Direct Comparisons of Open Vs. Blower in small cases

[oleguy]

I've been looking around the internet for evidence to support the line I've heard about small cases needing blower-style GPUs. So far, I've found only one comparison, and it was just a footnote thrown into a review of the Temjin TJ08-E case. Some nut at The Tech Report decided to cram everything they could into the case and see what happened. This included two DirectCU II GTX 560 Tis. Under load, it looks like one card was choking, though could be because the motherboard placed the PCIe slots too close to each other for open-air cooling cards. For a single card, though, I can't imagine those numbers being too bad.

Has anyone come across sites or even forums that have run comparisons across both styles in mATX? I realize that the Temjin the example above is probably near the top in terms of air-cooling performance, so it might not be indicative of other mATX cases. At least Dustin's case reviews often include a 560 Ti in testing, and it seems to work just fine. But he hasn't done that yet with the Temjin or many other mATX cases... just 6.

Or maybe can someone explain why people repeat the "blower for a mATX case" over and over here and elsewhere.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

I would like this too. I have an m-atx case with 1 92mm outtake fan and I don't really want to stuff a reference 7950 in there, but it might be the only sane choice.

 

[Kenmitch]

Or maybe can someone explain why people repeat the "blower for a mATX case" over and over here and elsewhere.

Very dependent on the m-atx case in question along with what gpu(s) you want to run. A lot of smaller m-atx cases have little to none when it come to airflow so a blower would be the best option.

Do you have a m-atx rig or are you going to build one?

I would like this too. I have an m-atx case with 1 92mm outtake fan and I don't really want to stuff a reference 7950 in there, but it might be the only sane choice.

Sounds like your case doesn't have good airflow with only 1 exhaust fan. Is your power supply top mounted? If so it would also exhaust air.

You can get a blower design in the aftermarket cards also.

Here is a 7950 that is also a blower style. Length may be an issue dependent on your case tho.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420

 

[bystander36]

I can tell you that I have tested CF with a blower and a twin frzr II card (6950's), and I found that when there is no extra space between the cards, the blower style runs better and when there is open space, the twin frzr II ran better.

If that motherboard has only a single slot between the two PCIe slots, it is going to run better with blower style cards. (it appears it has one slot, but you can correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[Insomniator]

I have a Temjin TJ08-E case and bought the blower HIS 7950 specifically because of the small case + H60 on exhaust. Didn't want hot GPU air flowing over the CPU's Rad.

I'm not saying it would make any difference... but that was my reasoning.

Either way, I would never SLI/CF any type of card in that case, or on any motherboard with a single slot inbetween. The cards practically touch...

 

[oleguy]

Very dependent on the m-atx case in question along with what gpu(s) you want to run. A lot of smaller m-atx cases have little to none when it come to airflow so a blower would be the best option.

Do you have a m-atx rig or are you going to build one?

I am looking at a new build, so this is a theoretical exercise. But, I'm trying to figure out why the accepted wisdom is that a blower is better in a small case. I understand it in a cramped ITX case where everything is carefully arranged, leaving little in the way of empty space, let alone airflow.

Here and other places, I see debates over open vs blower, but no one has hard evidence other than heresay and personal experience. It doesn't pass the smell test. For example, when you look at the that 560 Ti in a recently tested PG07 on Anandtech, the Load CPU temps are just a 7 degrees warmer and the Load GPU temps are 12 degrees warmer than the GTS 450 Eco. Based on GPU12 Bench, the GTS 450 consumes between 70 and 100 Watts less than the 560 Ti. To be fair, the GTS 450 is a single-slot blower, so it's probably still venting into the case.

But this is why it's hard to tease out reality from perception. Is a 780, for example, really going to choke in a nicer mATX case designed for air cooled components? Given that I game without headphones and have no plans on doing so, noise at load is a concern, and while a reference GTX 780/Titan blower is better than other blowers, it typically falls short in terms of noise performance.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Sounds like your case doesn't have good airflow with only 1 exhaust fan. Is your power supply top mounted? If so it would also exhaust air.

You can get a blower design in the aftermarket cards also.

Here is a 7950 that is also a blower style. Length may be an issue dependent on your case tho.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420

Love the card, just over 2 slot's though. I have a network card in the way. But yes, top mounted PSU.

 

[bystander36]

I am looking at a new build, so this is a theoretical exercise. But, I'm trying to figure out why the accepted wisdom is that a blower is better in a small case. I understand it in a cramped ITX case where everything is carefully arranged, leaving little in the way of empty space, let alone airflow.

Here and other places, I see debates over open vs blower, but no one has hard evidence other than heresay and personal experience. It doesn't pass the smell test. For example, when you look at the that 560 Ti in a recently tested PG07 on Anandtech, the Load CPU temps are just a 7 degrees warmer and the Load GPU temps are 12 degrees warmer than the GTS 450 Eco. Based on GPU12 Bench, the GTS 450 consumes between 70 and 100 Watts less than the 560 Ti. To be fair, the GTS 450 is a single-slot blower, so it's probably still venting into the case.

But this is why it's hard to tease out reality from perception. Is a 780, for example, really going to choke in a nicer mATX case designed for air cooled components? Given that I game without headphones and have no plans on doing so, noise at load is a concern, and while a reference GTX 780/Titan blower is better than other blowers, it typically falls short in terms of noise performance.

That is your answer there. People like generalized theories. In cramped cases with poor air flow, the blower works better, so people associate that with small cases. In general, people with small cases tend to have poor cable management and poor air flow. There may be exceptions, but that is the general rule of thumb.

 

[Kenmitch]

But this is why it's hard to tease out reality from perception. Is a 780, for example, really going to choke in a nicer mATX case designed for air cooled components? Given that I game without headphones and have no plans on doing so, noise at load is a concern, and while a reference GTX 780/Titan blower is better than other blowers, it typically falls short in terms of noise performance.

If you pick a case with decent airflow then I doubt it would make much of a difference in temps. Couple degrees hotter throughout the system.

Which case(s) currently interest you?

Love the card, just over 2 slot's though. I have a network card in the way. But yes, top mounted PSU.

The over 2 slot's part only comes in after the entire length of the pci-e slot. Your network card is that long?

 

[Silverforce11]

There is extensive testing done by the NCASE guys on [H], they did multiple setups to compare OC mITX rig with a 12L volume (tiny!!).

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1717132

The link to the tests are in there.

The most important thing with mITX rig is to have high positive pressure so that all the warm air is forcibly pushed out of the case.