Intake or exhaust?

jeffreyd182 · May 20, 2016

So I recently got an h100i v2. I was wondering, should I use the two included fans for exhaust or intake? I have a corsair air 240 and currently I have negative air pressure (I believe) with both radiator fans set to exhaust and another top mounted fan set to exhaust. This is my first dive into water cooling so i'm somewhat clueless. Also, I currently have my fans placed so it goes Fans-> Radiator. Should the fans go on the back of the radiator or in the front? Any help is appreciated

MegaDave91 · May 20, 2016

Pull exhaust (fans on top of rad)

Naeaes · May 20, 2016

The fan direction won't make any real difference in the temps. See here:

What you can do however, is dictate where you want your dust to wind up.

Best case scenario is to have fans on top pulling air out, rad below the fans and no fans below the rad. That'll gather all the dust on the bare radiator where you can just scoop it up without disassembling anything. Any other config will land the dust somewhere inside the setup between rads/fans/case. Which, if you're into masochism, you'll love.

shibbs · May 20, 2016

First off, most people prefer POSITIVE pressure inside the case to cut down on dust. (More airflow into the case than out)

Depending on the layout of your case, either intake or exhaust through the AIO is just fine. Intake will get you slightly better CPU temps, exhaust will get you slightly cooler case temperatures.

I personally would have the 3 loose fans as intake, and then your dual-fan AIO as exhaust on the back.