Luke Murtagh

Thanks for the reply. So I would only see a difference if I either waited for the new Ryzen CPUs or upgraded further down the line to a future Intel CPU which was PCIe gen 4? In that case I might not mind going the vertical route. Wouldn't it be running on only half the speed of the x16 PCIe slot though?

Hi all, Just a quick question. I'm getting ready for my new build once the new 30 series GPUs come out but I have a question. I had planned to use Lian Li's Vertical GPU Mount in my Lancool II Mesh for aesthetic reasons, until I realised it has a speed limitation of 8Gb/s. How much would this affect the performance of my GPU? I would like a vertical mount simply because I like the look of it but I certainly don't want to sacrifice performance. For reference the card I'm looking at is the 3080 and the CPU it'll be paired up with is a i9-10900K, and I will be gaming at 1440p. Thanks!

Hello all, I am thinking about using some Lian-Li BR120 Digital RGB fans in my next build but I was wondering how to connect everything. I was thinking about using the Phanteks Universal PWM Fan Hub and the Lamptron SP101 ARGB Hub which should allow me to control both the speed and RGB effects of the fans. Would anyone have any other recommendations? Also would the Phanteks hub work with Lian Li fans or does it only work with Phanteks fans? I presume since it has 'universal' in its name it should work but just double checking. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-universal-pwm-fan-hub-black-ca-08x-pt.html https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lamptron-sp101-10x-addressable-rgb-hub-for-aura-fusion-and-mystic-bb-00f-lp.html Thanks!

Hello, I was thinking about a build I want to do later this year and I was originally considering going for a normal ATX case, but it occurred to me I might be interested in going for a small form factor case. I've never done one before and I'm curious to try one. Problem is, I haven't got a clue what makes a good ITX case. Could anyone recommend me one? I value performance over aesthetics if that helps. Thanks!

Good point on airflow. I'll have to do some more thinking on my case choice. Thanks for all the help!

Brill, thanks for the help. One other tangential question - how many radiators should I have? I'm thinking of going for either an i9-10900k or similar AMD CPU when they release later this year and a 3080TI when it releases as well. My case will probably be a Fractal Design Define 7XL and I was thinking of having a 480mm rad at the top and a 360 at the front. Would adding a bottom rad help as well or would it be such a minor difference it wouldn't be worth it?

I presume thats because of erosion?

Thanks for the response. To be honest I only mentioned Corsair and EK because they are two of the brands commonly sold in the UK by both Overclockers and Scan. Can you mix and match components? I realise getting a CPU block from one brand and a radiator from another shouldn't cause any issues, but is that true of every component of an open loop?

Hello everyone, Following a recent thread I posted on here a few days ago I am actually considering doing my very first open loop watercooled build but first I have one specific question - which manufacturer is better? EKWB and Corsair are the two of the more notable brands it seems when it comes to open loops, but, since I have no experience with open loops at all, I was wondering if there were any significant advantages or disadvantages to either. My initial instinct was to go with EKWB as they seem more specialised in open loop watercooling, whereas Corsair is much more broad in what it manufactures and sells. Still, as noted, this is just my initial observation, and any thoughts would be very welcome. Thanks for reading!

I'm a few months away from this upgrade anyway, as I'm waiting for the new Nvidia cards to release, as I've heard leaks suggesting the 3080TI is going to be quite an upgrade even from the 2080TI, but I'll absolutely keep the H500M and Dynamic XL in mind. Thanks for all your help!

Thanks for the advice. One other question, and I realise this is somewhat off-topic now, but what is your impression of the Lian Li O-11 Dynamic XL? Its the other case I was considering. I know its designed for watercooling but, at least according to GamersNexus, it seems to perform pretty well. I would be putting a 10900K in and an AIO for cooling it if I went for it.

Cool, thanks for the help and advice. I was also considering the ML fans as they seem to perform nearly identically (if not a bit better) than Noctuas. The only thing that was putting me off is the AIO I want to use (Ryujin 360) come with three 120mm Noctuas, and I wanted to keep a similar appearance across all of my fans. If I have the budget I may very well consider buying some extra ML fans to replace the Noctuas if I decide to use them.

Oh, the CoolerMaster page for the H500M lists support for three 140mm front fans. Even so, I'm more than happy going for three 120mm fans if needed. Any recommendation as to what fans to use? I was thinking Noctuas. I know they are quite expensive, but they seem like great performers. I believe Noctua used to make 200mm Chromax fans but I can't seem to find them in stock anywhere. I suppose they might be a discontinued product line.

Hello all, I was thinking about getting the CoolerMaster H500M for my next build but I have a question about cooling. If I replaced the two 200mm fans at the front with three 140mm fans would that negatively affect cooling at all? I know the included fans are a significant reason why people want to go for it but I'm wanting to create a build with minimal RGB and I would prefer the aesthetic of black fans. Thanks!

Hello all, I just have a quick question about my upcoming build. I want to use four ML140MM RGB and three ML120MM RGB fans around my case and I want to make sure I fully understand how everything needs to be connected in order for me to control lighting through iCUE. If I understand everything correctly I should plug the fan PWM cables into the PWM headers on the Corsair Commander Pro (using one splitter cable to connect 7 fans to 6 PWM hubs) and plug the RGB cables from the fans into two Corsair RGB LED hubs which themselves connect to the two RGB LED headers on the Commander Pro. I believe I can also plug my H150i USB connector and the USB connector from my HX100i into the two USB ports on the Commander Pro. Both the RGB hubs and the Commander Pro need to be plugged into SATA ports from my Corsair power supply, and the Commander Pro's USB cable can be plugged into an internal USB header. Is this the correct way to connect everything? Will I be able to control the lighting from all of my fans by connecting everything this way? Would I also be able to control my fan speed? Thanks!

Hmm, good point. Would there be any point in making it three 140s at the front? I believe if I did that I would have to remove the front part of the PSU shroud so some air might get lost down there instead of helping to remove heat, so just two fans might be a better idea. What fans would you recommend? I may go for Corsair ML140s. Although they are loud, they have high cfm and good static pressure which might be useful in pulling air through the fan filter.

Hello, I have been interested in the new Fractal Design Define 7 XL since it has been released and I have a question. Since it isn't the best for cooling and I have some components which can generate quite some heat (a 3700X and an RTX 2080TI) I want the best possible fan layout for air cooling. The case can fit either three 140mm or four 120mm fans at the front and top, one 120mm or one 140mm fan at the rear, and either two 120mm or 140mm fans at the bottom. My original plan was to have four 120mm fans at the front and one 140mm fan at the rear. I am thinking of four 120mm fans instead of three 140mm fans because, although the 140s will be quieter, the 120s should give me slightly greater cooling. Would adding an intake fan at the bottom help with cooling my GPU? What does everyone think of my cooling setup? Is there anything you would do differently? Thanks for the help!

Hello all,I have an EVGA RTX 2080Ti and was thinking about purchasing the associated hybrid AIO EVGA sells. My question is this: how effective are GPU AIOs at cooling GPUs compared to conventional fans? My current case setup keeps my GPU at around 65 degrees but I am thinking about changing cases to the new Fractal Design Define 7 and I was wondering how I could most effectively cool my GPU.Thanks!Here is the GPU AIO:https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...-evga-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-ftw3-hs-00c-ea.html

Yes, good point, fair enough. That is indeed the card I have. I doubt I will need it, as I would rather slightly scale back my overclock than add that AIO. Thanks again for all your help!

Thanks for the advice. That's what I thought as well. I just seem to be one of those people who fret over the tiniest of things lol. I probably won't do this just yet as I want to see how my build works when it is just all air-cooled, but if I go for an AIO when I upgrade the 3700X should I also go for one of those EVGA Hybrid AIO GPU coolers that you can just affix to the top of your GPU? I presume such a thing would really help to bring GPU temps down. https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=400-HY-1484-B1

Okay. My overall setup, including the fans, GPU, and case already mentioned, would include a 3700X cooled by a Noctua NH-U12S. I'm planning on upgrading my CPU when the new AMD CPUs are released later this year and may also upgrade my CPU cooler to an AIO if I need to. I understand it may be difficult to give a precise answer, but do you think my fans and case would do a good enough job at cooling my system when overclocking is taken into account? I have already overclocked my GPU as far as it can go inside a NZXT H710i with stock fans and it never reaches above 70 degrees c. I presume since the Meshify S2 has better airflow it would also mean lower GPU temps than I'm getting currently.

Okay, thanks for your help. I must admit I do prefer the Meshify S2 in terms of looks. I'm not a huge fan (no pun intended) of the 'gamery' look of the H500 cases. If I did try to match or exceed the H500M in airflow potential with the Meshify S2 what fans would you recommend? I was looking at the Noctua NF-A14 Industrial fans for the front. I know they could get very loud at full rpm but I wouldn't run them anywhere near that fast unless temps were catastrophically bad which I doubt they will be. I have chosen them more for their high static pressure to help pull air through the mesh front panel and the high cfm they are capable of. For my rear and top rear exhausts I would use normal NF-A14s. I might also add one NF-A14 at the bottom to help bring cool air into my GPU. Do you think such as setup would equal the H500M? I realise I am adding £88 worth of fans but since the Meshify is around £65 cheaper than the H500M it roughly balances out.

Hello all, I am looking for a good air cooling case and have seen both the Meshify S2 and the H500M generally perform well when it comes to air cooling. I had originally decided on the S2 however I've noticed the GPU temps recorded by GamersNexus were somewhat on the high side when compared to the other cases they have reviewed. Since I have a 2080ti which puts out a lot of heat that is somewhat concerning to me. The H500M seems to cool both the GPU and the CPU 5 degrees Celsius cooler than the Meshify S2. Is there any reason then, beyond aesthetics, to go for the Meshify S2 if I am looking for a case which performs great thermally? Thanks.

Hello,I am considering going AMD for my new build and I am looking for advice on my hardware as I have never done an AMD build before. I already have an i7-9700K but I've noticed the 3700X is only slightly behind it in terms of gaming performance whilst it is quite quicker in everything else. I know I could go for the 3900X or even the 3950X but I want to wait until the new AMD CPUs come out later this year so the 3700X will be more of a placeholder until they come out. In terms of cooling the 3700X I was thinking about going for the Noctua NH-U12S as it has great RAM clearance and is a pretty good performer as well.With regards to my motherboard I was thinking about going for the Gigabyte Aorus Master as it seems to have good VRMs which may be handy for overclocking the new AMD CPUs when they come out.For my GPU I already have an EVGA RTX 2080TI FTW3 which has been great so far.For memory I will probably go for the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB 3600Mhz as it has reasonable CAS timings and the added RGB is a nice touch.For storage I will be reusing the SSDs I already have which are the Samsung 970 M.2 500GB SSD and the Samsung 860 1TB SSD.I will also be reusing my PSU which is a Corsair RM1000i.Finally, my case will be a Fractal Design Meshify S2 for good cooling. I will also be replacing the stock fans with NF-A14s - specifically three in the front for intake, and one at the rear and top-rear for exhaust.What do you all think? Is there anything I could do better? I'm still rather new to all this so any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!Thanks for reading!

Good point. Performance. I should have stated that.