NZXT h500 - fans and buyer's remorse

Ewaf · 23 Mar 2019 at 08:09

Anyone got the nzxt h500 and have any feedback on improving temps? I added a 140mm to the front and kept the two it came with as exhaust at top and back, but air flow is so poor. It looks the dog's but annoyed at myself for not researching more about the thermals.

I could add another 140mm at the front, or potentially switch the top fan to be intake?

The front 140mm I got was a be quiet pure wings 2 but to be honest it doesn't seem to move a lot of air.

Ace Modder · 25 Mar 2019 at 13:04

The case is known to be quite poor at cooling generally.

GamerNexus did a in depth review and they pretty much confirmed the cooling is not great.

https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3309-nzxt-h500-case-review-thermals-noise-vs-s340

They said that you need to trade off the looks and style vs poor cooling - as you can not have both on this product.

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 13:09

Yup, as mentioned should have done a bit more homework! After a bit more digging it seems two good 140mm intake fans at front can help things, so going to pick up some noctua redux's I think , and see what happens. Will probably replace the stock exhaust fans at some point too, as they dont seem all that.

Danny75 · 25 Mar 2019 at 13:59

The dust filter just behind the side intake vents has tiny holes and surface area isn't big enough for that. They could have had bigger intake vents on the side panel, and a way larger dust filter with more surface area in front of where front fans can go, with some space between the fans and the dust filter. Speaking of which, have you experimented by removing that dust filter to see how much/if temps improve?

Also, metal grill exhausts suck. Noisy and not very efficient at helping move air out. I cut mine out of my case (old NZXT Phantom 820), and used a rings/classic fan guard instead.

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 14:45

I don't think mine has a dust filter, apart from the one on bottom for PSU?

Danny75 · 25 Mar 2019 at 14:56

Ewaf said:
I don't think mine has a dust filter, apart from the one on bottom for PSU?

That's interesting. The one GamersNexus received had a dust filter on the side as well. Maybe they stopped putting them there due to even worse airflow.

See 8:04.

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 15:16

I defo don't have one at top but didn't realise there was one at front side! Will take a look and potentially ditch it. As mentioned going to pick up some noctua redux 140mms for front, the be quiet pure wings 2 seems a bit pants even at 100%

orbitalwalsh · 25 Mar 2019 at 15:17

Ewaf said:
Yup, as mentioned should have done a bit more homework! After a bit more digging it seems two good 140mm intake fans at front can help things, so going to pick up some noctua redux's I think , and see what happens. Will probably replace the stock exhaust fans at some point too, as they dont seem all that.

Your after High flow fans or pushing a lot of air - whilst trying to be as quiet . Fans that need High static pressure or for pushing through objects like HDD cages, Heatsinks, rads or the rear mesh of a case... but these fans happen to have high of BOTH

E
My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Noctua NF-A14 PWM Chromax Premium Grade Fan - 140mm= £22.99
1 x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM Fan= £20.99
1 x Corsair ML140 140mm Premium Magnetic Levitation Fan - Dual Pack= £29.99

Total: £82.67 (includes shipping: £8.70)

quiet is the quietest with pushing least air ( STILL A TON) and corsair pushes the most but is double the sound

Ewaf said:
I defo don't have one at top but didn't realise there was one at front side! Will take a look and potentially ditch it. As mentioned going to pick up some noctua redux 140mms for front, the be quiet pure wings 2 seems a bit pants even at 100%

noctua is 1.3 of the CFM

Airflow: 64.9 CFM vs Air flow @ 12V (cfm / m3/h): 94,2 / 160 of the Pure wing 140mm High speed

(both 140mm models)

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 15:28

Interesting, so are you saying that the pure wings 2 140mm is better than the noctua redux? Or am I getting confused.

orbitalwalsh · 25 Mar 2019 at 15:31

Ewaf said:
Interesting, so are you saying that the pure wings 2 140mm is better than the noctua redux? Or am I getting confused.

in terms of airflow. yes - but have to be running at max . Pure is 1600rpm and Redux is 1200rpm - so need to find a graph of the two to get accurate pin point etc . Pure Wing is almost double the dB at full blast to...

have you got the high speed versions or standard of the Pure wing? and 140mm?

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 16:17

"Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 140mm PWM - Black Computer Case Fan Cooler - BL040"

That's what I got. But only one, to see what it's like. I think it's only 1000 rpm?

If I buy some noctuas for the front I could replace the top exhaust fan with the pure wings 2, which is currently the stock 120mm.

orbitalwalsh · 25 Mar 2019 at 16:42

Ewaf said:
"Be Quiet Pure Wings 2 140mm PWM - Black Computer Case Fan Cooler - BL040"

That's what I got. But only one, to see what it's like. I think it's only 1000 rpm?

If I buy some noctuas for the front I could replace the top exhaust fan with the pure wings 2, which is currently the stock 120mm.

Sounds like a good plan

tamzzy · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:01

cheap and dirty fans: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-cooling-p14-black-fan-140mm-fg-04m-ar.html

2.4mm of static pressure.
my recommended fans for the front intakes when getting the h500.
can get the pwm ones for a bit more should you wish.

raptor4216 · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:06

I am just about to buy this case but didn't realise the airflow in this case was so bad, GamersNexus made it sound not great but not awful either.

What spec are you running inside Ewaf?

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:25

tamzzy said:
cheap and dirty fans: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-cooling-p14-black-fan-140mm-fg-04m-ar.html

2.4mm of static pressure.
my recommended fans for the front intakes when getting the h500.
can get the pwm ones for a bit more should you wish.

Thanks for the recommendation, what makes them a good fit for the h500, just the static pressure? How are they sound wise?

raptor4216 said:
I am just about to buy this case but didn't realise the airflow in this case was so bad, GamersNexus made it sound not great but not awful either.

What spec are you running inside Ewaf?

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z390 GAMING X ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Kingston - Predator 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX VEGA 56 8 GB PULSE Video Card
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Currently got a 4.7ghz overclock on the CPU , though still running a tad hot for my liking. I think the main issue is lack of airflow, though getting the aforementioned 140mm's for the front may help (I'll report back when I get them). At the front, the fans only have the side slot for intake, versus a mesh front case like the meshify C for example, which I kind of wish I got now.

Nzxt h500 does look immense though, so hopefully I can sort the temps.

tamzzy · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:36

Ewaf said:
just the static pressure? How are they sound wise?

Arctic Cooling P14 Black - £5.95
- Volume: 0.3 sone / 23.5 dB (A)
- Speed: 1,700 rpm
- Static pressure: 2.4 mm H20
- Airflow: 72.8 CFM / 123.76 m³ / h
- Warranty: 6 years

Corsair ML140 - £29.99
- Speed: 400 – 2,000 RPM
- Sound Level: 16 – 37 dBA
- Airflow: 20 – 97 CFM
- Static Pressure: 0.2 – 3.0 mm-H2O
- 5 Year Warranty

raptor4216 · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:36

Thanks for the info, that's the sort of spec I am aiming for so would be interested to know how you get on with the new front fans.

The looks are what drew me to that case (yes I am that shallow!) so hoping more fans bring down the temps without making it sound like a hoover.

Danny75 · 25 Mar 2019 at 17:37

Apart from optimizing airflow, don't know if you looked into lowering LLC as Orbital recommended in the other thread, as low as possible while remaining stable. It typically adds more heat to CPU the higher it's set. Don't remember which platform it was but a few years ago we'd get posts about the same all the time - CPU temp very high on Asus motherboards (they were coming with LLC set quite high by default).

Ewaf · 25 Mar 2019 at 18:16

Danny75 said:
Apart from optimizing airflow, don't know if you looked into lowering LLC as Orbital recommended in the other thread, as low as possible while remaining stable. It typically adds more heat to CPU the higher it's set. Don't remember which platform it was but a few years ago we'd get posts about the same all the time - CPU temp very high on Asus motherboards (they were coming with LLC set quite high by default).

I must have missed the bit about LLC. I just followed the guide from gigabyte that says to set it to turbo.. I'm not sure what the other settings are so will have to have a look. It took me ages to find that you have to type in a 'T' to set it to turbo... Not sure why