AIO Fan Air Flow Direction

Sephiroth720 · January 31, 2021

Hey All,

I'm currently in the process of building my 2nd gaming PC and would like some advice on what direction I should have the fans on my 240mm AIO (top mounted) blowing. I have heard that it may only change the temps on the CPU up or down 2 - 3 degrees either way. My main gaming PC has an NZXT Z63 front mounted with the fans pulling air in through the mesh front of the case & over the radiator which has worked fantastically for me so far.

As i have never top mounted an AIO before i was wondering what everyone's preference was ? To either have the fans blowing hot case air up & out of the case (how i was originally going to do it) or to have it being pulled in and exhausted out the back with 120mm fan. I have also installed 3 x 120mm fans in the front for maximum fresh air flow so it's not like the case air is going to get incredibly hot.

Thanks !

CommanderAlex · January 31, 2021

16 minutes ago, Sephiroth720 said:

To either have the fans blowing hot case air up & out of the case (how i was originally going to do it) or to have it being pulled in and exhausted out the back with 120mm fan.

I would still go with the former (have the fans pull fresh air into the radiator and blow out of the top of the case) to help with thermals since you are going to be intaking fresh "unheated" air from inside the case and because heat rises, although it would probably be negligible if you reverse the flow. Plus you won't be dumping warm air from the AIO into the case where your graphics card may heat up more.

1982 Original · January 31, 2021

1 hour ago, Sephiroth720 said:

Hey All,

I'm currently in the process of building my 2nd gaming PC and would like some advice on what direction I should have the fans on my 240mm AIO (top mounted) blowing. I have heard that it may only change the temps on the CPU up or down 2 - 3 degrees either way. My main gaming PC has an NZXT Z63 front mounted with the fans pulling air in through the mesh front of the case & over the radiator which has worked fantastically for me so far.

As i have never top mounted an AIO before i was wondering what everyone's preference was ? To either have the fans blowing hot case air up & out of the case (how i was originally going to do it) or to have it being pulled in and exhausted out the back with 120mm fan. I have also installed 3 x 120mm fans in the front for maximum fresh air flow so it's not like the case air is going to get incredibly hot.

Thanks !

Just a supporting thought. I agree with @SpiderManand having the radiator top mounted with fans as exhaust. A good size radiator will not be affected by GPU heat too much. As long as you have good air intakes on the front of the case, airflow and temps will be just fine.