H110 fan direction

For a case that is designed for positive pressure, like the Air 540 with two intake and one exhaust fan, using an H110 would likely be installed exhausting the air (I'll find out for sure soon as I am in stage 5). I am thinking this will change the positive pressure balance to negative adding the 2 140mm fans in exhaust.

So my question is whether it is feasible or a good idea to flip one of the H110 fans around so that one fan pulls air in and one exhausts, making the fan pressure neutral for the H100 and positive overall for the case.

I Understand that I would want to add an air filter to the top of the case.

Hi Gnicky,

I understand your thinking but I am not sure that is the best way to go. With a radiator you always want to have the cooling originate from the outside of the case for the best cooling. If one fan is blowing out it won't be using the coolest air for that section of the radiator. The long radiators are good because the coolant travels a longer path through the rad for more exposure to the cooling air. With your idea half of the radiator will be cooling with outside air and half will be cooling with warmer air from inside of the case. You may achieve a more positive air flow in the case but maybe not as good of cooling for the CPU. The problem is we don't know with out some test. If there is a reduction in the CPU cooling it may be so slight that it makes no difference.

With the Air 540 I think maybe the best arrangement would be a 120 level 2 cooler for the cpu and two top fans blowing in or one in and one out. However DS sets it up it will work so that your equipment runs at a reasonable level. The Air 540 is a good case for full air cooling.

After you get your case you might enjoy experimenting how to achieve the best cooling.

Frank    

Hi Gnicky,

I know what you mean. Buying and waiting for a new computer is a stressful thing. It is fun but stressful. We want everything to be perfect and we can think ourselves into a frenzy about the details. I am especially obsessed with cooling.

Frank

This positive vs negative air pressure has been around for years.   It's fun to look into, but I have never seen a clear winner.    The way its suppose to work is, negative pressure does a little better job cooling by drawing air in from the various vents around the case and eliminating any hotspots.  But, it causes more dust in the case, with positive pressure allowing the fans to filter all the incoming air.   

The top rad in most cases has the fans blowing out.  If the case has good airflow, and the Air 540 does, then the air inside is almost the same as outside.   DS in the past has reversed the fans to blow in on limited occasions, finding the rad needing the cooler outside air to perform better, but I think that's few and far between and I'm not sure what the setup was.

My take for whatever its worth, is front and any side panel blows in and top and rear blow out.  Just me.

  

Thanks, Frank. Always nice to have new toys to play with. Planning on writing review of system including info on GPU temps under load. I am just hoping it runs, and did not suffer shipping damage, or timely review will not be possible

MY GPUs are air cooled as I could not afford $1000 more for a custom loop. I believe the 980s are a bit cooler running than my current 780s - I will find out soon :)