I am building my first hard tube custom loop PC and I had some questions about my radiator and fan set up. I already have all the fans and radiators so cost isn't a factor since I already own all of these parts. In this build, performance is probably my main concern with noise level a close second. I was wondering if I should run a slimmer radiator with push and pull fans at a super low RPM or a thicker radiator with only push fans at a higher RPM? Which option would perform better and which option would be quieter? Another option I have is I can also run the slimmer radiator with push only or pull only fans at a slightly higher RPM then having push and pull fans.
To give you more details about my situation I am building inside the Phanteks Enthoo Elite case and I have a custom built front panel from Mod My Mods with air vents CNC cut into the front. I originally wanted to put my EKWB XE (60mm) radiator in the front with push and pull fans but with my dual reservoir set up I don't have enough room to do so, so my options are to run the XE (60mm) radiator with push fans only, or run my slimmer EKWB PE (38mm) radiator with push and pull fans. If I run the thicker radiator the push fans will be right behind the mesh vents in the front panel which may slightly affect my airflow but probably not much. The custom front panel has a filter mesh material that has pretty good air flow, plus the sides of the panel have air vents with removeable and washable dust filters. I have 30mm of space right behind the front panel so the fans will fit with 5mm of space between them and the front panel vents. If I run the thinner radiator I can fit push fans in the same place but I can also run pull fans on the other side of the radiator or would it be better to run the thinner radiator with pull only fans and not install any fans in the 30mm of space right behind my front panel. I thought running push and pull fans would be better then just running pull fans on the thinner radiator because I can get more performance with more fans at a lower RPM then less fans at a slightly higher RPM. By the way, I am running dual loops so this radiator will only be for either the CPU or the GPU. The area for the other radiator has enough room for the thicker XE (60mm) radiator with push and pull fans with no problems.
With that said, what would you do? Am I going about this the right way or should I change things up? How would you set up each radiator and which radiator would you use for the CPU and which one would you use for the GPU? Like I said, this is my first custom loop so I have no experience in this but I am a quick learner and I have all the parts needed plus more so I can do things completely different if convinced to do so. Please give me your feedback, opinions, and two cents tech tips. ?
Thanks,
-Zack