As some of you will have read in the main Ncase thread I have put together my shiny new NCase but it's overheating massively.
Basic details;
Gigabyte Z370N-Wifi Mobo
i7 8700K CPU delidded
Dark Rock TF CPU Cooler
Inno3D 1080 Ti iChill X3 GPU
M2 drive and 2.5" hybrid drive but that's essentially it.
There are no other fans or cooling solutions currently in the box.
Temps without the panels on the case are great as you can imagine. The CPU under stress won't go over 60c which I personally consider to be an incredible result and the GPU is under 70c. The iChill X3 cooler is excellent.
However with the panels on it's a hot box with the GPU not really able to get enough airflow from outside and instead recirculating the warm air inside.
My solutions are;
Basic details;
Gigabyte Z370N-Wifi Mobo
i7 8700K CPU delidded
Dark Rock TF CPU Cooler
Inno3D 1080 Ti iChill X3 GPU
M2 drive and 2.5" hybrid drive but that's essentially it.
There are no other fans or cooling solutions currently in the box.
Temps without the panels on the case are great as you can imagine. The CPU under stress won't go over 60c which I personally consider to be an incredible result and the GPU is under 70c. The iChill X3 cooler is excellent.
However with the panels on it's a hot box with the GPU not really able to get enough airflow from outside and instead recirculating the warm air inside.
My solutions are;
- Fit 2 Noctua A12x15 slim fans under the GPU on the floor of the case to draw cool air in for the GPU to use, and a 92mm Noctua NF A9 PWM at the back of the case for exhaust. The size of the GPU prevents anything except slim fans being placed underneath so I may not achieve maximum benefit and the hot air will circulate within the case still affecting the CPU temps slightly. This solution is a £50 investment so it's cheap but I suspect not optimal.
- Replace the GPU cooler with an Arctic Cooling Accelero Extreme III heatsink and use the two 120mm noiseblockers I already have as intakes below that instead of the fitted fans. I'll also need the A9 as exhaust and it's still creating a slight hotbox This solution will cost up to £100 (though the price seems to be variable) but other builders seem to have had great results with the Accelero. It's not clear whether the Extreme IV is compatible because of the large bracket and rear heatsink. Downside of the Extreme III is you have to glue heatsinks on the memory which makes it hard to refit the stock cooler if I need to.
- Replace the GPU cooler with a Kraken G12 and slim 240 AIO radiator in the bottom of the case. I've linked to the Kraken X52 but any of the round plate coolers will do if the radiator fits. I can't mount the radiator on the side because the Dark Tower TF takes up all of that space. 240 might be a lot but it should allow me to keep the GPU overclock. This will be a £150 solution (give or take) and with air coming in it still creates heat for the CPU cooler
- A double AIO solution. I can have a 240 radiator on the side for the CPU and a 240/Kraken G12 combo on the bottom. For both, cool air is drawn in from outside so these components will stay nice and cool. AIO's are not robust and lose liquid over time but perhaps I'm over worried about these factors and actually ought to give it a try? This is a £240 solution and still leaves me with lots of warm air in the box for cooling the ram and SSD's so an A9 perhaps still required except overall I suspect the warm air will be cooler. The system will be under positive pressure which I like as it keeps the case free of dust assuming filters are used.
- A semi-custom loop using Alphacool Eisbaer and Eiswolf blocks. In theory I could have a 240 and 120 or two 240's though not entirely sure about the fit. This is a £300 solution but likely to offer the best results so far and allow relatively easy upgrades and is top-upable. Again we still have warm air inside the box for the ram and SSD's and there's the positive pressure benefit. EKWV does a nice MLC range which looks like it might be an even better solution but the rads are way too big, sadly.
- The semi custom loop which is really custom. EKWB's A240G looks like hard work even though it's sold as a handy kit. It comes with a reservoir and pump which I'm going to have trouble finding a location for, only has one 240 radiator, but is a £250 solution. I can presumably just add a further radiator if needed but still, where does that reservoir sit?
- Full custom loop. Can't do this. Too much hassle, no dremmel skills, no workshop, no patience to sit down and work out every single item I need and properly research the right pump/reservoir/radiator/fittings and then assemble it all. I've done it before in a relatively massive Silverstone HTPC case so it's not like I can't do this stuff if I put my mind to it, but the costs, difficulty and downtime are not to me worthwhile anymore.