Need to increase airflow - suggestions?

[Zweihander]

My case is relatively quiet, but when I kick things up during gameplay - it runs hot!!! 

 

First of all, yes I do clean my PC out (dust removal). And no, I don't want to switch to liquid cooling (at least, not right now). If I put my hand behind the back exhaust (1 140mm 1000 RPM Silent Wings 2 fan), I can barely feel any airflow. I guess these fans just move hardly any air (the idea behind them is to be "be quiet", wish they were called "be cool" right now). My setup is x2 140mms in the front, as in-take (w/ case filter), and a single 140mm in the back as exhuast. The case doesn have 2 140mm top vents, where you can remove the inside padding to insert two fans. However, I'd rather not have to do that. What I'm looking at is probably just replacing these fans with something with a little more oomph.

 

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions, criticism? It's been awhile since I've even considered making a change to my PC. 

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout (w/ window)

 

Fans: x3 Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 140mm 1000 RPM 60.4CFM 15.8 dB(A) (stock speeds)

 

Cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3

 

GPU: ASUS 970 GTX

 

note: can see system specs on profile also

[ThomasD]

My guess is that your front fans, with relatively low static pressure, are having a hard time pulling in air due to the lack of a straight flow and the filter.

 

I'd try swapping out the front two fans for ones with higher SP rating - e.g. Fractal Venturi HP-14s, Bitfenix Spectro Pro 140s, or Phanteks F140-XPs.

 

The rear fan, being relatively unobstructed will probably work just fine once it gets a better supply from the intakes.

[DioOmicida]

 

[ThomasD]

I could have sworn your original post said a Define R3...

 

But if changing the front fans doesn't do much, or you don't want to try that then add a some bottom intake fans.

 

My general approach to good airflow is to load as many fans as the chassis will hold, organized to get positive pressure, and run them all only as fast as necessary to get good cooling.  A large number of fans running slowly will much more more air than a few fans running at top speed - and will be much quieter.

 

So if it were me I'd add bottom intake and top exhausts.

[Zweihander]

8 minutes ago, ThomasD said:

I could have sworn your original post said a Define R3...

It did until I realized I had input that incorrectly. My case is the Blackout version of the R4. 

 

http://imgur.com/a/WJREe

 

25 minutes ago, ThomasD said:

I'd try swapping out the front two fans for ones with higher SP rating - e.g. Fractal Venturi HP-14s, Bitfenix Spectro Pro 140s, or Phanteks F140-XPs.

 

Out of these, which do you prefer? The stock fans that came with the case weren't that great, so I eventually replaced them with the SW2s. 

 

First thing I pulled up just now was:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835352024&cm_re=Fractal_Venturi-_-35-352-024-_-Product

Thoughts?

 

I'll probably try replacing the two front intakes first before I start fiddling around with additional fans. 

[ThomasD]

10 minutes ago, Zweihander said:

It did until I realized I had input that incorrectly. My case is the Blackout version of the R4. 

 

http://imgur.com/a/WJREe

 

Out of these, which do you prefer? The stock fans that came with the case weren't that great, so I eventually replaced them with the SW2s. 

 

First thing I pulled up just now was:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835352024&cm_re=Fractal_Venturi-_-35-352-024-_-Product

Thoughts?

 

I'll probably try replacing the two front intakes first before I start fiddling around with additional fans. 

In performance all three are so similar as to be practically identical, and none have been around all that long, so it is hard to judge longevity.  I'd go with whichever has the best price/availability.

 

[Zweihander]

1 hour ago, ThomasD said:

So if it were me I'd add bottom intake and top exhausts.

What sort of fans would you suggest for bottom intake and top exhausts? HAF/HSP? 

 

Also, if I were to replace the rear exhaust? I'm taking in all considerations ... 

 

Appreciate your input, goat man.

[ThomasD]

15 minutes ago, Zweihander said:

What sort of fans would you suggest for bottom intake and top exhausts? HAF/HSP? 

 

Also, if I were to replace the rear exhaust? I'm taking in all considerations ... 

 

Appreciate your input, goat man.

Bottom intakes should have an SP rating above 1 mmHg since there is a filter there.  If the top exhaust are unrestricted then basic AF type fans will be fine.  

 

Beyond that so long as you stick with major brands I don't see much difference other than price/aesthetics.  I like the Bitfenix Spectre Pros (they can also be had with LEDs) but also use Cougar Vortexes and various Phanteks in the other builds in our house. 

 

I try to maintain positive pressure as much as possible.  Combined with filtered intakes this really cuts down on dust.  But have found that

1.  Manufacturer reported specs are wildly optimistic, and

2.  Things change a lot when you start adjusting fan speeds.  

So if you do go the 'lots of fans at low speed' route it helps to check airflow once you get good settings.  An easy way to observe flow/leakage is to get some dry ice from the grocery store and drop a chunk in a mug of water - the vapor, held close to the vents, and chassis gaps will let you see what is actually going on

[WoodenMarker]

Your hand is not a good tool for measuring airflow. What are your temps?

[Zweihander]

2 hours ago, WoodenMarker said:

Your hand is not a good tool for measuring airflow. What are your temps?

Idle, or what? 36-40C idle CPU temp.

 

Running Prime 95 for about 5 mins (not very long I know, don't have time to test all day)  -

 

 

Prime 95 28.9 and SpeedFan 4.51 are all I have installed right now. 

 

It should probably be noted that I'm using a dual monitor setup, and that significantly impacts my GPU temp. However, even with that being said, I've always thought 60C was relatively high for idle GPU temp (with or without an extra monitor in-use). My PC is not overclocked in any category at the moment.

 

Although, I'd like to OC my CPU once I stablize and gain efficient airflow.

[WoodenMarker]

29 minutes ago, Zweihander said:

Idle, or what? 36-40C idle CPU temp.

Running Prime 95 for about 5 mins (not very long I know, don't have time to test all day)  -

Prime 95 28.9 and SpeedFan 4.51 are all I have installed right now. 

It should probably be noted that I'm using a dual monitor setup, and that significantly impacts my GPU temp. However, even with that being said, I've always thought 60C was relatively high for idle GPU temp (with or without an extra monitor in-use). My PC is not overclocked in any category at the moment.

Although, I'd like to OC my CPU once I stablize and gain efficient airflow.

Idle temps don't matter. Look at load temps instead. 

5min is a bit on the short side. Try running it for at least 15min to get good temp results. 

What graphics card do you have and what's the fan profile for it set to? As for your cpu, 50c is very low. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. 

[Zweihander]

1 hour ago, WoodenMarker said:

Idle temps don't matter. Look at load temps instead. 

5min is a bit on the short side. Try running it for at least 15min to get good temp results. 

What graphics card do you have and what's the fan profile for it set to? As for your cpu, 50c is very low. You're fine up to 80-90c at load. 

Ran Prime 95 Small test for about 30 mins ... snip when I clicked stop.

Core Temp and SpeedFan had different temps (?)

 

note: dropped main display from 144hz to 60hz to see if idle gpu temp would drop

[WoodenMarker]

39 minutes ago, Zweihander said:

Ran Prime 95 Small test for about 30 mins ... snip when I clicked stop.

Core Temp and SpeedFan had different temps (?)

The temp shown in SpeedFan is probably incorrect. Your load temps seem fine. 

[LogicalDrm]

12 hours ago, Zweihander said:

Ran Prime 95 Small test for about 30 mins ... snip when I clicked stop.

Core Temp and SpeedFan had different temps (?)

 

note: dropped main display from 144hz to 60hz to see if idle gpu temp would drop

Are you using manual voltages for CPU? Temp is bit over the top compared to what you should get with that cooler. Can you post pic from CoreTemp with stress test running? Its hard to check all details when you posts pic from idle/low load situation. And SpeedFan doesn't read mobo sensors correctly. If you want to watch GPU and CPU temps, use something like MSI Afterburner or HWmonitor instead.