Weird Fan Configuration for Pure Base 500DX Case

[LarterStryder42]

So here's the thing, I know that you would usually use the top of the case for exhaust fans, but for some reason having the top front fan as intake has given me the best (balanced) cooling performance out of all the fan configurations I've tried.  I have 5 fans (2 x 140mm Noctua NF-A14 PWM at the front as intake & 3 x 140mm Pure Silent Wings 2 - 1 Back Exhaust, 1 Back Top Exhaust, 1 Front Intake)  

 

In my BIOS I have them all set to read the CPU temps and adjust their curves accordingly:

 

Temp 1 = 0 C

Fan Speed = 55%

 

Temp 2 = 60 C

Fan Speed = 55%

 

Temp 3 = 70

Fan Speed = 65%

 

Temp 4 = 80

Fan Speed = 90%

 

On MSI Afterburner, I set my GPU fans at 55% to 60%

 

When I ran the Time Spy Extreme Stress Test my GPU temps reached a max of 65 C and my CPU temps reached a max of 70 C.  Obviously, I feel like those could be a bit better, but I wanted to get tips/opinions on how I could make it better.  Honestly, I have a feeling that my RTX 3080 FE's base cooling design has a factor in it, but I honestly don't know at this point.  I did try Hardware Canuck's optimal configuration by having the top fans as intake, front fans as intake and back as exhaust.  My CPU temps were great, but GPU temps suffered.

 

Let me know what you guys think!

 

Specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

GPU: RTX 3080 FE

Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S Chromax Black

Case: be Quiet! Pure Base 500DX

MoBo: MSI X470 Gaming Plus

 

 

 

 

 

[Stahlmann]

10 minutes ago, LarterStryder42 said:

I did try Hardware Canuck's optimal configuration by having the top fans as intake, front fans as intake and back as exhaust.  My CPU temps were great, but GPU temps suffered.

That's because you were working against the airflow of your flow-through cooler of the 3080 FE. Try 2 fans as front intake, 1 as back exhaust and 1 as top back exhaust. Leave out the 5th fan alltogether as it doesn't do you any favor in the top front position. Either it blows against the cooler of the GPU when set as intake or it exhausts fresh air before it hits anything to cool when set as exhaust.

[LarterStryder42]

2 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

That's because you were working against the airflow of your flow-through cooler of the 3080 FE. Try 2 fans as front intake, 1 as back exhaust and 1 as top back exhaust. Leave out the 5th fan alltogether as it doesn't do you any favor in the top front position. Either it blows against the cooler of the GPU when set as intake or it exhausts fresh air before it hits anything to cool when set as exhaust.

Thanks!  I did try that set up before and it gave me iffy results.  My GPU temps kept increasing and never went down during games and my CPU temps spiked to 75C.  Still having the same settings as before for case fans, of course.

 

I'll try that configuration again and see, but I have a feeling that it'll still show the same results as before.

[Stahlmann]

1 minute ago, LarterStryder42 said:

Thanks!  I did try that set up before and it gave me iffy results.  My GPU temps kept increasing and never went down during games and my CPU temps spiked to 75C.  Still having the same settings as before for case fans, of course.

 

I'll try that configuration again and see, but I have a feeling that it'll still show the same results as before.

It's normal that the GPU temp rises slightly over time. But at some point it should stop rising. It can take 30 minutes or so before that point is reached. Just play for a few hours and then look at what your max temp was afterwards.

[LarterStryder42]

22 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

It's normal that the GPU temp rises slightly over time. But at some point it should stop rising. It can take 30 minutes or so before that point is reached. Just play for a few hours and then look at what your max temp was afterwards.

Thanks!  Going by my fan curve settings, do you think it's ok that I set the RTX 3080 FE fans at 60%?  What's the max temp that I should start worrying about for the 3080 FE?

 

Appreciate the help on this.  I'm new to the PC world and I'm still trying to figure out good airflow in a case lol.

[Stahlmann]

6 hours ago, LarterStryder42 said:

Thanks!  Going by my fan curve settings, do you think it's ok that I set the RTX 3080 FE fans at 60%?  What's the max temp that I should start worrying about for the 3080 FE?

 

Appreciate the help on this.  I'm new to the PC world and I'm still trying to figure out good airflow in a case lol.

Max temp before severely dropping clock speed is somewhere in between 85-90°C.

But basically the lower you go with temps the better.  Just go for whatever fan speed is still bearable for your ears.

[Mark Kaine]

16 hours ago, LarterStryder42 said:

60%?

thats much too low, unless youre really ok with 70C+ gpu temps.

 

 

[Stahlmann]

5 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

thats much too low, unless youre really ok with 70C+ gpu temps.

There is nothing wrong with 70°C+ GPU temps. GPUs temps are only worrying if they reach 85°C+ under full load.

But it's subjective and ultimately up to the user if lower noise or lower temps are more important. 

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Cooling

[Mark Kaine]

29 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

There is nothing wrong with 70°C+ GPU temps. GPUs temps are only worrying if they reach 85°C+ under full load.

Eh, if you look at benchmarks (such as GN etc) these cards all top out around 70C ,usually below, so 70+ is just very very toasty already, and generally GPU default fancurves are trimmed in favor of low noise, which makes them run unnecessarily toasty and therefore I think it's good advice to point out 60% is a very low value and not adequate when temps are the focus.  For example the fans of my 3070 run between 60-80% and temps barely exceed 62C under load, and at around 70-75% i barely hear the fans they really just start getting noisy at 80%+...

 

i think you're probably right about the FE fan configuration though, those really need a bit of an unusual setup i suppose.

[WoodenMarker]

Blower style coolers rely more on fresh intake that case exhaust for cooling. The FE cooler is a blower design so it's not an unusual result. 

[rafe_28]

4 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Blower style coolers rely more on fresh intake that case exhaust for cooling. The FE cooler is a blower design so it's not an unusual result. 

Hasnt Nvidia ditched the blower style cooler alr in 20 series? 

[WoodenMarker]

21 hours ago, rafe_28 said:

Hasnt Nvidia ditched the blower style cooler alr in 20 series? 

The 30 series FE is a hybrid blower / open air design.