Suck or Blow?

Big Tate · Oct 23, 2007

Hello, All!

I'm about to install a dual-120 radiator on my new case (Gigabyte Aurora 570), and was curious to know if I should have the fans blowing air into the radiator, or if it's better having them suck or draw the air through. Push or pull air? Is one better than the other? Is there a difference?

If this is already in another post, my apologies in advance.

Thanks for any info!

voigts · Oct 23, 2007

Pull technically will give a slight edge, but the difference between push/pull is negligible. Case airflow is the more important determiner as to how to work fan direction.

fldrice · Oct 23, 2007

How about both? I find push + pull configs give me the best performance.

oakstave · Oct 23, 2007

Yes, generally folks on the forums say pull the air through. Although a push/pull combination can be quite effective.

What else was I going to say?... Oh yes, :welcome:

Big Tate · Oct 23, 2007

fldrice said:
How about both? I find push + pull configs give me the best performance.

You're speaking of using fans on both sides of the res? I'm guessing that the fans would be best if they are the same speed/CFM ratings, otherwise it may hurt more than help(?)

But, thank you for your info, and the welcome! If the difference is indeed negligible, then having the rad on the outside, with the fans inside blowing out would be best for me.

voigts · Oct 23, 2007

Big Tate said:
You're speaking of using fans on both sides of the res? I'm guessing that the fans would be best if they are the same speed/CFM ratings, otherwise it may hurt more than help(?)

But, thank you for your info, and the welcome! If the difference is indeed negligible, then having the rad on the outside, with the fans inside blowing out would be best for me.

Push/pull really is only of benefit if you are using a heatercore as they are very thick. With a PC rad, you would see only a few percent improvement. This goes the same for shrouds over and above the ones built into PC radiators. Neither is worth the added space consumed.

Having the fans on the top of the case exhausting into the rad will work fine. Ideally, it is best to have outside air passing over the rad instead of warmer case air, but if the case has decent airflow, this isn't a big deal. I have my rad mounted inside the top of the case with fans blowing case air from the case into the rad. That is the setup that worked best as far as location goes.

fldrice · Oct 23, 2007

voigts said:
Push/pull really is only of benefit if you are using a heatercore as they are very thick. With a PC rad, you would see only a few percent improvement. This goes the same for shrouds over and above the ones built into PC radiators. Neither is worth the added space consumed.

Having the fans on the top of the case exhausting into the rad will work fine. Ideally, it is best to have outside air passing over the rad instead of warmer case air, but if the case has decent airflow, this isn't a big deal. I have my rad mounted inside the top of the case with fans blowing case air from the case into the rad. That is the setup that worked best as far as location goes.

Or in cases with bad airflow. Because I mounted my rad inside the case, and the the grill on my case is extremely restrictive, the wind tunnel affect created by the 2 fans alleviates the issue.

CJ145 · Oct 23, 2007

If you got the room for a push+pull configuration, do it. Fans are cheap and a 1-3C gain is worth it compared with the cost of a $5-10 fan.

Tak · Oct 24, 2007

Glad I found this thread it helps to answer my question as well. I'm going to place a MCR320 in the front of a Thermaltake Armor with some Yate-Loon LED fans for outside effect. I was concerned the air passing through the rad into the case would have a negative effect on temps. I figure now though that with 3 intake fans, the 120mm and 90mm exhaust fans plus the PSU fan I should be ok. Worse case I could always add 3 more fans to the rad for a push/pull setup or get the case door with the 25cm fan on it.

the_cultie · Oct 24, 2007

This has answered my question as well. I'm placing my rad on top of my case so it doesn't matter which setup I use. I just want the best.

One Bull · Oct 24, 2007

push/pull would be the best configuration

Edit: deleted a silly remark about sucking and blowing, nvm

samuknow · Oct 24, 2007

The only negative side effect to push/pull is noise. the noise level will go up a bit. Especially on higher CFM fans.

Nebulous · Oct 24, 2007

samuknow said:
The only negative side effect to push/pull is noise. the noise level will go up a bit. Especially on higher CFM fans.

I cuncur.. You can add a fan controller to get an equal balance of both noise and CFMS.

EmAn · Oct 24, 2007

sucking/blowing configurations works the best if you are removing heat imho

Big Tate · Oct 24, 2007

I can see that a push/pull config would be preferable, but being into audio engineering as well as an avid gamer, silence is a VERY close second to cooling. Would it be ineffective to have high-CFM fans inside the case, pushing to an externally-mounted rad, with some "silent" (possibly lower-CFM) fans pulling on the other side of the rad?

QuietIce · Oct 24, 2007

You'd be better off using good, medium CFM fans on a fan controller and keeping the CFMs balanced on both sides. A lot of fan noise is the air itself - I would think uneven CFMs would make more noise.

Another option you might consider is a bigger rad, if possible. Then you could use really quiet fans w/less CFM or run the medium fans at an even lower RPM (and less noise) and have the same cooling ...

meionm · Oct 24, 2007

At very low cfm push pull config will show results right away, plus fans are pushing little air to have affect on each other.

voigts · Oct 25, 2007

CJ145 said:
If you got the room for a push+pull configuration, do it. Fans are cheap and a 1-3C gain is worth it compared with the cost of a $5-10 fan.

1-3c gain? Prove it. From what I've read posted by Cathar if my memory serves me right, a few percent at best is all the improvement you'll see, and this definitely won't translate into that much of a difference.

orion456 · Oct 27, 2007

Noise trumps a marginal gain in temperature and the less fans the better for noise. Low speed fans sucking produce the best effect with the lowest noise. Pushing fans create more noise from the air turbulance entering the rad.

QuietIce · Oct 27, 2007

voigts said:
1-3c gain? Prove it. From what I've read posted by Cathar if my memory serves me right, a few percent at best is all the improvement you'll see, and this definitely won't translate into that much of a difference.

I've got a table saved from last year (I rounded to the nearest 0.1°C) showing :

dT(rad air IN - CPU) 21.3, 22.5, 23.0, 21.9, 23.0, 23.2
(pull/push-shroud, pull-shroud, push-shroud, pull/push, pull, push).

Don't ask specifics, I don't remember - I believe it was taken off OCAu and was at least a year-old study (at least two years now). I'll try to track down the reference ...

Suck or Blow?

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