Question Fractal Meshify S2 top plan placement advice?

[TitusTroy]

I have the Fractal Meshify S2 case...I'm looking for advice on where to place the top case fan...I currently am using 3 Noctua front intake 140mm and 1 rear exhaust 140mm...the case has room on top for more fans and I bought a Noctua NF-A12x25 120mm (to use as a top exhaust) but I'm not sure of the optimal placement

if I put it towards the front (where the front fans are located) then won't it pull air away from going to the CPU/GPU etc?...but if I place it in the back (where the rear fan is located) won't it pull air away from the CPU cooler fan direction?...I attached some pics...any help would be appreciated...Thanks

 

[Tech Junky]

I have the Meshify 2 w/ solid side panels.

I put 3 x 140 front, 2 x 140 on top (exhaust) , 1 x 140 back (exhaust)

I could do 3 on top but, I went with the storage layout and the drives bracket restricts this a bit. The case has amazing airflow either way and temps stay cool no matter the placement of fans. I can't even hear them when they ramp up under load.

If you want to optimize things and won't be mounting a rad no top then get more fans to fill in the space to pull more air from the front to the top and prevent any dust accumulation in the case. Or skip the top location all together and mount it to the bottom to push air up across the MOBO / GPU and out the top passively.

There's a ton of different ways to manage airflow with these cases. It looks like you're already doing a LC on the GPU anyway so there shouldn't be much passive heat coming off it at this point. Just take the top fan out and save it as a spare if one dies somewhere else in the case.

 

[TitusTroy]

I have the Meshify 2 w/ solid side panels.

I put 3 x 140 front, 2 x 140 on top (exhaust) , 1 x 140 back (exhaust)

I could do 3 on top but, I went with the storage layout and the drives bracket restricts this a bit. The case has amazing airflow either way and temps stay cool no matter the placement of fans. I can't even hear them when they ramp up under load.

If you want to optimize things and won't be mounting a rad no top then get more fans to fill in the space to pull more air from the front to the top and prevent any dust accumulation in the case. Or skip the top location all together and mount it to the bottom to push air up across the MOBO / GPU and out the top passively.

There's a ton of different ways to manage airflow with these cases. It looks like you're already doing a LC on the GPU anyway so there shouldn't be much passive heat coming off it at this point. Just take the top fan out and save it as a spare if one dies somewhere else in the case.

overall I prefer to have positive air pressure (more intake than exhaust) versus negative or balanced air pressure which is why I want more intake...also I'm not using liquid cooling on my 3080 GPU...everything is air cooled which is why I wanted to add another case fan on top

 

[Tech Junky]

not using liquid cooling on my 3080 GPU

Oh, then those are some massive power cables coming off that beast.

Then there's no harm in pushing the top as an intake w/ more fans so you'd be pushing 3-4 fans front / top and then forcing it out the back. Some will debate whether fighting thermal's tendency to rise but, there's no real pressure being applied by hot air rising. It's just more ideal to exhaust to the top if you have your case sitting vertical. I have mine horizontal so, intake from top / front doesn't make that big of a deal either way.

If I didn't have the storage bracket in the way I'd add more fans just because I can but, they're not necessarily needed as indicated by my temps 20-25C idle 55C top under load. Then again I don't have a GPU space heater in there to complicate things further. In the past though i was running dual GPU's while testing some mining options and it didn't matter what positions I put the fans in the case was always warm. To keep the GPU's under control I took a 120 or 140 fan and wedged it between the cards and side panel to direct airflow between the cards to keep them from crashing.

If you're going for aesthetics though you might need to be creative but, then again those noctua's are hard to hide with that brown housing.

Anyway... looking at the specs there's 2 spots on the bottom for 140's to draw more air into the case



The problem then comes down to headers to plug into....

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-ACFAN00137A-Value-Pack-Pressure-Optimized/dp/B07HC782D5

I've been using these for a few years now and they hold up great running 24/7 and if there's an issue with one at any point just e-mail them and they'll send a new one out under warranty no questions asked. I don't use stock fans anymore since these work so well on the air cooler / case and wiring is a snap with the pigtail daisy chain of multiple fans onto a single header. I only chain up to 3 at a time though to keep them under the V/A threshold for potential issues.

 

[TitusTroy]

Oh, then those are some massive power cables coming off that beast.

Then there's no harm in pushing the top as an intake w/ more fans so you'd be pushing 3-4 fans front / top and then forcing it out the back. Some will debate whether fighting thermal's tendency to rise but, there's no real pressure being applied by hot air rising. It's just more ideal to exhaust to the top if you have your case sitting vertical. I have mine horizontal so, intake from top / front doesn't make that big of a deal either way.

If I didn't have the storage bracket in the way I'd add more fans just because I can but, they're not necessarily needed as indicated by my temps 20-25C idle 55C top under load. Then again I don't have a GPU space heater in there to complicate things further. In the past though i was running dual GPU's while testing some mining options and it didn't matter what positions I put the fans in the case was always warm. To keep the GPU's under control I took a 120 or 140 fan and wedged it between the cards and side panel to direct airflow between the cards to keep them from crashing.

If you're going for aesthetics though you might need to be creative but, then again those noctua's are hard to hide with that brown housing.

Anyway... looking at the specs there's 2 spots on the bottom for 140's to draw more air into the case

View attachment 58119

The problem then comes down to headers to plug into....

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-ACFAN00137A-Value-Pack-Pressure-Optimized/dp/B07HC782D5

I've been using these for a few years now and they hold up great running 24/7 and if there's an issue with one at any point just e-mail them and they'll send a new one out under warranty no questions asked. I don't use stock fans anymore since these work so well on the air cooler / case and wiring is a snap with the pigtail daisy chain of multiple fans onto a single header. I only chain up to 3 at a time though to keep them under the V/A threshold for potential issues.

my original plan when I first built the system was to install a case fan in the bottom of the case...but when putting the system together the logistics were tough...there are 2 bottom slots...putting it in the slot closer to the front case fans interfered with the 3rd front intake fan...moving it further back at the bottom was even more annoying as I have a lot of cables hiding down there and it was a tough fit with the PSU down there

I was debating what you mentioned...putting the top case fan as an intake versus exhaust...that way air would be blowing directly on the CPU area...but like you said I've always used top fans as exhaust because heat rises

any issues with 4 of my case fans being 140mm and the top alone being 120mm?...is it better to have them all matching?

 

[Tech Junky]

The temps won't change much by doing intake on the top. You might end up moving fans around a couple of times to find what works best for you. When I was running the dual GPU's in a different case it took some determination to get things to the best possible configuration.

Yes, fans in the wiring bay can be difficult w/o some creativity of restraining wires out of the way. To get around the front / bottom issue using a 120 on the bottom of the front might get you enough clearance to mount the bottom fan.

In a Node 804 I zip tied a couple of 120's to the base plate to pull air from the bottom across the MOBO for additional airflow. The Meshify though is probably the least restrictive in terms of flow though before going with a some of those odd HAF case options that look funky / sometimes cheap.

 

[TitusTroy]

The temps won't change much by doing intake on the top. You might end up moving fans around a couple of times to find what works best for you. When I was running the dual GPU's in a different case it took some determination to get things to the best possible configuration.

Yes, fans in the wiring bay can be difficult w/o some creativity of restraining wires out of the way. To get around the front / bottom issue using a 120 on the bottom of the front might get you enough clearance to mount the bottom fan.

In a Node 804 I zip tied a couple of 120's to the base plate to pull air from the bottom across the MOBO for additional airflow. The Meshify though is probably the least restrictive in terms of flow though before going with a some of those odd HAF case options that look funky / sometimes cheap.

if I had to do it all over again I would buy the Meshify 2 XL which is full tower...I always prefer full tower cases but the Meshify 2 wasn't yet released when I bought my S2...any issues with 4 of my case fans being 140mm and the top alone being 120mm?...is it better to have them all matching?

 

[Tech Junky]

is it better to have them all matching?

It's a preference / space sort of thing. The 140's will seal the gaps better around them to force air direction better. You could always tape off the gaps around them for a better seal / flow.

120's will make more noise than a 140 just due to the physics of things. If it's not sitting next to your head though it won't make that big of a difference in noise.

 

[Tech Junky]

Meshify 2 XL

Speaking of which I was having a discussion with someone on a different forum and they went with the XL over the 2 for more space and loaded it up with drives for a NAS on top of daily use.

 

[TitusTroy]

I ended up moving the fan to the top rear spot...it makes the most sense, won't interfere with the natural airflow of the case plus it can add some additional cooling for the giant CPU cooler heatsink...