Need help with proper airflow in Thermaltake Chaser case

[Tumbaumba]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a new video editing/gaming rig and need some help (ideas) on a proper airflow setup.

Here is the rig I'm working on:

- Thermaltake Chaser MK-I ATX Full Tower
- Rosewill Photon 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
- Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
- Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
- G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
- Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
- 4 SATA 7200 HDDs (total 5TB)
- PNY GeForce GTX 770 (possibly a second one for SLI)
- 27" LG IPS monitors setup (triple)


Here is a diagram of the airflow I'm thinking to implement:
https://cacoo.com/diagrams/uKOQmRzpL56Assd9


So based on that diagram I have a few questions for you real pros

1) Do I need a side door 200mm fan? if yes, should it be intake or exhaust. Please explain.

2) Should I keep the front 200mm intake fan or replace it with 2 120mm ones?

3) Should I use the bottom intake fan? (between HDDs and PSU) 120mm or 140mm?

4) Is this a proper setup for Corsair h100i? fans blowing into the radiator as exaust.



The questions are listed in order of priority. If you can answer at least one that would be great.
Any other ideas are very welcome!



Thank you very much for your time and cheers.
TU

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a new video editing/gaming rig and need some help (ideas) on a proper airflow setup.

Here is the rig I'm working on:

- Thermaltake Chaser MK-I ATX Full Tower
- Rosewill Photon 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
- Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
- Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
- G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
- Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
- 4 SATA 7200 HDDs (total 5TB)
- PNY GeForce GTX 770 (possibly a second one for SLI)
- 27" LG IPS monitors setup (triple)


Here is a diagram of the airflow I'm thinking to implement:
https://cacoo.com/diagrams/uKOQmRzpL56Assd9


So based on that diagram I have a few questions for you real pros

1) Do I need a side door 200mm fan? if yes, should it be intake or exhaust. Please explain.

2) Should I keep the front 200mm intake fan or replace it with 2 120mm ones?

3) Should I use the bottom intake fan? (between HDDs and PSU) 120mm or 140mm?

4) Is this a proper setup for Corsair h100i? fans blowing into the radiator as exaust.



The questions are listed in order of priority. If you can answer at least one that would be great.
Any other ideas are very welcome!



Thank you very much for your time and cheers.
TU

First -- a disclaimer. I'm more keen on air-cooling. But still confident as pertains to your H100i setup.

I say, ditch the 140mm fan blowing in from the bottom, and block the vent with a Lexan plate cut to size or a square piece of foam-art-board and secure it to the case.

Use both the 200mm fans for intake. And if you can find such 200mm fans that are rated at higher CFMs than say 90, get some with rifle bearings. Bitfenix offers them with blue, red or green LEDs. The Bitfenix fans are reasonably quiet, and I think rated at 144CFM at top-end. They may spin up to as much as 1,000 RPM.

You're using water cooling, so you have all kinds of space above the processor, VRMs and memory, etc. Get some more foam-board, and crease, bend and shape it into a duct that lays low over those component areas, opening into a box that mates with the 120/140 rear exhaust fan. (And -- yeah -- make that one an exhaust.) The intake air will pressurize the case; the small exhaust fan at the rear will draw this air through a narrow space or volume above the RAM, CPU and VRM components; there should be plenty of pressure assisting with the exhaust through the top and the H100i.

It's tedious building the duct so that it's neat, solid and lays securely on the board. You might add thin side-panels to it, so that it stands up but makes a narrow space over that part of the board and channels air across it. Michael's Arts & Crafts sells a $4 tube of foam-board glue, while a hobby shop will sell you an ounce of Poly-Zap for $15.

And truth be told, you could build this duct out of Lexan and shape it precisely with a heat-gun and a couple two-by-fours. Your choice. The foam-board option might take you all of a Saturday morning if you just draw the design to precise dimensions.

You should have the coolest system around. You can even expand on the idea and channel air up and over your graphics card.

People will flame me about this, and I have a reputation for being over-enthusiastic about ducts. But the foam-board is cheap, solid, and works easily. Lexan is more expensive, and you'll spend more time with it. You'll also probably need Poly-Zap Lexan glue.

AND AFTERTHOUGHT: Sure, you have hoses from the waterblock to the H100i, but just build your "dollhouse" construction with cutouts for the hoses and fittings. Remember. Air at a higher velocity through a narrow aperture will provide the best cooling air can offer. Even with custom water and all sorts of refinements (do they make a VRM waterblock?!) this would enhance cooling on the hot mobo components. That was the entire idea behind the Sabertooth boards. The only problem with those was the little 35mm fans -- a bit noisy. But those could be replaced by 40mm Sunon Mag-Levs. This idea above uses a larger fan -- less noisy.

Also -- use rubber fan mounts for your rear exhaust and if possible -- the H100i fans. If the 200mm fans fit properly to holes in the side-panel and front, the rubber fan mounts will also work. If the 200mm fans are non-standard and don't fit the holes in the case, wrap the feet/corners of the fan in foam-rubber and use nylon wire ties. Depending on the case, you can tie them up so they aren't even visible, but if not, it can still be done neatly. Sometimes you can use two wire-ties for each fan-hole, with the little square buckle locking in place at the nearest fan-hole or perforation.