H60 & NZXT Phantom fan questions.

[troopa55]

I was wondering if my current cooling configuration was the best it could be for my specific case. I would really like to get some feedback about the specific fans I am using, in what capacity they are being used (rad fans, etc.) and if the current configuration of said fans is optimal for sufficient airflow to maintain a stable and long life for my hardware over time in my hot area.

The fans I am using are as follows:

140mm (COUGAR CF-V14HB Vortex ): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553007

120mm (COUGAR CF-V12HB Vortex): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553005

Below is a diagram illustrating my case fan configuration. I will also explain it in text, for those who do not wish to view the image.


x1 140mm FRONT INTAKE fan.
x1 140mm SIDE INTAKE fan.
x2 140mm TOP EXHAUST fans.
x2 120mm REAR INTAKE on H60 radiator as PUSH/PULL.

x1 120mm BOTTOM INTAKE fan, blowing air from the bottom of the case toward the top exhaust fans.

x1 120mm internal fan near drive cages blowing air from the FRONT INTAKE fan further into the case. It is low enough that it is NOT blowing on the radiator fans to blow hot air back at it. It sits sort of parallel with the GPU.

Diagram of above configuration: http://i48.tinypic.com/22ib1x.png

My second question is, are these Cougar 120mm's worth using over the stock fan that came with the H60? I know the Cougar's are rated a little lower in CFM since the CFM output is only 60 versus the 74-ish the stock one is rated at. I am also not sure what the static pressure rating is on the Cougar's. I heard they perform a little better than the Gentle Typhoon AP-15 for rad cooling. I am just trying to get a little feedback on them.

The 120mm Cougar's are coming in the mail tomorrow, so I can't just test to see what the cooling difference is on the H60 with them. However, I would love to hear any/all feedback regarding these being used over the stock fans if anyone has experience with them.

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

[EvilJoker]

I personally dont know much about "Cougar" fans., But ALOT of people on here say they are good fans, and work good on the rad and else where for the "Silent" cooling

My advise, Is try all your fans in different configs, and see what works best for you, Every PC even with the exact same parts in it, will produce different temps and what not.
But from what i can tell.. You are on a good start

 

[troopa55]

The Cougar fans just came in today, and they are amazing. They cool a tad bit better than the stock fans, and the box claims they are rated at around 1.8 static pressure, but in my real world tests the new fans on the RAD only achieved about a 3c difference on average, which is good enough to justify the purchase to me.

I will be another person on these forums to make the claim that Cougar vortex fans are really good. They are very quiet, and achieve really great thermals. My average CPU temp with them on an H60 in push/pull as intake is 23c, but I sit at 19c most of the time when idling. My average system temp is 25c, and stays there stable even when I am stress testing. The CPU maxes out at 38c under heavy stress testing, and I am generally very pleased with them. They are also near silent with my fan controller sitting at 100%.

I have also enclosed a picture of my cable management. Tell me what you all think of it, or if it needs a little work:

http://i50.tinypic.com/2mg2sk7.jpg

 

[EvilJoker]

Looks, Nice and clean to me.. Its real hard to make the bottom(where wires come out PSU) to look that good, Its a real pain. What case is that?

 

[troopa55]

Looks, Nice and clean to me.. Its real hard to make the bottom(where wires come out PSU) to look that good, Its a real pain. What case is that?

It is a NZXT Phantom 410 in black. Also, yeah, getting the PSU to mount without having to force it was a huge pain, as I had to take the time to run each cable through all of the cable management holes, even the ones actually behind the PSU, and make sure none of them tangled and such so I could give them enough wiggle room to slide the PSU into place with minimal force.

My PSU isn't modular, so I think the cable management came out pretty good. I wish I knew how to better route/hide the GPU connectors, though. I can fix some cables up a little to make them more invisible, but do you know how to make the GPU connectors a little more stealthy?

 

[EvilJoker]

are they lomg enough to come threw the holes where the sata cables is? Can you bend them over/around the back/end of the card?

 

[troopa55]

are they lomg enough to come threw the holes where the sata cables is? Can you bend them over/around the back/end of the card?

There isn't enough clearance between the motherboard and GPU to wrap the PCI-E cables beind the GPU. The cables themselves are pretty long, and could reach from any angle, really, but there isn't enough room to route them anywhere but directly from the side or the way I have it. Coming in from the side, they just get in the way of the internal bay fan. That is why they have stumped me a little, lol.

I figured out how to hide every other cable nearly completely. If I can just find out how to hide the PCI-E connectors, then you wouldn't be able to clearly see any cables unless you were really looking for them, aside from the obvious ones that have to plug into the motherboard, and the few at the bottom. However, I am currently working on building a black bay to cover the PSU and the PSU cables, with a hole big enough to not block the bottom fan. I got the idea from the HAF-X case, and so far it is coming along nicely.

 

[EvilJoker]

Post some pics when ya get threw

 

[AZ_Ron]

Sorry for dredging up this older post...I'm building a new gaming PC, and am strongly considering the NZXT 410 as well. Troopa, I was wondering why you didn't mount the H60 on the top of the case. I've been told it's designed for that, and keeps it "hidden".
Is the tubing from the Rad to the block/pump not long enough or ???

Thanks!

R

 

[Robert17]

Troop55, you mentioned that you lived where it's hot ? Yet maintain 23C at idle? I'm confused. You must run an air conditioner or we define "hot" differently.

By the way, fan set-up and cable routing looks good, should serve you well.