Need help with airflow configuration & fan set up

[Sageboy]

Hello LinusTechTips,

 

I am building my first PC this month and need some advice regarding fan set up on a Fractal Design Meshify C case. 

The main components of my build will consist of a i7-8700K, an ASUS ROG Maximus X Code motherboard, and a EVGA GTX 1080Ti SC2.

 

I will be cooling my i7-8700K with a Noctua NH-D15 and would like to know if two Corsair LL140mm fans (front intakes) and one Corsair LL120mm fan (rear exhaust) will be sufficient to keep my components nice and cool with good temps. Another set up I have in mind is three LL120mm fans in the front, two on top, and one on the rear. However, I have been told that having a beefy CPU air cooler eliminates the necessity of having fans at the top of your case.

 

I would appreciate some clarification and input from you guys on whether the information regarding the air cooler is valid or not; as well as your opinions on what fan set up is best for my components and this case. 

 

Thank you! 

- Sageboy

[CyberneticTitan]

Don't overthink it. It honestly won't matter too much. The NH-D15 is no joke. I would stick to the front and rear fans for now and if you find that you need more air flow, you can just buy two more.

 

Also questions you should ask yourself:

• Do you really need an 8700k? What do you need to do that the 8600k simply cannot do? Does $100 justify the performance increase/hyperthreading?
• Do you really need to dump $250 on the motherboard? There are some perfectly good motherboards for <$150.

I should have asked myself this question when I first built my own PC. Would have saved me $$$ and perhaps even got more performance.

 

[Unkindness]

To answer your airflow question, I'm building my own first system with a Meshify C too. After chatting to a few people on here, one guy who built something simular to me/you, the 2x 140s in the front seem to be the daddy because if you fit 3x 120s, the very bottom one is half cut off by the PSU shroud and doesn't do alot for the GPU since the airflow can be a little choppy. If you find your GPU getting toasty, there is a mounting for a fan in the bottom of the case for a 120 the blows through a vent in the shroud into the body of the case that would get some fresh air to the card.

The Noctua D-15 is also on my list and have been chatting to a guy who swapped from a 240 AIO to the D-15 and the temp difference was not very noticeable.

Overall, D-15 and and 2x 140, you should be fine. The case come with 2x 120s so could use one as an exhaust and possibly one in the top over the D-15 and you should be fresh and cool.

[Sageboy]

1 hour ago, CyberneticTitan said:

Don't overthink it. It honestly won't matter too much. The NH-D15 is no joke. I would stick to the front and rear fans for now and if you find that you need more air flow, you can just buy two more.

 

Also questions you should ask yourself:

• Do you really need an 8700k? What do you need to do that the 8600k simply cannot do? Does $100 justify the performance increase/hyperthreading?
• Do you really need to dump $250 on the motherboard? There are some perfectly good motherboards for <$150.

I should have asked myself this question when I first built my own PC. Would have saved me $$$ and perhaps even got more performance.

 

Thank you for the response. When it comes to the motherboard, I already purchased it because it was on sale for a good price with an ssd included. 

 

I plan to use this PC for gaming on max settings, streaming, editing, producing music, etc. I’m not sure which CPU will be best for me? 

[Sageboy]

1 hour ago, Unkindness said:

To answer your airflow question, I'm building my own first system with a Meshify C too. After chatting to a few people on here, one guy who built something simular to me/you, the 2x 140s in the front seem to be the daddy because if you fit 3x 120s, the very bottom one is half cut off by the PSU shroud and doesn't do alot for the GPU since the airflow can be a little choppy. If you find your GPU getting toasty, there is a mounting for a fan in the bottom of the case for a 120 the blows through a vent in the shroud into the body of the case that would get some fresh air to the card.

The Noctua D-15 is also on my list and have been chatting to a guy who swapped from a 240 AIO to the D-15 and the temp difference was not very noticeable.

Overall, D-15 and and 2x 140, you should be fine. The case come with 2x 120s so could use one as an exhaust and possibly one in the top over the D-15 and you should be fresh and cool.

Awesome, I’m also aware of the PSU shroud problem so that’s something I was concerned about. Thank you for your input on the fans, it really helps in making final decisions since I want to finish buying the remaining components during the sales next week on Black Friday/ Cyber Monday; and since we are building in the same case, I wouldn’t mind sharing our end results! 

[Unkindness]

23 minutes ago, Sageboy said:

Awesome, I’m also aware of the PSU shroud problem so that’s something I was concerned about. Thank you for your input on the fans, it really helps in making final decisions since I want to finish buying the remaining components during the sales next week on Black Friday/ Cyber Monday; and since we are building in the same case, I wouldn’t mind sharing our end results! 

Absolutely! Doing the same myself for BF/CM! 

 

Currently have:

Gigabyte Z390 AORUS MASTER motherboard

Meshify C

2x 140mm Noctua Chromax

Aerocool Project7 650w PSU

 

Waiting on:

Intel i9 9900k

Noctua D-15S with extra 120mm fan

 

Looking for (on sale hopefully): 

DDR4 32/64gb

GPU 1050ti/1060ti/1070ti

 

Not in a big rush to build so I can wait a little for prices to move or save more cash to buy better!

[LogicalDrm]

The big thing is that you can add and change things later. So go with easy setup for now, and change it if you aren't satisfied with results. 2 in, 1 out is enough for cooling, so if you need more intake, that would mean you have hot GPU.

[_Hustler_One_]

21 hours ago, Unkindness said:

The case come with 2x 120s so could use one as an exhaust and possibly one in the top over the D-15 and you should be fresh and cool

This such a contradictory to your own suggestion that to put 1 on the bottom for GPU.

For those 2x120mm included fans, just put 1 on the back and 1 on the bottom to enhance GPU cooling, don't put 1 back 1 top.

[Unkindness]

1 minute ago, _Hustler_One_ said:

This such a contradictory to your own suggestion that to put 1 on the bottom for GPU.

For those 2x120mm included fans, just put 1 on the back and 1 on the bottom to enhance GPU cooling, don't put 1 back 1 top.

Apologies. New to this and was sharing info people have advised me with. Only mentioning what you could and could do with a Meshify C with its fan mounts for different heat issues.

[_Hustler_One_]

I have a little solution to anyone that has concern about PSU shroud is being an issue related GPU cooling generally, and especially inside an ITX tower case.

 

If someone needs 2 storage devices like lets say 1 SSD and 1 HDD, it's better to use M.2 SSD on the motherboard and 2.5" HDD/SSHD/SSD to be mounted on 2.5" drive bracket, so we can take off the whole 3.5" HDD cage/mount which usually sit on the bottom front case inside the PSU shroud to clear out the airflow path to reach the back of the PSU shroud effectively to feed the GPU for more airflow. Then manage the PSU cables not to lays on where the 3.5" HDD cage was, to be like this

 

It won't be that effective on a normal mid-tower ATX but still works and improves tiny bit, while this works well in my Evolv ITX case and drops around 3-4C on full load GPU, not much but it works. Note that the top of the PSU shroud has to have vents.

[Unkindness]

But your point is lost since me and OP are both using a Mid Tower Meshify Cs. 

[_Hustler_One_]

15 minutes ago, Unkindness said:

But your point is lost since me and OP are both using a Mid Tower Meshify Cs. 

Yes, it was out of topic, I just want to share something I found it useful in certain system and condition.

[Unkindness]

11 hours ago, _Hustler_One_ said:

Yes, it was out of topic, I just want to share something I found it useful in certain system and condition.

Ah I see

[LogicalDrm]

17 hours ago, _Hustler_One_ said:

I have a little solution to anyone that has concern about PSU shroud is being an issue related GPU cooling generally, and especially inside an ITX tower case.

 

If someone needs 2 storage devices like lets say 1 SSD and 1 HDD, it's

It won't be that effective on a normal mid-tower ATX but still works and improves tiny bit, while this works well in my Evolv ITX case and drops around 3-4C on full load GPU, not much but it works. Note that the top of the PSU shroud has to have vents.

While that is good idea, I feel like effect is minimal since air would only move passively from bottom compartment upwards.

[_Hustler_One_]

4 hours ago, LoGiCalDrm said:

While that is good idea, I feel like effect is minimal since air would only move passively from bottom compartment upwards.

I was aware of the Evolv ITX has a big issue regarding GPU cooling according to some review of this case. But I still want to get this case because of its aesthetics and modularity despite of its bad airflow. But TBH, this case has much better front panel vents to allow better airflow than my cheap Infinity Hades case on my earlier build.

I think my result happens because the Evolv ITX has bottom front panel vent and that NF-A14 high rpm forced the air in and without obstructions actively feeds the GPU directly with tons volume of fresh air.