AIO - Fans set to intake or exhaust?

[Psychobob]

I figured this is more a question suited for the air cooling subforum as my questions isn't on the installation procedure as such, but how bet to position this along with whether you should use intake or exhaust fans.

 

On LinusTechTips videos, I can see that 240mm AIO units (such as Corsair h100i) are used quite extensively, but I always see them attached at the top of the case where I normally expect to see an exhaust fan.  This leaves me a bit confused on whether they are being treated as intakes (cool air from outside, pumping warm-ish air back in the case until it gets exhausted elsewhere) or exhaust points for the case.

 

If they are being used as an intake, is it the case that exhaust fans don;t necessarily need to be at the top and can be just at the rear of the case?

 

Any insight on best positioning (and why) of 240mm AIO systems like this with fan orientation would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers

[RevoltTrain]

You can use an AIO as either an Intake or an Exhaust, when at the top of the case it is more often an exhaust. Simply because heat rises. If you were to put it at the front of the case it would be great for an intake. It's all about case layout man. I've always been a fan of push over pull myself. 

 

Welcome to the forums by the way!

[Tsuki]

@Psychobob  welcome to the forum and dont forget to follow any topics you made so you get notified when people respond

 

whether its intake or exhaust depends on where you put it.  you're right in saying that when its on top, it deffinately should be exhaust(hot air rises so its more natual to set it that way).  if you put it in the front, i would make it be intake(cool air intake, will warm up as it goes over your components and rising automatically out the top).  as far as fan orientation thats really up to you. push/pull has the best results. but if you only have 2 fans, i believe push is slightly better than pull, however i believe the difference is negligable

[Enderman]

Traditionally, front and bottom of the case is intake, and top+rear exhaust.

People who put an AiO on top will have it as exhaust. You can use an AiO as intake or exhaust, but having it as an intake at the front would give lower CPU temps.

 

Make sure you filter the intakes too, and avoid putting intakes at the top of a case because heat rises, dust falls, and top intakes are not usually filtered.

[Psychobob]

Wow, lot's a responses already!  It's nice to be welcomed too, it seems like a pretty good community on PC building.

 

@Psychobob  welcome to the forum and dont forget to follow any topics you made so you get notified when people respond

 

 

Thanks for the tip on following the thread, was wondering why I didn't have a notification for all the responses

 

 

I'm currently still trying to figure out which case I'll be getting (NZXT H440 looks quiet and may suit my needs).  I've built a few computers in the past, but this is the first time I'm considering an AIO for the CPU cooling and putting in a pretty high end graphics card for gaming (for me anyway, I normally use mid range ones).  So cooling is something I trying to pay extra attention to.

 

The case is most likely going to have to be a ATX one, as the mATX/mITX cases don;t seem to be big enough or have good enough airflow for a GTX 970 (I'm eyeing up the Gigabyte G1).  Your comments have pretty much confirmed the type of case I'm going to be looking for, something where I can put in a 240mm AIO (Corsair H100i) in the front as an intake so the air blows over the graphics card.  Another fan in the base (again blowing towards the graphics card) and then an exhaust fan in the rear and top.

 

I've never been good at airflow I'll admit, but would you say positive pressure is better than negative, or the other way around?

 

My concerns are to keep the case cool (if it's running games) and preferably not too loud (but this is probably down to case/fans rather than pressure).  If I have to clean the PC every few months, that isn't a big deal to me.

[Tsuki]

I've never been good at airflow I'll admit, but would you say positive pressure is better than negative, or the other way around?

Positive pressure(more intake than exhaust) is better since it will help reduce dust build-up

[cyberdork]

Quick tip with AIO coolers: Use them in a pull configuration blowing them out of the case so you can clean the fins easily. A push orientation will force dust onto the fins and trap it.

[Psychobob]

Positive pressure(more intake than exhaust) is better since it will help reduce dust build-up

 

Cool, I better make sure to get a case with dust filters on the intakes too to help a bit further

 

 

Quick tip with AIO coolers: Use them in a pull configuration blowing them out of the case so you can clean the fins easily. A push orientation will force dust onto the fins and trap it.

 

In terms of cooling the radiators (and therefore the CPU which is being cooled by the AIO), is there a big different between pull and push?

My assumption is push has superior cooling, but is it only minimal when compared to pull?

 

If I was to use a push/pull configuration, does that help reduce the build up of dust in the fins?

 

(Sorry for the noob questions!)

[Tsuki]

you should check out THIS video linus made a little while ago. should hopefully answer a few questions. (i hope thats the right video, im at work and cant actually load it to double check lol)

[Psychobob]

you should check out THIS video linus made a little while ago. should hopefully answer a few questions. (i hope thats the right video, im at work and cant actually load it to double check lol)

 

Thanks Tsuki, very informative (it was the right video) and it did answer my questions  Looks like all I need to do is decide on a case now and I should be good to go on building!

[Robert M]

Hey guys, so I'm using a Corsair H100i on top of the case as exhaust, just because my case has a built in mount for radiator . Should I put the fans on the bottom or the top of the radiator? Are there any benefits in terms of air being pushed out or does it make any difference at all? At the moment I'm using the fans at the bottom.

Also should I change the extra loud Corsair fans? Consider that I run a R71700 @ 3.7GHz, nothing crazy so it shouldn't produce too much heat.

Thanks all in advance for your suggestions.

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On 10/22/2014 at 1:23 AM, RevoltTrain said:

You can use an AIO as either an Intake or an Exhaust, when at the top of the case it is more often an exhaust. Simply because heat rises. If you were to put it at the front of the case it would be great for an intake. It's all about case layout man. I've always been a fan of push over pull myself. 

 

Welcome to the forums by the way!

 

 

Hey i just quoted u cause i wanted to ask if my airflow config is good? None of my things are over clocked(10700k, 1080ti msi gaming edge WIFI ATX, Gamerstorm 240 EX AIO) My case is an NZXT h150