Fractal Design Arc Midi Optimal Fan Setup

scwba06 · 22 Aug 2012 at 23:50

Ive been trawling the net looking for reccomendations on the optimal fan set up for the arc midi for a new build.

All seem to suggest removing one of the front HDD cages and use 2 140mm intakes in the front. Some reviews suggest a fan in the side panel some suggest a fan in the floor.

Most suggest an outtake fan in the roof or a rad as outtake and some suggest a large air mover for outtake in the rear.

My question is what is the optimal fan setup for this case with neutral or slight positive case pressure which gives optimal cooling for little noise. Any fan and fan controller recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks

doyll · 23 Aug 2012 at 10:36

Using R2 so not as good at cooling but very similar case. All fans are PWM controlled by CPU fan socket using PWM splitter. 2x FN053 front and 1x TY-140 bottom intake with 1x FN053 rear exhaust. Cooler mounted vertical with top vents open. Case raised on caster base so have 50mm clearance improving bottom intake airflow. Using indoor / outdoor thermometer I have 2-5c warmer case temps than ambient depending on GPU load (passive cooling HD 5770 Silent Cell). CPU load has almost no effect on case temp.

rids57 · 23 Aug 2012 at 11:41

I've set mine up with 140mm exhaust fans in rear and top (back), two 140mm intake fans in the front and a 120mm fan as intake in the top. The 120mm in the top may sound a bit strange but it's supplying the CPU cooler with cool air. It seems to be working, my i5 2500k @4.2GHz was running at 28C idle, 46C (Skyrim) and 52C (Prime 95) with an ambient temperature of 24C. I have the three Fractal Design fans running off the included fan controller and the other two are PWM running off the motherboard and at idle the rig is silent and it's not much louder under stress.

King Damager · 23 Aug 2012 at 11:43

Air comes in front and bottom, goes out top and rear. Put as many fans in there as you like.

I tend to go with positive pressure if I can.

kd

scwba06 · 23 Aug 2012 at 18:39

rids57 said:
I've set mine up with 140mm exhaust fans in rear and top (back), two 140mm intake fans in the front and a 120mm fan as intake in the top. The 120mm in the top may sound a bit strange but it's supplying the CPU cooler with cool air. It seems to be working, my i5 2500k @4.2GHz was running at 28C idle, 46C (Skyrim) and 52C (Prime 95) with an ambient temperature of 24C. I have the three Fractal Design fans running off the included fan controller and the other two are PWM running off the motherboard and at idle the rig is silent and it's not much louder under stress.

Those aren't bad temps, what CPU cooler have you got, I'm gona go with the Phanteks I think but with such a big cooler I wasn't sure if I'd have enough intake from the 2 front 140mm. Again I'm not sure about a fan in the side window as it would disrupt central airflow but may help keep the GPU cool (gona go with a 670). I'm not sure I'd have enough clearance for a floor fan to be effective, definatly will have an outtake in top, possibly 2 depending on intakes. Have you slapped a dust filter on the window? Does the included controller work well?

rids57 · 23 Aug 2012 at 20:04

Its a Gelid Tranquillo, so a Phanteks should be able to drop the temps even further.
I haven't done anything with the side window, I can't decide whether to get a 180mm intake or the replacement "windowed" side panel when OcUK get some in. I did read this report that suggests that a side fan can make more difference than any other.
The included filter is very basic, it is just a single knob that controls the speed of all three fans simultaneously. It does work though, I just turned it to maximum and then slowly reduced the speed slightly and the drop off in noise level was dramatic while the fans are still apparently shifting plenty of air. I will probably be getting a six way controller to fit in the 2nd optical bay so I can control all of the fans individually.

scwba06 · 23 Aug 2012 at 21:07

rids57 said:
Its a Gelid Tranquillo, so a Phanteks should be able to drop the temps even further.
I haven't done anything with the side window, I can't decide whether to get a 180mm intake or the replacement "windowed" side panel when OcUK get some in. I did read this report that suggests that a side fan can make more difference than any other.
The included filter is very basic, it is just a single knob that controls the speed of all three fans simultaneously. It does work though, I just turned it to maximum and then slowly reduced the speed slightly and the drop off in noise level was dramatic while the fans are still apparently shifting plenty of air. I will probably be getting a six way controller to fit in the 2nd optical bay so I can control all of the fans individually.

I'd probably go with a 6 way controller too. Hmm that guide was interesting may go with 2 front intakes side panel intake rear roof outtake and a beast rear exhaust then potentially take a fan out and experiment with temps. The windowed panel does look better

rids57 · 23 Aug 2012 at 21:21

I love the look of the windowed panel so I'm trying to ignore the benefits of putting a 180 in the side panel

scwba06 · 23 Aug 2012 at 23:18

rids57 said:
I love the look of the windowed panel so I'm trying to ignore the benefits of putting a 180 in the side panel

If your sticking to 3/4 fans anyway, based on that guide you posted its doable with a top rear exhaust and a rear exhaust and stick to the 2 140s in the front panel? You could do some nice LED work with a window

rids57 · 24 Aug 2012 at 00:05

The 5 I've got already seem to be doing a good job so I may well stick with the current setup. The temperatures are pretty good, noise is very low and I'm content with the 2500k overclock to 4.2GHz. It would obviously go higher but at the expense of heat and as a result, noise. So I think I'll probably go for the window panel and maybe add a couple of LEDs. The PSU lights up anyway (Corsair GS700) so I've already had a bit of a preview.