iinvein Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Building my first PC and just have a couple questions. Im using the Air 540 in white and want to know if what I plan on buying will work properly in this case. Mobo- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OJZTSR8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_5&smid=A27220W4J1QU6O GPU - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YDAYOK0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_7&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Cooler - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SV7IEJI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER I'm very new to this and wondering if the cooler would work best on top or front of the case. And not sure how I should face my fans for the best air flow. I know I want the front to suck air in and back to push it out but what about up top. Also I'm looking to accent the white and black some more, are there any corsair fans that are white or accented with white that I can put it for some flair? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nichrome Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Hi Motherboard,GPU and cooler will fit just fine :) Best to mount radiator on top of the case, fans pushing air OUT of the case. That's how I got mine set up, and it's most common to mount on top. You can look at basic Corsair SP120 fans which come with 3 coloured rings (red blue white) and use white one. Or find some LED ones (white LED). PS: mobo=good choice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I would agree with the top mount exhausting radiator set-up. There are some cases where front mount works fine, but the one of the nice things about the 540 is the short distance from the front fans to the GPU. You can flush all that heat right out the back. The Ti will likely require more management than your CPU temps and an unobstructed front intake will serve you better in that regard. I might go for (well, I did) a 280mm cooler in the roof. Besides the ability to use lower fan speeds, there is also some aesthetic balance to having the 140mm in sequence across the top and to the rear slot. With one GPU you can use 2x140 in the front or 3x120. It won't make much difference. If it's going to be on the desk next to you, all an all 140mm fan set up is very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinvein Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 Will these fans http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L64NYL6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER work with this cooler for my case http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SV7IEJI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Not directly through the pump block as intended. All the Corsair LED fans are 3 pin DC. You need a 4 pin PWM fan to allow control through the block and LINK. The alternative is to run them from your motherboard or fan controller directly. This makes LINK mostly unneeded, except for changing the LED on the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinvein Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 I'm really new to this and didn't quite understand much of that. Would the LED lights be okay for the case fans? Would you recommend a different kind for the radiator fans or just use the stock ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The case fans will be powered by the motherboard connectors directly. You can put a 3 pin connector on any type of fan connection (3 or 4 pin). A true 4 pin PWM needs a matching 4 pin PWM connector. Unfortunately, MSI is very cryptic on both their website and the manual for your board. It appears the CPU Fan 1 & 2 are true PWM headers. You have 3 other fan headers at the center, front, and bottom of your board called SYS_FAN headers (1-3). These are meant to power case fans, pumps, or anything else. They are 4 pin, but the diagram in the manual suggests they are "false" 4 pin fans with the 4th pin labeled "NC" with no explanation or key. I am going to go with "not connected" until someone says otherwise. This is somewhat common on the Z97/87 platforms, but does vary from board to board. What all that means is that you can only use PWM fans on the CPU 1 and 2 header (like for an air tower, but it could also be used to separately power the H100i fans if you don't want to use the link software). The three System fans, even though they have 4 pins, are really 3 pin DC headers. You will only want to use DC 3 pin fans on those headers. Yes, you can use the SP120 LED (3 pin DC) as a case fan and it will run as intended. However, I would recommend the AF120 or AF140 LED fans instead. Some cases may benefit from a more focused airflow and the expense of volume, but the 540 is so open it isn't necessary. An SP120 LED will be louder than an AF120 LED at the same rpm and move less air at that speed. Same is true for the 140mm versions. You are also going to get 2 x AF140 LED's with your white 540 case. This is essentially the same as the retail version AF140 LED, which you may prefer in the rear 140mm slot. That leaves your radiator fans. If you want any kind of LED PWM fan, you will have to look to another manufacturer since Corsair does not make them. They should work just fine. If for some oddball reason they do not, you would be able to move the fan headers to the CPU1&2 header and function effectively. You can PM me if you need an opinion. Most of the "i" coolers power their fans directly from the pump block on top of the CPU. There will be a tiny splitter than plugs into the side of the block. The pump usually draws it's power from a SATA connection and then uses some of that power to run the fans. The LINK software program then allows you control the speed or set temperature profiles bases on the water temperature inside the cooler. This is a little different if you haven't used a water cooler before or are used to using CPU temperatures for control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iinvein Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Is there some kind of adapter that would make the LED fans work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Not to plug them into the pump block. They may work to some extent, but is very likely you will get sporadic or inconsistent speeds and the fans may not respond to programmed parameters in LINK. A full 12V all the time would work, but you don't want to do that. If you already have the fans are or really want them, run them from the CPU1&2 fan headers instead of the pump block. Half the people out there run their coolers this way anyway, including any one who doesn't have an "i" series cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peekandco Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 You can always check for compatibility issues on pcpartpicker.com But great choice on componentss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nichrome Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hi I owned quite few MSI motherboards, so here's the deal: headers named "CPU_FAN#" (where # is number) are PWM (4 pins) only. If you plug 3 pinned fans to those, they will run 100% of possible speed, and nothing will let you change it. And you have to plug your pump into one of those! Unless things changed (Only had Corsair H80i). "Sys_Fan#" allows 3 pinned fans to be Voltage controlled (between 50-100%). LEDs will work fine (I am using 3 pinned fans with LEDs and they work perfectly fine). Not entirely sure of PWM fans on those headers, as never had them :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewbak75 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I'm really new to this and didn't quite understand much of that. Would the LED lights be okay for the case fans? Would you recommend a different kind for the radiator fans or just use the stock ones? It's my understanding that the "stock" fans that come with the Corsair coolers are essentially these, though I'm not sure if they are closer to the High Performance edition or the Quiet edition. You'll probably be fine just sticking with the ones the cooler comes with. The SP120 works well, and the default performance profiles built into the cooler are based on the performance of those fans. There are LED-lit fans with PWM control out there if you really want them, but I'm not sure how well they perform, and you'd probably want to take some time in LINK to tweak the fan speeds accordingly. Granted, it would look cool having that white light shining down from the top of your case, but I've never prioritized such things. My case sits under my desk where I can't see it. :) Having used both the H100i and now the H100i GTX I can say, unless you're doing some serious overclocking and/or running your cpu hard non-stop, you can pretty much leave the cooler on the "Quiet" profile and let it be. They're very efficient at lower fan speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Yes, the SP120L grey fans are most similar to the high performance SP120 variant, but without the rubber corners, rings and nice paint job, and in the past, a little bearing tweaking. They can be distinguished by sound profile. The confusing part is the SP120 LED is an entirely different fan, with a different blade structure, RPM limits, 3 pin DC power requirement, and of the course the lights. All of them are going to do the job, but the naming convention can mislead you to think they can be swapped interchangeably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peekandco Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 You'll love the 980ti trust me, I have the same one ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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