Replacing Side 230mm Fan w/ 4 x 120mm Fans on Cooler Master HAF Case

[EarthDog]

There are negligible differences at best in pressure in a case.. its not sealed. There is also a debate on which is better, more intake or more exhaust...

That said,

Front/sides = intake
Top/rear = exhaust

AirFLOW is the key.

 

[MattMan657]

Very interesting, and logical for that. For a liquid cooler that utilizes a sole 120mm fan on the rear for the radiator, like my H50, is that typically recommended still to have it as exhaust? When I SLI the rig I plan on upgrading to an H100i which will be mounted on the top, so that would obviously be intake.

 

[EarthDog]

THe difference in most cases with decent airflow from entry to exhaust air is 1-2,3C. That is the difference. I would rather have good airflow through the case/system, than to be 1-3C cooler on the CPU... which would mean your H100i needs to be EXHAUSTing at the top of the case assuming you are going by what I mentioned.

 

[Qlix]

Corsair recommends their AIOs be installed as intakes, I dont know if it really makes a difference (but its logical - pulling cool air across te radiator rather than warm interior air). I installed my H90 as intake really due to the 230mm top fan that is exhausting out.

 

[MattMan657]

Yea I see what you mean.

The next cooling upgrade I am going to do is move up to an H100. My question with that is can I use the mobo/cpu backplate from the H50 on an H100? I would assume yes because all the backplate is for is to line up screw holes for the fan/block.

That will leave me with an H50. Anyone ever think of using these things on their GPUs somehow?

I'll also replace the rear fan with a high performance Corsair for exhaust. I might also try to rig up a fan underneath my dvd drive for exhaust too as suggested earlier in this thread.

Question, I've been seeing some people talk about Push/Pull setups with the H100. Is this regarding the airflow of the fans?

 

[Qlix]

H100 is not the same mount as H50 if I recall. H50/55/60/70/90/110 are all the same, H80/80i/100/100i are different. In fact, I believe I read somewhere they have different manufacturers as well and they're just Corsair branded.

But... Do research. You want a 100i, not a 100 and also I believe you can get a 90 for cheaper and get the same performance minus the pump control software.

Push pull is where you install fans on both sides of the radiator: one (or two with double radiators) pushing air through and one (or two) pulling air out on the other side.

 

[MattMan657]

No, the block mount itself is different you are correct. But I am just referring to the mount on the back of the mobo that the block front mount screws into.

Very cool idea with the push pull. Do people typically tend to replace the stock fans that come with these Corsair coolers with a better fan from Corsair perhaps?

 

[Qlix]

I don't think you need to replace it, it's a decent fan, I'd get a pwm splitter and get an identical fan, run them off the same header

I'm sure there are probably quieter fans though

 

[MattMan657]

PWM Splitter? That to allow two fans to run off the same header on the mobo?

 

[Qlix]

Yeah the 4 pin mobo controlled headers. There is a splitter to plug 2 into 1 and get them synchronized

 

[MattMan657]

Very cool. That wouldn't reduce power to them? I bet that would be very useful when using a Push Pull setup on a radiator.

 

[briansun1]

he could get a h90 if he has 140mm fan mount holes... aslo get the "I" version

 

[MattMan657]

The rear of my HAF 932 Advanced has holes for 140mm. But I'd rather spend the little extra in the long run and get the 100i if it is that much better.

 

[Wam]

Forgive me I'm actually not familiar with the terms positive and negative air pressure.

If you have 2 fans pushing 100cfm or air into your case and 2 fans extracting 80cfm of air then that is positive pressure. The converse is negative.

The only difference I've noticed between the two is that negative pressure seems to leave you with more dust inside your case.

 

[Qlix]

The rear of my HAF 932 Advanced has holes for 140mm. But I'd rather spend the little extra in the long run and get the 100i if it is that much better.

its NOT that much better is the thing. Its 1-2c better in some scenarios, even during others. Google the comparison. Actually... Ill see if i can find the comparison for you. The difference is the mount, the corsair software... that you may or may not be using anyways, and the radiator.

edit: here you go

Oh and to answer an earlier question... yes.. I believe there is someone that makes custom GPU brackets for the corsair AIOs. Someone around here may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[MattMan657]

its NOT that much better is the thing. Its 1-2c better in some scenarios, even during others. Google the comparison. Actually... Ill see if i can find the comparison for you. The difference is the mount, the corsair software... that you may or may not be using anyways, and the radiator.

edit: here you go

Oh and to answer an earlier question... yes.. I believe there is someone that makes custom GPU brackets for the corsair AIOs. Someone around here may be able to point you in the right direction.

Great read. Perfect as I have the 3770k CPU. I don't foresee myself OCing it at 1.3v. 1.2 would be my absolute max so I think you convinced me to just go for the H90. The H100i's software sounds iffy, seems like some people have problems with it.

Something that makes me very happy with the H90 is I KNOW I can reuse the mounting stuff from my H50. It looks like the mounting brackets are identical, so that will make my life super easy when I do end up getting it. Unless someone chimes in and says I should go with the 100i, I'll probably get the H90.

Another question, judging from the review the fan looks to be pretty good. However I'm thinking about replacing it with one of the high static performance Corsairs and another for a push pull. Think its worth it?

 

[Qlix]

The mounts are identical. I had an H55 at first, bought the H90, just reused all the mounting for it so i didnt have to redo everything. I do not know anything about the Corsair fans. Youre talking about high static pressure fans correct? compared to what? I was personally looking to replace my fans with Cougars.

Looking at Corsair website there is only 1 140mm Corsair fan available, and its the quiet edition, not performance.

The cougars have higher static pressure, higher rpm, and are quiter than the corsair "quiet edition" fans (according to the specs)

 

[MattMan657]

Yea I just saw that, not a static one either. Those look good, thanks. I'd probably get two of them for a push pull.

 

[MattMan657]

Been looking at a bunch of fans on Newegg, comparing Cougars to Corsairs. It looks like the Cougars have better specs pretty much across the board when comparing them to the Corsair model they are compared against. Overall the Cougar looks much more attractive. Still deciding between the H100i and the H90 but leaning toward the H90, seems to get more positive and safer reviews. These fans are for case replacements.

Cougar: 1500RPM, Airflow 70.5CFM, Noise 17.9dBA
Corsair High Performance High Static: 2300RPM, Airflow 62.74CFM, Noise 35dBA
Corsair Quiet Edition High Static: 1450RPM, Airflow 37.85CFM, Noise 23dBA
Corsair Performance Edition: 1650RPM, Airflow 63.47CFM, Noise 30dBA
Corsair Quiet Edition: 1100RPM, Airflow 39.88CFM, Noise Level 21dBA

Cougar CF-V12HPB 120mm: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553006
Corsair SP120 High Performance High Static: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181026
Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition High Static: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181024
Corsair AF120 Performance Edition: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181022
Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181020

One question about fan replacement on an H90. The stock fan runs at 1500RPM, 94 CFM, 35dBA. Although the Cougar 140mm is nearly half the noise, it runs at 1200RPM, 70.5CFM. Think that would be a noticeable performance drop? I would push pull, so maybe a combo of the H90 stock fan + the Cougar, or Cougar x2.

 

[Qlix]

I dont know the technicality of it all and i could be completely wrong but my gut tells me high static pressure > high cfm for push/pull radiator setups.