Hi all,
It's been nearly five years since I last put a build together, and I could use some advice and opinions on how best to setup my new case in terms of airflow while still considering aesthetic.
My desk layout requires that I either have my PC underneath on the floor, or on the left hand side of my two monitors, with the visible case window against the wall.
For years now my main PC has been on the floor, out of site; and I fancy a change. I would like to see the thing, and I would like to at least consider the aesthetic somewhat.
I've therefore ordered a Bequiet! Darkbase Pro 901 which is fully invertible, so that I can switch everything over and get my PC up on to my desk to the left of my monitors, with the window fully visible.
For context, here's the relevant parts of the build:
The case supports the following radiator setup:
And fan support is as follows:
So, given that I've gone with a 420mm AIO, that will need to go in the front as intake and the extra QX140 fan I've bought can be the rear exhaust.
That seems like a given to me, but from here I'm not sure where to go for optimal airflow while balancing it with the Corsair iCue aesthetics that I really do like.
I have these 3 Silent Wings 4 fans that come with the case, that in the above configuration will be doing nothing. They're too big to use on the side as extra intakes, and i'm not sure whether they should go on the top as extra exhausts, given that I would like to minimize dust and if possible achieve midly positive air pressure.
I'm more than happy to buy some more Corsair iCue fans in order to complete the look, and I was thinking 3x QX120's would look nice as extra side intakes, but I don't want to do so at the expense of a good solid airflow setup.
Basically, I'm just after some opinions from those with more experience in terms of configuring airflow than myself. With this case and these components available to you, how would you configure your fans? Would you make use of the 3x Silent Wings in some way? What about the bottom fan space? Use one of the silent wings there as it won't be visible? If so, intake or exhaust?
Would having extra top exhausts be a bad idea in terms of air pressure? Would 3 more QX120's on the side be a good decision if I perhaps ramped them down a little in order to avoid messing up the radiator intake airflow? More iCue fans on top for a total complete iCue look? I'm a little lost and the options feel a bit overwhelming.
Really, I'm looking for a decent balance of aesthetics and performance, and I don't want such a large case to feel too empty.
Anyway, all opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
EDIT: Something else to note, is that when the 5090 comes around, I may decide to get a second radiator for the GPU and mount it at the top.
EDIT2: I've just had a thought. I could use the 3 silent wings 4 fans the other side of the AIO radiator in a push pull configuration. And since they won't be visible inside the case (they would be pushing cold in air from behind the radiator), this might make good use of them. They are however different specs in terms of RPM etc. The Silent wings are 1100 RPM and the Corsair's are 2000. Are there any issues with this? Could I just run the pulling Corsair's at a lower RPM so that they're roughly matched or am I asking for trouble?
It's been nearly five years since I last put a build together, and I could use some advice and opinions on how best to setup my new case in terms of airflow while still considering aesthetic.
My desk layout requires that I either have my PC underneath on the floor, or on the left hand side of my two monitors, with the visible case window against the wall.
For years now my main PC has been on the floor, out of site; and I fancy a change. I would like to see the thing, and I would like to at least consider the aesthetic somewhat.
I've therefore ordered a Bequiet! Darkbase Pro 901 which is fully invertible, so that I can switch everything over and get my PC up on to my desk to the left of my monitors, with the window fully visible.
For context, here's the relevant parts of the build:
- Ryzen 9950x
- Asus ROG Crosshair x870e Hero
- Corsair Dominator Titanium 96GB 7000mts
- Old Zotac 3090 (I'm holding out for the 5090 so this is a stopgap and therefore doesn't require too much consideration)
- CORSAIR iCUE LINK H170i LCD 420mm AIO Liquid CPU Cooler (comes with 3x QX140 fans)
- 1x Corsair QX140 fan
- The Bequiet! case also comes with 3 140mm Silent Wings 4 fans (which I may or may not use - since i'm going with the iCue aesthetic).
The case supports the following radiator setup:
- Front - Up to 420mm
- Top - Up to 360mm
- Side - Up to 360mm
And fan support is as follows:
- Front - 3x up to 140mm
- Top - 3x up to 140mm
- Side - 2x up to 120mm
- Rear - 1x up to 140mm
- Bottom - 1x 140mm or 3x 120mm
So, given that I've gone with a 420mm AIO, that will need to go in the front as intake and the extra QX140 fan I've bought can be the rear exhaust.
That seems like a given to me, but from here I'm not sure where to go for optimal airflow while balancing it with the Corsair iCue aesthetics that I really do like.
I have these 3 Silent Wings 4 fans that come with the case, that in the above configuration will be doing nothing. They're too big to use on the side as extra intakes, and i'm not sure whether they should go on the top as extra exhausts, given that I would like to minimize dust and if possible achieve midly positive air pressure.
I'm more than happy to buy some more Corsair iCue fans in order to complete the look, and I was thinking 3x QX120's would look nice as extra side intakes, but I don't want to do so at the expense of a good solid airflow setup.
Basically, I'm just after some opinions from those with more experience in terms of configuring airflow than myself. With this case and these components available to you, how would you configure your fans? Would you make use of the 3x Silent Wings in some way? What about the bottom fan space? Use one of the silent wings there as it won't be visible? If so, intake or exhaust?
Would having extra top exhausts be a bad idea in terms of air pressure? Would 3 more QX120's on the side be a good decision if I perhaps ramped them down a little in order to avoid messing up the radiator intake airflow? More iCue fans on top for a total complete iCue look? I'm a little lost and the options feel a bit overwhelming.
Really, I'm looking for a decent balance of aesthetics and performance, and I don't want such a large case to feel too empty.
Anyway, all opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
EDIT: Something else to note, is that when the 5090 comes around, I may decide to get a second radiator for the GPU and mount it at the top.
EDIT2: I've just had a thought. I could use the 3 silent wings 4 fans the other side of the AIO radiator in a push pull configuration. And since they won't be visible inside the case (they would be pushing cold in air from behind the radiator), this might make good use of them. They are however different specs in terms of RPM etc. The Silent wings are 1100 RPM and the Corsair's are 2000. Are there any issues with this? Could I just run the pulling Corsair's at a lower RPM so that they're roughly matched or am I asking for trouble?
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