Help with airflow in Coolermaster HAF 912

ANN1H1LAT0R · 14 Jan 2012 at 10:47

I have the Coolermaster HAF 912 and have just created my new gaming RIG with the following components

Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth P67 B3 Rev
CPU: Core i5 2500K
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz
PSU: Coolermaster Silent Pro 1000W
Graphics: MSI GeForce GTX 580 OC Twin FrozR II 1536MB
Sound Card: Asus Xonar D2X 7.1
HDD: OCZ Agility 3 120Gig
Case: Coolermaster HAF 912

Now my question is what is going to be the best way of setting up airflow in this system. The Hydro H60 uses the back fan mount for the watercooling block and so is blowing air into the case over the cooler.

I can get any fans that I may need but currently I have a 120mm fan on the side blowing into the case onto the GPU and I have a 120mm fan at the front of the case as an exhaust fan therefore sucking the hot air out of the case I hope. I can add a second fan onto the front of the case and there is room for 2x120mm fans on the top or a 200mm fan.

My issue is with my GPU and the motherboard temperatures. According to MSI afterburner the GPU hits a max of 88 degrees after about 3 hours of gaming and the motherboard sensors are reporting 72 degrees around the USB 3 chipset, the PCI-Express area and around the SATA 3 areas (all around the GPU to be fair.

The CPU never goes above 32 degrees and the system does run stable but I dont like the idea of all that heat. Whats my best solution for fans etc.

Thank you for all your help

lomez · 14 Jan 2012 at 11:20

if it has a top mounted fan id personally put both your front and side fans as intakes with the rear and top fans as exhausts im aware your rear is attached to your cpu cooler, but i dont think it will affect the cpu temps too much 2-3 degrees have a try and let me know.

looking at the specs you could even put 2 x 200mm fans (front for intake/top for exhaust) that should help air flow a load.

ANN1H1LAT0R · 15 Jan 2012 at 11:42

Thank you Ill give that a go. Can the front house a 200mm fan though? I know the top can because it has the holes for it but Im not sure about the front. It doesnt look wide enough lol

lomez · 15 Jan 2012 at 15:04

according to the spec list it can.

- Cooling: Fan Bays Front: 120 mm red fan x 2, 1200RPM,17dBA (one is optional, can be swapped for one 200mm fan)
- Top: 120mm black fan x 2 or 200mm fan x 1 (optional)
- Rear: 120 mm black fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA
- Side:120/140 mm fan x 1 (optional)

systemerror · 16 Jan 2012 at 14:56

I would def agree with Lomez and go with the 200mm intake at the front and 2* 120mm as your exhausts. Using your back 120mm for the cpu cooler if you have the space you could maybe put a push-pull on the h60 with the air been drawn from the case out the way.

ANN1H1LAT0R · 16 Jan 2012 at 21:52

What does this push pull config on the cpu cooler mean. Currently the fan is inbetween the case and the water cooler block meaning cold air is drawn in from the back of the case to cool the cpu cooler therefore blowing into the case. How would push pull work? Would I use two fans on the cpu cooler...one on each side and if so would that ultimatley mean Im using the warm air in the case to cool the cooler and blowing the air out of the case via the back? wouldnt that mean the cpu would be hotter if Im using already warm air?

I am going to use a 200mm fan as an intake on the front and a 200mm on the top as an outtake hopefully reducing the internal temp and creating better airflow but as a quick question my GTX 580 blows hot air into the case and specifically it blows the hot air toward the front fan mounts so wouldt having a front in take mean that id have two flows of air trying to compete with eachother?

lomez · 16 Jan 2012 at 22:22

most non reference gpu's dump heat into the case and front intake rear/top exhaust has always been widely regarded as the best way to cool as for push pull he means 2 fans either side one pushing air into the rad from the air in the case the other pulling air out and exhausting via back through the rad. the air will be cooler regardless of the fact its using the warmer air from your case as it is moving faster and cooling due to the fans, the biggest obstacle to air flow is bad cabling but ultimately you will never have a clean airflow, so in some respects its trial and error to what works best for your own system.

Get some software like HWmonitor and try different setups till you find the optimal one which is usually front/side intake and rear top exhaust.

ANN1H1LAT0R · 17 Jan 2012 at 10:29

Ah right Ill give the push pull a go and use 200mm on the front for intake and the top for exhaust.

My cable managaement is insanely good imo lol. I spent hours building the system and managed to get all cables routed behind the MB or around the back of the case near the drives and where possible they are all cable tidied and braided

Tthere are no cables trailing anywhere in the airflow area. Even the GPU cables are instantly routed behind the MB after the connection lol. Ive found the HAF 912 an excellent case for routing

Ill report on my air flow as soon as Ive had time to change the fan setups