Push, Pull or Push Pull

Hey guys, me again . I've watched a fiew videos and read some articles but wanted some feedback from you guys. I just got a new case (corsair carbide 400c) and had some questions about my AIO and fan air flow (exhaust vs intake).

Currently I have my Corsair H80i v2 mounted in the rear of my case. It's currently setup in a push configuration (both fans) I have 2 140mm fans in the front of the case pulling in fresh air and it's directed towards the rear fans and RAD.

The paperwork for the cooler recommends pulling in fresh air and running it through the RAD which makes sense but then the warm air would be dumped into the case. So if I do change the fan orientation should I set the front fans to exhaust? I feel that if I do that temps might get a bit warm inside

I was going to play around with some of the configs that I can run but it's such a pain in the *** to get my cooler mounted with both of the fans .


My temps are fine so I probably don't have to change anything just looking for your thoughts and being efficient.

Ambient: 22-25c
Full load: Prime95 Blend Test 65-75c
Idol: 30-40c

Thanks
Alex

I changed my top rad from intake to exhaust (push to pull), and TBH, did not notice any difference...

From my experience with a corsair H60 there wasn't much of an improvement putting the rad in push pull. Maybe 1 - 2 degree difference.

I agree with Jeff G, proper airflow through the case is the best way to lower temps, no matter if the rad is set to intake or exhaust.

Thanks guys, that was my conclusion as well. I think I have pretty good flow in the case, nothing obstructing fresh air from blowing over all of my components.

I swapped out the fans on my old h100, and am running push/pull.

Due to space limitations, I have 2x 38x120 pushing, and a single stock corsair fan pulling. My video card is too long to use the other corsair fan..

man air needs to flow, in at the bottom front and out at the top rear

caddi daddi said:

man air needs to flow, in at the bottom front and out at the top rear

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That's how I have mine setup

alegav said:

Currently I have my Corsair H80i v2 mounted in the rear of my case. It's currently setup in a push configuration (both fans)

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Make sure they are set at Push and Pull, not both in Push configuration if I'm understanding your statement correctly. You'll have both fans fighting each other and not getting sufficient airflow to the rad.

Jeff G said:

My point is this - proper airflow seems to be more important than whether your radiator is intake or exhaust.

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caddi daddi said:

man air needs to flow, in at the bottom front and out at the top rear

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+1 This.

I went push/pull on my H110i GTX as it let me run 4 fans at lower speed (and quieter) than 2 fans running faster.

GTXJackBauer said:

Make sure they are set at Push and Pull, not both in Push configuration if I'm understanding your statement correctly. You'll have both fans fighting each other and not getting sufficient airflow to the rad.

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You are correct, I have both fans going the same direction. For example, I have the RAD sandwiched between the 2 fans both have airflow going in the same direction so it is not operating in a push/pull configuration I guess. Its a push from the first fan (pushing in fresh air) through the radiator and then a pull from the 2nd fan? I think that's right, I also think I confused and contradicted myself.... I can draw a pretty picture if need be

Sounds good. Its always good to clarify that before going forward.

GTXJackBauer said:

Sounds good. Its always good to clarify that before going forward.

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Haha thank you sir. That one made my brain hurt.

Temperature wise, there's no difference between push or pull. Push + pull might eek out a degree or two, but it's not much from what I understand. (Low static pressure fans might benefit if they're too weak to push through a dense radiator)

Pull is easier to clean, dust buildup won't require you to remove a fan to get rid of.

Like there have said, the biggest thing is to make sure you have proper flow. There's a steep diminishing returns curve to fans/radiators.

Pull also reduces the dead spot somewhat where the fan motor is. Air is pulled more evenly over more fins. And it's so much easier to clean the rad of dust.