Trying to max out LianLi Lancool 2 Mesh RGB's air cooling performance

[Azuriye]

So I own the said case mentioned on the title and I will list what components as well as the cooling the cases houses in as follows:

Nvidia GTX 1080 FE [O.C]
Ryzen 5900X

H150I ELITE CAPELLIX (360mm with the same set of fans ML120 RGB PWM)

 

So let me explain it further more. The front of my case as of now has a 360mm radiator as intake and 1x 120mm as the side edge exhaust and 2x 120mm fans on the top as exhaust. The 360mm radiator as of now is used for cooling my CPU. I'm not sure if there's any specifications online for the 3x 120mm RGB fans which came along with the case but as of now I'm using them as my exhaust.

I've got a budget of ~200$ to spend on my fans and I'm wondering what fans should I replace or get in order to maximize my GPU temps and my CPU temps, as of now my main concern is with the GPU temps and whether or not the replace/keep the current exhaust fans which came along I'm fine with the radiator using the same set of fans which came along with it but I'm always open for room to improve or know if there's something much better than what I run now and whether it's worth it on the long run.

I've attached an illustration to show what all fan configurations are possible for the case I doubt I could switch my front case fans to 280mm since as of now it's used to house a 360mm radiator not a 280mm radiator.

 

TLDR; But other then that I'm looking on my options in maxing out my air cooling performance with what I have now and whether it's worth it or not to spend more money on cooling it further more.

 

[Azuriye]

Hmm I guess no replies...? I guess I'll share what I've decided so far for the case fans and maybe get some recommendations if it's worth it or not? Anyway

For the two bottom 120mm fans (which is above the PSU shroud) I'm thinking of going with two 120mm Noctua NF-A12x25 as intake fans since the PSU side panel is mesh and most of the air goes through it. 

For above I'm thinking of going with two NF-A14 PWM chromax.black.swap and setting that as an exhaust I'm not sure though about this whether it's compatible or not since I have a magnetic dust filter on top of my case still unsure whether the fan will work efficiently or whether it might cause any issues...?

The rear fan I'm thinking of going with the NF-S12A PWM chromax.black.swap

Just want some piece of advice whether it's worth spending money on it replacing my old case fans since the case fans I have now create a-lot of noise when the fan RPM speed is set to low. I guess you could say another priority for me is that the fan should be quiet enough to not cause a-lot of issue during any fan RPM speed

[TVwazhere]

35 minutes ago, Azuriye said:

the fan should be quiet enough to not cause a-lot of issue during any fan RPM speed

Than noctua's are probably the way to go. Most people would suggest Artic P12's as budget options since they perform similarly in all categories (against the NF-A12x25) but tend to have a teeny bit of motor hum at 1000rpm

[Lairlair]

If your problem is the noise there isn't much we can say. It is entirely up to you how much the noise level is annoying you, and how much money you're willing to spend for it. Besides it is hard to tell how airflow will work in your specific case with your specific hardware.

 

That said, it is true that older fans will produce more noise as they age (we're talking months / years of use), so getting new ones can make sense, and noctua makes long lasting silent fans so it all seems like a coherent plan you have. Putting a fan on every single spot may be overkill, having one as intake at the bottom to cool your GPU, and one at the back + one at the top to exhaust the heat from your 360 radiator may be enough. Usually having 2 case fans is good, and adding more don't do much for your thermal performances. But then again, I'm far from being an expert and it's just my intuition talking (along with watching / reading lots of tests). Also, maybe you like the look of a case with many fans, and that's a decent reason to ignore what I just said about overkill.

 

So then, my advice would be: test it. Start with ordering just 2 or 3 of your planned fans, slap them on to your case and see. If it meets your expectations in terms of noise and thermals, that's great. If not you can order another round, but be aware that it may not improve anything significantly. I'm curious to know how it turns out!

[Azuriye]

23 hours ago, Lairlair said:

If your problem is the noise there isn't much we can say. It is entirely up to you how much the noise level is annoying you, and how much money you're willing to spend for it. Besides it is hard to tell how airflow will work in your specific case with your specific hardware.

 

That said, it is true that older fans will produce more noise as they age (we're talking months / years of use), so getting new ones can make sense, and noctua makes long lasting silent fans so it all seems like a coherent plan you have. Putting a fan on every single spot may be overkill, having one as intake at the bottom to cool your GPU, and one at the back + one at the top to exhaust the heat from your 360 radiator may be enough. Usually having 2 case fans is good, and adding more don't do much for your thermal performances. But then again, I'm far from being an expert and it's just my intuition talking (along with watching / reading lots of tests). Also, maybe you like the look of a case with many fans, and that's a decent reason to ignore what I just said about overkill.

 

So then, my advice would be: test it. Start with ordering just 2 or 3 of your planned fans, slap them on to your case and see. If it meets your expectations in terms of noise and thermals, that's great. If not you can order another round, but be aware that it may not improve anything significantly. I'm curious to know how it turns out!

Thanks for all the replies up there, so your potentially saying that spending 3 fans should be enough and going overboard with fans might just be a diminishing return? I'm fine with not spending more and it's not really necessary to get all fans and slam them in my case just for looks so I guess the fan configuration which you suggested should be more than enough to suit my needs?

[Lairlair]

Yes, I do think there's a diminishing return.

These two videos show it to some extent:

 

 

 

I  can't say for sure my suggestion will suit your needs, but I believe it's safer for your wallet to go about it iteratively. Especially if you can get the fans delivered for free, there's no real benefit ordering many at once.