine.

I dont think anyone was suggesting the rear fan be an intake , and the GPU is exhausting primarily out the back.

 

[kirbyrj]

I dont think anyone was suggesting the rear fan be an intake , and the GPU is exhausting primarily out the back.

I know I wasn't suggesting that . There's still going to be heat generated by the back of a video card and the first CPU intake fan is directly over it. It's not ideal is all I'm saying. I bet it will add 3-5C to the CPU temp if you're running the video card hard.

 

[somebrains]

2) Edit: Based off the case model those are inputs for the front fans (case a controller switch on the front to run at high or low speeds) and is powered by that psu power connector.

Same as their AIO fan setup.
In this case the OP already has better fan control on his motherboard:

Asus arguably has the best fan software bc you can name the fan individually.
I find myself popping a case cover with my phone trying to light up whatever label is printed by the header when I’m using other brands of motherboard fan control.

I know I wasn't suggesting that . There's still going to be heat generated by the back of a video card and the first CPU intake fan is directly over it. It's not ideal is all I'm saying. I bet it will add 3-5C to the CPU temp if you're running the video card hard.

I have my gpu on a 120mm aio that’s dear intake now, dropped 10-15c vs 280mm front aio intake air.
It was being starved.
Using a pair of 140mm top fans to exhaust vs just opening the top seemed to help idle and load temps.
Dunno why, but the 5+c diff was worth it.

I go by ingame framerate, took time to figure out how my components act in a given situation, figured out how aggressive I have to ramp at a given component temp to maintain playability.

 

[Leto Atreides II]

1. Orientation should be okay either way IF your temps are fine. MOST people orient the fans the other way, though. Although if you're running into clearance problems or something, then you don't have much of a choice.

1) Orientation does have some influence, but a minor one, the rear exaust fan will still provide case temp relief. The only reason to change it would be to remove one fan so you could use all the ram slots, or if you had temperature issues.

1. So I've decided to rotate my CPU cooler 90 degrees just to be safe even though I might be able to get away with it the way it is (it'll be a PITA to clean and reapply thermal paste but if nothing else, I can use all of my RAM slots this way). But to do that I might have to remove or raise one of the two fans. I didn't even realize that it was possible to move or remove the fans when I was initially testing both orientations. Not sure exactly how to do it but maybe I'll be able to figure it out by looking at it.

This video shows one of the fans elevated in some of the shots, but doesn't show how it was done:

So this might be something that's so obvious that nobody ever mentions it, but I assume the arrows on the side of the fans show the direction in which they blow? Because nobody ever mentions it, I'm not sure, and it doesn't hurt to be sure.

2. Are these the original case fans that came with the Corsair case? The older Corsair cases' case fans came with proprietary headers that won't fit into standard plugs or the motherboard headers. The case fans plug into another header that ends up in a SATA connector of some sort. Can't see the pic clearly enough to give better info, sorry.

Yeah I'm talking about the three preinstalled case fans. After looking at the manual again, it looks like these case fans might be pre-connected to a fan speed selector (more on that below).

Plug your case fans into your motherboard fan headers.

2) Edit: Based off the case model those are inputs for the front fans (case a controller switch on the front to run at high or low speeds) and is powered by that psu power connector.

This was confusing me a lot since I had 3 male connectors with nothing to connect them to so I took another look at the case manual. According to it (page 13):

https://www.corsair.com/corsairmedia/sys_master/productcontent/GRAPHITE-760T-Install-Guide.pdf

"Installing the fan speed selector"
"1. Connect the SATA power connector to the PSU SATA power cable. "
OK, so I'm assuming that's the wide connector I'm holding in my hand in the photos above and I'll try connecting that to a PSU SATA cable next time.

"2. Connect the 3 or 4-Pin fan connecter to the case fan header."
Huh? No idea what this means.

"Note: The case fans come pre-connected to the fan speed selector."
This isn't entirely clear, but this might mean that the case fan power cables are already connected to this fan speed selector thing. I couldn't find any case fan power cables anywhere besides the stuff I was holding in my hand in the photos above, so this might very well be the case. If so, does that mean that by connecting the wide connector in my hand in the photos above to SATA it'll power all my preinstalled case fans? But then what are those three 3 prong male connectors I'm also holding in my hand in the photos above? And I still have no clue what step 2 in the manual means, "Connect the 3 or 4-Pin fan connecter to the case fan header."

3. Typically you'd like some intake fans and exhaust fans. Intake fans = Front, side panel, bottom. Exhaust fans = Rear, Top. This may vary depending on your exact setup. What does your current fan config look like?

So the current fan config (preinstalled fans only) is 2 intake fans in front and 1 exhaust fan in the back. I bought 2 additional optional case fans that I haven't put in yet becuase I couldn't figure out where/how to mount them. If I pop the top cover off the case there's a grill that I think I'm supposed to be able to attach additional fans to (I think it's intended for liquid CPU cooling fans but could double for additional case fans). I believe I can also mount one on the bottom. So I can have 1 optional intake fan on the bottom and 1-2 optional exhaust fans on top. I have 2 fans on hand but can buy a third if necessary. What do you think I should do? 1 intake bottom, 1 exhaust on top OR 2 exhuast fans on top OR 2 exhaust fans on top and 1 intake on the bottom?

4) That gpu config is fine since your psu is a single 12v rail. I would only split the 8-pin and 6-pin back to the psu if you’re being overly cautious or have a multi 12v rail psu.

4. Should be ok if your PSU is fine (based on your spec, it should be). Some people like to use separate cables for each plug going into the PSU, but if you don't have any problems, I see nothing wrong with what you did.

Thanks, that's what I was wondering. Whether or not I should use separate PSU cables for each plug. I'll just leave it as is with a single cable.

 

[somebrains]

1). The arrow tells you where the fan blows. Before we used to go by where the sticker was facing way back when.

2). You should be able to adjust fan height on that cooler, Google a manual.

3). Basic serviceable case fans are cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Bea...RG9SY0RGYDE&psc=1&refRID=NV260Y7KARG9SY0RGYDE

Use your motherboard headers, Target by closest component. Tune via noise, your use case, etc.

Some guys really need vrm focused cooling, some need GPU focus, etc.

Tune your temps off smartfan 5.

Go for whatever front intake you can fully stack to blow on CPU and GPU.

Some guys are fine with the usual exhaust, some need a top exhaust. My cheapo ryzen Mobo buddies always need this. Some find they need a bottom fan blasting right at their GPU. I had this prob until I aio cooled my 1080ti. Sometimes I think I should throw another fan to help the fan on the kraken g12 bracket bc my intakes are 2 AIOs.

Can't tune anything without data.

 

[Leto Atreides II]

1). The arrow tells you where the fan blows. Before we used to go by where the sticker was facing way back when.

Thanks for confirming.

2). You should be able to adjust fan height on that cooler, Google a manual.

Someone else instructed me on how to adjust the fan height. That information is nowhere in the manual or the video install guides. You can see the entire manual here: http://www.cryorig.com/installation/CRYORIG_H7_Installation_Guide_v1.0.pdf

3). Basic serviceable case fans are cheap: https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-Bea...RG9SY0RGYDE&psc=1&refRID=NV260Y7KARG9SY0RGYDE

Use your motherboard headers, Target by closest component. Tune via noise, your use case, etc.

I already have 3 preinstalled case fans and 2 optional ones. My issue is figuring out how to connect the preinstalled case fans. If you see my last post, according to the manual it looks like the preinstalled fans are pre-connected to the case's fan speed selector. I did dig around in my case and the preconnection (if indeed that's the case) is so deep that it may exceed my expertise to find the connectors leading directly from the case fans. I'd probably damage the case or components trying to dismantle the case to undo the preconnection. So for me, it would probably be simplest to use the provided SATA connector if that would power the preconnected case fans instead of the motherboard headers, because I simply cannot find the cables leading directly from the case fans (I thought that those three 3-prong male connectors in my hand in the photo were the cables directly from the case fans, but it looks like all such cables should be female, and those are male).

 

[somebrains]

Glad you figured out the cpu fan adjustment.
I think the one I got for my buddy did have adjustment instruction FYI.

Do what you have to do with your case fans.
My point is that fan speed should be adjusted according to specific temp target.
Either your given fan is cranked so the pc is loud and temps are fine.....or temps aren’t being modulated and your case is quiet.
I do not like dumb fan controllers.

Then again some guys bang away on clicks mechanical keyboards with their pc howling with cans on and their girlfriends don’t freak out in the middle of the night.
Ymmv

 

[Leto Atreides II]

Do what you have to do with your case fans.
My point is that fan speed should be adjusted according to specific temp target.
Either your given fan is cranked so the pc is loud and temps are fine.....or temps aren’t being modulated and your case is quiet.
I do not like dumb fan controllers.

Then again some guys bang away on clicks mechanical keyboards with their pc howling with cans on and their girlfriends don’t freak out in the middle of the night.
Ymmv

I have no problem with noise. I would prefer the case fans be on maximum all the time anyway. I have an air purifier on in my room all the time that is way louder than the PC so I can never hear PC fans anyway no matter how loud they are.

 

[honegod]

air purifier

That's the ticket.

You want the room air purifier as the case intake fan, running 24/7.

Pro: shutting the computer off turns off whatever exaust fans it uses. When you turn it back on, the intake is already running, pre pressurising the case with fresh, cool, clean Air.

Some creative fabrication would be required.

( note the pre pressurized business, one does not actually need any other fans inside the case to force air out of the case.
1 properly sized intake fan could easily pump the appropriate volume of air through the case.
Good ducting can be used to direct airflow through all heatsinks then directly out of the case.

One Fan to Rule them All.