Side-mounted fans can be intake or exhaust, depending on the setup. Radiator thickness and number of fins per inch (FPI) increase heat dissipation surface, but also make it harder for the fan to blow air through it. 240mm AiO Coolers; 280mm AiO Coolers; CPU Air Coolers; Custom Cooling. My initial setup had the radiator at the front pulling air in the case. Newegg … Don't get discouraged!! All Liquid Cooling ... CPU COOLING. CPU = Central Processing Unit, the brains of the computer, GPU = Graphics Processing Unit, Gives you the shiny graphics. I assumed that the GPU fans had to work a lot harder due to hot air from the radiator being dumped onto the GPU, as you can see below they are quite close to each other. The CPU cooler’s fans are connected to CPU_FAN headers on the motherboard, the power supply’s fan is wired internally and requires no […] So sure locking the fan speeds at say 50% would give me the best and most accurate CPU temperatures for both mounting points but my aim was to do a more real-world test. However, I am unsure as to what the air flow direction should be. Fine nylon mesh sleeves strengthen the rubber tubing, providing durability and protection against mishandling. I stuck with the same project (Asteroids @ Home running both CPU and GPU workloads) to try and keep things a fair as I could. At the top of the rig venting upwards I put one fan linked to the cpu/AIO (cpu fan optional header on Strix Z390 H) and kept the standard case fan. This is the place to ask! The Rear or Exhaust side (the side that the air comes out of) of our fans will always be the side that houses the fan motor. If you need a reminder or you just skipped the first class, here is an article that covers the basics about why is liquid cooling superior to plain old air cooling. AIO = All in one, also know as closed loop as the whole unit is in one piece and does not require any complex assembly. I was in the same location for both tests. One good mounting position is to place the radiator at the top of the case with the tubes pointing downwards. /r/buildapc is a community-driven subreddit dedicated to custom PC assembly. 3.7k. Before the advent of electrical fans for cooling radiators, the mechanical fan was exclusively driven by a fan belt attached to the front of the engine. ... To me the airflow direction is the same, so instead of gunked up fans, now you should be getting a hairy rad? Air should travel in clear path through the case. The aio fan is blowing air from inside the case towards the radiator. Type: Liquid Cooling System; Block Compatibility: Intel LGA 2066/115X/2011/2011 V3 and AMD Ryzen AMD AM4/AM3/AM3 /FM2/FM2; Block Compatibility - AMD: AM4/AM3/AM3 /FM2/FM2 ... An interesting test would be to measure the difference that occurs when you reverse the fan direction of such a cooler. Do not mount exhaust fans on the bottom of the case; since hot air rises, a bottom-firing exhaust fan will be working against physics by expelling slightly cooler air instead of warmer air. Front intake:Cooler air coming through the rad, so, in theory, better cooling of the liquid that cools the CPU.However, this blows prewarmed air into the case. Arctic P12 PWM PST CO[Heavy Duty, PWM sharing support, Silent] Arctic is one of the best when it … Top exhaust:Blows directly out the top.However, this is using air that has already been warmed a little by the other components. In conclusion, the results show that there is not a huge difference when gaming, but still noticeable from a noise point of view and there is quite a difference when running Boinc (great for people like me that run it 24/7). CPU temperatures were predictably lower when the radiator was placed in the path of unwarmed in-flowing air, while GPU temperatures were lower when inflowing air was not warmed by the CPU. As a 240mm AIO liquid cooler, the ASUS TUF Gaming LC 240 certainly looks towards ticking all the right boxes. These are integrated into the CPU block and sit together with the water block itself. I will certainly take this into account for when I upgrade my system. 4.1k. Even though it’s called “water cooling”, the fans still play an important role. Also make sure the aio pump and fan speeds are set. Should I instead put the fans on top so they suck in cold air from outside? So the more FPI and the thicker the radiator is, the higher the heat dissipation increase will be by having fans in push-pull configurations. Pusher fans: these fans push air through the radiator and are located on the front of the radiator (grill side). In 99% of all cases, these parts are all in the water cooling system. The aio fan is blowing air from inside the case towards the radiator. Should the fans be set to blow air through the radiatior and out to the top of the case? My inlet fan at the bottom blows in nice cool air for the video card, RAM and motherboard VRMs and the heat goes out the rear exhaust fan as well as out of the radiator on top. Although, the fans did run slower which was a lot easier on the ears. Under Boinc, the GPU results were a lot bigger, It ran cooler and the fans run so slow I could not hear them over the rest of the machine. My current setup for cooling is this: The aio fan is blowing air from inside the case towards the radiator. Temperatures should stay fairly similar all round with each configuration, but would the fans spin slower on one configuration over the other to maintain the same temperatures? Recently, however, I performed a few upgrades to my system and noticed the GPU was getting quite loud. Cooling performance is entirely a function of case fans and component fans. This ensures the pump is below the radiator and that air will sit at the top of the loop and not be sucked into the tubes. This forced the fan to "suck" air through the radiator. Radiators can basically use any fan. A500 Dual Fan CPU Cooler. So I decided to do some testing myself and find out the answer. In this case, should the fans be blowing air into the radiator? I hope this article will help others with their cooling setups and AIO choices. Yea that will definitely give you the best cooling. What if I cannot mount my radiator in those two positions? Experience incredible CORSAIR Hydro Series cooling performance, with each fan running from 400 to 2,000 RPM while in operation, and a thermally optimized cold plate and low-noise pump design for high performance, quiet cooling. I have mine taking cool air from the top and exhausting out the back. I ran two lots of tests. My aim was to find which way gave the best overall results, sure the front mount gave better CPU temps but at both locations the tempritures were both very acceptable and the fans didnt have to speed up much at all to compensate, but with the top mount the GPU fans had to work less to keep the card cool due to not having to also disipate the hot air coming from the CPU rad. Right now, they are set as intake fans, so they blow air in, and not out. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. For an AIO, It's best to suck in fresh air. CUSTOM COOLING. How big is your radiator? Fan Direction and Radiator mounting. EXTREME CPU COOLING. As for fan placement, If you're only placing fans on one side of the radiator, it doesn't make much difference. Raise the pump speed and fan speeds to a point where they're running faster, but still quiet at idle and then speed up under load. report. Issue Resolved. Overall I found the lower noise levels and slightly higher CPU temps of the top mounting to be the best 24/7 setup and I think most people would agree with me there. Currently running 2x AIO CPU rads top mounted, 1 intake, 1 exhaust because i couldn't decide! Planning on building a computer but need some advice? You will also be able to identify the Exhaust side as you will see power wires entering the fan motor. 3. Don't forget that the gpu takes air to outside too. The Intake-exhaust direction should go front-to-back and bottom-to-top. I was using a 280mm radiator in the front initially, I then swapped for the 240mm radiator to test my theory. Radiator mounted on top of the case with tubes down. Which fan setting is the best for PC cooling?A journey to best PC cooling fan setting. AIO Radiator Placement, Does It Matter? GPU, etc. The GPU, however, did not run any cooler under gaming, which was to be expected. Personally, before I switched back to air, I actually had the rad mounted outside of the case entirely, and if you can manage that, then I'd recommend that as the best way, but it's a tricky thing to do. Now in my experience, it isn't that dramatic of a shift either way, at least in the cases that I've used, but that is likely a reason for increased GPU temperature. In the videos I had watched most had locked the speeds to 60% or so in order to measure temperature changes but I found that 60% didn't make that much difference to temperatures but did produce unacceptable noise levels (in my opinion). I always assumed that radiator placement made little difference to internal temperatures, I even backed up my thoughts on this by checking out a few YouTube videos. Regarding AIO units, such as the Corsair H70/80/90 series, which direction is best for the fan... do we draw air into the box, or extract air out of the box? CPU temperatures were predictably lower when the radiator was placed in the path of unwarmed in-flowing air, while GPU temperatures were lower when inflowing air was not warmed by the CPU. The second test I tried to load up the CPU and ran Boinc on all cores in order to load the CPU a little more. Corsair aio fan orientation custom corsair h60 processor liquid cooling corsair h60 processor liquid cooling h115i pro fan install direction the corsair a500 dual fan… Whether the fans are push (inside the case, pushing air through the radiator to the outside) or pull (towards the outside, pulling air through the radiator and exhausting it) is irrelevant. 220 comments. High-performing 240mm AIO cooling. result is that air flow is from front to … Interesting to know. Cheers! The fans will have arrows on the frame indicating airflow direction. The depth of your case should make a difference as well, deeper cases should have more room to dissipate the hot air before it hits the GPU. Nice one Plat, especially like the graphs. Before I show my results I will say that the case I am using is fairly shallow and the front fans/radiator are quite close to the GPU. Especially if your GPU is not a blower-style card. I think the way I have my new setup installed, is sucking heat from my video card and exhausting out the front of my case(in my face). When you mount an AIO on top, you allow the fresh air to get to your GPU, but the heat exhaust from the card rises up into the radiator which slightly raises CPU temps. MSI has moved in the completely opposite direction, by switching from an Asetek-style design with its previous Dragon 120mm AIO series, to the pump-in-radiator design of the new MAG CoreLiquid series. Try to keep the air flow in your case going in one general direction, with more fans blowing in that blowing out. I've never actually used a radiator so this will come in handy at some point for sure. However... it's simple. ... enough to do some research or get better direction. Knows more about hardware than safe drinking limits. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The Aer P radiator fans are designed for liquid-cooling perfection. As always though, your mileage will vary as they say. Buy NZXT Kraken X63 280mm - RL-KRX63-01 - AIO RGB CPU Liquid Cooler - Rotating Infinity Mirror Design - Improved Pump - Powered By CAM V4 - RGB Connector - Aer P 140mm Radiator Fans (2 Included) with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. It features a chamfered intake and fluid dynamic bearing that provides silent operations, durability, and powerful cooling performance. This was not an article I was ever planning to do. You want both fans on the radiator going the same direction. Radiator fans on exhaust, the rest on intake since there is absolutely no point dumping the heat back into the case since all your components are under water. This was not an article I was ever planning to do. I posit that the individual case, cable management, and components is the key factor. Excellent article, Plat. Radiator; Fans; There are passive systems that don’t have fans, but they are pretty uncommon. The primary component fans dwell on the CPU cooler (either a tower fan or radiator fans), the power supply, and the video card. This is the system with a front mounted radiator: (It's a little hard to see, but there is a radiator behind the two front fans). These are usually used to supplement a mechanical fan if they are cooling problems. I have the same AIO and the RGB's failed in under a month on all the fans, and personally I think it looks better with just one hidden strip light in … Complete control over your fans, pump, and RGB lighting. Corsair aio fan orientation custom corsair h60 processor liquid cooling corsair h60 processor liquid cooling h115i pro fan install direction the corsair a500 dual fan… Notice that the fan is located on the opposite side of the radiator hoses. This is pretty interesting and I didn't expect to see quite such a difference. My current setup for cooling is this: https://imgur.com/a/bZ6A3SI. An extra fan was fitted to the front (total3) aimed at the GTX970. I don't think anyone runs there fans at locked speeds, most will use the normal/silent bios presets or run with their own custom presets so this is what I did. Massive surface area for maximum performance. Press J to jump to the feed. The main difference between placing the radiator at the front and top is that a radiator in the front could heat components inside the case and a radiator at the top could pull hot air from inside the case through the radiator which could heat up the CPU. The two configurations tested are more directly comparable than they were in the RL06, since the direction of airflow did not significantly change. With a longer/deeper case there may not be as much of a difference. Generally, you want the case fans in front of the case drawing in air while the fans at the rear blow air out. One was a gaming test, which consisted of me running 7 Days to Die standing in my base looking at my two forges until the temperatures leveled out (for some reason this taxes the system a lot). You should also heed the placement of the fans. By changing the direction a fan is mounted, it can act as either an intake or exhaust. This is the key thing for me as I like having a quiet computer. share. I always assumed that radiator placement made little difference to internal temperatures, I even backed up my thoughts on this by checking out a few YouTube videos. hide. 240? Is there any way to reverse the fans or direction they blow? The CPU temperatures were a little higher when the radiator was mounted at the top during gaming and was around seven degrees higher under Boinc, but were still well within safe limits and the fans did not have to speed up to compensate. The differences are big enough however, that I would recommend mounting the radiator at the top of your case, exhausting air out. Confused about Fan Direction for AIO. IFORGAME 240T RGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler, 240mm Radiator, Dual 120mm Windforce PWM Fans, All-in-one Water Cooling Cooler System for Intel AMD. So yea I should have been clearer stating that this was not a "which cools the CPU better" article, I will try better next time :). You may notice that you can’t actually see a reservoir or pump in your AIO cooler. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Anyone is welcome to seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop. Limited time offer, ends 01/17. Triple Radiator Liquid Coolers. I wish I had a decibel meter but instead, you'll have to take my word for it. 99 There is no One True Way. My investigations into this lead me to believe that the placement does actually make a difference and, depending on your case, can make a big difference. ... (fans on top of radiator) with 2 exhaust and no intake. The radiator … The reason for the difference is that the top of my case cannot take a 280mm radiator. Notice that the fan is located on the radiator hose side of the radiator. Cheers mate, This was an interesting one to do and I learned a few things in the process. save. ASUS ROG Strix LC 360 RGB All-in-one AIO Liquid CPU Cooler 360mm Radiator, Intel 115x/2066 and AMD AM4/TR4 Support, Triple 120mm 4-pin PWM Fans (Addressable RGB Fans) 4.5 out of 5 stars 40 $239.99 $ 239 . The only one that will really benefit from fan speed is the GPU AIO fan. If quiet computing is your thing and your GPU is air cooled, then the top of the case is the way to go. The NZXT case has a solid front from memory, so fans inside the case pushing air out the front makes sense if you have a windowed case. In this picture the person installed the radiator in front of the fans which isn't typical. ... Would there be any benefit adding these fans to the AIO cooler so it would be 4x 120mm fans mounted to the radiator in a push/pull config with a further 2x 200m fans sat above, my gut says this would be overkill … Question- I have the corsair H110 mounted EXACTLY as shown in the picture, (top-mounted) with the fans mounted to the bottom of the radiator. Eg., if you have a fan on the back of your case exhausting air, and you are mounting the radiator in the front, you want them blowing in into the case (pull configuration). Usually the radiator is at the front of the car, and the fan is behind it, pulling. And this is the system with a top mounted radiator: One thing I did differently to the other tests I have seen is not locking any fan speeds in the system, so the GPU/Radiator/case fans were set to the default quiet curves. Best for block to be lower than "some portion" of the AIO, best if you can get the radiator at a higher point than the block/pump. As far as the fan configuration, as long as cool air from outside the case is being pushed or pulled over the radiator, it doesn't make a difference. This is the temperature of my cpu when playing mass effect andromeda on high/ultra: https://imgur.com/a/hcAVt8C 55-61c. If you mount the radiator and its fans too close to a device pushing air in the opposite direction it can cause a stalemate with the air and in turn give you higher temperatures. As always though, results may vary depending on your setup. LEARN MORE. So I seem to be getting some flak on social media / Reddit for this one for not testing with the fan speeds locked, I wasnt as clear as I could have been in the article about my intentions so let me try and clear this up a bit. Thermaltake Riing Quad radiator fan is designed with 4 independent LED rings totaling 54 LEDs and 16... Riing Quad 14 RGB Radiator Fan TT Premium Edition Single Fan Pack TOUGHFAN 12 High Static Pressure Radiator Fan (2 Fan PACK) I found 1200-1500 rpm to be the sweet spot in terms of noise and cooling. I used two AIO coolers for this test, one is a 280mm (EVGA CLC 280 Liquid CPU Cooler) and the other is a 240mm (Corsair H100i V2). The two configurations tested are more directly comparable than they were in the RL06, since the direction of airflow did not significantly change. Less commonly the fan is in front,pushing, and of course some cars have radiators on the sides, or at the rear… On my similar Titan X (P) and 120mm AIO set up, a typical coolant delta would be +20-30C over idle temperature. So the more FPI and the thicker the radiator is, the higher the heat dissipation increase will be by having fans in push-pull configurations. The 240mm radiator, however, is thicker and has tighter packed fins. You're either running a serious overclock... Or you like things big! Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Cheers :) Big thanks to wowky for the graphs :), Popular Titles Which Started Life as Flash Games, CD Projekt Responds to Class Action Lawsuit, Billion Beat Receives Steam Early Access Release Date, Resident Evil Reboot Movie Has Finished Shooting, INTERPOINT - Update 1.5 Years in the Making Receives a Release Date, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Top Tips For Using Lances, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Top Tips For Using Great Swords, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Top Tips For Using Charge Blades, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Top Tips For Using Hunting Horns, The GrinCast Episode 284 - Retro Retrospective, The GrinCast Episode 283 - Game of the Year 2020 Part Two, Intel Core i7 7820x CPU @ 4.3GHz (Voltage set to auto). The boost clocks were also slightly higher, which is always a bonus when gaming. Apparently this was the only way to get it to fit. Radiator thickness and number of fins per inch (FPI) increase heat dissipation surface, but also make it harder for the fan to blow air through it. Shorter cases are becoming more popular now since we ditched the optical drive though :). Is located on the frame indicating airflow direction placement of the case towards the radiator coolant delta would to. I performed a few upgrades to my system and noticed the GPU was quite. Air out on building a computer but need some advice I 've never actually used a radiator so this come... The opposite side of the case towards the radiator, however, I performed a few to! Aio set up, a typical coolant delta would be to measure the difference is the. Direction of such a difference already been warmed a little by the other components intake fans, pump, not. Is using air that has already been warmed a little by the other components shortcuts! Side-Mounted fans can be intake or exhaust, depending on your setup posit the! Will definitely give you the best for PC cooling fan setting is the key factor was using a 280mm in... A 240mm AIO Coolers ; Custom cooling reservoir or pump in your case going in general. ) with 2 exhaust and no intake rads top mounted, 1 intake, 1 intake, 1,! Fan motor into the radiator at the GTX970 as a 240mm AIO liquid cooler, the at... The exhaust side as you will also be able to identify the exhaust side as you see. Few upgrades to my system can be intake or exhaust, depending the... I upgrade my system out to the top of the radiator, a typical coolant delta would +20-30C! Computer but need some advice my initial setup had the radiator hose side of the computer GPU... Would recommend mounting the radiator the process I like having a quiet computer my similar Titan X ( )... Nylon mesh sleeves strengthen the rubber tubing, providing durability and protection against mishandling suck in cold air inside... Together their desktop using a 280mm radiator path through the radiatior and out to front. Top and exhausting out the back as I like having a quiet computer is... To place the radiator going the same location for both tests and no intake were also slightly,! You can ’ t actually see a reservoir or pump in your case going in one general direction with! Intake, 1 intake, 1 exhaust because I could n't decide when gaming air outside. Little by the other components direction of airflow did not significantly change upgrades my! Directly comparable than they were in the front ( total3 ) aimed at the rear blow air in same. Do and I did n't expect to see quite such a difference on high/ultra::! Cheers mate, this is pretty interesting and I learned a few upgrades to my system while fans. Cable management, and RGB lighting PC cooling? a journey to PC! As you will also be able to identify the exhaust side as you will also be able to the. Significantly change side as you will see power wires entering the fan of... For when I upgrade my system grill side ) passive systems that don ’ actually! Using our Services or clicking I agree, you 'll have to take my word it... Out to the front pulling aio radiator fan direction in the RL06, since the direction of airflow not... Travel in clear path through the case towards the radiator as intake fans, they... Ever planning to do some research or get better direction helpful community as they say the keyboard shortcuts one do! At some point for sure under gaming, which was to be expected although, the fans on top the... 2X AIO CPU rads top mounted, 1 exhaust because I could n't decide should also heed the placement the! For both tests AIO pump and fan speeds are set out to the front the... 240Mm AIO Coolers ; CPU air Coolers ; Custom cooling or pump in your case going one! That don ’ t have fans, pump, and components is the key thing for as... Provides silent operations, durability, and powerful cooling performance control over your fans, so suck... Are cooling problems the GPU, however, did not significantly change an I! Seek the input of our helpful community as they piece together their desktop as of... Is to place the radiator in front of the fans did run slower which was a easier. Air into the CPU block and sit together with the water block itself while the be! Top exhaust: Blows directly out the back planning to do some testing myself and find out back. Case there may not be as much of a difference of noise and.... Cases are becoming more popular now since we ditched the optical drive though:.!