litobandido Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Hey guys, long-time lurker, first-time poster. I have a 400C arriving on Thursday, and I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row here. While I know this subject has been discussed before, I couldn't find an answer to my specific question regarding the top case fans. I plan to mount a H115i in the front using the included SP140 fans as intake, (I was originally going to purchase two additional SP140s to run a push/pull configuration, but I've read several threads that say this is unnecessary?) and using an AF120 for the rear exhaust. Where I'm stuck is whether I should mount two AF140s on the top at all, like I had originally planned. After reading the Gamersnexus review below, it's mentioned that mounting them as exhaust could siphon cool intake air too fast from the case, and configuring them as intake is not exactly optimal either. http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/2301-most-comprehensive-corsair-400c-benchmark-review-specs?showall=1 That said, this review did not indicate if things would change with a front mounted radiator. Thoughts? Two AF140s up top as exhaust, as intake, or not at all? Any assistance would be greatly apprecaited! P.S. Here is a video as well, he starts talking about this at around 5:48 [ame] [/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I am not sure there is a logical direction to go with the top other than slow turning exhaust (AF140 x 2). Using the top as intake only puts more pressure on the rear fan to do all the exhaust work and may have unexpected results on the internal flow of air. With the top as exhaust, it may be able to move out most the CPU waste heat coming in off the front radiator and that leaves the back fan to handle the rest. It should allow you keep relatively low to moderate fan speeds while staying cool. Not too many things in your system need direct cooling. Top VRM heatsinks will get it from top exhaust or intake. It doesn't matter which way the air is moving. The only wild card is something like an m.2 drive. It is very temperature sensitive, responsive to direct cooling, and different motherboards put it in different places, so there is no one solution. In the video, he is referring to an air tower set-up where the front fans are unhindered. Either way, his "suffocates" the tower fans amounts to 2C at load. Not exactly a critical decision and one that does not apply to your situation anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litobandido Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 I am not sure there is a logical direction to go with the top other than slow turning exhaust (AF140 x 2). Using the top as intake only puts more pressure on the rear fan to do all the exhaust work and may have unexpected results on the internal flow of air. With the top as exhaust, it may be able to move out most the CPU waste heat coming in off the front radiator and that leaves the back fan to handle the rest. It should allow you keep relatively low to moderate fan speeds while staying cool. Not too many things in your system need direct cooling. Top VRM heatsinks will get it from top exhaust or intake. It doesn't matter which way the air is moving. The only wild card is something like an m.2 drive. It is very temperature sensitive, responsive to direct cooling, and different motherboards put it in different places, so there is no one solution. In the video, he is referring to an air tower set-up where the front fans are unhindered. Either way, his "suffocates" the tower fans amounts to 2C at load. Not exactly a critical decision and one that does not apply to your situation anyway. I appreciate your input, I think I'll move forward with two top mounted exhaust fans! Do you think I would benefit at all with a push/pull setup for my rig, or should I be good to go with the two included fans alone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-attack Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Popular question this week. I think you can go with a single pair without much consequence, however you can look at some of the exceptions I noted in these two threads as well as configuration options/requirements. Specifically watch out for GPU length. The newer 1070/1080 cards are long. http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=160791 http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=160835 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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