Need help with Cooling related queries

[sharang.d]

For all the queries consider the following configuration:

Processor | Intel Core i5-2500k
Motherboard |GIGABYTE GA-zZ7x-ud5h-wb wifi
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Graphics Card | SAPPHIRE HD 7850 OC 2GB GDDR5
RAM |Corsair value select 2x4 GB DDR3 1333 Mhz
Power Supply Unit | Seasonic S12II 620
Cabinet |Corsair Carbide 400R MidTower Case

1) CPU Cooler
i) Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO enough for mild(if at all) OCing?
ii) The above mentioned cooler comes with one fan which can either be attached to the left side or the right of the cooler as follows:

Left side:
*i45.tinypic.com/2ev439y.png

Right side:
*i49.tinypic.com/2enryvp.png

So which side do i attach it to? Which direction should the fan pass air in? Left to right or right to left?

2) System Fans
Info:
i) Carbide 400R comes with 3 fans by default. 2x Front 120mm and 1x Rear 120m
ii) Provisions are made to accommodate 2x Side 120/140mm, 2x Top 120/140mm and 1x Bottom 120/140mm as well excluding the ones specified in the post above.

Questions:
i) How many additional fans should I install in the case for decent ventilation?
ii) 120mm or 140mm?
iii) Let's say I install 2 fans: 1x top and 1x side. There's still 1x fan space each on the side ,top and the bottom.. Should I cover that up to reduce dust intake?
iv) What I could come up with was this :
1x Noctua NF-P12 each on the side and the top. This fan is like 1.1k each. So should I buy cheap 500 Rs fans X 4 or these Noctua fans X 2?

Objectives:
Let's say there are three categories of prices viz. cheap, medium and expensive. I'm looking at the medium category but if the differences between performance would be considerable I can go a bit higher. Basically I want to balance the price and performance..

 

[saikiasunny]

If you place the fan to the right side of the cooler, make sure that there is no fan straight above the cooler, i.e. The front top fan slot. Don't cover it. The fan will get cool air from the slot.
If you place it to the left, you can cover the fan slot. In this way the fan takes away hot air from the heatsink. That is, it will create a negative air pressure with the help of the rear exhaust fan. If you add top exhaust, it will be even better.
Now for the top exhaust, it is always good to get a high performance exhaust fan which can move high amnt of air.
Now if you want to save some bucks, i would say, use one of the front fans and use it as the side panel fan. Coz the front fan intake fans don't pull that much air anyway. Or else get a cheap, silent (low rpm) and non-led fan. A high performance side panel fan is only needed when you are going for multi gpu setups. Also, cover the empty side panel slot to prevent dust clogging.
You don't need more than 5 fans in any kind of case.
Hope my post helped you

 

[sharang.d]

If you place the fan to the right side of the cooler, make sure that there is no fan straight above the cooler, i.e. The front top fan slot. Don't cover it. The fan will get cool air from the slot.
If you place it to the left, you can cover the fan slot. In this way the fan takes away hot air from the heatsink. That is, it will create a negative air pressure with the help of the rear exhaust fan. If you add top exhaust, it will be even better.
Now for the top exhaust, it is always good to get a high performance exhaust fan which can move high amnt of air.
Now if you want to save some bucks, i would say, use one of the front fans and use it as the side panel fan. Coz the front fan intake fans don't pull that much air anyway. Or else get a cheap, silent (low rpm) and non-led fan. A high performance side panel fan is only needed when you are going for multi gpu setups. Also, cover the empty side panel slot to prevent dust clogging.
You don't need more than 5 fans in any kind of case.
Hope my post helped you

You could have been a lil more clearer but I guess u helped a lot. Let me show you what I understood. Please comment on it.

Is this the best setup?
*i.imgur.com/JHTQF.png

Red blocks are fans.
Blue arrows show the direction of air flow caused by the fans.
The fan slots with a Black Cross mean they're unused and covered.

Tell me if this can be improved any further(Even small ones). Thanks!

Also I really need to learn something better than paint. Lol.

 

[saikiasunny]

Yes thats what i meant . Thats a good fan setup. For even better cooling, make use of the 400r's cable management features. You should use the lower side panel slot. And cover the upper slot.

 

[pcforumguy]

@OP
First you have decide which air pressure system to opt ?
1] Positive = Intake more air in than exhaust. (Less dust into the system)
2] Negative = Exhaust more air than intake. (Quick cooling than Positive System, but dust accumulate more quickly too)

Air Pressure System will be affected by -
1] Number of Fans
2] Size of Fans
3] Speed/RPM of Fans
4] Ventilation spots i.e. Top Fan Grill, PCI Slot's Grill etc.

So, choosing the fans is very important aspect. You have to choose right fan for right position as per air pressure system.

If you want Positive Air Pressure System -

Intakes | Front | 120mm X 2
| Side | 120mm X 1
Exhaust | Rear | 120mm X 1
| Top Rear | 140mm X 1

1] You have to buy one 120mm for side panel and one 140mm for Top Rear Exhaust.
2] Block one of side intake mesh and bottom intake mesh for better Front to Back airflow.
3] Install fan filters on all Intake Fans.

If you want Negative Air Pressure System -

Intakes | Front | 120mm X 1
| Side | 120mm X 1
Exhaust | Rear | 120mm X 1
| Top Rear | 140mm X 1

1] You have to buy only one 140mm for Top Rear Exhaust. You can uninstall one of front intake fan and install it as side intake.
2] Install fan filters on all Intake Fans.

Install CM 212 EVO to the right side of the heat sink, so hot air can exhaust through rear 120mm fan.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more info read this -
Optimum Case Fan Set-up
Best Case Fan Setup for Cooling

 

[sharang.d]

Yes thats what i meant . Thats a good fan setup. For even better cooling, make use of the 400r's cable management features. You should use the lower side panel slot. And cover the upper slot.

Aah okay. Thanks!

@OP
First you have decide which air pressure system to opt ?
1] Positive = Intake more air in than exhaust. (Less dust into the system)
2] Negative = Exhaust more air than intake. (Quick cooling than Positive System, but dust accumulate more quickly too)


Install CM 212 EVO to the right side of the heat sink, so hot air can exhaust through rear 120mm fan.

Sorry to question you but have you mistakenly mixed up two things? How can more intake mean less dust than more exhaust?

Also thanks for the links. Will go through them and get back to you

 

[pcforumguy]

Sorry to question you but have you mistakenly mixed up two things? How can more intake mean less dust than more exhaust?

What is positive air pressure?

 

[sharang.d]

^ THanks.
I'm gonnna read it and get back to you!

Oaky I'm confused now.

Why does SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd. say this ----->

*www.silverstonetek.com/images/tech/WB08-0088/Tech-Talk-5.swf

Aren't we supposed to use top fan/s as exhaust as well?

 

[pcforumguy]

As far as I understand - they have installed top fan as intake - B'cause they are assuming, that the case has only ONE TOP FAN; either that is for intake or exhaust. And as Positive Air Pressure System implied, you have to intake more air than exhaust.

But we don't have to do that; nowadays, almost all Branded cabinets come with two or more top fan ventilation mesh. So, install 120/140mm fan at rear top position as exhaust and leave front top mesh as passive intake; whenever CPU heatsink require more air, it can suck it through here.

 

[sharang.d]

Umn.. well okay I guess. I still have to go through all of your links..

 

[skeletor]

That pic in post #3 is exactly what I have in my Tempest Evo. Only diff is, two exhaust on top. CPU cooler fan is on the left as it was obstructing RAM slots in my case. Don't think it is making much difference overall.

CM Hyper 212 Evo is enough for high OC as well. I've OCed i5-2500k till 4.5 Ghz and ran for a few days. Temps were under 70. Good enough.

 

[sharang.d]

That pic in post #3 is exactly what I have in my Tempest Evo. Only diff is, two exhaust on top. CPU cooler fan is on the left as it was obstructing RAM slots in my case. Don't think it is making much difference overall.

CM Hyper 212 Evo is enough for high OC as well. I've OCed i5-2500k till 4.5 Ghz and ran for a few days. Temps were under 70. Good enough.

Thanks for replying.
I kinda figured I should just buy the fans and test the positions later myself

Can you suggest me any fans? I only know the Noctua Nf-P12. LED is not really a requirement.
Also should I get 2 top exhausts or one? How much would the difference be?

If there are good fans for like 500 bucks instead of the 1k Noctua ones should i buy 4x of those or 2x of Noctua?

Also is there gonna be any real difference If i apply a different Thermal paste?
I would like to use the one that comes with the CPU Cooler since 500 bucks just for a paste dusn look too logical to me

 

[topgear]

the noctua fan has only around ~55 CFM but the bearing and the warranty period is a lot better.

CM 500 bucks 120mm 2K RPM 90CFM fans are better to move air but they use sleeve bearing and 1 year warranty which is absolutely fine considering the price - so you should get 4x CM fans for better airflow IMO.

 

[saikiasunny]

The difference between a 5 fan setup and a 7 fan setup is 4 c at max, which is IMO not worth of the extra bucks. It will also lead to more dust and noise. So choose wisely .
If you want high performance and airflow fans get these -
Cooler Master Excalibur Cooler | Cooler | Flipkart.com
use one as a top exhaust and the other as side intake.

 

[sharang.d]

the noctua fan has only around ~55 CFM but the bearing and the warranty period is a lot better.

CM 500 bucks 120mm 2K RPM 90CFM fans are better to move air but they use sleeve bearing and 1 year warranty which is absolutely fine considering the price - so you should get 4x CM fans for better airflow IMO.

1) What's bearing?
2) What's sleeve bearing?
3) Where to claim warranty for Noctua in India?

The difference between a 5 fan setup and a 7 fan setup is 4 c at max, which is IMO not worth of the extra bucks. It will also lead to more dust and noise. So choose wisely .
If you want high performance and airflow fans get these -
Cooler Master Excalibur Cooler | Cooler | Flipkart.com
use one as a top exhaust and the other as side intake.

Yes I figured about the dust part. These fans look good. Can they be connected into the motherboard directly?

 

[saikiasunny]

I think yes, they can be connected to the mobo.

 

[Omi]

Choose the Pressure method first.
Do you want it to be +ve or -ve.

+ve pressure has the advantage of gathering less dust inside the case, tough dust will affect.

-ve pressure gives better cooling but will require frequent cleaning of system.

If you are going for -ve pressure, place the cpu cooler on left to sync the flow with the rear exhaust.

Do bit of experimentation. See the layout of your parts. by that you will get the best cooling.

Just don't put too many fans, you just have to keep the air flowing, too many fans can lead to turbulence in air flow and give -ve results.

 

[sharang.d]

^I will go for negative pressure I think. Less dust will give me longevity..

Also I don't think there will be a huge difference between +ve n -ve pressure setup so I'll prefer to keep dust out instead.

Suggestions now please

 

[saikiasunny]

The pic no. 3 will be the best. And use cm fans. Simple as that

 

[sharang.d]

use cm fans. Simple as that

Which ones?