Cooling in an O11 Dynamic mini

[FH11]

So I just upgraded my GPU and AIO to a rx 6750 xt and the nzxt kraken x73. But with the upgrade of my GPU I noticed the temps in my o11 mini getting way hotter than they should with 9 fans and a 360 rad installed. I'm pretty sure its just because of how I oriented the fans so I wanted to ask you guys how you would set up the fans... 

The rad needs to be at the bottom fitment purposes...

 

I also ordered some thermal grizzley to make sure I get the best out of my rad:)

 

Thanks for your help!

[FH11]

Oh yeah forgot to mention that im currently rocking 9 asia horse fans (ik they are awfull), what other white fans from some bigger name brands can you recommend on a budget?

 

[TatamiMatt]

9 minutes ago, FH11 said:

Oh yeah forgot to mention that im currently rocking 9 asia horse fans (ik they are awfull), what other white fans from some bigger name brands can you recommend on a budget?

 

Corsair has some nice, cheap white fans that would be an upgrade, whatever the cheapest is, i think theyre AR120s off the top of my head? All the other corsair fans are beter but they get expensive fast. White arctic P12s are always a good shout and should be cheaper than the corsair ones again with similar performance. Both fans come in plain white or rgb. There are also a few more options if you look around and see hwat you like. Coolermaster and thermalright both have quite a few white rgb options too.

 

Also, why does the rad need to be at the bottom?

[FH11]

7 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Corsair has some nice, cheap white fans that would be an upgrade, whatever the cheapest is, i think theyre AR120s off the top of my head? All the other corsair fans are beter but they get expensive fast. White arctic P12s are always a good shout and should be cheaper than the corsair ones again with similar performance. Both fans come in plain white or rgb. There are also a few more options if you look around and see hwat you like. Coolermaster and thermalright both have quite a few white rgb options too.

 

Also, why does the rad need to be at the bottom?

If I put it at the top I cant neatly install the 8+4 pin motherboard connectors on the top left. Also wouldnt be able to install a fan on the rear...

[TatamiMatt]

4 minutes ago, FH11 said:

If I put it at the top I cant neatly install the 8+4 pin motherboard connectors on the top left. Also wouldnt be able to install a fan on the rear...

Ah fair enough, if you can manage it though its much better for the rad pump, youll be halving the lifespan of your AIO pump due to air being trapped in the pump as its the highest point in the closed loop system

 

Also, tis mounted at the top here with the rear fan still installed

 

A better look at it

[FH11]

11 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Corsair has some nice, cheap white fans that would be an upgrade, whatever the cheapest is, i think theyre AR120s off the top of my head? All the other corsair fans are beter but they get expensive fast. White arctic P12s are always a good shout and should be cheaper than the corsair ones again with similar performance. Both fans come in plain white or rgb. There are also a few more options if you look around and see hwat you like. Coolermaster and thermalright both have quite a few white rgb options too.

 

Also, why does the rad need to be at the bottom?

And thanks for the fan recommendations, i'll definitely look into them:)

[FH11]

1 minute ago, TatamiMatt said:

Ah fair enough, if you can manage it though its much better for the rad pump, youll be halving the lifespan of your AIO pump due to air being trapped in the pump as its the highest point in the closed loop system

makes sense... would you sacrifice a rear fan if I manage to get the cables routed differently?

[TatamiMatt]

3 minutes ago, FH11 said:

makes sense... would you sacrifice a rear fan if I manage to get the cables routed differently?

Yes, id take a possible minor hit to cooling to save the lifespan of an AIO, you should also be able to move the fan down some as the mounts are slots not holes

[FH11]

2 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Yes, id take a possible minor hit to cooling to save the lifespan of an AIO, you should also be able to move the fan down some as the mounts are slots not holes

Great, ill check that as soon as I get home. Do you have any advice on how to mount the fans? Radiator between fans and case or fans between radiator and case, how many intake and outtake, etc.?

[FH11]

13 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Ah fair enough, if you can manage it though its much better for the rad pump, youll be halving the lifespan of your AIO pump due to air being trapped in the pump as its the highest point in the closed loop system

 

Also, tis mounted at the top here with the rear fan still installed

 

A better look at it

Your right, that should definitely work... man ive gotta say i'm a first time LTT forum user and this is so helpful!! thanks alot!

[TatamiMatt]

6 minutes ago, FH11 said:

Great, ill check that as soon as I get home. Do you have any advice on how to mount the fans? Radiator between fans and case or fans between radiator and case, how many intake and outtake, etc.?

Fans pushing will generally always provide more airflow and pressure so radiator between fans and case, and rear exhaust fan will be just under 4 exhaust fans worth as radiator will inhibit airflow. So you could do 5 intake if you wish, 3 on bottom and 2 on sides, but you could also do 4 intake however you wish and youll still have positive pressure. Positive pressure will net you a tiny bit extra cooling, in reality you wont notice any meaningful difference between negative, neutral or positive pressure, but positive pressure keep the air flowing into the case through dust filters so will keep your pc cleaner and dust free for longer

[TatamiMatt]

4 minutes ago, FH11 said:

Your right, that should definitely work... man ive gotta say i'm a first time LTT forum user and this is so helpful!! thanks alot!

Glad to have you! Keep us updated as to how you get on and post some pics if youd like! Any more questions or queries while building aswell, ask away

[FH11]

11 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

Fans pushing will generally always provide more airflow and pressure so radiator between fans and case, and rear exhaust fan will be just under 4 exhaust fans worth as radiator will inhibit airflow. So you could do 5 intake if you wish, 3 on bottom and 2 on sides, but you could also 2 4 intake however you wish and youll still have positive pressure. Positive pressure will net you a tiny bit extra cooling, in reality you wont notice any meaningful difference between negative, neutral or positive pressure, but positive pressure keep the air flowing into the case through dust filters so will keep your pc cleaner and dust free for longer

And pushing warm air from the case out to the rad is fine? Thats another reason why I thought about putting the rad on the bottom in the first place, as I though pulling fresh air through the rad and then straight into the gpu fans seemed perfect to me...

 

[TatamiMatt]

19 minutes ago, FH11 said:

Great, ill check that as soon as I get home. Do you have any advice on how to mount the fans? Radiator between fans and case or fans between radiator and case, how many intake and outtake, etc.?

 

If you wanted you could also do the 2x120s on the side and 2x140s on the bottom instead of the 3x120 in the bottom for the 5 fans, should provide a slightly different type of airflow but should be roughly equivalent in amount, so up to you.

 

Benefits of the 140mm fans, is that you can run them slower for similar airflow and so will be quieter. But 3x120s will provide slightly higher static pressure and make the case look more filled out

 

You can also get reverse fans so they can intake into the case without having the fan bracket in the way like this

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, FH11 said:

And pushing warm air from the case out to the rad is fine? Thats another reason why I thought about putte the rad on the bottom in the first place, as I though pulling fresh air through the rad and then straight into the gpu fans seemed perfect to me...

 

Pulling the warm air through he rad is fine, youll see very minimal increase in temps, 1-2 degrees at most. Also a lot of the GPUs hot air will be exhausted through the rear vent of the GPU or through the rear exhaust fan anyway, but with the amount of airflow you have with all fan slots filled you wont see any major increases in temperature by having the AIO as exhaust, and with a 360mm the water has plenty of time to cool down anyway, even with slightly warmer air

 

Out of curiosity, whats cpu are you running?

 

And in fact, whats your system specs?

[FH11]

9 minutes ago, TatamiMatt said:

 

Going to bump this cus ive edited but also to add to this

 

 

If you wanted you could also do the 2x120s on the side and 2x140s on the bottom instead of the 3x120 in the bottom for the 5 fans, should provide a slightly different type of airflow but should be roughly equivalent in amount, so up to you.

 

Benefits of the 140mm fans, is that you can run them slower for similar airflow and so will be quieter. But 3x120s will provide slightly higher static pressure and make the case look more filled out"

 

Pulling the warm air through he rad is fine, youll see very minimal increase in temps, 1-2 degrees at most. Also a lot of the GPUs hot air will be exhausted through the rear vent of the GPU or through the rear exhaust fan anyway, but with the amount of airflow you have with all fan slots filled you wont see any major increases in temperature by having the AIO as exhaust, and with a 360mm the water has plenty of time to cool down anyway, even with slightly warmer air

Definitely will post some pics when its done! 

 

Okay so to summarize the ideal setup would be: 2x Intake 140mms or 3x 120mms in the bottom, 2x Intake 140mms or 2x 120mms on the side, radiator mounted at the top between 3x exhaust 120mms and the case, and if possible (should be) another exhaust in the back

 

Did I get that right?

[TatamiMatt]

15 minutes ago, FH11 said:

Definitely will post some pics when its done! 

 

Okay so to summarize the ideal setup would be: 2x Intake 140mms or 3x 120mms in the bottom, 2x Intake 140mms or 2x 120mms on the side, radiator mounted at the top between 3x exhaust 120mms and the case, and if possible (should be) another exhaust in the back

 

Did I get that right?

Bang on! Also a 3rd option of just all 120mm intakes if you want to standardise the look of the fans

[RevGAM]

On 3/7/2024 at 3:45 AM, FH11 said:

Oh yeah forgot to mention that im currently rocking 9 asia horse fans (ik they are awfull), what other white fans from some bigger name brands can you recommend on a budget?

 

If you can find the old Corsair ML120s (non-LED), those come in white iirc and are comparable to the Noctua A12x25, except that they have mag-lev bearings that aren't as good as the SSO2.