H100i + 600T + OC to 4.0Ghz + Best Fan Cooling Scenario.

[ockarpf]

So I installed my H100i Liquid Cpu cooler i got my i5 750 Processor oced to 4ghz and running stable.

I decided to use Intel Burn Test and do some temp monitor.

My Inital Setup was the H100I mounted on the top with the Fans above it Exhausting out. I also had my rear Fan Exhausting out. For intake I have a Big CoolMaster 200MM as Intake in the front. and 4x 120mm Fans from the Side.

I monitored the Temps and I was ranging from High 68c - 61c. Under Full 100% Load on Intel Burn Test on MAX.
2nd Test I took of that Grill Filter Cover on the 600t From the Top This lowered my Temps to 66c-60c
3rd Test - I decided to make my Rear Exhaust Fan into a intake fan and only have the 2 Corsair Fans that came with the H100i as Exhaust. My Temps Dropped! I was Getting 63c-58c
4th Test - was the same setup but took of the top grill/dust filter off and again dropped to 61c-57c.

So In conclusion have all my fans setup as Intake and only have my top as a Exhaust I got the best results.

I wanted to share with you guys my results and testing.

Every Setup that I have seen/read about usually has the rear as exhaust. So I challenge you guys to try this out to see if it helps lowers your Temps.

Let me know what you guys thinks.

P.S I ordered a COUGAR CF-V12HP for my Rear which I should be getting in 2 days so I will do another test with That one to see if that lowers it even more.

 

[Vectronic]

I don't mean to be rude, but... isn't that the obvious setup? I mean if the only place air can go is through the radiator, it's going to dissipate the heat of/from the radiator better.

As far as CPU cooling goes, the ideal setup is having the radiator at the intake point, everything else as exhaust... then you are sucking in the coldest air only through the radiator. The downside to that is, Southbrige/PCH and GPU's will be running hotter because all the in-case air is being pre-heated as the radiator is cooled.

If you have a lot of ports, then you can have say, the Radiator and a side vent as intake, then everything else as exhaust to reduce GPU/PCH heat.

 

[tracerbullet]

I wouldn't call it the obvious setup at all. It's "common knowledge" to use a top mounted cooler as an intake to ensure that you have the coolest air possible going to it, at least in everything I've read, and I did a lot of reading while waiting for all my parts the last build. It's also "common" to have a rear fan as an exhaust, my gut feel is that's the case in 90+% of the setups out there. I don't mean to argue w/ you, it's obvious to get the best cooling you can but not obvious as to how to achieve it.

Thanks OP for the testing, good info, and maybe I will get off my butt and once again try a few more setups out myself.

 

[ockarpf]

I wouldn't call it the obvious setup at all. It's "common knowledge" to use a top mounted cooler as an intake to ensure that you have the coolest air possible going to it, at least in everything I've read, and I did a lot of reading while waiting for all my parts the last build. It's also "common" to have a rear fan as an exhaust, my gut feel is that's the case in 90+% of the setups out there. I don't mean to argue w/ you, it's obvious to get the best cooling you can but not obvious as to how to achieve it.

Thanks OP for the testing, good info, and maybe I will get off my butt and once again try a few more setups out myself.

Exactly my point. Even the Manual from Corsair shows to have the setup for the radiator at the top and the fans as intake INTO the PC... not Exhaust. And I guarantee at least the Majority of the people have there rear setup as an exhaust and not an intake.

 

[ockarpf]

I don't mean to be rude, but... isn't that the obvious setup? I mean if the only place air can go is through the radiator, it's going to dissipate the heat of/from the radiator better.

As far as CPU cooling goes, the ideal setup is having the radiator at the intake point, everything else as exhaust... then you are sucking in the coldest air only through the radiator. The downside to that is, Southbrige/PCH and GPU's will be running hotter because all the in-case air is being pre-heated as the radiator is cooled.

If you have a lot of ports, then you can have say, the Radiator and a side vent as intake, then everything else as exhaust to reduce GPU/PCH heat.

So You are saying that I should try and make the Radiator as an Intake into the PC and make All my other fans as Exhaust?? i haven't seen any setup that way or any test. Have you done this personally?

 

[Vectronic]

No I haven't done it personally, it's just thermodynamics.

Your primary concern is cooling the radiator (and thus the CPU, or anything else in the loop), the coldest air comes from outside the case, so you want as direct access to that air as possible.

Considering the other components put off less heat, and require less cooling, then having the radiator as the intake is the most efficient way.

If you really want to maximize cooling, you would mount the radiator outside of the case entirely, giving it access to all the ambient air it wants, and the exhaust from it the largest dissipation area as possible (ie: the entire room).

Then play around with the most efficient way to cool the secondary/smaller components.

Same reason that most cases now mount the PSU at the bottom, sucking cold air in from below the case and immediately pushing it out the back, it's the most efficient way to cool the PSU, and it also doesn't interfere with the remaining systems cooling.

Typical case would be "optimally" setup like:

The main components have direct ambient air, and immediately get rid of exhaust as soon as possible.

Obviously given case designs, shapes, and the lack of ducting etc... this isn't very achievable, because there's still GPU's, PCH, RAM, etc.

 

[tracerbullet]

And, as a general statement, keep in mind all the other parts of the system as well and their cooling needs. Any particular setup that maximizes cooling of a top mounted radiator may do so to the detriment of a video card, etc stuck in the center of the case. Also positive / negative air pressure in the case as it pertains to any filters and etc. (DVD burners and card readers can become filters if you don't watch out). Just a few more things to throw in the mix.

 

[dma0991]

You should've positioned the radiator fans as intakes and rear as exhaust. That's the optimal arrangement to maximize the Corsair H100i's potential.

 

[ockarpf]

You should've positioned the radiator fans as intakes and rear as exhaust. That's the optimal arrangement to maximize the Corsair H100i's potential.

No 1 does this. read every thread with a h100i with my case and they have it exhausting out of the case.

I tried it with Intake Radiator Fans and the Rear as exhaust I got worst Temps then what I posted. I was getting into the 70c + Range.

 

[ockarpf]

No I haven't done it personally, it's just thermodynamics.

Your primary concern is cooling the radiator (and thus the CPU, or anything else in the loop), the coldest air comes from outside the case, so you want as direct access to that air as possible.

Considering the other components put off less heat, and require less cooling, then having the radiator as the intake is the most efficient way.

If you really want to maximize cooling, you would mount the radiator outside of the case entirely, giving it access to all the ambient air it wants, and the exhaust from it the largest dissipation area as possible (ie: the entire room).

Then play around with the most efficient way to cool the secondary/smaller components.

Same reason that most cases now mount the PSU at the bottom, sucking cold air in from below the case and immediately pushing it out the back, it's the most efficient way to cool the PSU, and it also doesn't interfere with the remaining systems cooling.

Typical case would be "optimally" setup like:

The main components have direct ambient air, and immediately get rid of exhaust as soon as possible.

Obviously given case designs, shapes, and the lack of ducting etc... this isn't very achievable, because there's still GPU's, PCH, RAM, etc.

So Based on this Diagram My Setup is fine but I should make my 2 Lower Fans on the side of my case Exhaust out (so the heat from the PSU Exits from the side) and also the big 200mm in the front (to send out the heat of the GPU and HD).

This might work since my Video Card kind of Separates the 2 top side fans from the 2 bottom side fans.

 

[Vectronic]

The problem with your original setup, is that the rear exhaust fan was sucking/blowing out all the air... path of least resistance, you could have gotten the same results that you have now with your original setup, but you would have to increase the H100 fan speed, and reduce the rear exhaust fan speed.

You have WAY more intake through-put than you have exhaust throughput.

If you have 4 fans on the side, then the "best" setup here would probably be (as above but):
Option 1: Front 220mm as intake.
Option 2: Sides as intakes.

Simply to let your GPU's have fresh air.

There's a few reasons why the "best" setup is better:
1. H100 has direct access to ambient air.
2. Presumably the H100 fans are the loudest, so it's pushing the noise *into* the case, and all the other fans can be set to idle, possibly even removed.

It's possible that your current setup, *is* the best, if I assume that your graphics cards push all of their hot air out of the case, and your HDDs/PCH/RAM runs really cool.

If that's not the case, then your CPU temperatures will be higher than they could be compared to the "best" layout.

You want:
1. The H100 to have as much ambient air as it can push through.
2. As much air going through the case as possible
3. Preferably positive pressure.

 

[ockarpf]

Wow lol where u get them Diagrams!! I want to use those. U have them all correct exactly how I have mine setup now.

But before you Posted this I decided to try out your Idea

I copied the best setup Except I had the Front 200mm as an intake. (which i see you recommended as well).

So all 4 Side Fans where exhaust, Rear was Exhaust, and the 2 top 120mm on the Radiator where pushing air INTO the Case.

My GPU went up from 38c to 40c at idle

and my 100% Load with Intel Burn Test where around the same results as my original Setup that i posted and U have in your Diagram. (67c-61c Range)

So as of right now my Current setup is the best.

BTW: I only have one GPU ATI 5850(OCed) and 1 HDD. So I don't think there is much heat on them
What I believe you are missing is the Fan static pressure of 4mm/H20 on those two top Corsair 120mm Fans. That is a crazy amount for pushing air out with all the Resistances it is getting from the Radiator and then the Grill on top. So this is actually shooting out a higher volume of area out of the top then any 200mm fan would or any other 2 120mm fans could do. This is why the current setup is working so well. I have all this air into the Case that the only way it can go is up! And those Fans do a amazing job of getting it out of there.

 

[Vectronic]

Found an image of the 600T, Photoshopped the arrows.

So you have this right?... you could try the "best" one with:

1. The upper two side fans as exhaust, bottom 2 side fans as intakes.

2. Left (from outside) side fans as exhaust, 2 right as intake.

Keep the 220 at a fairly low setting (so it's about equal airflow as the rear exhaust).

Dunno, kinda hard to tell cause I can't really look at the case/layout or play with the fan speeds.

Whichever way you go, you need like a 52/48 ratio between intake/exhaust, slight positive pressure, but basically equal airflow otherwise you aren't making full use of the fans.

Idle GPU doesn't matter too much, what happens when their fans kick in to 50% or more?

 

[ockarpf]

oh ok well thanks for taking the time to do all that. Yes that is my case.

Keep the 220 at low setting? U mean the 2 top 120mm?

But I swear with everything as Intake all that pressure being built up inside then rushing through the Radiator and the 2 top 120mm guiding the air out has to be the best setup up. I really can't see any other way where I can get any cooler.

If I open up the side panel I get a big whoosh of fresh cool air!! lol

 

[Vectronic]

No I meant "200mm" I guess, the front fan.

The H100 fans should be running at the maximum you find tolerable, regardless of direction.

I have a differen case, but as far as layout and fan vents it's the same except I have a bottom fan between the PSU and HDDs, and no side fans... positive pressure makes no difference.

1 Intake, 1 Exhaust (140mm)... is the same as 3 intake, 1 exhaust, except in my case excessive positive pressure increases PCH temp by about 4C.

So I just have my exhaust fan, speed/airflow matched to my CPU cooler... front 140's set to 5v... so at idle (which is most of the time) it's slight positive pressure, under load... it's at slight negative pressure.

That's air-cooling though... sort of a best of both worlds thing, dust saving most of the time, maximum CPU cooling when needed... that would only work for a very large radiator.

 

[ockarpf]

Well my front fan pushes 110CFM at 1500 Rpms and the Rear only push 64-68 at 1500 RPMS. (until I get my New Rear Fan coming soon)

But to Finalize you are saying Follow your "Best" Diagram but go with either option
1. The upper two side fans as exhaust, bottom 2 side fans as intakes.

2. Left side fans as exhaust, 2 right as intake.??

Well if it has to do with Ratio then why not keep my current setup and just turn the Front Fan into an Exhaust...

That would make it TOP 2 Exhaust, FRONT 200mm Exhaust,

Rear 120mm INTAKE and 4 SIDE 120mm INTAKE.

that's 3/5 ... Exhaust/Intake

 

[Vectronic]

Plus your GPU fan/exhaust.

It's up to you, best layout for your H100 in deal circumstances is as an intake, but if you can get enough cool/ambient air-flow to it with it as an exhaust, that works too.

The best *place* for the H100 would be at the front, as an intake... but I assume it doesn't fit, or interferes too much (HDD layout, etc).

Like you've already said/proven, the all in + radiator out works... it's just not very efficient, you could probably close off all 4 side fans, and have the same temps.

 

[ockarpf]

Gpu Fan/Exhaust not sure what you are referring to here? You mean the little fan thats is on the GPU itself? (Isn't that a Intake?)

That is why I have it setup this way all intake and the only place the air can go is up...

The front wouldn't work, because it wouldn't fit nor would it reach the CPU.

Closing off all Side Four Fans. Help with cooling the Gpu and creating more pressure inside for it to push out through the radiator/top

 

[Vectronic]

Most GPU Fans suck air in towards the GPU, then blow a bit out the expansion slot at the back, and a bit towards the HDs.

Some of them blow it all out the expansion slot, some all towards the HDs, some towards the mobo, or out to the case side, etc.

You can get little vortexes going where the exhaust from the GPU is being sucked back into it.

 

[Macgruber]

dude im really scared lol...

i bought a h100 and im at 4.2ghz with a Thermaltake Contac 30 and under 100% on ibt/p95 my max i hit is 65*C.... im worried that "liquid cooling" my cpu is not goign to give me cooler temps :/ how do people get 30-40*C under load with liquid cooling i dont understand it

 

[Vectronic]

Well, you have to take quite a few things into consideration:

1. The Cooler
2. The fans they are using on the cooler (stock, 3rd party), what speed they run them at.
3. Their PC Case, airflow, where the air is coming from (direct, dispersed, through HD's, etc)
4. The ambient temperature of the room the PC is in.
5. The quality, or luck of the draw with their CPU (to some extent, the cooler as well)
6. The TIM they are using (stock, 3rd party, application)
7. Modifications to the cooler or CPU, lapping, de-lidding.
8. Whether or not they are lying.
9. The Stress test used, P95... but, Small FFT, Large FFT, Blend?... or IBT, LinX, or OCCT? (all use LinPack, all differ in temps)
10. The quality of their motherboard, a high-quality board will get the same clock at a lower voltage, thus less heat.