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Best case airflow for EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB FTW3 ULTRA GAMING

Pro tip for everyone here

You can quickly and easily test how well your case's airflow is working and therefore how much improvement you could expect from a new case.


Steps 1) Run your GPU hard with the case as is and record the max temps.

Stel 2) Run the the GPU hard but this time remove the Front Panel, Top Panel and Side Panel of your case and record the temps.


If you have a good airflow case, you should notice a very minor difference in temps - if the difference is massive between these configurations then your case is very bad for airflow and you should consider getting a different case
 
For example, I've done this test on my own case, which is a Fractal Meshify S2 and the temps are similiar, with all the panels off the GPU only runs 1 to 2c cooler than with all the panels on
 
Grim5 said:
For example, I've done this test on my own case, which is a Fractal Meshify S2 and the temps are similiar, with all the panels off the GPU only runs 1 to 2c cooler than with all the panels on
Click to expand...

With a mesh case don't you compromise on noise levels? Part of the reason why I went with this case is it had good sound insulation. Worked fine for my 1080ti and bad for the 3090 that doesn't have a blower design.
 
no_1_dave said:
Just flip them around. Won't take more than 5 mins. See how it is after that :)



Hot air rises when there is no airflow. If there is airflow the hot air will 'go with the flow' so to speak, so having the top as an exhaust is not always the best solution. My top fans for example are intake fans because it makes sense to keep the air flowing
Click to expand...

Hey, I tried that but the hot air is now blowing against the radiator, increasing my CPU temps. Albeit marginal.

Merry Christmas by the way :)
 
As I said heat rises and builds up in the case you need to get rid of that heat. Get some holes in the top of your case and fit some extraction fans to vent the heat.
 
The heat rises doesn't apply to a situation where fans are involved, unless the rising hot air can overcome the force of a fan. Issue the Op has is that the case has insufficient airflow and a 350W+ gpu.
An Airflow case like Meshify S2, Lancool 2 mesh, Phanteks 500A in that style will work wonders. It's not that Op's case is bad, but a 1080 ti draws 250W max.
have you tried to move the front bottom fan to the rear position by the back wall of the case, as that fan will disrupt your flow from your rad to the card
 
element059 said:
Hey, I tried that but the hot air is now blowing against the radiator, increasing my CPU temps. Albeit marginal.

Merry Christmas by the way :)
Click to expand...

Merry Christmas!!!

The CPU temp will increase slightly, but the temp inside the case and the GPU temp will drop.
The only way to drop the GPU temp without increasing the CPU temp slightly is a new case.. Can't have the best of both worlds in a small/enclosed case, I speak from experience as I am using an mATX case with my 3080 :)
 
That case might be the worst for airflow. I don't even know where the air gets in the front.

Plenty of good cases named in this thread, I like the Phanteks airflow range or the lian li lancool 2 mesh.

Mesh is better for noise and temps as the fans can spin so much slower so make less noise than any 'quiet' case. There are exceptions but few and far between.
 
I ended up reverting to my old fan config and just fine tuning my fan settings to make them more aggressive. I've also set the EVGA fans to spin up at 40 degrees. I'm now getting 32 degrees in idle on the GPU and 35 on the CPU.

It's weird how EVGA set the fans on the 3090 to only spin up at 50 degrees. That seems pretty hot to me.
 
element059 said:
With a mesh case don't you compromise on noise levels? Part of the reason why I went with this case is it had good sound insulation. Worked fine for my 1080ti and bad for the 3090 that doesn't have a blower design.
Click to expand...

Yeah its a tradeoff unfortunately if you want better cooling it means some vents in the top etc as heat likes to rise so its simply more efficent. The 3090 throws out ridiculous amounts of heat so either increase the airflow at the possible expense of noise or undervolt. Which is what I did with mine got a small overclock on and lower temps and less noise as the fans aren't going crazy.
 
element059 said:
With a mesh case don't you compromise on noise levels? Part of the reason why I went with this case is it had good sound insulation. Worked fine for my 1080ti and bad for the 3090 that doesn't have a blower design.
Click to expand...
The thing is, as Gamers Nexus have proven time and again, "silent" cases almost always have such poor airflow that they require the fans to spin much faster anyway to overcome the resistance in their path, leading to them making as much or more noise than a case covered in ventilation holes and mesh where the fans can spin much slower whilst providing equivalent or often greater cooling. The only thing you potentially lose out on is dampening of non-airflow noises such as coil whine or hard drives, but I have to say that as somebody currently using an old Fractal Define R4 (which is a "silent" case) whilst deciding what to buy next, the sound dampening material it's covered in does **** all to stop coil whine being noticeable. No more than the glass panel did on the Phanteks Evolv X I got rid of earlier in the year anyway.
 
I'm really not a fan of mesh cases. I just don't think they looks very nice. As this is going in my living room I want a case that looks good but performs well.

From Gamers Nexus I see the NZXT H710 performs well, despite the solid panels.
 
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