HAF Stacker water-cooling build

[Hemzorz]

Hey guys..I need some help.

I've done a fair bit of research and am attempting a hard tubed custom silent build.

What I need help with is mounting ideas to mount 4 X 140mm fans to the top of my HAF 915r case.
In that case I will have 2 X 52mm thick 12FPI 3 X 120mm radiators both working in push from the outside with the 140mm fans sucking from the inside out the top.

I'm exhausted working out what to do next.

My 120mm fans are only 50CFM but 8db so nice and quiet spinning at 800rpm which I have read is ok given the 12FPI rads.

Fans are 140 for top and 120 for rads.
Noiseblocker NB-eloop fan b12-1/b14-1

Any ideas?

For my pump I've got the thermaltake Pacific pr22-d5 with silent kit reservoir/pump combo.

Pic of case attached.

Any help much appreciated!

 

[maxfly]

i would go with strips of aluminum/plastic or whatever handy sacrificial metal you have lying around. measure and predrill all of your mounting holes. make your mounting holes oblong vs perfectly round to allow for small adjustments. GL!

 

[Hemzorz]

i would go with strips of aluminum/plastic or whatever handy sacrificial metal you have lying around. measure and predrill all of your mounting holes. make your mounting holes oblong vs perfectly round to allow for small adjustments. GL!

Ended up getting what I wanted with zipties hahahha the true master of dodgy. [emoji23]

 

[Blaylock]

So here are some incomplete thoughts. Looking at the width of the 915R and the width of a pairof 52mm rads + 25mm fans it looks like you'll have about 74mm between the two radiators. That may not be enough room for both to exhaust onto that space. You might end up with opposing air flow restricting your cooling efficiency. The top fans would help reduce this but how much is a question mark.

Here are a couple alternate ideas as food for thought.

1.) Reverse your thinking. Instead of intaking air into the 915r from the sides and exhausting out the top consider intaking from the top and exhausting out the sides. This will eliminate the higher pressure of air in between the two radiators. You might also be able to add the front 92mm fan assuming the radiators aren't too long.

2.a) Create a flow through scenario. Intake from the left side radiator and exhaust from the right side radiator in an extended push/ pull configuration. I know the common thought here is to be concerned about the 'hot' air from the left radiator blowing onto the right radiator but think about this for a second. What if this radiator was 104mm thick instead of 2x52mm. Would there still be the same concern?

2.b) The same as 2.a except adding exhaust fans out the top and intake fans at the bottom. So intake from left and bottom and exhaust from the right and top. This would likely be your best air flow scenario.

Either way you go there will be some experimenting to find the most effective means to cool. I've put a lot of thought into this over the years as this was going to be the case for my first water cooled build but decided to move on to a different case in the end. I'd love to see what you come up with and which layout functions the best. Please post pics and results.

 

[Hemzorz]

So here are some incomplete thoughts. Looking at the width of the 915R and the width of a pairof 52mm rads + 25mm fans it looks like you'll have about 74mm between the two radiators. That may not be enough room for both to exhaust onto that space. You might end up with opposing air flow restricting your cooling efficiency. The top fans would help reduce this but how much is a question mark.

Here are a couple alternate ideas as food for thought.

1.) Reverse your thinking. Instead of intaking air into the 915r from the sides and exhausting out the top consider intaking from the top and exhausting out the sides. This will eliminate the higher pressure of air in between the two radiators. You might also be able to add the front 92mm fan assuming the radiators aren't too long.

2.a) Create a flow through scenario. Intake from the left side radiator and exhaust from the right side radiator in an extended push/ pull configuration. I know the common thought here is to be concerned about the 'hot' air from the left radiator blowing onto the right radiator but think about this for a second. What if this radiator was 104mm thick instead of 2x52mm. Would there still be the same concern?

2.b) The same as 2.a except adding exhaust fans out the top and intake fans at the bottom. So intake from left and bottom and exhaust from the right and top. This would likely be your best air flow scenario.

Either way you go there will be some experimenting to find the most effective means to cool. I've put a lot of thought into this over the years as this was going to be the case for my first water cooled build but decided to move on to a different case in the end. I'd love to see what you come up with and which layout functions the best. Please post pics and results.

Hey mate,

Thanks for your in depth response. That was exactly what I needed.

I've put a lot of thought into this too and I figured because of the 800rpm fans it will be a lesser airflow out the other side and the top two 140mm fans as exhaust would help the remaining hot air and physics rise.
I've also got a 120mm in exhaust at the back plus have room for something at the front to use as an exhaust.

I will be testing a few of these methods though and benchmarking temps with each setup.

I will definitely post pics...right now on the market for a 2080ti and waterblock. Any recommendations or should I just get an MSI with the waterblock on it already for $2200 Aus....or am I better off getting a reference card and putting a full cover block on it for $1900?

 

[Blaylock]

Honestly, don't even worry about the physics of the hot air wanting to rise. There have been numerous studies done that prove even the lowest CFM fans will overcome the very slight rise of the heated air.

The best video I could find for this was from Gamers Nexus. You can ignore the review,(though it's a good review) and just skip to 3:00 into the video if you'd like.

 

[Hemzorz]

Honestly, don't even worry about the physics of the hot air wanting to rise. There have been numerous studies done that prove even the lowest CFM fans will overcome the very slight rise of the heated air.

The best video I could find for this was from Gamers Nexus. You can ignore the review,(though it's a good review) and just skip to 3:00 into the video if you'd like.

Ok cool and the reason I've gone with this setup first is because of this guy's extensive testing.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?220874-More-Radiator-Sandwich-testing

Also before I got the radiators I thought I only got 40mm ones haha they were surprisingly bigger once I got them [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I could try and mount a 120mm on the front otherwise not sure if I can find an 8db 92mm fan for the front...back has a 120mm exhaust too so I think it should work exhausting between the 2 X 140 and 1x 120... But will have to see...proof is in the pudding.

What 2080ti would you get? One pre blocked or just a reference and block myself?

 

[Blaylock]

This is the quietest 92mm fan that I know of. there may be better ones but at 14db it's probably not going to be the loudest component in the system.

As far as GPU blocks go EKWB has been very good for me. I've used 2 of their full cover blocks for a pair of 7970's I used to run. I don't have any experience with the others unfortunately. I did look at the EVGA hydro coppers at one time but ended up finding a really good deal on my current GPU so I'll be adding another block in the future. Brand to be determined.

 

[Hemzorz]

This is the quietest 92mm fan that I know of. there may be better ones but at 14db it's probably not going to be the loudest component in the system.

As far as GPU blocks go EKWB has been very good for me. I've used 2 of their full cover blocks for a pair of 7970's I used to run. I don't have any experience with the others unfortunately. I did look at the EVGA hydro coppers at one time but ended up finding a really good deal on my current GPU so I'll be adding another block in the future. Brand to be determined.

Haha at 14db it is by far the loudest item in the system. [emoji14] the noisest items I have will be my 8db rad fans.

I'll sus out GPUs.

 

[Blaylock]

That's 8db's in an open air environment. I highly doubt they will be 8db once they are paired up to a radiator. But that is an incredibly quiet fan, no doubt.

 

[Hemzorz]

That's 8db's in an open air environment. I highly doubt they will be 8db once they are paired up to a radiator. But that is an incredibly quiet fan, no doubt.

Yeah I will have to test it all with measurements. I probably have up to 20db wiggle room before I will hear it.

 

[Zerileous]

I'm loving Blaylock's suggestion 2.a. This embraces airflow and should be most efficient. The thing about the tests you listed is that they appear to be open air. Bringing air into the relatively narrow space between the rads at a 90 degree angle to exhaust through the rads will act as a restriction. You could try to overcome this with pressure using 2.b. At the end of the day you could always test it .

Blaylock, when you use the phrase "extended push pull" do you think it matters what order the fans/radiators are in?

 

[Blaylock]

Blaylock, when you use the phrase "extended push pull" do you think it matters what order the fans/radiators are in?

It will make a difference but it will be minimal. Fans tend to push better than they pull air but the difference that would be the most noticable would probably be the noise. A fan blowing air through a radiator vs. sucking air through a radiator will make a different sound. It may not be much of a decibel differenvce but there is an audible tone difference.

In Hemzorz scenario if he were to go with option 2.a then it wouldn't be a bad idea to make one (or both) of the rads to be a true push/pull.

--->fan/rad/fan--->rad/fan--->

or

--->fan/rad/fan--->fan/rad/fan--->

Naturally 12 fans in the attic would get damn pricey.


EDIT: In this scenario I wouldn't bother with the front or rear fans as they would only disturb the airflow.

 

[Hemzorz]

Hey guys yeah....I'm going with what I have due to space restraints. Currently plugging away at it....having issues with my flipping CPU block fittings not "fitting" side by side sigh.

Here is an update of how it's all coming along...waiting for my 2080ti and block and a few angles fittings to come next week. First time with petg...glad I bought 3 times the amount lmfao

I'm thoroughly enjoying this. I kind of wish I got pwm fans so I could boost for benchmarks and drop back down for every day living....feel stuck with my 6 x 800rpm ones. Oh well...

How's the pump for my first case mod haha made a hole for it like it's meant to be there View attachment 204794

 

[Blaylock]

Have you considered a fan controller. You have an abundance of 5.25" drive bays. At least this is how we used to control that many fans before this pwm craze. Lol

 

[Hemzorz]

Have you considered a fan controller. You have an abundance of 5.25" drive bays. At least this is how we used to control that many fans before this pwm craze. Lol

Yeah mate ordered a nzxt sentry 3

 

[Zerileous]

If you use an extension for one fitting will they both fit? Are you using EK fittings? I don't see it listed for this block, but I have seen cautions listed for EK blocks and fitting clearance.

 

[Hemzorz]

If you use an extension for one fitting will they both fit? Are you using EK fittings? I don't see it listed for this block, but I have seen cautions listed for EK blocks and fitting clearance.

Now I know this haha
Thermaltake fittings...so have ordered an angled fitting which should fit.