1000D fan setup with AIO

GuyWhoGamedOnAn2011Laptop · April 15, 2023

So I'm gonna be building my new setup in a Corsair 1000D. I have most of the rest figured out but I'm having a hard time deciding on how I want the fans set up. My last build went with pulling air in from the front and side (it was one of those old cases that didn't have a glass side panel and had two side mounts for 120s) and blowing it out the back and top which was nice because it blew cool air directly onto the GPU and at the CPU cooler and was supplemented by the air coming from the front. This time however, I decided to go full bore (in novice PC building terms) with a 420mm AIO.

This has left me with a quandary. I'm wanting to have the AIO pull air in from outside for better cooling but that then leads, obviously, to hot air being blown into the case. I can't decide how best to mitigate that. If I had been able to go with my first case option, a Thermaltake P8, I'd have mounted the AIO to the right side (looking at it from the front) mounts so that the hot air would get blown right back out by the front fans. I know the 1000D has two front rows of fan mounts and can mount the rad for the AIO so I had the idea of mounting the rad to one of them and then fill the remaining front mounts with fans pulling air out, with the idea being as the hot air from the rad gets blown in, most of it gets pulled sideways and then out by the fans around it, with the rear and top pulling air in to combat the remaining hot air before it all gets blown out too. Problem is, the 1000D has a glass front plate that I imagine would result in a circular system that causes the air the AIO gets to be the same warm air it just had. My next idea was to mount the rad to the top and have the rear fans blow air in to try and get most of the warm air out towards the front as quickly as possible to be pulled out or to fill the front mounts so they pull as much cool air in as possible to mitigate the hot air from the AIO and have it all blown out the back. I don't know which would be better. Of course, there's the option of just having the AIO use the warm case air and mounting it to the top. I am open to that if my desire of the rad using cool outside air is not viable.

As you can see, I'm quite conflicted on the matter and don't know how I should proceed. One thing I should note is watercooling the GPU is not an option. I do not have the skill nor the nerve to do such a thing. Maybe one day but not with this build. Should also mention I do have enough fans to fill all possible mounts if needed. Any help would be appreciated.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I have already bought the 1000D so the case choice is locked in. I know the 1000D wasn't really meant to be an airflow case, I just want to try and maximize my cooling as best I can.

brob · April 15, 2023

According to the case web page a 420 radiator can only be mounted in the top. So top mount as exhaust. With 8 front intake fans there should be sufficient cool air coming in. Add two 120 exhaust fans on the rear.

If you are really concerned about a few degrees, give serious thoughts to a custom loop.

GuyWhoGamedOnAn2011Laptop · April 16, 2023

On 4/15/2023 at 11:20 AM, brob said:

According to the case web page a 420 radiator can only be mounted in the top. So top mount as exhaust. With 8 front intake fans there should be sufficient cool air coming in. Add two 120 exhaust fans on the rear.

If you are really concerned about a few degrees, give serious thoughts to a custom loop.

Yes, I only realized a few hours after this post that front mounting was impossible. I think my brain was a bit scrambled as even just getting the parts was a nightmare (payment problems) and I posted this soon after. Your solution does seem like the only realistic one so I'll take it. Thank you.