Radiator placement? (AIO cpu, lots of fans)

[nothsa]

I've just purchased a full tower (be quiet! Dark Base 900) which has plenty of space for fans and my AIO CPU cooler (Corsair h100i), so now I have radiator mounting options and would like to figure out the optimal placement for my AIO radiator.

 

Important to note: I have a 1070 and 1080ti that dump a bunch of hot air into my case. In my current mid-tower, my radiator is mounted at the top w/ 2x Noctua NF-F12 fans pulling out of the case, which I think is negatively impacting CPU thermals as all of the hot GPU air is being pulled across the rad.

 

This is what I'm thinking:

- Mount the rad at the front instead of the top, pulling cooler air into the case

- Add 2/3 more fans (I have plenty to spare) to the top of the case to exhaust the hot air

 

I can see pros and cons to both mounting locations, but Ideally I don't want to spend hours testing out all the variables. Any thoughts?

[Crunchy Dragon]

Moving the rad to the front will definitely help your CPU temperatures, and stick exhaust fans on the back and top of the case.

[TidaLWaveZ]

Temp difference in rad placement is extremely minimal assuming you have a good, even flow pattern. Your suggestion sounds optimal.

[kagarium]

14 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Moving the rad to the front will definitely help your CPU temperatures, and stick exhaust fans on the back and top of the case.

+1 for this. Put the rad in the front as your intake and exhaust out the back and top. 

[kagarium]

Should be good how you're planing on doing it. Make sure you get good static pressure fans to force air through the rad

[PETRGangKing]

Front mounting actually does usually help a little with cooling performance, although not a significant amount. When you have it mounted at the top, which is usually exhaust due to heat rising, you are pulling the warm air from your case through your radiator. When you have it mounted at the front with the front as an intake. You are pulling cool air from outside the case over the radiator . The downside to that, is you are in turn, pulling warm air into the case after it runs through the radiator. I prefer front mounting myself, and my graphics card has a waterblock built in so I don't have to worry about warm air having an adverse effect on my GPU temps.

[asand1]

23 hours ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Moving the rad to the front will definitely help your CPU temperatures, and stick exhaust fans on the back and top of the case.

 

23 hours ago, kagarium said:

+1 for this. Put the rad in the front as your intake and exhaust out the back and top. 

+3 

GPU runs hotter than CPU, so you want the CPU AIO running in front as intake to get the fresh cool air.