Hi guys, I've been trying to find a diagram/info showing the (optimal) air flow set up for an Obsidian 250D but haven't found much. I'm looking to make my rig as efficient/cool as possible as the Mrs is wanting to move it into an Ikea desk cupboard which only gives it 2-3 inches on both sides and about 12 inches on top for air, the door is left open. System is an Obsidian 250D with an i5 4690k, Gigabyte 970 ITX, Asus z97i-plus and a Corsair H100i as an exhaust. There are currently no other fans installed - the front fan is too big to accommodate the H100i so had to be removed although I'm looking for a slim fan to fit in hopefully. Cable management - Bit of a stupid question, but does anyone cut off "spare" parts of cables, i.e. extra sata ends on the ribbons from the PSU to various parts, in order to tidy up/remove excess cables which block airflow? Thanks! Jhen
Cut off? No. I'd opt for a modular power supply where you only plug in the cables you need in the first place and leave the rest out. Depending on which PSU you get- you can also grab a short-cable kit for smaller mATX/ITX cases to remove even more clutter. Zip ties are also your best friend.
The optimal air flow for most computers cases are front to back. That would be the same for that Obsidian 250D. So the question becomes, does that Ikea desk have an open back to let the heated air escape the cubbyhole/cupboard? If not, then I recommend cutting out a big vent hole in the cupboard back that is in line and the same size or larger than the case's rear fan. I would also advise cutting off the ends of the unused cables. If you cannot bundle up the excess cables and tuck/tie them out of the way of that desired front-to-back air flow, then I too recommend replacing the supply with a modular supply and keeping that one as a spare. Having a spare PSU handy is a good idea anyway.
Why would you cut the ends off wires ? Way to void the warranty ! Also, if you ever decide you need more drives / change case or whatever, you'd need a new PSU too. A modular supply would help, but you'd still be attaching a ribbon of connectors on each cable so it doesn't completely eliminate the issue - but it will leave fewer cables to hide. bundle and tuck the cables as best you can - see if you can find pictures that show how other people managed and enjoy your PC.
Hi everyone, Thanks for all the replies, sorry it's taken me a while to reply myself. I am using a modular PSU but was just wondering if anyone has/would cut off "extra" parts of the cable just to save spave/improve air flow really. My rig is a bit of a mess so I'll need to sort the cables out properly sometime soon The ikea cabinet is approx 75cm tall and 40cm wide and at the back there is maybe a 10cm gap for cables so that's the only airflow from the back on the cabinet. There are currently no rear fans on my case and after reading various sites/posts it seems I may be better off leaving the back fanless as a natural exhaust? Jhen
How does that Corsair H100i exhaust heated air? Where are you reading this nonsense about "natural exhaust" flowing "sideways"? Got a link? Bottom line is this. If you are pumping heat into the cabinet and that heat has no way to escape, then you will be pumping much of that heat back into the computer case. Not good. So again, I would recommend you cut a much larger hole in the back of the Ikea cabinet and ensure your H100i is configured to push the air out the back or out the front - not up or to the sides. You want the air flow to be in the same direction as the PSU's exhaust. If me, I would consider going back to the OEM cooler for the CPU and putting back the nice front mounted 140mm fan that came with that case.
Hi Digerati, I don't have a link I'm afraid, it was on one of many web pages I've browsed :-S At the moment the H100i gtx is configured to exhaust air out of the side panel but was originally (and recommended by the installation booklet) to take in air, but that changed on the basis of forum advice. I'm currently looking to find a slim 140/120mm fan to fit back on the front to act as an intake, therefore I think, making the rear panel (fanless) become the avenue of escape for hot air. The Gigabyte 970 itx does it's own thing and seems to dump hot air inside the case so hopefully having 2 intakes (front fan and changing the H100i gtx back to intake) will create the one directional airflow?
I am always amazed at people who believe they are smarter and more qualified than the experts - in this case than the thermal and aerodynamic engineers and designers (fan blades are "wings") who design these quality coolers. These Corsair designers are not only highly qualified in their respective fields, they use sophisticated (read: expensive) test equipment and computers running computer aided design and engineering software to design and make these products. Then they use sophisticated monitoring equipment to test these coolers in 100s of different configurations to determine the most efficient orientation. The Corsair engineers, designers, and testers have determined the most efficient orientation for this cooler is to pull cool air in from the outside. And if you think about it for a second, doesn't it make sense to have cool air blowing across the radiator instead of already heated interior air??? If this advisor who said to turn the fan around and blow heated air on the radiator is same guy who says heat "naturally" flows sideways, the guy is an idiot - unless [maybe] he posted a link to his qualifications showing he had advanced degrees in thermodynamics, and I bet he didn't. I am not an engineer in thermodynamics either but you can see by the last line in my signature that I take heat seriously. And you can follow the link via my name in my sig to see that I might know enough about electronics to know you've been given some bad advice. Were you at least also advised to monitor your temps using CoreTemp or Speccy or something similar before turning the fan around against the manufacturers recommendation? Then to actually measure the before and after temps to determine if the different orientation provided better results? I bet not for that either. To be sure, I am not criticizing you because I think you are wise to seek out advice on topics you don't have expertise in. But it is important to NOT always believe what you read on the Internet - especially from someone you cannot verify their qualifications who's telling you to go against the manufacturer's recommendations. (1) You need to be monitoring your temps and (2) I urge you to proceed with your plan to turn the fan around and put it back in the recommended orientation. This seems like a sound plan. But unless you are monitoring your temps with a suitable hardware monitor like CoreTemp, you won't know.
Corsair recommend it as an intake because in most cases the air coming from outside a case will be cooler than the air drawn from inside a case, leading to better temps. However, that isn’t always true for every user, CPU temps might not matter for every user, and ultimately it totally depends on the setup of your case. Truth is, if you have a aftermarket GPU cooler dumping heat straight into your case, hitting thermal limits and throttling down, while your CPU isn’t getting near its limit, you might be better off using the H100 as an exhaust. Everyone’s setup is different. For you, try the H100 as an intake and fit an exhaust at the back of the case. If that doesn’t work, reverse it.
I agree. But this can ONLY be determined through actual monitoring of your temps. Still, I have never seen, nor can I picture any scenario where blowing heated interior air onto a cooler offers more efficient cooling than blowing cool exterior air onto it. Nor can I see any scenario where the case interior air would be cooler than ambient (room) air - except where "refrigerated" air is being pumped into the case interior from some exterior source. ??? Well they should! If anyone says their CPU temps don't matter, then they are [hopefully] just naïve and ignorant of the facts. That's an observation and not a criticism as many just don't understand that managing CPU temps (along with keeping case interiors clean of heat-trapping dust) is critically important. Now if they are just being negligent out of a lack of concern and caring, then that's just being irresponsible and would be like putting a piece of black tape over the "Engine" light in your car because it is too bright and hurts your eyes.
If it's not close to its maximum it doesn't matter. This guy has a H100i on a 4690k. Unless he's cranking the volts it'll easily be able to keep it cool, whichever way the fans are configured.
But you don't know if it is not close without monitoring! And considering this is a tiny case being shoved into a small confined cabinet with restricted air circulation around it, there is no way of knowing if it will keep it properly cooled without monitoring or caring.
I have an advanced degree in thermodynamics. I have had my cooling solution on my 250D set up as an exhaust, using a H100i on a 3770K with no intake, as a test, with an NVTTM-cooled 770, and experienced warm, but not overly worrying, temperatures. Granted, I have an Aquaero which displays the CPU and GPU temperatures in real time, and I could therefore keep an eye on them, but I saw the temperatures as no cause for concern whatsoever. In the self-same case, I now have a full WC loop, with an intake up front (no 140mm rad at present) and a 2x120mm slim rad a la H100i in the side, acting as an intake. The temperatures are rather lower than when I had the H100i running as an exhaust, but that's to be expected, particularly with a full loop. In summary, cooling with relatively cold intake air is more effective than cooling with relatively warm recirculated air, but in the bounds of normal use, it won't become a cause for concern. I can't help but feeling that this discussion has taken a turn for the slightly patronising. I don't doubt that the advice given is factually accurate, but please bear tone in mind. Ta.
