Fan Position/Alignment for NH-D14

[genghisquan]

Several months ago, I was messin' around with the positioning of the 140mm fan on my NH-D14 because I wasn't happy with my VRM temps.
The fan was previously closet to the motherboard, basically flushed with the bottom of the heatsink.
(See image 1)
 
 
I wanted to move the middle fan to try and get the airflow to hit the top of the VRM heatsink, so I moved it about...half an inch outward—yes, half an inch.
(See image 2)

 

 

 

After moving the middle fan, my CPU as well as my VRM temps dropped 5-7ºC. (Sorry, didn't save screenshots.)

So I thought that was weird and moved the fan back, ran IBT on max for 10 passes, which results in 5-7ºC higher for both the CPU & VRM.

Once that was through, I moved the fan slightly outward again, and ran the same test, which results in the same drop of temps.

 

That was several months ago. A few weeks ago, I was cleanin' out my PC, dustin' off all the fans and stuff.

When I placed the 140mm fan on the NH-D14 back, it was slightly too far out. Oddly enough, this resulted in a 5-7ºC increase in temps.

I thought it was just the weather, but it has been consistently higher ever since the moved the fan.

Not letting it go, I went back to look at image 2 and tried to position the middle fan at this optimal spot.

I ran IBT on max for 10 passes before moving the fan & ran the same after moving the fan.

You guessed it: 5-7ºC lower temps on both CPU & VRM right after moving the fan.

Now...the VRM temps lowering is understandable, since the 140mm fan might be blowing in a more optimal direction after moving the fan.

However, the weird thing is that the CPU temps also dropped.

My best guess is this: the two hubs of the 120 & 140mm fans should be aligned as much as possible—allowing for uninterrupted airflow across both fin towers.

 

Has anyone tried messin' around with fan positioning or anything of this sort?

[Homicidium]

I haven't really messed around with it, but I'm also pretty satisfied with my temps I get (32°C Idle, 40°C while Gaming), but I'll try to replicate the position, trying to match them up as good as possible and report back :)

[Tigerbomb8]

hmm i just brought one for a 1150 build, i hope it as good as people say it is.

 

when i get my new motherboard i see if i can replicate your temps