HELP ME clear a few queries on cooling?

nix253

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Jan 14, 2010
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ok guys how are u all?.....back again with new doubts.....this time it's all about cooling ....since i've seen in order for my psu to work efficiently which is CM gx-750w the ambient temp needs to be cool....so i need to make my case an air castle...or ventilation castle...watever...now i'm buying 2 XFX 6850s stock versions which i'll be crossfiring on my asus p7p55d deluxe running i7-860 at stock and 4gb(2x2gb) ram.

1. do the coolers on GPUs intake air or exhaust air?

2. is it important for the whole system to exhaust heat more compared to cooling intake or vice versa?

3. i'm really confused that should i set the fans on my CM elite 430's side panel to intake or to exhaust because they're directed right on the GPUs especially the down one and the temperature these cards rise to in crossfire is quite high ...i think atleast 71'C....n while running furmark it was like 81'c, right? so fans should intake or exhaust?
 

beginner99

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Jun 2, 2009
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ok guys how are u all?.....back again with new doubts.....this time it's all about cooling ....since i've seen in order for my psu to work efficiently which is CM gx-750w the ambient temp needs to be cool....so i need to make my case an air castle...or ventilation castle...watever...now i'm buying 2 XFX 6850s stock versions which i'll be crossfiring on my asus p7p55d deluxe running i7-860 at stock and 4gb(2x2gb) ram.

1. do the coolers on GPUs intake air or exhaust air?

2. is it important for the whole system to exhaust heat more compared to cooling intake or vice versa?

3. i'm really confused that should i set the fans on my CM elite 430's side panel to intake or to exhaust because they're directed right on the GPUs especially the down one and the temperature these cards rise to in crossfire is quite high ...i think atleast 71'C....n while running furmark it was like 81'c, right? so fans should intake or exhaust?


normally they exhaust at least part of the air. they take air that is already in the case for cooling so the side fan should intake and blow directly at the gpus for best results.


About 2:

That's called positive or negative pressure. Positive = more intake, negative = more exhaust.
The general theory is that negative leads to better cooling because cool air flows in on its own and prevents pockets of hot air. However depending on setup and holes in your case exhausted hot air can be sucked back in again and the second IMHO more problematic problem is dust.
With positive pressure, air will only flow out through holes/vents in your cause where there are no fans and hence no dust will enter. Dust filter are only needed for intake fans. Dust usually degrades cooling performance very quickly.
 

nix253

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Jan 14, 2010
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ok so direct blowing on gpus n ........... according to you more intake will be better...the positive pressure....ok i felt that too........thanks mate
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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ok so direct blowing on gpus n ........... according to you more intake will be better...the positive pressure....ok i felt that too........thanks mate

Yeah, I figured that would confuse you. "Positive" doesn't always mean good...for example, an NFL player who tests positive doesn't get a bonus check and high-fives.

If you pull in more air than you exhaust, much of that air stays inside, creating pockets of pressure and heating up the entire interior.

Ideally you want fans to move air OUT of the box. A simple way to explain: you have a 120mm exhaust fan in the back, but no intake fans...however, the front panel is ventilated, so the exhaust fan is drawing air from that source resulting in a steady stream of air. Heat from the crossfire rises into the stream and gets exhausted.

I have an Armor for my main machine, which has 120mm intake, 120mm exhaust, 80mm exhaust next to the PSU, and an 80mm exhaust up top. For other cases, this would cause pressure, but the entire front panel of the Armor is mesh-ventilated so there is no shortage of air supply, and the top is open to allow naturally rising heat to escape. What I'm trying to say is that every case is a little different...just find the best way to configure the box so that air movement is even.
 

mv2devnull

Golden Member
Apr 13, 2010
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3. i'm really confused that should i set the fans on my CM elite 430's side panel to intake or to exhaust because they're directed right on the GPUs especially the down one and the temperature these cards rise to in crossfire is quite high ...i think atleast 71'C....n while running furmark it was like 81'c, right? so fans should intake or exhaust?
Why not set the side fan, measure temps, turn the fan, measure temps again, and then use the better setup?

Like Slugbait said, your case can very well be different from our cases.
 

nix253

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Jan 14, 2010
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ok i've got i've got one one 120mm fan set to intake on front which well ventilated with meshwork, another 120mm blowing right on gpus and one 120mm on on the top towards the front blowing in case...... for exhaust, one 120mm on the rear and one 120mm on the top towards the end and also there's another open space on the side panel above the fan blowing on gpu's on which i'm not mounting any fan at all.. and by the way this may seem like a very stupid idea but i just want my things to be ok so so how about i use like a pair of laptop cooling fan one, on the top ventilation and one blowing from the bottom to keep the temp inside the case cool..... because like i said my psu needs to have a good thermal environment to maintain efficiency.......... and i'm not using those laptop coolers right now for anything else so why not make a good use of them if it's worth it
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Yeah, now let's shift from proper air flow to noise...

In other words, you're going a little overboard.
 

nix253

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Jan 14, 2010
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overboard??.....ok other than the idea of laptop cooling wat else specifically do you find "overboard"?........listen guys it's just that i want things to go ok....i don't get to have such hardware often so just want everything to go right as much as possible...... i don't mind a little bit of noise that much...i don't mind looks.... all i want is performance....so keeping in mind the most important thing" MY PSU WORKS GREAT ONLY IN GOOD THERMAL ENVIRONMENT" is my setup ok ?(including the laptop idea that i don't mind at all).......
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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MY PSU WORKS GREAT ONLY IN GOOD THERMAL ENVIRONMENT

I just re-read your original post and realized you have a Cooler Master Elite 430. Unlike the majority of boxes where the PSU is pulling internal heat, your PSU will be pulling cool external air.

If you are truly worried that your PSU is not in a good thermal environment, my first suggestion would be to purchase cable extenders (just for the cables that you will be using, don't go overboard). Then drill a hole on an external wall of your house, approximately 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter. Connect the cable extenders to your components, then thread them thru the hole you've just drilled and connect them to the cables of your PSU that is SITTING IN THE FRAKKING SNOW.
 

nix253

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Jan 14, 2010
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ok....i didn't want to bother you guys with my stupid ideas......but hey i just....like i said i don't get to have such hardware OFTEN....so....... i guess i'm good with watever i ....plan to do.... thanks for the advises by the way