H60 fan direction - case with single exhaust position

Just ordered a custom system using a H60 which will be based on a Cooler Master Silencio 550 case. I chose the case because of the silencing features and X-Dock - but it only has three 120mm fan positions, two intake at the front and one exhaust top rear.

 

Most posts and blogs I've seen appear to recommend mounting the H60 fan as an intake - pulling air from outside the case into the radiator. In this case this would obviously mean no exhaust fans so I assume this would cause a problem. Therefore, my question is how would performance be affected by mounting the fan as an exhaust - pulling air through the radiator and out of the case?

 

Also, what are the best options when using it in this way (working inside to out) - including using an additional fan:

 

1) Fan -> Radiator -> Case

2) Radiator -> Fan -> Case

3) Radiator -> Case -> Fan

4) Fan -> Radiator -> Fan -> Case

5) Fan -> Radiator -> Case -> Fan

 

I also may change the stock fan for a variable speed one so I can ramp it up when gaming and down when working.

The H60 works best when cool air from outside of the case is drawn through the radiator. For gaming systems the push pull dual fan setup does a great job of cooling the CPU. If you are worried about the inside case temperature, reverse the direction of the front fans so that they are blowing the hot case air out. The H60 push pull fans will provide plenty of cool room air to the inside of the case and if you reverse the direction of front fans, the case will be effectively cooled.

Thanks for the suggestion Chemman.

 

If I had a second exhaust position I wouldn't hesitate in configuring it to draw air in - but there's the dilemma. With the H60 configured to draw air in and both front fans configured as exhaust wouldn't you (a) have a restricted air flow into the case through the rad and therefore (b) have warmer air circulating over the HDDs and graphics card?

 

I've seen on of the posts/blogs here with the H100 configured for exhaust at the top and wanted to know if the difference is minimal. Would the addition of a second "push" fan on the CPU side of the rad make much difference?

Given your case, which is the main limitation, you'll need to experiment to find the best result. You can start with the H60 in push or push-pull moving air out the back of the case at the top.

 

I own several CM cases, so I know the 120mm quiet fans they provide don't move much air. A potential problem is the inside of the case may be starved for air, so the H60's fan(s) will be fighting that too. It seems that no air flow is available through the 5.25" drive bays not in use, in contrast to other cases.

 

If your true goal is a quiet PC, then ultimate cooling will be one compromise. How much the H60's cooling will be degraded by using case air instead of outside air depends on the other parts in your PC, such as hot running video cards.

 

You'll need to try different configurations and see what works best.

I'll try that parsec and will post back some results when I've had chance to test the difference between one and two fans.

 

I also ordered 4 750GB HDDs but only 2 of these will be fitted in the fixed lower bay with one of the 120mm intakes blowing over them (the other 2 HDDs will be external for backup - after I had a bad RAID experience). Removing the other HDD bay will free up that space for the 2nd intake fan which won't be obstructed.

 

I've gone for more of a hybrid system - mostly running quiet (which may mean slightly high than normal idle/low load temps) with the option to ramp up when gaming with a minimal overclock - and have chosen kit on that basis (i5-2500K - Gigabyte GTX 550 Ti - XMS3 1600 2x4GB).

 

I've ordered a couple of variable speed fans for the H60 and have to other 120mm's I can swap in for the Cooler Master ones if need for intake.

I use a push-pull setup as intake on the rear of my case where the exhaust fan normally goes. It pushes air into my 5.25" drive bays which seems to be the warmest part of the case. I do have a top exhaust fan though.

I spent a while trying both set ups on my case - I have a Fractal Design R3 with 2 front intakes, 140mm side intake and 2 x 140mm exhausts.....I tried intakes and blowing out the front etc but always ended up with increased mobo temps.My personal preference is push pull blowing air out the back - it seems I have sufficient air flow through the case to make little or no difference to cpu temps. Idle @ 26C and stress test on Prime 95 at 47C (Ambient room temp is 23C) which seem OK temps....also replaced with a couple of Apache fans in Push/Pull

Yes, whatever works, and the only way to know is to try. My cases are large, and have large fans on the top pulling air out of the case. I have the H60 system pulling air into the case, and the warm air from the radiator is then pulled right out of the case. But every PC setup is different, and trying to predict what is best is difficult, you won't know until you try.

Finally got around to doing some testing a while back but didn't have the chance to post the results. The conclusion is that a push-pull configuration with both fans effectively acting as exhaust is effective.

 

Remember, I have a Core i5 2500K and CoolerMaster Silencio 550 case which has two inlet fan positions at the front and a single fan mount at the rear and wanted a balance between noise and cooling.

 

The H60 I ordered with the system was a "silent" version where the stock fan had been replaced with a Sharkoon "golf ball" version running at ~1000RPM. Mounted as Case <- Fan <- Rad and using the stock ~700RPM case fans for intake and a room temp of ~23C gave temps of: Idle = 42C, Load = 62C. Pretty much as expected with low speed fans and a case targeted for silence.

 

Looked at fans on the net and wanting a balance between noise, CFM and static pressure I opted for the CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 (max at 2000RPM, 69.69CFM, 2.94mmH2O, 19dBA). Replaced H60 fan and both intakes with these.

 

Fans at min (~900RPM): Idle = 39C, Load = 66C

H60 fan at same as Sharkoon (~1000RPM), intake at min: Idle = 36C, Load = 64C

All 3 at max (~1850RPM): Idle = 34C, Load = 51C

 

Using dual SickleFlows in a push-pull arrangement gave a significant improvement.

 

Fans at min (~900RPM): Idle = 35C, Load = 55C

CPU fans at ~1000RPM, intake at min: Idle = 33C, Load = 52C

All at max (~1850RPM): Idle = 31C, Load = 46C

 

That's an 11C drop between a single and dual arrangement under load with fans at minimum and 5C drop under load with fans at maximum. Obviously results are system and kit dependent but it shows it's worth trying.

 

Personally, I'm happy because I can switch between a near silent stock speed of 3.4GHz running typical desktop apps and louder 4.5GHz speed when gaming.

Just a quick note to let you know that I've now uploaded the full results of my overclocking experiments with the Corsair H60 here

I can't believe I missed that the H60's fan was replaced with another (in your first post.) They do that in all in one PCs, so owners don't get worried when the fan speed changes. That works but compromises cooling.

 

Your CM fans are good fans, but not PWM, which are my personal favorite. I use the CM Blade Master fans with the Corsair H60 fan in push pull. The CM fan is PWM controlled, with a bit more speed than the H60 fan.

 

I've never seen a fan that has a better static pressure spec than the Corsair H60 fan, it is about 2.5 times that of the Sickle Flow, and two times the Blade Master. Radiators are supposed to need high static pressure fans, but users seem to have great results with fans with much lower static pressure.

 

While you are past this, as you know you must use your H60 in exhaust mode, with your case. Given your case and fans, you likely have a positive pressure case, or very close to that. About the only other thing you could do, is mount your PS (with it's bottom mount PS) with it's fan up, to pull air out of the case. I really like NOT using a PS as a case ventilation system, and have all my PCs with bottom mount PSs, with the PS fan down, cooling only the PS. Just a thought, and a pain to change and likely not worth it.

 

Your temps are great, I've been wanting to go smaller with the PC case on my next build, and I will check out your case.

Thanks for the suggestion w.r.t the PS Parsec - but as the temps are good I'll stick with the current configuration.

 

I err'd when opting for the "silent" version and hence ended up with the Sickleflows. I was pleasantly surprised with the performance giving the cooling restrictions imposed by the case. Normally, when not overclocked all you can hear in a quiet room is the low "hum" of air moving and the fans in low speed mode - hence I state it's near silent.

 

I don't play many games that have high system requirements and so far haven't had to run it in overclocked mode. If and when I do I've probably got enough headroom to get away with running the Sickleflows at half-speed and still relatively quiet.

 

Reviews of the Silencio suggest people have problems fitting the back side panel with cables tucked behind the motherboard mounting area due to the foam but I personally didn't. The advantages of the X-Dock and USB 3.0/SD ports swung it for me.