Question: Case airflow

[Lange_666]

New PC,

Case: Be Quiet Pure Base 500DX.
AIO Cooler: 280mm (2x140).

Problem: Overlooked the fact (which is in the specs) that a 280mm AIO cooler can't be mounted on the top (fixation holes do exist) due to the motherboards northbridge cool element being to thick. Radiator alone or fans alone is no problem but together it's a no go.

So decided to mount the AIO on the front, radiator on the inside, fans on the outside pulling air from the case through the radiator to the outside. So far so good. Mounted two 140mm fans on top and one 140mm on the back to draw air in but something is keeping me awake that that's not the best solution.

So i currently have this (not my setup, just an example): Instead of 1 i have 2 fans on top and my radiator is mounted so that the waterconnections are on the bottom (that way the overall airflow is less interrupted).

However, it's called an unusual setup but OK.

 

The most common seems to be the reverse of the one above (not my setup either, just an example): So the opposite airflow of what i have.

 

Why did i choose for the first setup?
If the cooler is mounted on top then mostly hot air in the case is drawn or pushed through the radiator to the outside.
In the first setup that idea still stands, on the second one the radiator should stay a bit cooler but hot air from the radiator is drawn into the case which i don't find ideal.

What do you people think?

Edited October 26, 2022 by Lange_666

[Hiob]

Well, as long as you have air flow, all is fine. 

BUT, there is a reason 99,9% setups do it the other way round probably.

Main concern I would have with your setup is, that your intakes probably aren’t filtered. (Because they are supposed to be exhausts).

Not a big problem when your surroundings are not too dusty…., but I would change it.

Edit, on second thought. Your intakes will create a lot of turbulence, which is probably fine for the VRM (which isn‘t critical in the first place), but will definitely make your airflow through the radiator worse! I would recommend reversing the airflow as it is commonly done.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Hiob

[Lange_666]

The top ones are filtered, the one on the back not (but it's not dusty in here, i'm a clean boy).

Another question then: ventilators in front of the radiator pushing cold air through the radiator to the inside or vents at the back of the radiator pulling cold air through the radiator to the inside? And why...

 

Another reason why i choose setup one is that in setup 2 hot air from the radiator flows over the GPU which already gets hot on full load.

Edited October 26, 2022 by Lange_666

[Hiob]

I think you over estimate the temperature delta of the air that went through the rad to the intake air. 
Personally I prefer pushing air rather than sucking through a rad, but that probably doesn’t matter.

The only thing, I really see problematic here is two fans blowing perpendicular to each other and creating more turbulences than flow.

[MAXsenna]

Hot air wants to go up. That's my take on it.

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[Lange_666]

Update:
Changed the airflow from the top picture to the 2nd one (but left the second exhaust fan on top).
Will add a 3th fan on the front as extra intake (below the radiator, but only have room for max 100mm fan) to equal the balance between intake and exhaust.

Together with this change i also changed the thermal pads on the GPU.
Used Gelid pads for memory and the other stuff and Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut on the GPU (stepped away from liquid metal after seeing the GPU).
Gave -6°C on the GPU, -8°C on the hot spot and -11°C on the memory so not to bad.
Had expected a little bit more but it's not that easy to define what the exact height of each pad needs to be and because i found 3 different measurements on the tube for my GPU card which made it hard to decide which one was exactly the right one.

[pegasus1]

Airflow works best in straight lines, with as little in the way as possible and that warm air rises. 

Room ambient will always be cooler than case ambient

Case ambient will always be cooler than coolant

Coolant will always be cooler than component.

If the room ambient rises then so does the case ambient and then the coolant and finally the component. 

In the pre WCing days it was always ideal for cool air in at the front and low down with the exhaust being back and high up.

Ive found the best scenario for a WCing set up is a case with a separate chamber for the rad, like the old but awesome Silverstone Temjin Tj07, a RAd in the roof with air blown up and through.

Check your fans and rads, some are better suited to blowing than sucking, some produce more airflow but less static pressure, and also the opposite. Thick rads with high density fine are great for cooling but need high pressure fans.