Hey guys, hope to get your advice on the airflow here, especially the fans arrangement. Not sure if I did it right. I have Define R5 with two GP-14 case fans on the intake and one same GP-14 case as exhaust. Basically stock config with added fan in the front. I had my Cryorig A80 mounted to the top before, but decided to move it to the front and put moduvents back for less noise. However, I'm not sure if my decision to leave Cryorig QF140 fans (technically they have higher rpm and airflow numbers than GP-14) on the inside of the case and rad in push configuration was correct or not for better temps. My GP-14 fans are controlled by case controller and set to max. QF140 fans are PWM fans on standard Asus fan curve set in UEFI. Pics http://imgur.com/a/gLyVF
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Fan Configuration in R5 with A80 AIO
- Thread starter Raendor
- Start date
What are your idle and load temps now ?
Usually it is better to not a radiator as intake on systems that are not all water cooled. I would replace the stock GP-14 fans with something that has at least twice as much static pressure rating. Not that static pressure rating and airflow tell us what we need to know. We really need to see a P/Q (pressure / airflow) curve of the fan to know how it will perform in actual use. Static pressure rating is maximum pressure fan can push into a sealed box, and airflow rating is with no resistance, usually with same air pressure on both side of fan .. in order for a fan to move air in our uses it creates a pressure differential .. that is higher pressure on exhaust side then on intake side. Then the air move to fill the low are by fan intake and the higher pressure on exhaust side of fan move away form fan into lower pressure areas. Fan test chambers have fans built into the so they can keep the pressure the same on both sides of fan being tested. We never use fans in either of these situations.
Usually it is better to not a radiator as intake on systems that are not all water cooled. I would replace the stock GP-14 fans with something that has at least twice as much static pressure rating. Not that static pressure rating and airflow tell us what we need to know. We really need to see a P/Q (pressure / airflow) curve of the fan to know how it will perform in actual use. Static pressure rating is maximum pressure fan can push into a sealed box, and airflow rating is with no resistance, usually with same air pressure on both side of fan .. in order for a fan to move air in our uses it creates a pressure differential .. that is higher pressure on exhaust side then on intake side. Then the air move to fill the low are by fan intake and the higher pressure on exhaust side of fan move away form fan into lower pressure areas. Fan test chambers have fans built into the so they can keep the pressure the same on both sides of fan being tested. We never use fans in either of these situations.
So those GP-14 fans i currently have on the intake according to specs have 68.4 CFM max airflow and 0.71 mmH2O Maximum pressure.
However those QF140 fans that I wave on the other side on the rad inside the case have 128 CFM and 2.12 mmH2O.
I don't wanna get new fans now, but as I understand I will benefit more from moving QF fans to the front of the radiator and case, where GP fans are now, right? At the same time, will it hurt or improve temps if I move GP fans to the back of the rad (basically exchanging GP fans with QF and vice versa in terms of placement) or will it be best just to use QF fans on the intake and not mount GP fans at all?
I'm betting that if you used the GP14 fans the results will be the same or worse then with just the QF140 fans.
ChoGGi
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You don't want a rad on intake, unless you like it blowing warm air into the case (and over your VRMs).
When you have the money for more fans, you could have two 140mm doing intake.
Move the rad back up to the top and do push/pull. You can put the two pull fans on the outside of the case for more space inside. You will probably need to grab some more screws/washers (likely 16-32x1¼).
More fans won't necessarily mean more noise, just lower the RPMs. I don't worry much about making the temps higher (your CPU will be just as happy at 75C as it will be at 60C).
You can also reinstall one of the HDD holders up top and add another intake on the bottom, but it'll still likely be a negative pressure case (if that matters).
I'm in a slightly dusty province, so I prefer a positive pressure case. I have three 140mm on intake and one 120mm rad with push/pull on it. I moved my 240mm rad to the outside of the case, and plugged most holes with electricians tape or silicon.
Good luck getting a neutral airflow
When you have the money for more fans, you could have two 140mm doing intake.
Move the rad back up to the top and do push/pull. You can put the two pull fans on the outside of the case for more space inside. You will probably need to grab some more screws/washers (likely 16-32x1¼).
More fans won't necessarily mean more noise, just lower the RPMs. I don't worry much about making the temps higher (your CPU will be just as happy at 75C as it will be at 60C).
You can also reinstall one of the HDD holders up top and add another intake on the bottom, but it'll still likely be a negative pressure case (if that matters).
I'm in a slightly dusty province, so I prefer a positive pressure case. I have three 140mm on intake and one 120mm rad with push/pull on it. I moved my 240mm rad to the outside of the case, and plugged most holes with electricians tape or silicon.
Good luck getting a neutral airflow
You don't want a rad on intake, unless you like it blowing warm air into the case (and over your VRMs).
When you have the money for more fans, you could have two 140mm doing intake.
Move the rad back up to the top and do push/pull. You can put the two pull fans on the outside of the case for more space inside. You will probably need to grab some more screws/washers (likely 16-32x1¼).
More fans won't necessarily mean more noise, just lower the RPMs. I don't worry much about making the temps higher (your CPU will be just as happy at 75C as it will be at 60C).
You can also reinstall one of the HDD holders up top and add another intake on the bottom, but it'll still likely be a negative pressure case (if that matters).
I'm in a slightly dusty province, so I prefer a positive pressure case. I have three 140mm on intake and one 120mm rad with push/pull on it. I moved my 240mm rad to the outside of the case, and plugged most holes with electricians tape or silicon.
Good luck getting a neutral airflow
Actually I have better cpu temps after I moved it to the front. And it's been also proven by Kyle amd Jay on YouTube that you have better cpu temps with front mounted radiator than top. I specifically moved from top mounted radiator for less noise, so I definitely don't wanna do that. The only question for me is how should I place my fans, i.e GP being pull and QF push, or QF pull and GP push, or only QF as push at the front? I debate what's better for gpu temps and general airflow.
But the CPU is only one part of your system. Sure, using CPU CLC as intake lowers CPU temps, but it usually raises GPU, HDD, VRM, SSD, and RAM temps.
ChoGGi
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Yeah, you'll definitely have better CPU temps. The rad is getting all the cool air first, then blowing all the warm air into your case for the rest of your components to enjoy. I've got an M.2, CPU VRMs, and a GPU blower I prefer to have cooler air for.
I'm not saying it's good or bad, just what you prefer for your system.
For noise: I've a rad on top, I can't tell if my computer is turned on or not during daytime (with normal desktop usage). It's under my desk. My fans stay around 500-600 for the intake/CPU and 350 for the GPU (GPU under 40C CPU under 50C ambient 35C).
Taking a brief glance, those cryorigs seem to be better for static pressure (rads), while those fractal seem more for airflow.
I'm not saying it's good or bad, just what you prefer for your system.
For noise: I've a rad on top, I can't tell if my computer is turned on or not during daytime (with normal desktop usage). It's under my desk. My fans stay around 500-600 for the intake/CPU and 350 for the GPU (GPU under 40C CPU under 50C ambient 35C).
Taking a brief glance, those cryorigs seem to be better for static pressure (rads), while those fractal seem more for airflow.
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Hmm, ok. Thanks for suggestions guys, will need to think a bit more on this. Btw I had a look at Kyle's video again, which actually shows that frontal mounting doesn't affect open-air gpu and gives better cpu temps, while top configuration pulls hot air from gpu to the cpu.
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ChoGGi
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I've a rad/blower on my GPU (and the CPU rad is outside the case), so I don't need to worry so much about the minimal convection heat coming off the GPU (it just gets sucked out by the GPU rad anyways).
You've one of those recycler style GPU coolers which certainly does pump the air around your case, so yes your rad fans would be doing double duty pumping out heat from the rad itself and whatever build up you have in the case.
As long as your CPU, GPU, and VRM temps are reasonable then I wouldn't waste my time worrying. If you grab a copy of SIV, you can use that to check temps (or whatever you use). Open it and click the arrow next to Status>Cooling Status.
You've one of those recycler style GPU coolers which certainly does pump the air around your case, so yes your rad fans would be doing double duty pumping out heat from the rad itself and whatever build up you have in the case.
As long as your CPU, GPU, and VRM temps are reasonable then I wouldn't waste my time worrying. If you grab a copy of SIV, you can use that to check temps (or whatever you use). Open it and click the arrow next to Status>Cooling Status.
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