HUUUUUGGE respect for this. Can't even imagine the time you must've invested for this video. Thanks a lot for the graphs and the thorough testing. Subscriber for life.
Thanks for posting this feedback, it means a lot to me. A lot people have enjoyed this video, and that's great, but most people probably don't realize what it took to put it together. It was a lot of work not just to do the actual benchmarking, but also to do the preparation and planning, including polling my viewers, in order to make sure the results would be meaningful. Going through all of this and getting useless results would have been a major disappointment. Well, I guess it's up to my viewers to decide if it was useful or useless, but it sounds like you at least appreciated it!
This needs more attention. Searching for an hour and lots of videos with nothing but opinions. Thank you for doing REAL testing and covering ALL the orientations. Great work
I have noticed that when you have Multiple fans on the same PWM channel. You get harmonic resonance( sort of a rhythmic hum) from all the fans. However if you put each fan on its own PWM channel ( use a fan controller or individual headers on your motherboard) you don't get as much resonance even if the fans are all running at the same speed.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru arctics are actually known to have a hum at only certain rpms'. Turn them up a tiny bit past that point, it vanishes, turn them down past that point the hum also vanishes. ITs just at the like 85% point or so that they do that. Cant remember what channel exactly figured this one out ill have to go back and look. They were testing these against the Noctuas.
I can't believe what a great and thorough test and analysis you did on this content. I think you answered any question anyone could possibly have about fan sizes, RPM, configuration, direction of flow (and various combinations). Most surprising to me was how detrimental having the top fans as rear exhaust, front intake, to cooling; I thought at worst it would be about the same as having no fan there, but that was completely wrong. This goes to show the importance of deliberate, scientific, testing before reaching conclusions. Thanks for this!
Ok. Good to see the 120mm x 5 or 6 performing well as my new setup will resemble that. The latter proving a second top exhaust doesn’t interfere with front inflow. Appreciate the time you spent here 👍🏼.
Hi friend, thanks for the precious time you spent, I have the same case and both Arctic P12 PWM and Noctua NF-A 12x25 PWM, it is clear that every computer, case and fan will make a difference, every case is unique, I have put 3 Arctic P12 in front (away from the filter) and 3 Noctua NF-A 12x25 1 rear and 2 top, the noise is almost absent at low speed but if I increase the Noctua are heard, previously I put Noctua in front (near to the filter) and Arctic rear and top, the noise is also absent in this case at low speed, but if I increase, the Noctua are heard! then I did another test with the Noctua (away from the filter) and I get an annoying resonance noise from the bearing, it is really difficult to find the right compromise between performance and noise but I want to say that the Noctua even if they are noisier, they blow more air than the Arctic and the temperatures drop by 2/3 degrees, the Arctic P12 are nice and very quiet but do not blow much air, certainly the biggest problems occur in summer and with these hot temperatures, if the room is not air-conditioned you have to increase the speed and bear the noise, this is the only solution with any computer, case, fan etc ... if the room is air conditioned then you can also run all the fans at 1000 rpm in idle and get a nice fresh computer!
My recommendations stand - these are excellent fans. The fact that I was able to find some configurations where P12s outperformed P14s doesn't diminish the products in any way. I believe that in much bigger cases, the P14s might be warranted.
@@LeoTelles Don't forget he was positioning the dB meter over the case and did say that you hear them the most , but if the case sit on the desk it could be a totally different story too.
Thank you for this video. I have a BQ PB500 case with mixed old fans from BQ (120, 140 / silent, dark, pure, similar positioning) Now I've purchased 6 of the arctic p12 and set it up the same way...immediately 10-15 degree lower temps on my idle GPU (no fans running) on 20% case fan rpm, nice! Thank you very, very much!
I've checked out lots of fan placement articles and videos, and this is the best info out there. This is a complicated issue to cover and you did it well. Also, I got lucky and don't have any resonance noises, only a "whooshing" sound as intended, and after tweaking the fan curves over time I've got everything perfect noise-wise. I actually found this video after I figured everything out for my use case, and everything you say is accurate, but I will keep it bookmarked for future use. Liked and subscribed.
@@TheTechBuyersGuruimagine if you tested side panel mounting, apparently that makes a huge difference, but apparently we stopped doing that in consumer cases.
Just wanted to say again. Thank you for the awesome review and going to the extra mile to test these fans. Greatly appreciated as always.. By the way Happy New Year!
This is a video I've been promising since the summer, so I worked overtime to get it in before the end of the year. It was a ton of work, but I learned a lot, and it sounds like you probably did too! Catch you in 2021!
My build is pure base 500dx . On front i have z73 nzxt water cool. On Top 2 fans 140mm as exhaust and rear fan 140mm as exhaust. I am waiting now for noctua's new generation fans to change my aio fans and one of the top fan Thank you so much for the review . Very informative. 🙏 .
This is an amazingly well-done video. It answered basically every question I had about fan setup and many others I'd never even considered. You get a like and subscribe -- thank you!
Well, that 140mm performance was disappointing. I did not expect those results. I thought the bigger the fan the better from a noise normalized perspective. Boy I was wrong! I guess I will just buy more P12 fans haha. Great video as always sir. Thank you for taking the time to experiment with so many configurations!
I was a bit disappointed too, but it doesn't mean they are bad fans. In the 3- and 4-fan configurations, they were actually better than the 120s. But putting 5 in the case just added a bit too much turbulence, which increased noise and may have disrupted airflow out of the chassis.
Wooow man, such a detailed guide, i was looking fot 500dx fan guide. This is very on point. I became sub because of this detailed guide just to support you
Excellent work! I’ve worked with dozens of cases and even more fans over the years. I did carry out my own measurements of temp, noise and vibration and despite occasional variations I can only concur with you. Your conclusions are spot on. Well done !
After seeing that you got better GPU cooling with one front fan vs. two, I tried this out and got some different results. I got 2 degree lower GPU temps with 2 front and 1 rear fan than with 1 front and 1 rear fan, where you got two degree higher temps with the two front fans. All fan speeds were locked for this testing, I think the problem with your 2 front fan test here is that you've put the second fan in the top position, rather than the bottom one. In my testing, two fans in the middle and bottom positions improve cooling for both the GPU and CPU vs just one fan.
bloody fantastic video mate. been planning my fan setup for a week now, and this video just solidified everything i was planning on doing. thankyou sir
This definitely helps. I didn't know much about fans or how you configure them can help. Stating its specific to your case helps a lot too. I need to do more research on a case now too. I'm slowly putting together a pc but I'm still learning about cases and fans. I really appreciate you taking the time to make this, for replying in the other video and especially for linking this video. Stay blessed dude
When thinking about multiple fan setups in a case, it's useful to think more in terms of pressure than airflow. An intake fan generates a high-pressure zone, while an exhaust fan generates a low-pressure zone. Air always moves from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.
That is a very good point. But air doesn't always move from high pressure to low pressure, it has to have a pathway to do so. So putting a high pressure fan in the wrong place means low airflow, and hence poor cooling efficiency.
Wow this really helped! I was strongly considering to swap my three 120mm fans in the front to two 140mm, becaus of the exact thougt that the lowest 120 is partly covered by the PSU shroud. I guess i leave it now as it is - 3x120 in the front, 1x140 in the rear and 1x140 in the top. Thank you for this great video - even if it's three years out :)
Thank you for this awesome video! I have exactly the same case (black version) and fans (arctic value pack, 140mm), and I was lost with all the possibilities. You answered my questions, keep up the good job.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Yes you tested even something I was willing to try (top intake). Now I have a question, how were you able to install the 140 tops fans? The cpu power cable gets in the way, was it the same for you? I tried to push a little but was too afraid to damage it.
Maybe this will be the vid that puts me over the top! I'm glad you like it, and I'm pretty proud of how much work (and thought) I put into this. I wanted it to go beyond what's been done before.
This video set my mind straight. Have an o11 air mini & was considering 2 140s on top vs my current 2 120s on top (wanted 3 120s on top, but have a 280 aio on from that gets in the way..) Keeping my current config of 280 aio front intake, 2 120 side exhaust, 2 top exhaust, 2 140mm bottom intake & 1 120mm rear exhaust.
Just a minor tip for those that are running a BQDX500 case or similar with 3 120mm fan in the front intake, take out all the unused pci/pcie tabs below the graphics card, this will improve the GPU temps a fair bit, I can feel the airflow coming out at the back at medium to high RPM. Plus, with the air being sucked in through the filter at the front, dust won't be an issue.
I'm using three P14 and two P8 Arctics in a 4U rack for my PC with a U9S. Also deshrouded my GPU and added two F12 and also changed the PSU fan to an F12 that was laying around from my old case. I'm very happy with it.
I recently became curious about how 120s stack up against 140s after my Montech Air Base came with 3 140mm fans when I already had 6 120mm Bequiet silent wings (3 of them being light wings). I was told that 140mm fans were "better" than my 120mm fans, but I wanted to see for myself which eventually led me here as not a lot of people do these kinds of tests for fans. Your testing so far seems the best since you only have 1 manipulated variable (the fans) while everything else including the ambient room temperature remains consistent. I honestly cannot thank you enough for what was likely several hours of work testing all of these configurations.
I'd like to address the off high pitched hum that comes from the P12 at 1000-1500 RPM. You can hear this in this video:ruclips.net/video/rb9Rt5G1ZlQ/видео.html Once the PWM value is in the range of 41-65 the pulsating resonance hum is noticeable, especially when in the specific resonance. They work very well as case fans at constant RPM. I'd just note the extra fan tuning, to avoid the humming RPM range, if they're being used on a Ryzen CPU cooler (which constantly spikes unless using RyzenMaster.) The same thing occurs with the P14 except lower frequencies.
I use Skiron fans instead of Arctic for this reason. Their sound profile is consistent as they ramp up in RPMs. Downside is that their lifespan isn't as long as Arctics.
this is true. i have two p14s. one in front, one as rear exhaust. the hum starts around 1000 rpm so i keep them at 950 rpm constant. definitely not buying arctic fans anymore.
@Kachongui Kach Just keep them running at constant. my hum now starts at 900 rpm but disappears between 1000-1100. a couple of weeks ago, it started at 1000. lol
Like I said in the comment section of the previous video another thing to consider is having static pressure optimized fans as intake and air flow optimized fans as exhaust.
That is an interesting concept. Perhaps something for me (or someone else) to test in the future! My hunch is that airflow fans are never as effective as people might imagine, because there are very few applications in a case that have low resistance. Exhausts are actually fairly high resistance due to the grilles they must push through.
I hope i can get a useful response. I am currently running an O11D XL with bottom and side intake (6x120mm) top exhaust (push pull Radiator 6x120mm) and 1x exhaust back 1x120mm. Now my fans are iCue LL120s and a while ago some of the LEDs have burned out. Its past warranty and i know its a manufacturing issue. So i was thinking of doing a new setup, originally i wanted Lian Li Uni Fans. So now the option presents itself to build in the Lian Li O11D Evo XL, which supports 9 140mm fans and 2 120mm fans. So i could even do push pull radiator top with 6 140s and generally just do the exact same setup, just replacing all fans with 140s and adding another 120 exhaust in the back. I am now unsure though if i would gain any temperature reduction/benefits at all through this setup.
It's a good idea to flatten your fan curves in the normal operating range your workloads are going to see, that way you don't get this annoying noise of the fans ramping up and down in speed quickly and often.
Very helpful for my first build since I actually grabbed the 5 pack of the arctic 140's for the price to performance value. One caveat, I went with the Phanteks p500a non-rgb case so there is actually room for me to put three 140's in the front and get that airflow beneath the gpu. I have an arctic liquid freezer II 360 AIO as well so I'm excited to see how removing the air cooler from the flow path affects temperatures. Gonna set them up in a 3 front, 1 back plus AIO top exhaust configuration to see how it goes. And I'm praying the increased case size doesn't bite me with the longer distance to the components like you mentioned 😟 I'll post results when the parts get here.
@@maozedowner5915 So as it turns out, I'm an idiot with almost no idea what I'm doing. And the results show this. My cpu is an i9-12900kf running at 4.9Ghz. Cinebench r20 was too hard to find, so I went with r23. After a 5 minute loop, I got a max temp one one core of 87° and an average max temp of about 79.5° on Core Temp 1.17.1(that incredibly high temp told me I might be doing it wrong) For the GPU(3080 FTW3 ULTRA) I ran the time spy test while following it with task manager and although my gpu load hit max, the temp never went above 53°(this confirmed I was doing it wrong.) It's disappointing, but I don't think my findings will be of any help to anyone. Sorry.
Here is a thought! If the GPU Likes the fresh air and there is room like that case to put an Exhaust mini fan so it can pull th air across the GPU and out the back???
Tons of work going into these videos amazing stuff and interesting info to have as a case building enthusiast. Everyone is a critic until they have to do the work, so don't let the negativity drown out your work!
This was well done and very thorough. I do think, that you missed one test, that a lot of viewers would have liked (or at least me). When buying the "be quiet! Pure Base 500DX" you get three "Pure Wings 2 140mm"-fans. I would like to know the best configuration using these three fans in conjunction with a 280mm AIO and a big air cooler like "be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4". As a bonus info you could give your opinion on whether it makes sense to upgrade to other fans or get three more fans to fill out all the available slots. I know that this was not a test of a specific case or a specific fan but more a test of the placement of the fans
See my previous videos. Already covered all of that. 500DX review: ruclips.net/video/kgvm5ZTAbFQ/видео.html Best 140mm case fan shootout: ruclips.net/video/kgvm5ZTAbFQ/видео.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Hi. Thanks for the content and the quick reply. I looked at your videos, and I must have missed the pure wings 2 in the shootout since it is only in 2 out of 5 graphs. You mention the pure wings costs 20 dollars, but that is not the case in the EU. Pure wings 2 are 72 dkkr Kaze flex 140mm is 202 dkkr (only RGB exists in 140 mm) Artic P14 is 61 dkkr (43 dkkr pr. fan in five pack) Noiseblocker B14 is 219 dkkr. How would you place the three pure wings 2 fans together with a 240-280mm radiator (on top like your other video suggests?)Does it depend on whether the GPU is blower/open air? Would the configuration change with an air cooler on the CPU? What kind of system build would prompt you to replace the pure wings 2 to more effective fans or increase the fan count? Have you tested silent wings 3 and shadow wings 2 from be quiet?
Wondering what your opinion is on the Arctic F series for airflow? I've seen other channels review both and claim that the F series (F12, F14) are better suited for situations where there is minimal impedance. I have an F12 and even though it runs at a lower RPM vs the P12, I can feel more air when I point it towards me. P12 seems better suited for radiators, heatsinks and cases where there is a lot of air restriction
I'm two minutes, and 55 seconds in; you haven't done any testing yet, and I'm already loving it. EDIT: I just finished watching the video, that had to have been one of the quickest 15 minutes of my life. The Premises that you've just opened up are all highly interesting, and don't get me started on the delivery, PERFECT! ....For me, at least. I'm sure the majority of other users that don't think to look at this sort of content would probably prefer to be told "What's better, 120mm or the 140mm fans?" followed up by "Which is the optimal placement". They'll have a fit right in front of you if you dare use the word "variables" in a sentences to them.
Thanks for watching the whole thing, and I'm glad to hear it didn't drag on for you despite all the data! I do heavily edit my videos to cut out the chatter (stuff that seems interesting as it comes out of my mouth but isn't once I listen to it!). Truth be told, I fully expected different results, even testing the setup that I thought was "right" at the end so I could keep it running in my system only to find that it was terrible (that was with the top fan flipped). I do hope that this video opens up a new dialog on PC cooling, because I don't think some of these issues have been fully examined thus far. Of course, I left about a million variables on the table for others to play with, so it's not like this conversation is over, it's only just begun!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru This message is a bit lengthy, I get carried away in writing/research sometimes and then realise what time it is and how long I've invested towards sharing a suggestion. From my perspective, your last video has opened up a whole new ballgame in regards to testing, the problem is, there's no way we could expect you to cover each new door. I went through the latest comments on this video, which you've done a stellar job at responding too. It seems some people would still like you to take their suggestions into account with testing, but with your level of detail, their requests are much larger than they realise. Perhaps in the next video, you could consider leaning in a different direction, allowing you to still follow-up on this content by keeping the users engaged and not putting an unrealistic workload on your shoulders. I had two thoughts in mind: Directly asking your fanbase to experiment using a set of specific parameters. You could document three-five different types of experiments you'd like to see numbers in, then assign two volunteers to each experiment(if available). I'd imagine that some of these tests would help the users construct questions or statements that may make it easier for you to strategically invest your time. Their results would not be conclusive in any way; it would just help lead you towards something in which you deem interesting or valuable. The second was sending out emails to individuals who handle airflow/circulation at a professional level, something like a structural engineer working in the airflow department. Briefly explain your position. You're trying to give individuals insight to maintain their hardware safely whilst also educating users enough to indirectly lower sales towards poorly engineered cases and fans. The last statement changes depending on who you're contacting; it's supposed to be a reason that relates to their values/morals/ethics. Ask if they have time for a couple of questions if so, show them a diagram of what you thought would work, and why; then followed up with what seemed to have worked. If they're hesitant in helping, you can mention that whichever professional adequately supports will be mentioned in that video with a thank you, as well as their business subtly brought up. E.g. I want to thank John for yada yada who's currently working as an Air Conditioner manufacturer for X company." There are also some interesting ways of measuring airflow from some brief Google search pages, perhaps if you were to use a tool to take a few measurements in your worst and best case-fan setups, you might be able to find similarities which turn out to be consistent with future tests.
Amazing analysis my guy. I really do appreciate all your tedious testing and hard work for a very informative video. I was looking forward to this video and you did not disappoint. Thanks again my guy and keep up the great content.
Yeah, hopefully this video will pick up a nice amount of views, because similar videos from big RUclipsrs scored like half a million, and I definitely took the testing a step further!
As for one fan... well, I'd buy another, LOL! But honestly, depends if I cared about CPU and GPU thermals. I'd put it right below the GPU in the front of the case if the GPU was my priority, and I'd use it as an exhaust in the rear if the CPU was my priority. But then again, I haven't tested this.... and probably never will!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru I bought 1x P14 and 3x P12 (a year ago), and only 2x P12 ended in my PC case, working perfectly, almost inaudible at 780RPM. The other ones went straight to electronic waste. Arctic quality control is abysmal. The price on them can be easily multiplied by 2. Half of them are expected to have fan screeching, motor vibration defects, or both. It's a pity that they seem to have so little competition. Noctua is expensive and its sound signature is a silent chainsaw.
Really Great job on this video 👏👏. Here is a fan weird set up that I though that might just work: - Back: 120 fan Intake - Top (above ram): 120 fan exhaust - Front Panel: # Bottom Slot: 120 fan @ 1500rpm min # Middle Slot: Empty # Top Slot: 120 fan exhaust - Finally place 1x 120mm fan on the PSU shroud below the GPU to direct air from the Front bottom fan , straight to the GPU. This set up uses 5 fans that can be bought from the value pack, provide airflow on the vrms closest to the Scythe fuma and provide cooler air in a more direct way to the GPU ! Hope you like my idea I really enjoy your content! Sometimes I just sip my coffee watching you build PCs!
This is indeed a really interesting idea, and I think adding that bottom fan is a great idea. You'd just have to make sure to flip the fans on the Fuma 2 to make that reverse airflow work, and I'm not sure they'd be quite as effective in a pull arrangement as they are in push.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru If the fans are reversed, they would be on a push configuration, pushing fresh air from the back and pulling it in the case , where it is immediately exhaust by the Top fan, am I right ?
Push and pull refers to the orientation of the fan on the heatsink (or radiator) fins. So if you have reversed the airflow in your case to go from back to front, then you need to flip the fans on the Fuma 2. This makes them "pull" fans, as they are pulling air through the fins, not pushing it. Fans are typically a bit less effective in this orientation.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Oh alright, I get it now ! Thanks for the explanation! Theoretically tho, both push and pull configurations should level out , as RPM increases right ?
@@TheTechBuyersGuru have you yet tested the variable of (1) intake/down facing top fan, but on the front side of top only; leaving the back/top open (In my mind, this solution has an back / case exhaust too) Literally I bought 8 Arctic P12 PWMs this morning bacuse of your video. I have the lian LI 215 and I'm replacing the front (2) 200mm 3 pin fans with (3) arctic P12s, and P12s throughout my case. Decided against the Scythe for my front fans.. I hope I make the right choice!
I haven't tested the setup you suggested, but since you now have 8 P12s, you can try it yourself! Glad that my videos convinced you, but wow, eight is more than most cases can hold!
I really like in depth comparisons with case fans. I've watched previous videos and you really cover the issues that bug a person like myself who cannot stand noise issues caused by case fans. I've experience harmonic resonance issues with noctua that are not going to show up on a "decibel meter", but I would rather have high decibels than to hear that awful sound. I don't know how anyone can work next to a machine noises like that all day. The cons of having good hearing I guess. You also make a great point to control the RPMs of the fans to get the right amount of airflow where your specific case isn't making groaning noises.
Glad I could provide some useful insights! Fan performance is incredibly complex, which might be why you don't see many other RUclipsrs trying to tackle it! I definitely can't cover it all, but I try to give people something to think about beyond specs on a website, which is how most people have bought fans for decades.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Deepcool matrexx 55 mesh. In case somebody reads this and has the same case note that you have to install front fans on the internal side of the case except for the bottom fan. P14 is 27 mm thick and it would interfere with some part of the case if you install it on external side and won't let you put on the front panel.
That looks like an amazing case! - amzn.to/2L7HNlu It seems they are now preparing a 4-fan ARGB version of the case: www.deepcool.com/product/case/2020-01/9_12888.shtml Unfortunately, it does not appear to be available in the US yet. I recently featured one of Deepcool's low-cost mATX cases on the channel, and I was very impressed with the quality for the price. I also have tested several of their AIO coolers and was equally impressed. I will be testing their best ARGB fans in a shootout soon, and when I request those samples, I'll also inquire about retail availability of the 55 Mesh ARGB. That could be a very competitive case depending on price.
Thanks for the data! I just bought a Corsair 4000D Airflow, going to keep both stock fans but add a 140mm Scythe and mount it down low. May upgrade to 3x120mm front and move the 140mm to the rear but not yet.
killer Vid. Linus Tech Tips made a similar one but didn't discuss the ins and outs of exhaust vs intake fans in the top, or the interplay between 120mm and 140mm fan types. I bought a case that unfortunately didn't allow for top mounting of a AIO pump bc of space limitations (it bumps against the mobo / ram) so this vid is a rescue of sorts. Thanks for helping me rethink my cooling design!!
Arctic fans are solid budget fans, and the 5-pack is a wonderful value. As an alternative, I recommend MetallicGear Skiron fans, whenever you can find them for a good budget price. They're made by Phantek. These fans are a slightly better 9-blade design for airflow compared to Arctics, but more importantly, the Skirons are close to the cheapest case fans you can which include rubber mounts to reduce vibration noise. Decent quality rifle-bearings, slightly improved on the ball-bearings in Arctic fans. Arctics have a cooler motor, however, which increases their lifespan over the Skirons.
When i had my fx8300 system i ran 2 120s front and 2 top 120s, all as intake with the only exhaust at the rear, as well as a gpu with a blower cooler and my psu "uspide down" for more exhaust potential. Was great setup for cpu, vrm and oc'ing - basically the only thing that system was good for. I really love your fan content. I thought 4 140s would take it over the 6 120s because of the lower speed. Good stuff as always.
If you look closely at the dBA-normalized 3DMark graph for the extreme setups, you'll see that the 4x140s were excellent for CPU temps, but not quite as good for GPU temps. I suspect that if I had lowered the bottom fan below the level of the PSU shroud, the temps would have (counter-intuitively) been better for the GPU.
Thanks for a very interesting 🤔 review video. I usually have a 2 intake fans and exhaust fans 1 rear and 1 top (all 140mm fans) for my tax builds. However, now I’m using mini ITX setups, a dual intake and 1 or 2 exhaust (120mm setup fans) setup I find worlds better in these. Love the video. Keep up the great work 🎄🎄🥳🥳🥰🤯.
I had the same result with my single 140mm intake fan: the lowest position is most beneficial to the GPU. My case doesn't have any grate above the PSU and as I was thinking about the turbulence occurring when the air hits the back of the PSU, I placed a makeshift curved ramp out of cardboard leading up from the bottom of the case to the level of the PSU. That shaved off another 1.5°C of the GPU temps. By the way, my rear fan is an intake (at 300 rpm) and I only have one exhaust fan in the top; CPU air flow is reversed. That was the optimal solution for a CPU tower cooler (at moderate rpm) and an open "blow through" GPU (Sapphire Pulse RX Vega56). Otherwise the CPU cooler was sucking in that hot air from the GPU.
I leaned something about case design. I normally run around 36 C according to HWMonitor. I pulled the front of my pc off to discover a huge hole on top of the one fan that the case uses in the front. (hole was there to add a fan) I reasoned this cannot be good so I sealed up the hole and got 2 degrees cooler consistently now that the one fan isn't pulling hot air from inside the case. I thought o.k. I can do better than this. I had an old fan I pulled out of an old pc installed it even though it was a smaller fan, sealed up the edges again and now I'm getting a consistent 32 C at idle instead of 36 C. Moral of this story, always seal up any holes your front fan may use to pull warm air inside the case from and add more air intake if you can.
kinda curious sir, if the front of the case is a grille with magnetic dust filter, which type of fan should you use? air flow fan or static pressure fan?
new sub from hong kong, one of the BEST informative youtuber , didnt skip a bit to watch just built my new desktop i5 10400f with b560 board, 3200 ballistix ram,1660 display card, cooler master nr400 case, fuma 2 cpu cooler and mx4 thermal paste (both based on your review again) and of cos ALL 5 ARCTIC P12 fans installed, I would say a bit overkill, it just hard to reach 80 degrees lol but who doesn't like better cooling, especially with this low price from arctic and fuma
Really appreciate this but I'm really missing 1 or 2 fans in the bottom as intake, both cases with a shroud and especially without as you can feed cool air straight to the gpu, though having an extra fan directly below and infront of the 2/3 intake fans could be negative I think.
The problem with testing the 140mm fans in this case, is the mounting for the 120mm fans which block the airflow and create turbulence and noise. I take a Dremel to my cases to open up the airflow and install the biggest fans possible.
Just want to say thanks for taking the time to go into such detail. I imagine the perforated PSU chamber must be helping a lot here. Best wishes for the new year!
Wow. I really thought 3x120 front with 140 back and top would be better than it was. Only really corner cases I would want to try/see is 3x120 front with only one 140 back and top, possibly while blocking the space for the front top mount, or the split dual 140 front (which is what I'm running currently) This was a beautifully done and largely complete video. Quite impressed. And I was absolutely looking for a video on exactly this (and even this case, luckily enough). You've convinced me not to add 3x120mm front fans. I thought the higher static pressure would get more air through the mesh front.
Well, sounds like this video was spot on for you given the case you have. It's not something I could repeat with many cases, that's for sure. But why do you say 3x120 wasn't effective? It seems better than 2x140 based on my benchmarks, no?
@@TheTechBuyersGuru not that it wasn't effective, but I thought the night-and-day difference I expected compared to 2x140 front. The difference doesn't seem worth buying additional 120mm fans I don't already own.
Oh, yeah, this was all a theoretical test assuming you were coming from no fans. In terms of tossing two 140mm fans and buying three 120mm fans for a minimum of $30, it's probably not worth it. With that said, the default configuration of the case is 1x140 in front, top, and rear, so I would absolutely suggest swapping out that single front 140mm for triple 120mm fans, and then putting the second 140mm on top (despite minimal benefit, because you'd already have it and it's greater than zero!).
I have the Mesh 2 Performance. Got the 5-pack of Arctic 120s and 140s. Replaced back fan and CPU air cooler fan with the 120s. Daisy chained 3 140s at the front (can be done, the middle one is stacked behind the bracket and the top and bottom in front of it. I think I had to turn the bracket around, which is an intended config). Set at Auto it runs very very cool regardless and is silent.It's win-win all the way.
@@ElsinoreRacer Have you noticed any resonance issues? I have the p12s installed in the exact same case and noticed a bunch of resonance issues across almost the entire rpm range. This has made leaving them on auto nearly impossible since the low noise levels are ruined by the high pitched sound of the resonant frequencies when the fans ramp up and down.
I bought 3x Arctic F14 BioniX for the front panel, they start resonating in my case between 680-950 RPM. The humming is driving me nuts. So i've forced them to work at 645, sadly I don't dare making fan curve due to the nasty resonance.
Finally a video that actually helped me with real world direct comparisons using the same fans instead of widely different fans. Therefore the test is actually meaningful. I am going to change mine to the 3 front 1 rear 1 top and see if it helps my temps. They are not horrible but my idle temps are a little high (3900X and 2080 Super, CPU Idling at like 40-50 and GPU around 60 - which is probably acceptable anyway..but still want to have the best setup) These fans are super cheap are they really that good? Most people are going to recommend some $30 ea fans (Noctua etc) so am concerned about buying cheap fans?
Most people haven't watched my videos, so they don't know anything about what they are recommending! Are Arctic's good? See this video: ruclips.net/video/PUdsTiRmuuU/видео.html If you decide to get them, here's the link to the 5-pack: amzn.to/3APDGQ5 By the way, your high idle temps are not a reason to buy any case fans at all. Idle temps are driven entirely by the fans on the coolers and the settings you are using. I recommending using a manual fan profile on your 2080 Super so that it's NEVER at zero RPM. While that's a popular fad, it's not actually very good for anything, including maintaining idle temps, because any modern GPU will slowly climb up in temps until it requires the fans to toggle on and off, which is more annoying than leaving them on. In terms of your 3900X, idle temps are always going to be that high due to background tasks and the density of the chip. It's the CPU I bench with. To learn how it idles with high-end 360mm liquid coolers, see this video: ruclips.net/video/GLaje-5JFd4/видео.html
Hello, I would like to see a video where you analysed the RPM sweet spot for a fan (140mm and 120mm). So fat I have set my fans at the lower speed possible, but I would like to know how much gain I would have if I speed up my fans. It would also love to check the difference performance between Artctics P14/P12 and F14/F12. In theory flow fans should be better as fan cases. Thank you!
This test would be extremely fan specific. Whatever I found for one fan model would be different than it would be for another model, and more importantly, it would change a lot based on how many fans are in the system. I think I've done about as much as I'm going to do on this topic in the video you watched here. As for the P12 vs. F12, I've tested this already. The P12 is a much better fan for everything. Airflow metrics in specs are meaningless, as it turns out. You can learn more here: ruclips.net/video/WBoLyC0tSDQ/видео.html
Hello, I have just found a nice video I would like to share with you. Looking at the graphics it looks like the sweet spot for fans are between 50% and 60% for most fans. The noise it stays the same till reaching the 50% mark. ruclips.net/video/rv1S9RhABa8/видео.html
There is a problem with his methodology. He is testing in a simplified system where the CPU cooler does not have a fan. He's basically using the case fan as a CPU cooler fan. It would be MUCH more complicated to actually test this correctly, where multiple case fans are installed and the CPU cooler has its own fan.
Ha, ha, yes, you are all set with those 6x120s!!! I have a couple big case reviews coming up over the next few weeks, and then the huge AIO shootout. Stay tuned for a poll on that topic in the next few hours!!!
Scythe makes amazing stuff, I would love to get my hands on their fans! I was lucky to get their cpu cooler with one of the fans they make and its a beautiful beast. They literally blow everyone out of the water , keep up the excellent product workmanship Scythe!
In the 3DMark benchmark (at 8:16), it seems that 2 front, 1 rear leads to higher GPU temps at the same noise levels compared to 1 front, 1 rear for both 120mm and 140mm fans. Any reason as to why this might be the case? It seems that CPU temps are significantly reduced with 140mm fans in 2 front, 1 rear vs 1 front, 1 rear and I would've thought that the additional airflow with the second front fan would be of more benefit to the GPU since it's directly facing it.
I've tested this a number of times, most recently in my new Silent Base 802 review: ruclips.net/video/4Y57m-_f1uA/видео.html The results are repeatable and consistent. The upper front fan is not doing any good for the GPU, as pushing cool air over the back of the GPU isn't actually what the GPU needs. On the other hand, helping create a chimney effect to draw that hot air out of the case allows the GPU to clear out its own exhaust and take in more cool air.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Thanks for the response! That makes sense to me now. I just realised that the 1 front, 1 rear setup had the front 140mm fan at the lower position rather than upper. I've had a closer look at the graphs and I just wanted to clarify a few things to make sure that I've understood correctly. It seems that: 1) Top exhausts generally reduce GPU temps by removing heat around its components, but can potentially increase CPU temps for a CPU air cooler if the front intake air leaves through the top exhausts before it enters the CPU cooler's intake. 2) Front intake fans generally reduce GPU temps (front mid to low) and CPU temps (front mid to upper) by supplying cool air, but only if the air flow is directly facing or underneath the components. 3) From a noise-normalised perspective, there are tradeoffs with particular configurations - adding more exhaust airflow might be at the cost of reduced intake airflow at the same noise levels, and vice versa. When noise-normalised, adding a single 140mm top exhaust (w/ 2 front intakes) reduced CPU temps by 2 degrees in Cinebench but the same modification increased CPU temps by 2 degrees in 3DMark. I'm assuming this is because the front intake airflow was effectively reduced, supplying less cool air to the CPU, which was much more necessary in the 3DMark setup as the GPU was increasing the ambient heat within the case significantly? Would you agree with that? Sorry for the long reply! Your video was exactly what I was looking for as I didn't find any other investigations of this topic with the same depth as yours.
Luckily I found this video. This helped me a lot in deciding what would be my fan placements using the Arctic PWM's Currently building my first gaming PC on a mATX form factor using Meshify C Mini. 2x P14 PWM Front (in) 2x P12 PWM Top (ex) 1x P12 PWM Rear (ex)
Truth is that each of us have to test each case and build we make. In my case the rear exhaust fan its negative, only one degree but better to not let it run.
HUUUUUGGE respect for this. Can't even imagine the time you must've invested for this video. Thanks a lot for the graphs and the thorough testing. Subscriber for life.
Thanks for posting this feedback, it means a lot to me. A lot people have enjoyed this video, and that's great, but most people probably don't realize what it took to put it together. It was a lot of work not just to do the actual benchmarking, but also to do the preparation and planning, including polling my viewers, in order to make sure the results would be meaningful. Going through all of this and getting useless results would have been a major disappointment. Well, I guess it's up to my viewers to decide if it was useful or useless, but it sounds like you at least appreciated it!
This needs more attention. Searching for an hour and lots of videos with nothing but opinions. Thank you for doing REAL testing and covering ALL the orientations. Great work
I have noticed that when you have Multiple fans on the same PWM channel. You get harmonic resonance( sort of a rhythmic hum) from all the fans. However if you put each fan on its own PWM channel ( use a fan controller or individual headers on your motherboard) you don't get as much resonance even if the fans are all running at the same speed.
Wow, maybe this was the issue! So many variables when you start really digging in! Thanks for the tip!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru arctics are actually known to have a hum at only certain rpms'. Turn them up a tiny bit past that point, it vanishes, turn them down past that point the hum also vanishes. ITs just at the like 85% point or so that they do that. Cant remember what channel exactly figured this one out ill have to go back and look. They were testing these against the Noctuas.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru I'm late, but Apple did make the fans on the big Mac Pro run at different speeds to avoid this noise
My Arctic F12s do that harmonic thing at very specific speeds as well!
“Harmonic resonance” sounds like something from half-life
This shouldn’t have dislikes..this guy goes over everything other reviewers skip and does it well
Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one else has tried testing this with as much detail as I did. Glad you appreciate it!
What's surprising in this video- the basic fan configuration of one front/one rear and two front/one rear works remarkably well.
This is the most thorough video i have ever seen about fans placements. I have that Arctic P12 PWM PST 5-Pack, very happy about it.
Glad you enjoyed this video. It took about 2 weeks to produce. That's why you won't see it many other places.
I can't believe what a great and thorough test and analysis you did on this content. I think you answered any question anyone could possibly have about fan sizes, RPM, configuration, direction of flow (and various combinations). Most surprising to me was how detrimental having the top fans as rear exhaust, front intake, to cooling; I thought at worst it would be about the same as having no fan there, but that was completely wrong. This goes to show the importance of deliberate, scientific, testing before reaching conclusions.
Thanks for this!
Ok. Good to see the 120mm x 5 or 6 performing well as my new setup will resemble that. The latter proving a second top exhaust doesn’t interfere with front inflow. Appreciate the time you spent here 👍🏼.
Yeah, that second top exhaust fan is something a lot of people thought would cause problems, but the tests prove otherwise.
the moment of truth that we've all been waiting for!!!
Hi friend, thanks for the precious time you spent, I have the same case and both Arctic P12 PWM and Noctua NF-A 12x25 PWM, it is clear that every computer, case and fan will make a difference, every case is unique, I have put 3 Arctic P12 in front (away from the filter) and 3 Noctua NF-A 12x25 1 rear and 2 top, the noise is almost absent at low speed but if I increase the Noctua are heard, previously I put Noctua in front (near to the filter) and Arctic rear and top, the noise is also absent in this case at low speed, but if I increase, the Noctua are heard! then I did another test with the Noctua (away from the filter) and I get an annoying resonance noise from the bearing, it is really difficult to find the right compromise between performance and noise but I want to say that the Noctua even if they are noisier, they blow more air than the Arctic and the temperatures drop by 2/3 degrees, the Arctic P12 are nice and very quiet but do not blow much air, certainly the biggest problems occur in summer and with these hot temperatures, if the room is not air-conditioned you have to increase the speed and bear the noise, this is the only solution with any computer, case, fan etc ... if the room is air conditioned then you can also run all the fans at 1000 rpm in idle and get a nice fresh computer!
I’m running Arctic P12 and P14’s in my case based on your previous reviews. Overall been satisfied with the performance.
My recommendations stand - these are excellent fans. The fact that I was able to find some configurations where P12s outperformed P14s doesn't diminish the products in any way. I believe that in much bigger cases, the P14s might be warranted.
have you heard any harmonics from certain speeds? if anything i hear rubber mounts help isolate those vibrations
@@Aleph-Noll I was wondering this as well, seeing as the Arctic fans have no rubber mounts and just bolt straight to the chassis, this is a concern.
Did you find p12 quieter than p14 as he said?
@@LeoTelles Don't forget he was positioning the dB meter over the case and did say that you hear them the most , but if the case sit on the desk it could be a totally different story too.
Thank you for this video. I have a BQ PB500 case with mixed old fans from BQ (120, 140 / silent, dark, pure, similar positioning) Now I've purchased 6 of the arctic p12 and set it up the same way...immediately 10-15 degree lower temps on my idle GPU (no fans running) on 20% case fan rpm, nice! Thank you very, very much!
I've checked out lots of fan placement articles and videos, and this is the best info out there. This is a complicated issue to cover and you did it well. Also, I got lucky and don't have any resonance noises, only a "whooshing" sound as intended, and after tweaking the fan curves over time I've got everything perfect noise-wise. I actually found this video after I figured everything out for my use case, and everything you say is accurate, but I will keep it bookmarked for future use. Liked and subscribed.
Glad you enjoyed it! Welcome!
@@TheTechBuyersGuruimagine if you tested side panel mounting, apparently that makes a huge difference, but apparently we stopped doing that in consumer cases.
Loving your reviews! The data you present is greatly appreciated and helps in guiding PC builders in search of quality performance components. Thanks!
Glad you like them, thanks for being a subscriber!
Just wanted to say again. Thank you for the awesome review and going to the extra mile to test these fans. Greatly appreciated as always.. By the way Happy New Year!
This is a video I've been promising since the summer, so I worked overtime to get it in before the end of the year. It was a ton of work, but I learned a lot, and it sounds like you probably did too! Catch you in 2021!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru yup see you next year too. Best wishes to your family and friends too 👍
My build is pure base 500dx . On front i have z73 nzxt water cool.
On Top 2 fans 140mm as exhaust and rear fan 140mm as exhaust.
I am waiting now for noctua's new generation fans to change my aio fans and one of the top fan
Thank you so much for the review .
Very informative. 🙏
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This is an amazingly well-done video. It answered basically every question I had about fan setup and many others I'd never even considered. You get a like and subscribe -- thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it - I did try to cover all the bases, including ones I hadn't seen asked (or answered) before!
Well, that 140mm performance was disappointing. I did not expect those results.
I thought the bigger the fan the better from a noise normalized perspective. Boy I was wrong!
I guess I will just buy more P12 fans haha.
Great video as always sir. Thank you for taking the time to experiment with so many configurations!
I was a bit disappointed too, but it doesn't mean they are bad fans. In the 3- and 4-fan configurations, they were actually better than the 120s. But putting 5 in the case just added a bit too much turbulence, which increased noise and may have disrupted airflow out of the chassis.
Wooow man, such a detailed guide, i was looking fot 500dx fan guide. This is very on point. I became sub because of this detailed guide just to support you
Thanks for the sub!
Excellent work! I’ve worked with dozens of cases and even more fans over the years. I did carry out my own measurements of temp, noise and vibration and despite occasional variations I can only concur with you.
Your conclusions are spot on. Well done !
Thanks for sharing!
After seeing that you got better GPU cooling with one front fan vs. two, I tried this out and got some different results.
I got 2 degree lower GPU temps with 2 front and 1 rear fan than with 1 front and 1 rear fan, where you got two degree higher temps with the two front fans. All fan speeds were locked for this testing,
I think the problem with your 2 front fan test here is that you've put the second fan in the top position, rather than the bottom one. In my testing, two fans in the middle and bottom positions improve cooling for both the GPU and CPU vs just one fan.
bloody fantastic video mate. been planning my fan setup for a week now, and this video just solidified everything i was planning on doing. thankyou sir
Thanks and good luck with your project!
This definitely helps. I didn't know much about fans or how you configure them can help. Stating its specific to your case helps a lot too. I need to do more research on a case now too. I'm slowly putting together a pc but I'm still learning about cases and fans. I really appreciate you taking the time to make this, for replying in the other video and especially for linking this video. Stay blessed dude
Glad you enjoyed it!
When thinking about multiple fan setups in a case, it's useful to think more in terms of pressure than airflow. An intake fan generates a high-pressure zone, while an exhaust fan generates a low-pressure zone. Air always moves from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.
That is a very good point. But air doesn't always move from high pressure to low pressure, it has to have a pathway to do so. So putting a high pressure fan in the wrong place means low airflow, and hence poor cooling efficiency.
Wow this really helped! I was strongly considering to swap my three 120mm fans in the front to two 140mm, becaus of the exact thougt that the lowest 120 is partly covered by the PSU shroud. I guess i leave it now as it is - 3x120 in the front, 1x140 in the rear and 1x140 in the top. Thank you for this great video - even if it's three years out :)
This channel is seriously underated. With quality video's like this you should have half a million subs in no time :)
Working on it, thanks!!!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru No worries, keep up the good work. Watching all the way from New Zealand and these video's have helped me out a lot.
What a fantastic channel! Really enjoying your videos and look forward to seeing you become the next LTT
Thanks so much!
Thank you for this awesome video! I have exactly the same case (black version) and fans (arctic value pack, 140mm), and I was lost with all the possibilities. You answered my questions, keep up the good job.
Glad to help! I can't test every possible combo of components, but luckily I tested yours!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Yes you tested even something I was willing to try (top intake). Now I have a question, how were you able to install the 140 tops fans? The cpu power cable gets in the way, was it the same for you? I tried to push a little but was too afraid to damage it.
Great content as always. I can't believe you don't have more subscribers!!! I appreciate all your efforts TBG! Keep it up.
Maybe this will be the vid that puts me over the top! I'm glad you like it, and I'm pretty proud of how much work (and thought) I put into this. I wanted it to go beyond what's been done before.
This video set my mind straight. Have an o11 air mini & was considering 2 140s on top vs my current 2 120s on top (wanted 3 120s on top, but have a 280 aio on from that gets in the way..)
Keeping my current config of 280 aio front intake, 2 120 side exhaust, 2 top exhaust, 2 140mm bottom intake & 1 120mm rear exhaust.
Just a minor tip for those that are running a BQDX500 case or similar with 3 120mm fan in the front intake, take out all the unused pci/pcie tabs below the graphics card, this will improve the GPU temps a fair bit, I can feel the airflow coming out at the back at medium to high RPM.
Plus, with the air being sucked in through the filter at the front, dust won't be an issue.
Put an aerofoil just beneath your GPU to direct air that was exiting out pci slots upwards.
I'm using three P14 and two P8 Arctics in a 4U rack for my PC with a U9S. Also deshrouded my GPU and added two F12 and also changed the PSU fan to an F12 that was laying around from my old case. I'm very happy with it.
I recently became curious about how 120s stack up against 140s after my Montech Air Base came with 3 140mm fans when I already had 6 120mm Bequiet silent wings (3 of them being light wings). I was told that 140mm fans were "better" than my 120mm fans, but I wanted to see for myself which eventually led me here as not a lot of people do these kinds of tests for fans. Your testing so far seems the best since you only have 1 manipulated variable (the fans) while everything else including the ambient room temperature remains consistent. I honestly cannot thank you enough for what was likely several hours of work testing all of these configurations.
Amazing video, I was looking for someone who tests flipping the top front fan and turning it to an intake fan
Very exhaustive testing; really appreciate how well it answers this question I've wondered about for ages.
Glad it was helpful! This was a big project for sure!
I'd like to address the off high pitched hum that comes from the P12 at 1000-1500 RPM. You can hear this in this video:ruclips.net/video/rb9Rt5G1ZlQ/видео.html Once the PWM value is in the range of 41-65 the pulsating resonance hum is noticeable, especially when in the specific resonance. They work very well as case fans at constant RPM. I'd just note the extra fan tuning, to avoid the humming RPM range, if they're being used on a Ryzen CPU cooler (which constantly spikes unless using RyzenMaster.) The same thing occurs with the P14 except lower frequencies.
I have arctic freezer 34 esports duo as my cpu cooler,..the fans are p12 bionix, and they have the same hum resonant sounds,..very annoying btw
I use Skiron fans instead of Arctic for this reason. Their sound profile is consistent as they ramp up in RPMs. Downside is that their lifespan isn't as long as Arctics.
this is true. i have two p14s. one in front, one as rear exhaust. the hum starts around 1000 rpm so i keep them at 950 rpm constant. definitely not buying arctic fans anymore.
@Kachongui Kach I think its just the motor.
@Kachongui Kach Just keep them running at constant. my hum now starts at 900 rpm but disappears between 1000-1100. a couple of weeks ago, it started at 1000. lol
the motherboard layout really wasnt made with big GPUs in mind. it messed with the airflow patterns since the 00`s, splitting the case in two.
You sir , are awarded the honor of being called the Chasis Pinkman !!
Like I said in the comment section of the previous video another thing to consider is having static pressure optimized fans as intake and air flow optimized fans as exhaust.
That is an interesting concept. Perhaps something for me (or someone else) to test in the future! My hunch is that airflow fans are never as effective as people might imagine, because there are very few applications in a case that have low resistance. Exhausts are actually fairly high resistance due to the grilles they must push through.
I hope i can get a useful response. I am currently running an O11D XL with bottom and side intake (6x120mm) top exhaust (push pull Radiator 6x120mm) and 1x exhaust back 1x120mm. Now my fans are iCue LL120s and a while ago some of the LEDs have burned out. Its past warranty and i know its a manufacturing issue. So i was thinking of doing a new setup, originally i wanted Lian Li Uni Fans. So now the option presents itself to build in the Lian Li O11D Evo XL, which supports 9 140mm fans and 2 120mm fans. So i could even do push pull radiator top with 6 140s and generally just do the exact same setup, just replacing all fans with 140s and adding another 120 exhaust in the back. I am now unsure though if i would gain any temperature reduction/benefits at all through this setup.
It's a good idea to flatten your fan curves in the normal operating range your workloads are going to see, that way you don't get this annoying noise of the fans ramping up and down in speed quickly and often.
Total respect to the hard work you put into your videos...much appreciated
Glad you like them! This particular one was a lot of work, but something I'd wanted to do for a long time!
Very helpful for my first build since I actually grabbed the 5 pack of the arctic 140's for the price to performance value.
One caveat, I went with the Phanteks p500a non-rgb case so there is actually room for me to put three 140's in the front and get that airflow beneath the gpu.
I have an arctic liquid freezer II 360 AIO as well so I'm excited to see how removing the air cooler from the flow path affects temperatures.
Gonna set them up in a 3 front, 1 back plus AIO top exhaust configuration to see how it goes. And I'm praying the increased case size doesn't bite me with the longer distance to the components like you mentioned 😟
I'll post results when the parts get here.
I'm waiting
@@maozedowner5915 So as it turns out, I'm an idiot with almost no idea what I'm doing. And the results show this.
My cpu is an i9-12900kf running at 4.9Ghz.
Cinebench r20 was too hard to find, so I went with r23. After a 5 minute loop, I got a max temp one one core of 87° and an average max temp of about 79.5° on Core Temp 1.17.1(that incredibly high temp told me I might be doing it wrong)
For the GPU(3080 FTW3 ULTRA) I ran the time spy test while following it with task manager and although my gpu load hit max, the temp never went above 53°(this confirmed I was doing it wrong.)
It's disappointing, but I don't think my findings will be of any help to anyone. Sorry.
@@htat1guy Yeah... no comparison point whatsoever, it's not gonna help.
Here is a thought! If the GPU Likes the fresh air and there is room like that case to put an Exhaust mini fan so it can pull th air across the GPU and out the back???
Tons of work going into these videos amazing stuff and interesting info to have as a case building enthusiast. Everyone is a critic until they have to do the work, so don't let the negativity drown out your work!
Thank you, I appreciate the supportive words. This was one of the most time-consuming videos I've ever made!
This was well done and very thorough.
I do think, that you missed one test, that a lot of viewers would have liked (or at least me). When buying the "be quiet! Pure Base 500DX" you get three "Pure Wings 2 140mm"-fans. I would like to know the best configuration using these three fans in conjunction with a 280mm AIO and a big air cooler like "be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4". As a bonus info you could give your opinion on whether it makes sense to upgrade to other fans or get three more fans to fill out all the available slots.
I know that this was not a test of a specific case or a specific fan but more a test of the placement of the fans
See my previous videos. Already covered all of that.
500DX review: ruclips.net/video/kgvm5ZTAbFQ/видео.html
Best 140mm case fan shootout: ruclips.net/video/kgvm5ZTAbFQ/видео.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Hi.
Thanks for the content and the quick reply. I looked at your videos, and I must have missed the pure wings 2 in the shootout since it is only in 2 out of 5 graphs. You mention the pure wings costs 20 dollars, but that is not the case in the EU.
Pure wings 2 are 72 dkkr
Kaze flex 140mm is 202 dkkr (only RGB exists in 140 mm)
Artic P14 is 61 dkkr (43 dkkr pr. fan in five pack)
Noiseblocker B14 is 219 dkkr.
How would you place the three pure wings 2 fans together with a 240-280mm radiator (on top like your other video suggests?)Does it depend on whether the GPU is blower/open air? Would the configuration change with an air cooler on the CPU?
What kind of system build would prompt you to replace the pure wings 2 to more effective fans or increase the fan count?
Have you tested silent wings 3 and shadow wings 2 from be quiet?
I mean the 140mm variant of all the fans
Turbulence with many fans is also something I run into on my 5 fan case and different directions. It's a non constant sound.
Wondering what your opinion is on the Arctic F series for airflow? I've seen other channels review both and claim that the F series (F12, F14) are better suited for situations where there is minimal impedance. I have an F12 and even though it runs at a lower RPM vs the P12, I can feel more air when I point it towards me. P12 seems better suited for radiators, heatsinks and cases where there is a lot of air restriction
This video is perfect because I'm planning to buy Arctic fans for my PC. Very informative, well done!
Glad you liked it!
I'm two minutes, and 55 seconds in; you haven't done any testing yet, and I'm already loving it.
EDIT: I just finished watching the video, that had to have been one of the quickest 15 minutes of my life.
The Premises that you've just opened up are all highly interesting, and don't get me started on the delivery, PERFECT!
....For me, at least. I'm sure the majority of other users that don't think to look at this sort of content would probably prefer to be told "What's better, 120mm or the 140mm fans?" followed up by "Which is the optimal placement". They'll have a fit right in front of you if you dare use the word "variables" in a sentences to them.
I was seven words into your comment, and I got worried, but then I finished reading and I loved it!
Thanks for watching the whole thing, and I'm glad to hear it didn't drag on for you despite all the data! I do heavily edit my videos to cut out the chatter (stuff that seems interesting as it comes out of my mouth but isn't once I listen to it!).
Truth be told, I fully expected different results, even testing the setup that I thought was "right" at the end so I could keep it running in my system only to find that it was terrible (that was with the top fan flipped).
I do hope that this video opens up a new dialog on PC cooling, because I don't think some of these issues have been fully examined thus far. Of course, I left about a million variables on the table for others to play with, so it's not like this conversation is over, it's only just begun!
I should apologise for the way I structured my first message in the beginning, I guess you could say that's a bad habit.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru This message is a bit lengthy, I get carried away in writing/research sometimes and then realise what time it is and how long I've invested towards sharing a suggestion.
From my perspective, your last video has opened up a whole new ballgame in regards to testing, the problem is, there's no way we could expect you to cover each new door. I went through the latest comments on this video, which you've done a stellar job at responding too. It seems some people would still like you to take their suggestions into account with testing, but with your level of detail, their requests are much larger than they realise.
Perhaps in the next video, you could consider leaning in a different direction, allowing you to still follow-up on this content by keeping the users engaged and not putting an unrealistic workload on your shoulders. I had two thoughts in mind:
Directly asking your fanbase to experiment using a set of specific parameters. You could document three-five different types of experiments you'd like to see numbers in, then assign two volunteers to each experiment(if available). I'd imagine that some of these tests would help the users construct questions or statements that may make it easier for you to strategically invest your time. Their results would not be conclusive in any way; it would just help lead you towards something in which you deem interesting or valuable.
The second was sending out emails to individuals who handle airflow/circulation at a professional level, something like a structural engineer working in the airflow department. Briefly explain your position. You're trying to give individuals insight to maintain their hardware safely whilst also educating users enough to indirectly lower sales towards poorly engineered cases and fans. The last statement changes depending on who you're contacting; it's supposed to be a reason that relates to their values/morals/ethics. Ask if they have time for a couple of questions if so, show them a diagram of what you thought would work, and why; then followed up with what seemed to have worked. If they're hesitant in helping, you can mention that whichever professional adequately supports will be mentioned in that video with a thank you, as well as their business subtly brought up. E.g. I want to thank John for yada yada who's currently working as an Air Conditioner manufacturer for X company."
There are also some interesting ways of measuring airflow from some brief Google search pages, perhaps if you were to use a tool to take a few measurements in your worst and best case-fan setups, you might be able to find similarities which turn out to be consistent with future tests.
Amazing, thanks for testing the top front fan flipped to intake. Saves me taking my case apart to flip it for no reason
Glad I could help! That was one I lot of people have wondered about!
Amazing analysis my guy. I really do appreciate all your tedious testing and hard work for a very informative video. I was looking forward to this video and you did not disappoint. Thanks again my guy and keep up the great content.
I hope it's not tedious to watch, LOL! Luckily, it was only a bit tedious to test!
Really great stuff Ari and thank you for your diligence! We need to get you more viewers. If you only had one fan, where would you put it?
Yeah, hopefully this video will pick up a nice amount of views, because similar videos from big RUclipsrs scored like half a million, and I definitely took the testing a step further!
As for one fan... well, I'd buy another, LOL! But honestly, depends if I cared about CPU and GPU thermals. I'd put it right below the GPU in the front of the case if the GPU was my priority, and I'd use it as an exhaust in the rear if the CPU was my priority. But then again, I haven't tested this.... and probably never will!
Thank you for taking your time to produce well information. I am better at PC building because of you. Thank you
Great to hear!
ive been looking for this info all day, thank you so much!
Happy to help! I'm pretty sure no one else has this info, which is why I published the video!
Here's my prediction: Artic P14/P12 is the best value! Lol
Thanks for another great video!
Your odds of winning were 100%, so yes indeed, we have a winner! ;)
Kind of contradicts with scythe 120mm fan 😁
@@TheTechBuyersGuru 100%? Anyway I can get those odds in Vegas? Lol
@@ollieh2587 Hmm... good point, ok, the Artic will win in terms of best value! Nailed it.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru I bought 1x P14 and 3x P12 (a year ago), and only 2x P12 ended in my PC case, working perfectly, almost inaudible at 780RPM. The other ones went straight to electronic waste. Arctic quality control is abysmal. The price on them can be easily multiplied by 2. Half of them are expected to have fan screeching, motor vibration defects, or both. It's a pity that they seem to have so little competition. Noctua is expensive and its sound signature is a silent chainsaw.
Really Great job on this video 👏👏. Here is a fan weird set up that I though that might just work:
- Back: 120 fan Intake
- Top (above ram): 120 fan exhaust
- Front Panel:
# Bottom Slot: 120 fan @ 1500rpm min
# Middle Slot: Empty
# Top Slot: 120 fan exhaust
- Finally place 1x 120mm fan on the PSU shroud below the GPU to direct air from the Front bottom fan , straight to the GPU.
This set up uses 5 fans that can be bought from the value pack, provide airflow on the vrms closest to the Scythe fuma and provide cooler air in a more direct way to the GPU !
Hope you like my idea I really enjoy your content! Sometimes I just sip my coffee watching you build PCs!
This is indeed a really interesting idea, and I think adding that bottom fan is a great idea. You'd just have to make sure to flip the fans on the Fuma 2 to make that reverse airflow work, and I'm not sure they'd be quite as effective in a pull arrangement as they are in push.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru If the fans are reversed, they would be on a push configuration, pushing fresh air from the back and pulling it in the case , where it is immediately exhaust by the Top fan, am I right ?
Push and pull refers to the orientation of the fan on the heatsink (or radiator) fins. So if you have reversed the airflow in your case to go from back to front, then you need to flip the fans on the Fuma 2. This makes them "pull" fans, as they are pulling air through the fins, not pushing it. Fans are typically a bit less effective in this orientation.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Oh alright, I get it now ! Thanks for the explanation!
Theoretically tho, both push and pull configurations should level out , as RPM increases right ?
They are close, but they are not the same.
this is exactly what I was wondering, watching it now like a Nat Geo documentary. Thank you!
Ha, ha, that's the first time my videos have been compared to a nature documentary. I like it!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru have you yet tested the variable of (1) intake/down facing top fan, but on the front side of top only; leaving the back/top open
(In my mind, this solution has an back / case exhaust too)
Literally I bought 8 Arctic P12 PWMs this morning bacuse of your video. I have the lian LI 215 and I'm replacing the front (2) 200mm 3 pin fans with (3) arctic P12s, and P12s throughout my case.
Decided against the Scythe for my front fans.. I hope I make the right choice!
I haven't tested the setup you suggested, but since you now have 8 P12s, you can try it yourself! Glad that my videos convinced you, but wow, eight is more than most cases can hold!
I really like in depth comparisons with case fans. I've watched previous videos and you really cover the issues that bug a person like myself who cannot stand noise issues caused by case fans. I've experience harmonic resonance issues with noctua that are not going to show up on a "decibel meter", but I would rather have high decibels than to hear that awful sound. I don't know how anyone can work next to a machine noises like that all day. The cons of having good hearing I guess. You also make a great point to control the RPMs of the fans to get the right amount of airflow where your specific case isn't making groaning noises.
Glad I could provide some useful insights! Fan performance is incredibly complex, which might be why you don't see many other RUclipsrs trying to tackle it! I definitely can't cover it all, but I try to give people something to think about beyond specs on a website, which is how most people have bought fans for decades.
Just bought a value pack of p14 yesterday. I have 3 fans installed in the front, 2 in the top and p12 as a rear exhaust
That will be perfect! What case do you have that fits 3x140 in front?
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Deepcool matrexx 55 mesh. In case somebody reads this and has the same case note that you have to install front fans on the internal side of the case except for the bottom fan. P14 is 27 mm thick and it would interfere with some part of the case if you install it on external side and won't let you put on the front panel.
That looks like an amazing case! - amzn.to/2L7HNlu
It seems they are now preparing a 4-fan ARGB version of the case: www.deepcool.com/product/case/2020-01/9_12888.shtml
Unfortunately, it does not appear to be available in the US yet.
I recently featured one of Deepcool's low-cost mATX cases on the channel, and I was very impressed with the quality for the price. I also have tested several of their AIO coolers and was equally impressed. I will be testing their best ARGB fans in a shootout soon, and when I request those samples, I'll also inquire about retail availability of the 55 Mesh ARGB. That could be a very competitive case depending on price.
Thanks for the data! I just bought a Corsair 4000D Airflow, going to keep both stock fans but add a 140mm Scythe and mount it down low. May upgrade to 3x120mm front and move the 140mm to the rear but not yet.
killer Vid. Linus Tech Tips made a similar one but didn't discuss the ins and outs of exhaust vs intake fans in the top, or the interplay between 120mm and 140mm fan types. I bought a case that unfortunately didn't allow for top mounting of a AIO pump bc of space limitations (it bumps against the mobo / ram) so this vid is a rescue of sorts. Thanks for helping me rethink my cooling design!!
Glad to help - I put a lot of planning into this video to try to make it as useful as possible, although there's always more to explore!
Arctic fans are solid budget fans, and the 5-pack is a wonderful value.
As an alternative, I recommend MetallicGear Skiron fans, whenever you can find them for a good budget price. They're made by Phantek. These fans are a slightly better 9-blade design for airflow compared to Arctics, but more importantly, the Skirons are close to the cheapest case fans you can which include rubber mounts to reduce vibration noise. Decent quality rifle-bearings, slightly improved on the ball-bearings in Arctic fans. Arctics have a cooler motor, however, which increases their lifespan over the Skirons.
When i had my fx8300 system i ran 2 120s front and 2 top 120s, all as intake with the only exhaust at the rear, as well as a gpu with a blower cooler and my psu "uspide down" for more exhaust potential. Was great setup for cpu, vrm and oc'ing - basically the only thing that system was good for.
I really love your fan content. I thought 4 140s would take it over the 6 120s because of the lower speed. Good stuff as always.
If you look closely at the dBA-normalized 3DMark graph for the extreme setups, you'll see that the 4x140s were excellent for CPU temps, but not quite as good for GPU temps. I suspect that if I had lowered the bottom fan below the level of the PSU shroud, the temps would have (counter-intuitively) been better for the GPU.
Thanks for a very interesting 🤔 review video. I usually have a 2 intake fans and exhaust fans 1 rear and 1 top (all 140mm fans) for my tax builds. However, now I’m using mini ITX setups, a dual intake and 1 or 2 exhaust (120mm setup fans) setup I find worlds better in these. Love the video. Keep up the great work 🎄🎄🥳🥳🥰🤯.
Hey mate. Wicked vid. Thorough and articulate. Well done buddy. Cheers form Oz 🦘
I had the same result with my single 140mm intake fan: the lowest position is most beneficial to the GPU. My case doesn't have any grate above the PSU and as I was thinking about the turbulence occurring when the air hits the back of the PSU, I placed a makeshift curved ramp out of cardboard leading up from the bottom of the case to the level of the PSU. That shaved off another 1.5°C of the GPU temps. By the way, my rear fan is an intake (at 300 rpm) and I only have one exhaust fan in the top; CPU air flow is reversed. That was the optimal solution for a CPU tower cooler (at moderate rpm) and an open "blow through" GPU (Sapphire Pulse RX Vega56). Otherwise the CPU cooler was sucking in that hot air from the GPU.
Almost flipped my front top fan! Thankyou very much for this!
You're welcome! This was something a lot of people asked me about, and I'd never seen tested before, so I did it!
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thank you for the best video you made. So do not make top fan as intake,right?
I leaned something about case design. I normally run around 36 C according to HWMonitor. I pulled the front of my pc off to discover a huge hole on top of the one fan that the case uses in the front. (hole was there to add a fan) I reasoned this cannot be good so I sealed up the hole and got 2 degrees cooler consistently now that the one fan isn't pulling hot air from inside the case. I thought o.k. I can do better than this. I had an old fan I pulled out of an old pc installed it even though it was a smaller fan, sealed up the edges again and now I'm getting a consistent 32 C at idle instead of 36 C. Moral of this story, always seal up any holes your front fan may use to pull warm air inside the case from and add more air intake if you can.
Your thoughts on this proposed set up:
3 T30 intake
3 Be Quiet Silent Wings Pro 4 exhaust (2 top and 1 rear)
Just found your channel and it's soo underated!
Just got the Arctic P14.
Thank you! Enjoy the P14!
kinda curious sir, if the front of the case is a grille with magnetic dust filter, which type of fan should you use? air flow fan or static pressure fan?
new sub from hong kong, one of the BEST informative youtuber , didnt skip a bit to watch
just built my new desktop
i5 10400f with b560 board, 3200 ballistix ram,1660 display card, cooler master nr400 case, fuma 2 cpu cooler and mx4 thermal paste (both based on your review again)
and of cos ALL 5 ARCTIC P12 fans installed, I would say a bit overkill, it just hard to reach 80 degrees lol
but who doesn't like better cooling, especially with this low price from arctic and fuma
Welcome aboard! You got some great cooling gear there!
Really appreciate this but I'm really missing 1 or 2 fans in the bottom as intake, both cases with a shroud and especially without as you can feed cool air straight to the gpu, though having an extra fan directly below and infront of the 2/3 intake fans could be negative I think.
The problem with testing the 140mm fans in this case, is the mounting for the 120mm fans which block the airflow and create turbulence and noise. I take a Dremel to my cases to open up the airflow and install the biggest fans possible.
Hey, much respect for this video. Must've taken a lot of time. Sad to see you stopped making videos a year ago. Hope things are well.
So I have a 3080 and I should get a case with 3x 140mm fans 2 on top and one near and then 3x 120mm front panel ??? Or am I wrong
Or have all 6 with 120mm fans
Your first option.
A fantastic, well-thought-out video. Great job.
Just want to say thanks for taking the time to go into such detail. I imagine the perforated PSU chamber must be helping a lot here. Best wishes for the new year!
Good point! That's really designed to allow the PSU to be mounted up, but it has a hidden benefit in modern systems!
Very hepful thanks, enjoyed a few of your videos latey!
I'm glad I found this channel. Really informative and well made. Now let's watch it pass 1mil subscribers.
Thanks for stopping by! Alas, 1mil is about 100 years away unless I get a very big break!
Awesome review. You Helped a lot. Really good work here.
Wow. I really thought 3x120 front with 140 back and top would be better than it was.
Only really corner cases I would want to try/see is 3x120 front with only one 140 back and top, possibly while blocking the space for the front top mount, or the split dual 140 front (which is what I'm running currently)
This was a beautifully done and largely complete video. Quite impressed.
And I was absolutely looking for a video on exactly this (and even this case, luckily enough). You've convinced me not to add 3x120mm front fans. I thought the higher static pressure would get more air through the mesh front.
Well, sounds like this video was spot on for you given the case you have. It's not something I could repeat with many cases, that's for sure. But why do you say 3x120 wasn't effective? It seems better than 2x140 based on my benchmarks, no?
@@TheTechBuyersGuru not that it wasn't effective, but I thought the night-and-day difference I expected compared to 2x140 front. The difference doesn't seem worth buying additional 120mm fans I don't already own.
Oh, yeah, this was all a theoretical test assuming you were coming from no fans. In terms of tossing two 140mm fans and buying three 120mm fans for a minimum of $30, it's probably not worth it. With that said, the default configuration of the case is 1x140 in front, top, and rear, so I would absolutely suggest swapping out that single front 140mm for triple 120mm fans, and then putting the second 140mm on top (despite minimal benefit, because you'd already have it and it's greater than zero!).
just order Arctic p12 & P14 for my Lian li Lancooler mesh 2, excited! :)
I have the Mesh 2 Performance. Got the 5-pack of Arctic 120s and 140s. Replaced back fan and CPU air cooler fan with the 120s. Daisy chained 3 140s at the front (can be done, the middle one is stacked behind the bracket and the top and bottom in front of it. I think I had to turn the bracket around, which is an intended config). Set at Auto it runs very very cool regardless and is silent.It's win-win all the way.
@@ElsinoreRacer What were your temps before you changed fans? I have the RGB version with 3 120's in front, 2 under gpu and one exhaust.
@@ElsinoreRacer Have you noticed any resonance issues? I have the p12s installed in the exact same case and noticed a bunch of resonance issues across almost the entire rpm range. This has made leaving them on auto nearly impossible since the low noise levels are ruined by the high pitched sound of the resonant frequencies when the fans ramp up and down.
I don't speak English, but I say: "This video is the best!"
I understood that, thanks!!!
This was exactly what i needed. Thank you so much!
You're so welcome!
I bought 3x Arctic F14 BioniX for the front panel, they start resonating in my case between 680-950 RPM. The humming is driving me nuts. So i've forced them to work at 645, sadly I don't dare making fan curve due to the nasty resonance.
love this sort of tests, loving it
Finally a video that actually helped me with real world direct comparisons using the same fans instead of widely different fans. Therefore the test is actually meaningful. I am going to change mine to the 3 front 1 rear 1 top and see if it helps my temps. They are not horrible but my idle temps are a little high (3900X and 2080 Super, CPU Idling at like 40-50 and GPU around 60 - which is probably acceptable anyway..but still want to have the best setup)
These fans are super cheap are they really that good? Most people are going to recommend some $30 ea fans (Noctua etc) so am concerned about buying cheap fans?
Most people haven't watched my videos, so they don't know anything about what they are recommending! Are Arctic's good? See this video: ruclips.net/video/PUdsTiRmuuU/видео.html
If you decide to get them, here's the link to the 5-pack: amzn.to/3APDGQ5
By the way, your high idle temps are not a reason to buy any case fans at all. Idle temps are driven entirely by the fans on the coolers and the settings you are using. I recommending using a manual fan profile on your 2080 Super so that it's NEVER at zero RPM. While that's a popular fad, it's not actually very good for anything, including maintaining idle temps, because any modern GPU will slowly climb up in temps until it requires the fans to toggle on and off, which is more annoying than leaving them on.
In terms of your 3900X, idle temps are always going to be that high due to background tasks and the density of the chip. It's the CPU I bench with. To learn how it idles with high-end 360mm liquid coolers, see this video: ruclips.net/video/GLaje-5JFd4/видео.html
Great work, I don´t see this content very often, is extremely helpfull. Thanks!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Hello, I would like to see a video where you analysed the RPM sweet spot for a fan (140mm and 120mm). So fat I have set my fans at the lower speed possible, but I would like to know how much gain I would have if I speed up my fans. It would also love to check the difference performance between Artctics P14/P12 and F14/F12. In theory flow fans should be better as fan cases. Thank you!
This test would be extremely fan specific. Whatever I found for one fan model would be different than it would be for another model, and more importantly, it would change a lot based on how many fans are in the system. I think I've done about as much as I'm going to do on this topic in the video you watched here.
As for the P12 vs. F12, I've tested this already. The P12 is a much better fan for everything. Airflow metrics in specs are meaningless, as it turns out. You can learn more here: ruclips.net/video/WBoLyC0tSDQ/видео.html
@@TheTechBuyersGuru thank you :-)
Hello, I have just found a nice video I would like to share with you. Looking at the graphics it looks like the sweet spot for fans are between 50% and 60% for most fans. The noise it stays the same till reaching the 50% mark.
ruclips.net/video/rv1S9RhABa8/видео.html
There is a problem with his methodology. He is testing in a simplified system where the CPU cooler does not have a fan. He's basically using the case fan as a CPU cooler fan.
It would be MUCH more complicated to actually test this correctly, where multiple case fans are installed and the CPU cooler has its own fan.
Good stuff mate! Makes me feel better running 6 x 120mm fans.......... I see some AIO testing in your future. Happy Holidays!
Ha, ha, yes, you are all set with those 6x120s!!! I have a couple big case reviews coming up over the next few weeks, and then the huge AIO shootout. Stay tuned for a poll on that topic in the next few hours!!!
Great work! I SUBSCRIBED!!
This is an excellent treatment of the topic. Deserves more views and SUBS.
Scythe makes amazing stuff, I would love to get my hands on their fans! I was lucky to get their cpu cooler with one of the fans they make and its a beautiful beast. They literally blow everyone out of the water , keep up the excellent product workmanship Scythe!
In the 3DMark benchmark (at 8:16), it seems that 2 front, 1 rear leads to higher GPU temps at the same noise levels compared to 1 front, 1 rear for both 120mm and 140mm fans. Any reason as to why this might be the case? It seems that CPU temps are significantly reduced with 140mm fans in 2 front, 1 rear vs 1 front, 1 rear and I would've thought that the additional airflow with the second front fan would be of more benefit to the GPU since it's directly facing it.
I've tested this a number of times, most recently in my new Silent Base 802 review: ruclips.net/video/4Y57m-_f1uA/видео.html
The results are repeatable and consistent. The upper front fan is not doing any good for the GPU, as pushing cool air over the back of the GPU isn't actually what the GPU needs. On the other hand, helping create a chimney effect to draw that hot air out of the case allows the GPU to clear out its own exhaust and take in more cool air.
@@TheTechBuyersGuru Thanks for the response! That makes sense to me now. I just realised that the 1 front, 1 rear setup had the front 140mm fan at the lower position rather than upper. I've had a closer look at the graphs and I just wanted to clarify a few things to make sure that I've understood correctly.
It seems that:
1) Top exhausts generally reduce GPU temps by removing heat around its components, but can potentially increase CPU temps for a CPU air cooler if the front intake air leaves through the top exhausts before it enters the CPU cooler's intake.
2) Front intake fans generally reduce GPU temps (front mid to low) and CPU temps (front mid to upper) by supplying cool air, but only if the air flow is directly facing or underneath the components.
3) From a noise-normalised perspective, there are tradeoffs with particular configurations - adding more exhaust airflow might be at the cost of reduced intake airflow at the same noise levels, and vice versa. When noise-normalised, adding a single 140mm top exhaust (w/ 2 front intakes) reduced CPU temps by 2 degrees in Cinebench but the same modification increased CPU temps by 2 degrees in 3DMark. I'm assuming this is because the front intake airflow was effectively reduced, supplying less cool air to the CPU, which was much more necessary in the 3DMark setup as the GPU was increasing the ambient heat within the case significantly?
Would you agree with that? Sorry for the long reply! Your video was exactly what I was looking for as I didn't find any other investigations of this topic with the same depth as yours.
What about if you have an input at the top further forward?
Is it possible to test two fans in the front, one on top, and none in the rear?
Luckily I found this video. This helped me a lot in deciding what would be my fan placements using the Arctic PWM's
Currently building my first gaming PC on a mATX form factor using Meshify C Mini.
2x P14 PWM Front (in)
2x P12 PWM Top (ex)
1x P12 PWM Rear (ex)
Glad it helped. You've definitely maxed out your mATX case!
Results would probably be different if you use an AIO with the rad mounted at the top?
Truth is that each of us have to test each case and build we make. In my case the rear exhaust fan its negative, only one degree but better to not let it run.