Push/Pull Fan question

alexkyriak · 22 Aug 2021 at 12:22

On a 60mm rad with push pull, do the fan on push need to be the same type as pull? Is there any reason for one side to be better than the other? Is there ever a reason to set them at different speeds or profiles?

Cheers guys

alexkyriak · 22 Aug 2021 at 22:59

True but I guess that a few small gains in several places can incrementally add up to a decent temp reduction? (That’s not a statement by the way that’s a question to the more knowledgable amongst us - which I am definitely not

)

alexkyriak · 23 Aug 2021 at 07:11

That’s interesting figures there, @Wingz, thanks.

So was that basically taking your system from a single rad to a double rad?

Or are there other rads involved that you didn’t change? Was the added 240 also push/pull, or just single sided?

What’s the total fan count on your system? What res are you playing at and are you OCed?

Apologies for all the detailed questions! But I am trying to home in on a silent (or near to) system when idling.

So am curious as to the effect of the overall number of fans a system has. Am considering the Arctic P12 rgb fans.

Thanks mate

alexkyriak · 24 Aug 2021 at 23:56

Thanks for the input guys.

I was wondering about choosing between:

1. A 45mm alphacool in pull, vs

2. a 38mm EK PE in push / pull.

This is for the vertical rad slot on the o11 XL dynamic.

Reason for considering this is that the alphacool option would be located in the second chamber with a pull fan in the main chamber, and therefore give me more space in the main chamber.

The EK option would have EKWB PE in the main chamber with a pull fan on it, and a push fan in the second chamber.

So: fatter rad in pull, vs thinner rad in push/pull

One of the reasons for asking is that the alphacool allows for shorter pipe runs due to the additional ports.

alexkyriak · 25 Aug 2021 at 18:27

Oh and I managed to test fit an EKWB PE 360 in that slot to give me a sense of how all this would fit. Nice bit of kit. The actual radiator elements are a lot thinner than the 38mm of the frame!

alexkyriak · 25 Aug 2021 at 23:00

Cheers Mike. Main concern I guess is the 45mm thickness and it being Pull. Considering EK-Varder X3M or Varder EVO 120 fans. They're high static, and the consideration is partly made on looks and rgb, they're not necessarily the best performing fan I appreciate, but they're quite good from what I can tell.

alexkyriak · 27 Aug 2021 at 17:26

Part of the reason for the original question on different fans on a push/pull was: on a push / pull rad in the bottom of a case, there's no point making the fan below the rad an RGB, as you'd never see it (ie, the fan sandwiched between case floor and the bottom of the rad). So if I used a varder XM3 RGB on the top side of the rad, and a non-RGB Varder 120 ER* on the bottom "hidden" side, would this be an issue. (If I had to I'd put the bottom fans on a separate profile to the upper ones)

(* I know there are non-rgb XM3s, but the Varder120 visually would look more discrete and it seals better to the rad... go with me on this!)

alexkyriak · 6 Sep 2021 at 14:34

One more query, sorry! (I know I need to stop asking questions and try some things out for myself

)

Quick opinion check: What do you guys think between a Push/Pull setup on a HWLabs Nemesis GTS, versus a Pull setup on HWLabs Nemesis GTX?

From what I can ascertain the GTS will do very well on low rpms in Push/Pull, whereas the thicker GTX then performs better than this at higher rpms in Push. Given I am aiming for a low rpm system as far as possible, would the GTS in push/pull be a better option than GTX in Push or Pull? This would be to compliment a system build with two other 360s, one of them a GTX, the other either a GTS, or an Alphacool nexxos XT45, cooling a 11900k block and a 3080 waterblock both with some OCing intended.

Had understood thicker rads are generally better, but curiously the thinner rad in P/P works better, according to the xtreemrigs tests.

Thanks guys, almost there..!

alexkyriak · 7 Sep 2021 at 12:28

pastymuncher said:
Where did you find that the GTS beats the GTX in push/pull? The GTX is actually much better than the GTS in push/pull at any fan speed which was the main reason I went for GTX280's in my setup. The only time that the GTS beats the GTX is at 750rpm in push only. See here. I usually run my GTX 280's at 750rpm in push/pull with 8x Arctic Cooling P14 fans but with this warmer weather have had to increase fan speeds to 1080rpm to keep my water temps in the low 20's (personal preference). Leaving them at 750rpm would still give me water temps of less than 30 degrees C but low 20's makes my GPU boost higher. These temps are only possible because my rads have outside air going through them.

I think - but might be misunderstanding the data - that GTS in Push / Pull, is better than GTX in Push, up to around 1500rpm, at which point GTX becomes better as RPMs increase. So Push/Pull vs Push/Pull, yes GTX is better. But it appears that lower RPMs is a slightly better cooling on a Push/Pull GTS vs a Push or Pull GTX. Hope that makes sense!

Obviously at higher fans speeds = more noise. 6 fans on a GTS at sub 700rpms in Push/Pull, vs 3 on a GTX in Push or Pull, that's a question of acoustic trade-off. As the RPMs increase obviously the Push/Pull GTS may well be louder.