Airflow basically nonexistent, components seemingly overheating.

[YoshitoSakurai]

Good afternoon guys,

 

This is my first post on this website as far as I can remember, please forgive my lack of a propper explenation, pictures, post and experience.

 

1 Pre-Checklist

• Similar posts are available, but it seems like it depends on everyones specific usecase such as surounding temp., components and general build. Hence a new forum post was made. 
• PC has been turned on and off many many times without any change to the issue at hand.
• All drivers are as of this post, up to date.

2 General Info

 

Operating System

• Windows 10 Version    10.0.19042 Build 19042

Spec

Case: NZXT H710

PSU: 750 watt corsair ( forgot the model )

GPU: MSI Geforce RTX 2080 super gaming trio

MB: Asus TUF B450-PRO Gaming

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X

RAM: 4x 8gb trident z rgb 3600MHZ

ADD-IN cards: Itel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz

SSD (SATA): samsung ssd 860 QVO 1TB

SSD (M.2): samsung ssd 970 EVO plus 1TB

FANS:

(TOP) 3x Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM in PULL exaust config.

(FRONT) 3x Noctua NF-A12x25 in PULL intake config.

(REAR) 1x Noctua  NF-A15 PWM in PULL exaust config.

Splitter: ARCTIC case fan hub ( Splitter with 10 outputs, female connectors: 10× 4-pin for fan (PWM) up to 4,5 A, straight termination )

VR headset: Oculus Quest 2 connected using 5m USB C cable

 

BIOS version

American Megatrends inc. 2202, 7/14/2020

 

Software running when it [heats up]

MMORPG named Black Desert Online its quite a demanding game in the highest settings but i havent had any temp issues before.

 

3 Problem

 

Background info issue 1

I've been noticing that lately my Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 1TB has been running super hot (91C). The standard normal use temperature like when im browsing, playing a game etc is ~ 70C on average.

 

I myself use a program called HWiNFO64 to monitor my temps. I have it setup so that if anything goes over 80C i get a vocal message stating "can you stop being so hot" this is done in my voice just for the meme ( but honestly it scares me quite often ). Ever since setting up the overtemperature alert it hasn't triggered often, it would only do so when for instance running large datasets for my university projects. But lately it has been triggering multiple times a day, whislt not doing anything school related. 

 

As I mentioned before, the average temp was ~ 70C on the Temp 2 probe on the SSD. The Temp 1 probe was always within "okay" limits (50C -ish) Now its hitting the high 80's / 90's wich causes me a bit of worry. The only thing I've changed was move my SSD from slot 1 to slot 2, wich should be better for the temps since its not being blasted by my GPU's hot air anymore. I've also not noticed any high temperature alerts for the first few months i swapped the location hence ive written that off as a possible cause.

 

Issue 1

The first problem is the imo overheating temperatures of the NVME SSD. I've googled a bit and they say higher temps are fine for these devices but 90C seems a bit much so i would like to hear the opinion of those more experienced. I also have the option to buy a NVME SSD heatsink if that would help my at all.

 

Background info issue 2 (main)

Ever since building my PC, ive tried to make it a quiet and cool pc. Hence ( this is my first build i've ever done ) i installed 6 Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM fans and 1 Noctua  NF-A15 PWM combined with a Noctua NH-D15 for cooling ( later replaced by a ARCTIC liquid freezer II 360 ) in a NZXT H710 case. It worked out fine, but my temps seems a hit high for the amount of airflow/couling i "should" have. 

 

Since i like quiet suroundings in general, I run the Fans and the pump at 1000RPM using this Splitter so they all run at the same speed wich should be fine for the 4.5A its rated for. For this amount of fans tho I would expect I would at least be able to feel the air blowing out of the case or some cooler temperatures wich doesnt seem to be the case. 

 

Even when running the Fans and pump at MAX or at 10000RPM ( see image_2021-07-25_143007.png &  image_2021-07-25_143235.png ) the cpu temp is fine at 60C but i do not physically feel any air leaving the case other then the rear exaust.

 

Issue 2

The second issue is ( im not sure if its normal or not since this is my first build ) the seemingly lack of airflow of this case or setup. Do i have my fans in the wrong orientation, pisition speed or am i doing something else wrong. I would like some help regarding this issue because for me at least 7 fans should be a well ventilated system over the people i see running 2 fans in their setup basically.

 

The temperatures are seen in image ( image_2021-07-25_143839.png ) note that these are after having the pc on for 2 days, and having it on low power state to AFK do some stuff in a game i play. In low power state i can bascially turn the fan etc off running it pasively but i keep them on 500RPM.

 

TL;DR

Issue 1, NVME ssd is running to hot. Havent been doing it in the beginning only lately. its installed in the lower NVME slot the upper one is empty.

Issue 2, For the amounts of fans etc i have in my pc the cooling/airflow seems inadequate.

 

Ending note

Sorry if this is a super lengty post, with a lot of unnesesary banter. With the comments ill receive ill adjust it so it would make more sense. Thank you for taking your time and help!

 

[YoshitoSakurai]

I see that i cant edit it to add stuff... so ill do it here, please dont flame my cable management

[Freakwise]

Well, your case is a hot box, no wonder everything hot plus the fact that you run the fan on low speeds 

 

And you might want to place the nvme back again at the top slot tho, if you experience no performance drop i guess it's okay...

[SorryBella]

20 minutes ago, YoshitoSakurai said:

This is my first post on this website as far as I can remember

For a first troubleshooting post, its way too good. Good on you.

 

21 minutes ago, YoshitoSakurai said:

The first problem is the imo overheating temperatures of the NVME SSD. I've googled a bit and they say higher temps are fine for these devices but 90C seems a bit much so i would like to hear the opinion of those more experienced. I also have the option to buy a NVME SSD heatsink if that would help my at all.

Thats a tad on the hotter side for a 970 evo, Did you run the motherboard's included m.2 shield of some sort there? Because you do need to peel the protective plastic on the thermal pads below the shield.

 

23 minutes ago, YoshitoSakurai said:

The second issue is ( im not sure if its normal or not since this is my first build ) the seemingly lack of airflow of this case or setup. Do i have my fans in the wrong orientation

Its not you. H refresh of NZXT barely have any good airflow and H710 barely even pass as "good". it is a beautiful, easy bake oven. Removing the front and top panel seems to work the best to get airflow inside (besides the classic gamer tactic of no side panels), but really the best course of action if you can is to get a different case. 5000D or 7000D Airflow from Corsair is a really really good alt against the H710i and they basically drives around it in circles in case temperatures.

[YoshitoSakurai]

11 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Thats a tad on the hotter side for a 970 evo, Did you run the motherboard's included m.2 shield of some sort there? Because you do need to peel the protective plastic on the thermal pads below the shield.

Sadly the MB itself didnt come with a shield. I was thinking of buying a 3rd party one thats decent. ( if you or anyone has any reccomendations ill gladly hear it ).

 

11 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Its not you. H refresh of NZXT barely have any good airflow and H710 barely even pass as "good". it is a beautiful, easy bake oven. Removing the front and top panel seems to work the best to get airflow inside (besides the classic gamer tactic of no side panels), but really the best course of action if you can is to get a different case. 5000D or 7000D Airflow from Corsair is a really really good alt against the H710i and they basically drives around it in circles in case temperatures.

Yea honestly i bought this case for its design > airflow. Gamernexus's revieuw made it seem like it would be okay-ish, and getting a whole new case is a bit on the expensive side especially since who would even buy off this case off of me. So i think im going with the tip of removing the front panel to see if its ok. since Gamernexus also said the temps dropped by ~ 10C. but i guess i should only have to do this for the summer. 

 

At least if i ever buy a corsair 7000AD... ill have an excuse to get another 3 Noctua fans.

 

Again, thanks for the help!~ so far its the most usefull.

[SorryBella]

1 minute ago, YoshitoSakurai said:

Gamernexus's revieuw made it seem like it would be okay-ish

Even he said that it was barely any better. All the thermal improvement really comes from inherent plus of a big case: more air is inside of the case.

[Vishera]

2 hours ago, YoshitoSakurai said:

Case: NZXT H710

Remove the front panel and see if that helps:

[YoshitoSakurai]

So. 

After this post, and many helpfull tips & tricks from the comunity that i apreciate. I ended up running the case without front panel.

 

Doing this for, it apears only a month (honestly it seemed way longer for me) it became a nuisance to me to be honest, aestetically speaking. Even though I dont face the front of me pc like ever unles i walk past it. Just knowing it had no frontpanel, annoyed me. Especially since i had it laying around the room ( since it was for testing it first, i didnt wanna put it in the box wich was in a hard to reach place ). 

 

So yesterday evening at ~ 2AM or i suppose its morning?

I remembered, well my school has a CNC and a lasercutter etc why not use that and cut some vent holes into the front panel. Ive seen someone do it on reddit ( will post the link here if i can find it again ). 

 

So after installing freeCAD, and modeling the front panel there. Then realising freeCAD is one of the most dogshit programs there is in existance, getting stuck every 5 minutes. I downloaded Autodesk Autocad. and modeled my frontpanel in there. Here i also made an array of 5mm holes, and printed that out as a paper template. This seemed a bit off, and triggered some "Trypophobia" so i opted with a mixture of larger and smaller holes. 

 

So here i went to university to use the equipment, yet the guy that ussualy helps with adjustments etc wasnt around. So i couldnt lasercut my holes, and wasnt allowed to use the CNC unsuperviced in case i crashed it or something. What i did was just laser etch the pattern on the case as a template and use a step drill i had laying around at home to do the rest.

 

Honestly i shouldve just wait till the guy was back, because 1: Drilling like 50 holes by hand was super annoying, 2: lasercutting or CNC = clean product without any post processing. 3: I shouldve just been patient. 

 

Me being a human, i might have slipped and made 1 of the holes a little wonky. It isnt the end of the world. but it was almost perfect :sadge:

 

Bellow are some pictures i took, I honestly shouldve made some aestetically pleasing designs and lasercut em. But this wil do the job, maybe in the future i can get some sheet metal and do exactly that. Since the front metal plate is just as i said, a plate with some body-nuts on it. 

 

TL:DR:

1: I was impatient, i shouldn't have been.

2: Dont use freeCAD

3: Shouldve made something "cooler" might redo this at some point.

4: Temperatures are the same as, when the front panel was removed.

5: if no front panel was a 2/10 this is a 6/10. 

6: I actually enjoyed this, since i re-painted it. Many things popped off in my head. Using masking tape i might just paint my entire case, and start getting into pc case-modding. I personally never understoon the type of folk that did it, but i think i do now.