Is it bad to have fans right next to gpu fans?

[SilentGameTestR]

Hello,

I see a lot of illustrated pictures of builds when looking at cases and even customer builds more specifically small for factor types where they have put fans on the bottom of the case that has barely millimetres of gap and while ive done that before, there was actually a lot bigger of a gap.

Dont know if anyone is familiar with the IONZ KZ X1 Portable, but ive been trying different ways to build my system as its quite compact and i didnt realise at first that you could fit fans on the bottom, however in my scenario with my particular a520m board, the gpu slot is closer to the edge, so any fan even slim ones gives an almost no gap(but dont touch). I am currently using a twin fan rx 570 powercolor, but i plan to use various cards.

There will be no benefit to use them as exhausts, so it would be exhaust gpu to intake case fans. How bad would it be to run it like that?. More so if i use just one fan that would cover majority of the rear gpu fan, but still sticks out to blow a little air more in to the case. 120mm fan options only.

 

[mickyflinn]

Hi

Why don't you grab a couple of fans and try it, it's only going to cost you around £15 but being so close to the GPU may at impede rather than improve.

Arctic P12 SLIM and set a custom fan curve.

Do some temp test before and after

Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm

Order Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

 

[ATIorNvidia]

I have a similar setup (in an Ncase M1) to what you're describing, with my GPU pretty much resting on two 120mm fans. In my case it does improve GPU temps vs without, you can get turbulent noises if you run high fan speeds, but if you keep it sub <1000RPM or so it's not an issue. YMMV.

 

[tamzzy]

Why don't you grab a couple of fans and try it, it's only going to cost you around £15 but being so close to the GPU may at impede rather than improve.

Arctic P12 SLIM and set a custom fan curve.

This.

I have two p14 slims (basically the larger version of the p12 slim - 140mm) as a bottom intake towards my GPU (a 7900xt), and then a 360mm aio up top being the computer's exhaust. Works well.

 

[doyll]

As stated grab a couple fans and try it.

 

[WARburton]

I have a similar setup (in an Ncase M1) to what you're describing, with my GPU pretty much resting on two 120mm fans. In my case it does improve GPU temps vs without,

this is the right answer, when your gpu is at idle and the fans are off the case fans will still put air over the heatsink.. making it cooler
when the gpu it underload the case fans will in theary make a push pull(push push) type of set up and can only help with air flow

 

[doyll]

What WARburton said explains why it usually helps.

Keep in mind both sets of fans need their speed curve synced to similar speed so one set helps other, not fights other set

 

[SilentGameTestR]

Hi

Why don't you grab a couple of fans and try it, it's only going to cost you around £15 but being so close to the GPU may at impede rather than improve.

Arctic P12 SLIM and set a custom fan curve.

Do some temp test before and after

Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm

Order Arctic P12 Slim PWM PST Fan - 120mm now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

thank you, i did try with a couple spares, but i didnt power it up due to cabling issues ie, being in the way and in fact i found issues with fan orientation for the cabling alone, so i have decided not to bother now. Maybe if i ever stick to one gpu and a single fan or Low profile then i will try again.

I have a similar setup (in an Ncase M1) to what you're describing, with my GPU pretty much resting on two 120mm fans. In my case it does improve GPU temps vs without, you can get turbulent noises if you run high fan speeds, but if you keep it sub <1000RPM or so it's not an issue. YMMV.

Ah ok good to know. I will have to google that case for comparison. I will look at the fan situation another time now.

This.

I have two p14 slims (basically the larger version of the p12 slim - 140mm) as a bottom intake towards my GPU (a 7900xt), and then a 360mm aio up top being the computer's exhaust. Works well.

in my scenario i am using a tower cooler. i did think of getting an AIO. but technically my case only has 2 actual fan positions if you ignore the bottom as per this topic and so i only really have a single intake & outtake. But also from reviews it is suggested air coolers are better in this size case? i dont know, but even if i got an AIO, i still face the question in hand.

I dont know what is best to use to upload pics as i could then show what my system looks like with and without bottom fans

 

[tamzzy]

Upload your pictures to Imgur and you can link the pics on this forum

Also it depends on which tower cooler you have.

A 120mm AIO is equal to, or slightly better than a mid-ranger tower cooler (ie single stack with 4-5 heat pipes)
A high-end tower cooler (dual stack with 6-8 heat pipes) is better than a 120mm AIO.
A good 240mm AIO is as good as, if not slightly better than a high-end tower cooler.
A good 360mm AIO is better than all tower coolers.

Just for comparison, in my second computer (mini itx case - fractal meshify 2 nano) I am currently using a 120mm AIO to cool a 5800x3d, purely for aesthetics reasons, but it's also helping with thermals as all the heat is exhausted immediately rather than being recirculating inside the case.

With my current AIO, In prime95 torture testing the CPU will be about 84c at 100+ load.D uring gaming the CPU is running at 67c average.

When I had a previously had a mid-range cooler (thermalright ak120se 5 heatpipe - same specs and case etc, just cooler change), the 5800x3d will throttle slightly due to temps as max temperature for the 5800x3d is 90c

In terms of throttling:
with the 120mm AIO, it was cooler (84c)and running at a higher power limit (134w)
With the tower cooler, the 5800x3d was running hotter (90c limited) with a lower power limit (120w) due to throttling

 

[Rroff]

If the fans are close enough and have enough force to fight each other it won't do good things to the fan bearings (if appropriate).

 

[InfiniteNoise]

I've had fans close to GPU like that, and I only ever saw improvement in cooling with both 3060 Ti and 4070, both FE, which makes sense considering the way they're designed, dropped about 5c that way.