HAF XM Window or non-window

[Mini Hep]

Hey,

So I'm wondering if its reasonable to get a windowed case for this setup:

Case: Coolermaster HAF XM

GPU: 2 x ASUS GTX 680 4GB DirectCU II (Stock Clocks)

Would you guys recommend i get side fans for the 2 680's, or not due to their non-reference design and stock clock speeds?

Thanks

 

[kleinkinstein]

All side fans do is introduce 3D airflow making effective case cooling impossible. Nix the side fans.

 

[Eureka]

If your motherboard can do it, it's much more beneficial to have your 2 cards as far apart as possible (e.g. your one 680 in the first PCI-E slot, then the other one in the third slot). This will do much more for your temperatures.

 

[Mini Hep]

Motherboard is a ASUS sabertooth z77

 

[Mini Hep]

and I changed the cards to 670's and now considering getting a fractal R4 windowed instead

 

[Eureka]

670 vs 680 doesn't matter much, although realize that the fractal R4 is a "silent" case, which means it chokes a bit on airflow compared to free flowing cases. Consider looking into the 500T or similar style cases which are designed for high airflow, especially with two air-cooled GPUs.

Looks like the third PCI-e slot on the sabertooth is a PCI-e 2.0 16x slot, which shares bandwith with your PCI-e 1x slots. You would lose all other slots if you placed your second card in the third slot, so just use the two PCI-e 3.0 16x slots.

 

[Mini Hep]

After looking around I remembered the 650D, was wondering if after taking out one of the hdd cages and moving the bottom cage back would this provide good airflow to the gpu's?

 

[Eureka]

I have a 650D. While it's good for airflow, it could be improved. I'm in the process of adding a 120mm in the optical bays and moving my hds there, to improve overall case airflow. Also it's set up as a negative airflow case, so that impacts dust as well.

It's a nice case overall, but for air cooling there's room for improvement. If I were to do it again (and assuming your tastes are similar to mine), the 500T, a black NZXT 810, Rosewill Blackhawk (with all the LEDs pulled out), come to mind as well. Ultimately I couldn't get away from how the 650D looks, but that's why I've spent a bit of time playing with cooling in this case.

EDI: Silverstone ft02, forgot about this bad boy.

 

[Mini Hep]

I cant seem to find anything about a 500T, did you by chance mean the 500R from corsair?

 

[Eureka]

You're right, it's the Corsair 500R. I'm still not sure what purpose these letters serve since the numbers are all different anyway.

 

[Mini Hep]

Yeah, the 500R looks like a good case, would it be reasonable to keep the side fan and add another fan onto the top as an exhaust? or should i just go with the stock fan setup?

 

[Mini Hep]

Ok so far i think im going with the 500R, ill be removing one off the HDD bays and also installing a fan onto the top, toward the back of the case, I'll probably keep the 200mm fan on the side and use it as an intake to provide cool air to the graphics cards. Is there anything else i should consider adding or changing? Thanks for all the help guys

Edit: By the way i will also be adding a CPU Cooler, namely the Cooler Master 212 Evo to the build so I was wondering what affect that would have on airflow, if any

 

[dma0991]

I'd rather get the HAF XM over the Corsair 500R. It offers more features than the Corsair. The Corsair 500R isn't that much different compared to my Corsair 400R, which was probably why I was reluctant to fork the extra.

As for airflow, top and back should optimally be exhausts while front, side and bottom should be intakes.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Really a personal preference. If you're into cable management and neatness of the interior of the case, like myself, then it's nice to enjoy the fruits of your labor by seeing your components through the window. But some prefer the side airflow for hot video cards, so its your call in the end.


Oh, and the Fractal Deisgn R4 is great btw. I have the windowed version too and can't recommend it enough.

 

[Mini Hep]

Say I was to get the HAF XM, keep the stock fan configuration with the back fan being connected to the psu and the rest being connected to the motherboard, and add two 140mm intake fans to the side would this provide adequate cooling to the gpus and cpu?

 

[dma0991]

With that many fans, it shouldn't be a problem cooling those hardware. You might want to experiment with setting the side fans as intakes or exhausts. Setting it as intake should give you slightly better GPU temps, setting it as exhaust should give you slightly improved CPU temps. That's my assumption.

 

[Mini Hep]

Any recommendations for the 140mm fans?

 

[dma0991]

Nope, I'm more of a 120mm fan person as there are more choices. You could probably use Noctua NF-P14 FLX but they're a little pricey. Less expensive option would be the Aerocool Shark.

 

[Mini Hep]

Im considering going with bitfenix spectre's with red led (to match the front panel 200mm), dont know if ill go with the normal or the pro version, would it be worth replacing any of the stock fans or should i save some money and keep them as they are?

 

[dma0991]

I'm 50/50 on CM fans. They're not the kind of fans that I would purchase off the shelf. As for the fans that comes with the case, I don't see the need to replace them now. You could probably use them till they actually annoy you. Replacing now would just be unnecessary spending.

 

[Eureka]

^ I agree with this. CM fans are overrated... I don't think they deliver anywhere near their specs. Also the CM sickleflow I got clicks a lot, and the megaflow feels like it's not pushing anything. Going to avoid CM from now on.

If you must get more fans, I'm stuck on Scythes and Yate Loons. Not too expensive and deliver quality for what they are.

 

[Stuckster]

All side fans do is introduce 3D airflow making effective case cooling impossible. Nix the side fans.

"4. If you have one, two or three fans in your case, the side panel intake mount is the most important. Fill this first, followed by the rear exhaust mount, followed by the roof exhaust mount."

Taken from http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/02/10/the-big-cooling-investigation/10

A pretty thorough analysis of the affects of different numbers of case fans and their relative positions.

"From an effort/reward perspective, adding a side fan is one of the best things you can do to increase the cooling capability of your chassis"

Taken from http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Side-Panel-Fans-Are-They-Worth-It-102/

So there might be more to side fans than you think.