Corsair 500R with H100 Cooling. Best configuration?

GumbyTheBorg · #1 11-23-2011, 10:57 PM

Hello everyone,

So I got a Corsair Carbide 500R case and a Corsair H100 water cooling system and was wondering what the best configuration for it is. Should I push air from the outside into the radiator or should I push air from the inside into the radiator? In other words, what's best:

Setup One (Push air from the inside going out)

Grill -----------------------------
Radiator ===================
Case ----------------------------
Fans ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (arrow is direction of air)

Setup Two (Push air from the outside going in)

Grill ----------------------------
Fans vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv (arrow is direction of air)
Case ---------------------------
Radiator ==================

Just wondering.

cheers,
GumbyTheBorg

1nsane · #2 11-25-2011, 12:38 PM

Why would you blow inwards in the 2nd setup?

If you can blow outwards!

madnisman · #3 11-25-2011, 06:15 PM

Setup 2 is recommended for better CPU cooling. You will use fresh air from outside your case to cool the rad, which is always some degrees below the air temperature inside your case. With this setup (and front and sidepanel fans as intake), I would recommend to change rear stock fan and mount a 140mm fan as exhaust to make sure there is enough power to get the air out of your case.

Replacing the rear fan by a 140mm fan is something I would recommed for Setup 1 as well, but in this setup as intake. The advantage of this setup is that you can use the stack effect and the warm air can leave through the top fans.

Anyway, I would suggest that you try both setups and see what will get the best results for you. It would be great if you could post your results here as reference, there are a few people in this forum asking similar questions.

jewie27 · #4 11-26-2011, 05:57 AM

I have a 600T with air blowing down into the case and exhausting out of the rear. This will give you the best possible temperatures and also help cool your VRM's if you are overclocking. Remember that when liquid cooling your cpu, your VRM's do not get any airflow over them. Cooler VRM's = more stability.