Fractal Define R4 with Corsair H90 and Noctua NF-A14 Fans

[URASucKaFish]

Hello,

I was hoping to get some advice from everyone on a future upgrade I am planning. Right now I have a Fractal Define R4 case with four of their silent series fans (two front intakes, two top exhausts), and I am also using the Corsair H90 (140mm) water cooler with stock fan on the back of the case as a third intake. My plan is to eventually purchase an Evga ACX 980ti, which cools the GPU by moving air inside the case rather than exhausting it out the back like the reference cards do. My current fans do a decent job, but I would like to have a little better air flow in the case than I do now so I am debating on purchasing five Noctua NF-A14's to replace all fans in my case including the stock fan on the Corsair H90. That being said, I have a few questions that maybe somebody who has used these fans could give me some input on.

1. I am most likely going to order the NF-A14 PWM fans for everything, versus the FLX model. Would this be the best option for the H90 radiator? I know static pressure is a big factor and the NF-A14's seem to be pretty well rounded for a radiator and also case fan.

2. Would the PWM model be best for the case and motherboard? I have an Asus Z-87 Pro and all the fan headers are 4-pin so I think the PWM might be the best choice since they are 4-pin as well.

3. What would be the best fan orientation for my case with the ACX 980ti that moves air inside instead of exhausting it? Would positive or negative pressure be preferred in this situation? As of now I have two front intakes, two top exhausts, and the H90 is currently set up as a third intake on the back of the case as a push setup. If I do change out all fans with the Noctua's, would it be better to change the H90 to be a third exhaust instead of a third intake? The Define R4 has decent cooling at best so maybe somebody has more experience with better fan orientation setups.

Basically I am just trying to get some advice from people that have worked with similar setups as mine. Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Deders]

One of the quirks of the Noctua's seems to be that the work best when pushing air through something. For some reason them make more noise if they are used as intakes.

I would recommend Be-Quiet fans for intake, just as silent, great airflow, just not as good for static pressure but that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[XavierMace]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KFCRF1A?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

I'm using those on my radiator, work great at low speeds.

 

[Essence_of_War]

My current fans do a decent job, but I would like to have a little better air flow in the case than I do now so I am debating on purchasing five Noctua NF-A14's to replace all fans in my case including the stock fan on the Corsair H90. That being said, I have a few questions that maybe somebody who has used these fans could give me some input on.

Noctua makes great fans, but I don't know if they're 20 USD (average price of a Noctua) better than Fractal's stock fans, and I certainly think it's unclear if they're worth the premium over corsair's stock H90 fan if you're willing to play with the fan curves a bit.

3. What would be the best fan orientation for my case with the ACX 980ti that moves air inside instead of exhausting it? Would positive or negative pressure be preferred in this situation? As of now I have two front intakes, two top exhausts, and the H90 is currently set up as a third intake on the back of the case as a push setup. If I do change out all fans with the Noctua's, would it be better to change the H90 to be a third exhaust instead of a third intake? The Define R4 has decent cooling at best so maybe somebody has more experience with better fan orientation setups.

Generally speaking, most cases are designed for front-to-back airflow, so I sort of suspect that your current fan orientation is not optimal if it includes a rear intake.

I would try the two front intakes, mounting the H90 as a rear exhaust, close off the top slots, and then if you still weren't happy with GPU temps, try adding the side fan intake (assuming you have an R4 w/o the window).

 

[URASucKaFish]

Noctua makes great fans, but I don't know if they're 20 USD (average price of a Noctua) better than Fractal's stock fans, and I certainly think it's unclear if they're worth the premium over corsair's stock H90 fan if you're willing to play with the fan curves a bit.

Generally speaking, most cases are designed for front-to-back airflow, so I sort of suspect that your current fan orientation is not optimal if it includes a rear intake.

I would try the two front intakes, mounting the H90 as a rear exhaust, close off the top slots, and then if you still weren't happy with GPU temps, try adding the side fan intake (assuming you have an R4 w/o the window).

Yeah, I do have the R4 w/window so I don't have a fan slot on the side panel unfortunately. You are right about the orientation, so I'm planning to flip the fan on the H90 to become a pull/exhaust setup on the rear instead of a push/intake like I have now. Another reason I would like to change out all Fractal fans with Noctua's is because of the fan headers. All of the Fractal fans are only 3-pin, but my mobo headers are all 4-pin PWM. Sometimes after waking my PC up from sleeping a fan or two won't power back on and I have to go into the Asus fan xpert and manually turn them on by adjusting the fan speed. My assumption is that when the PC sleeps and then wakes it doesn't instantly supply the required voltage for the fans to turn on since they are voltage controlled, whereas PWM fans shouldn't have that issue.

There are many orientations I am planning to experiment with. One idea that I had was to block off one of the two top exhausts, then use that extra fan on the H90 as a push/pull configuration that exhausts out the back. With that I would have the H90 as rear exhaust (push/pull), one top exhaust, then two front intakes. Maybe that would be best and reduce noise as well since one of the top fan slots would be blocked by the sound dampening cover that came with the R4.

 

[URASucKaFish]

I've actually been considering the 980Ti Hybrid GPU as well. I could mount the AIO radiator it has on the bottom of the case since the R4 has a fan slot there for either a 120 or 140mm fan. Has anyone seen this done before with an AIO GPU? Would the limited space underneath the case be enough to allow proper airflow as another intake for the radiator? My PC sits off the ground on a flat desk, so there is about an inch, maybe more, of space between it and the desk. I havn't seen someone mount a rad there before so I'm curious.....

 

[MoInSTL]

I've actually been considering the 980Ti Hybrid GPU as well. I could mount the AIO radiator it has on the bottom of the case since the R4 has a fan slot there for either a 120 or 140mm fan. Has anyone seen this done before with an AIO GPU? Would the limited space underneath the case be enough to allow proper airflow as another intake for the radiator? My PC sits off the ground on a flat desk, so there is about an inch, maybe more, of space between it and the desk. I havn't seen someone mount a rad there before so I'm curious.....

I mounted an NZXT X41 in the front bottom of an R4. I was using it as a CPU cooler though. I ended up swapping it out for an X61 (280) in an R5. So it can be done. I had room so I also did a push/pull with Notua 140 SP fans. Google turned up lots of images. Just make sure it will reach.

I used 2 Fractal fans. One for back exhaust and one in the front as an intake in addition to the bottom front fans. It has slots on the side that run the length of the case in the front on both sides for air. Unless you have stuff packed in there, you should be fine.

 

[URASucKaFish]

The spot I was referring to is actually at the very bottom of the case, not the front. This is NOT my PC or picture, but this is the exact spot (circled in red) that I am referring to.

 

[URASucKaFish]

So I'm wondering if that one inch of space underneath the case is enough to have good airflow if the 980ti Hybrid radiator was mounted there as an intake.