QL RGB fans with radiators

[Parmenedes]

Hi,

 

I just bought five QL RGB fans to replace my ML RGB’s, partly because they are alleged to be quieter, but mostly because they look freakin awesome. I had read in a couple of places that the QL RGB’s work fine with radiators (and three of the five are for Corsair radiators in my computer), but as I began the install today, I noticed that there are huge gaps where air would escape instead of anything resembling a seal around the edge. I’m guessing that’s so as not to block the lighting effects, but these fans are useless to me if they can’t be used with radiators.

 

Any suggestions as to what to do? I’d prefer not to use a shroud (and don’t have any at any rate), but I suppose I’d consider it if it’s the only option. I may end up having to return these.

 

Thanks ahead of time.

 

Edit: Upon further investigation, it looks like I probably don’t have room in my pc for shrouds; there is maybe half an inch of space max that I’d have to work with (if that), so I don’t think I can fit them in there.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Parmenedes

[c-attack]

Neoprene radiator gaskets is my general recommendation and how I normally combat that type of problem. However, I have no QL fans on hand and can’t say for certain what thickness is ideal. Some are very thin at 1-2mm. There are others in the 3-5mm range.

[Parmenedes]

Ok, thanks. I'm not sure if that solution will work here due to the way the frames of the fans are designed, but I appreciate the response regardless!

[c-attack]

The 3-5mm thicker ones should compress along the top line while filling in the gap in the area leaving the corners. Not sure how much this really matters, unless you are using a single 120mm on the GPU and scraping for each degree.