Radiator fans as only intake?

[Venuly]

Im currently buying components for a new pc im building and in that pc im thinking about buying a 360mm radiator but the problem is my case cant fit a radiator at the top meaning that i have to put the radiator in the front of the case im wondering if itll affect my performance having the only intake fans in my case be through a radiator?

if you want to view my current components i will leave a link below
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MTzct7

[Dedayog]

5 minutes ago, Venuly said:

Im currently buying components for a new pc im building and in that pc im thinking about buying a 360mm radiator but the problem is my case cant fit a radiator at the top meaning that i have to put the radiator in the front of the case im wondering if itll affect my performance having the only intake fans in my case be through a radiator?

if you want to view my current components i will leave a link below
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MTzct7

100% viable.  Most people use a rad for exhaust or intake without other fans supporting that aspect.  

[Venuly]

15 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

100% viable.  Most people use a rad for exhaust or intake without other fans supporting that aspect.  

oh ok thank you

[Venuly]

17 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

100% viable.  Most people use a rad for exhaust or intake without other fans supporting that aspect.  

also will i be fine with a 650w psu or should i get a 750w with the components i have?

[Dedayog]

4 minutes ago, Venuly said:

also will i be fine with a 650w psu or should i get a 750w with the components i have?

Oh, 650w is MORE than adequate.  That system would run fine on a 450w, you're not pulling much at all.

[Venuly]

1 minute ago, Dedayog said:

Oh, 650w is MORE than adequate.  That system would run fine on a 450w, you're not pulling much at all.

alright thanks im confident in other compnents but i havent done water cooling before and im always kind of iffy about power supplies

[Dedayog]

4 minutes ago, Venuly said:

alright thanks im confident in other compnents but i havent done water cooling before and im always kind of iffy about power supplies

You're good. Solid machine.  Not sure you'll notice any performance gain with going with the AIO, but don;t worry about it. It'll run well.

[shoutingsteve]

Wouldn't you be better having the radiator as the exhaust and then letting the cracks elsewhere on the computer provide the inlet?  If your choices are to actively blow hot air over your components or to allow room temperature air to passively drift by your components... wouldn't it be better to do the second option?

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, shoutingsteve said:

Wouldn't you be better having the radiator as the exhaust and then letting the cracks elsewhere on the computer provide the inlet?  If your choices are to actively blow hot air over your components or to allow room temperature air to passively drift by your components... wouldn't it be better to do the second option?

The case comes with 2x 120mm fans, which I assume are exhaust.  he's just asking if it's okay to have the only intake fans be the rad fans.  Not that they're the ONLY fans.

[OddOod]

22 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Not that they're the ONLY fans

not that it would be much of a problem if that were true. 

I will mention that that CPU is easily cooled with an aircooler which will be more reliable in the long run

[Venuly]

58 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

The case comes with 2x 120mm fans, which I assume are exhaust.  he's just asking if it's okay to have the only intake fans be the rad fans.  Not that they're the ONLY fans.

yeah exactly when all the fans will be setup i will have 3 intake fans which will be on a rad and 3 exhaust fans 1 at the back 2 at the top

[RevGAM]

On 4/12/2024 at 11:33 AM, shoutingsteve said:

Wouldn't you be better having the radiator as the exhaust and then letting the cracks elsewhere on the computer provide the inlet?  If your choices are to actively blow hot air over your components or to allow room temperature air to passively drift by your components... wouldn't it be better to do the second option?

Not necessarily. I'm not done crunching the numbers because I just finished testing yesterday, but I've tested top, front and side mount, intake and exhaust, tubes up and down, and fans on the inner side of the rad and between the rad and case.  I'll release the results soon on BC and my YT channel. 

 

Until then, there is no simple answer to that question. It depends on if you're only looking at CPU speed, or you want a solution that helps other components, too. It also depends on the overall AIO config options I listed above, and the power of the AIO. Pulling air in through the cracks could mean that not enough air gets in or, more likely, more dust gets in. How hot the air from the AIO rad fans is depends on multiple factors, with ambient being the most important. If the air is 20 in the room and 80 in the rad, then the air will be a hot 60. If the room is 30, however, then the rad will be 90. More likely, though, it's that the rad temp will be lower than the CPU since that is where the cooling is actually being performed.