ok.. question on fan config.. currently, I have the nh-u12s... at least until I change.. so... I currently have Cosmos SE case.. two cm jetflows on front, and then one on the hdd cage centered at the VGA ( actually have seen temp drop on vga since doing this... I have a jetflow at top back pulling air out...

I currently have my two top fans blowing out.. should they be pulling in since they are directly above the cpu? also.. I have 2 noctua fans on the u12s as a push pull...

so.. working with what I have, what would be best setup for my two top fans? pull air in? or or pull air out?

thanks again 🙂

Try both, and then see what your temps look like. Additionally, a positive case pressure (more fans pushing air in than fans pushing air out) will help to cut down on dust accumulation on the motherboard.

You might get interesting results if you turn the forward roof-fan (presumably the one above the CPU cooler's intake) to blow in, and then the rear roof-fan to help exhaust used air from the CPU cooler.

What I like to have is a front-to-rear air flow with positive case pressure.

Draw up an air-flow diagram and try different fan configurations until you come up with the coolest solution - make notes of your temperatures under each configuration.

Z

"cool" ideas 🙂 total pun.. ha!

thanks man!

Get one of these, and you'll never look back.

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=34&lng=en&set=1

Super sexy.

that thing is MASSIVE... but yeah.. it's way cool. that's why I went to the u12s with two fans.. but it's just not cutting it. part of the problem is my case ( cosmos SE ) and part is temp in my house.. my wife HAS to have the temps at 75! drives me bonkers.

In that case, you DEFINITELY want to make sure you have good air-flow through the case. A decent way to test (if your case has a window) is to hang short lengths of string from different parts of the case (but not close to fans - haha), and see where you have solid or little flow, too much turbulence, etc. Your case model looks like it should be capable of decent air-flow, but I don't know anything specific about that model.

What is the temperature of the air inside the case while your machine is under a normal load? The cooler is always trying to bring the CPU temperature down to that level, and not necessarily the ambient air temperature. If the house is 75, then the case will be hotter, and the CPU hotter still.

Nonetheless, 45 degrees under load on that CPU is far from poor, and you probably won't gain more than a few degrees with the NH-D14 or the H100i.

Edit: I just recalled that you're not over-clocked at all. Check for good air-flow, and also look online to see what temps other people are getting with your cooler (keep an eye also on their ambient air temperatures).

Z

You can kind of see the flow direction here from these pics

Not sure why it put the 1st and 3rd pics like that??? Strange