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Top mounted or front mounted Radiator

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Alexoferith
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Wednesday, November 14, 2018 11:33 AM (permalink)
Spec: 
X99 Classified
i7-5930K 3.5 GHz with Noctua NH-D9L CPU Cooler with 2 FANs
EVGA SuperNOVA 1300W Gold PSU
Corsair 780T Black Full Tower Case with 1 x 120mm fan at back (out), 1 x 120 fan at top (out), 2 x 120 fans at front (in)
2 x EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 SLi
32Gb (8 x CMK16GX4M4A2666C15) - running at 2666 Hz using XMP 1
2Tb Samsung 850 EVO SSD
3TB WD Black HD (data)
4TB WD Black HD (Acornis images storage)
LG BluRay writer
 
FYR. Last night, playing COD WW2 multiplayer, CPU package temp 64 degree max. GPU 1 temp 59 - 63 degree max, GPU 2 temp 39 max (all in Celcius)
 
I tried to overclock the CPU. My first step was to 3.8. Temp rose to 78 - 83. GPU similar temp. So, I bought an EVGA CLC 240 Liquid/Water CPU Cooler via Amazon. But I just cannot make up my mind where to put the radiator. If I put it at the front, then it will be providing hot air for the two GPU. And if I put it at the top, then I will have warm air from GPUs to cool the radiator. At the moment, all the case fans came with the case, only the top fan is a Noctua fan. There are some Youtube videos saying that it doesn't matter where to put the radiator, provided the case has space for top and front. Because of the 3.5" WD HDs and the blu-ray writer, I am reluctant to remove the 5.25 casing. In any case, I think the 5.25 casing is riveted to the case so I cannot remove it. I have already removed one of the 3.5" casing, leaving the bottom one, but it blocks most of the 2nd front fan. I cannot justify getting another case after spending the money on the two 1080ti cards. So, I appreciate any suggestion or argument. Many thanks for your time and effort in advance.
 
Edit:
I have also looked at water cooling the GPUs as well but I am a total noob in this field. I have no idea what component to get so though I have used water cooling before but I went for a kit set, so is this time, an EVGA kit set. But if I go down this route, I will have to get a new case. I have been looking at the Thermaltake cube series. But the budget is getting from zero to around £500 now. May as well go for the whole lot, i9-9900k + ASUS Maximus Hero mobo + 32Gb 4200 RAM. ARRRRRrrrrrrrr
post edited by Alexoferith - Wednesday, November 14, 2018 12:05 AM
#1

3 Replies Related Threads
    TECH_DaveB
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    Re: Top mounted or front mounted Radiator Monday, November 19, 2018 0:54 PM (permalink)
    Position in most cases dont mean that much.  It is more about airflow restriction, if you run it in the front, make sure your other non-top fans are intake, and the top fans are exhaust, and make sure you always have a little more airflow going in than coming out.
     
    The exception to that is if one will; give you a specific advantage.  Where mine is setup, it sits under a window AC, so I have the top as intake, which normally isn't the way id advise, however the air coming out of the fans is cooler than the ambient room temp  that is out of LOS of the AC, I have shaved several degrees off of it.
     
    In general, unless there is some environmental reason to do one or the other, just do what fits easiest, and unless there is an AC right above the top, the top should be exhaust, radiator or not.
    #2
    Hoggle
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    Re: Top mounted or front mounted Radiator Monday, November 19, 2018 5:50 AM (permalink)
    Dave is right everything I have read says it matters very little. You do find people saying that one way or another is better but they often use graphs that show one degree as a huge improvement and really it could just be the temperature in the room changing slightly. The reality is your temps don't change much and the overclock potential doesn't change. 
     
    What does matter as Dave was saying is airflow. Getting cables under control and tied down as much as possible really makes a big difference. 

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    batboy88
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    Re: Top mounted or front mounted Radiator Monday, November 19, 2018 1:59 PM (permalink)
    It dosen't matter much. It's the aio probably top then. I said the same thing if it wasn't the loop id still get like just the h100 or big air or something. It's probably copper base try putting gallium on it. I can't even hit 80c...it is cold out though. I'm well set the haswell block. Unless crack leak another one, one of the Nickel plated/base Pom ones or something.
     
    You can buy seals/orings...make a gasket out of silicone lol

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    2600x/MSI X470 4.3ghz
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