HeadsUp Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hey all, I'm new to the self contained water cooling world and have recently purchased a Corsair H60 to keep my Ivy Bridge 3570K CPU moderately cool when overclocking. When I mounted the water cooler, I noticed a decently loud noise coming from the cooler and had contacted Corsair on the issue after trying to do some research of my own by looking at how others mounted theirs with a quick Google photos search. Apparently after waiting a few days for a response I learned from Corsair that I mounted the radiator upside down (with hoses on top) so hopefully after learning this myself I can help others not make the same mistake. I quickly turned my radiator to the hoses down position and behold, no more noise! ^INCORRECT!^ ^CORRECT!^ Bryan R. 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Another part of the discussion is which direction the radiator fans should be facing. I personally have mine mounted to pull air out of the case and out the back. Some people will argue that by doing that, you aren't running air through the radiator hence getting less efficient cooling. I sort of agree with that if and only if you have fans at the top of the case that will pull air out of the case. If not, you'll be fighting thermodynamics and creating a pressure bubble inside the case. Overall, either method works if done correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadsUp Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 So your saying that fans on top of the case are bad? or radiators mounted on the top of the case? I'm confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 So your saying that fans on top of the case are bad? or radiators mounted on the top of the case? I'm confused. No, fans on top of the case are good as long as they aren't blowing air into the case. Top and rear fans should exhaust air. The only exception to that is if you want to blow air in from the rear (through the water-cooling radiator), and then you'd need top-mounted fans to pull the hot air out the top. It's kind of confusing and it took me a little while to wrap my head around it. My explanation was kind of crappy, so I apologize for that. :) But overall, since heat rises, you don't want to be pushing that hot air back down. Air in from the bottom and out at the top. Charisma 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singh400 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Well that's interesting. I wouldn't have thought a simple rotation would have solved a problem like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagum Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Another part of the discussion is which direction the radiator fans should be facing. I personally have mine mounted to pull air out of the case and out the back. Some people will argue that by doing that, you aren't running air through the radiator hence getting less efficient cooling. I sort of agree with that if and only if you have fans at the top of the case that will pull air out of the case. If not, you'll be fighting thermodynamics and creating a pressure bubble inside the case. Overall, either method works if done correctly. When it comes to cooling the liquid in the radiator it doesn't really matter too much. You're never going to cool the radiator or the liquid down more then the ambiant temperature of the room. It just doesn't happen because you're still using the air to cool the radiator that is a thermal heatsink for the water (conductor). These radiators are designed to create a low pressure airflow creating a cooler thrust of air as it passes over the small fins on the radiator. Thats how it cools it won't matter if you're sucking hot air from the inside of the case or pushing cooler air into it. The same thermal resistance and transfer is going to happen over the radiator's fins. However, having the fans push cooler air into the case will result in more hot air inside the case as the radiator will work more or less like a household central heating radiator,with the case being a room. You'll be forcing air over the radiator, and the heat will be transfered into the exit air and it'll be warmer. Meaning you're putting heat back into the case. Of course you can use other fans to draw the heat out afterwards but thats only mitigating the problem that you've created. Best to push air out, and let the radiator do its job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeta_immersion Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I have a push/pull on a corsair H50 hose up ... no problems though now I wonder if I should put it hose down such that if circuit not topped up, then there will be air sucked in the pipes/pump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 When it comes to cooling the liquid in the radiator it doesn't really matter too much. You're never going to cool the radiator or the liquid down more then the ambiant temperature of the room. It just doesn't happen because you're still using the air to cool the radiator that is a thermal heatsink for the water (conductor). These radiators are designed to create a low pressure airflow creating a cooler thrust of air as it passes over the small fins on the radiator. Thats how it cools it won't matter if you're sucking hot air from the inside of the case or pushing cooler air into it. The same thermal resistance and transfer is going to happen over the radiator's fins. However, having the fans push cooler air into the case will result in more hot air inside the case as the radiator will work more or less like a household central heating radiator,with the case being a room. You'll be forcing air over the radiator, and the heat will be transfered into the exit air and it'll be warmer. Meaning you're putting heat back into the case. Of course you can use other fans to draw the heat out afterwards but thats only mitigating the problem that you've created. Best to push air out, and let the radiator do its job. I agree, and I always follow the principle of "in from the bottom/front, out of the top/back". What I was basically saying was it's more efficient to push air through a radiator, than to pull air through it. Turbulent flow is more efficient than laminar flow. But there's more to consider in regards to a PC case, as we've both noted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abandonedaccount Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 I agree, and I always follow the principle of "in from the bottom/front, out of the top/back". What I was basically saying was it's more efficient to push air through a radiator, than to pull air through it. Turbulent flow is more efficient than laminar flow. But there's more to consider in regards to a PC case, as we've both noted. Does this mean that push-pull configuration is inefficient? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted July 19, 2012 Member Share Posted July 19, 2012 @HeadsUp, how is the noise level from that Corsair fan compared to the cooler you had before? I was recently also considering going for a similar solution, but am still unsure whether there will be any gain for me regarding the noise level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Anarkii Subscriber² Posted July 20, 2012 Subscriber² Share Posted July 20, 2012 I have the high-end Corsair water cooling setup (the H-100) and its quiet as a mouse. Only when I turn the fan upto high does it become noticeably loud. But then, I only did that to see how loud it does get. Currently im running a 3570K @ 5Ghz - with low fan speed and the computer is not only stable, but ultra quiet and ultra cool. (see cpu temps thread for my temps) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisp Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 No, fans on top of the case are good as long as they aren't blowing air into the case. Top and rear fans should exhaust air. The only exception to that is if you want to blow air in from the rear (through the water-cooling radiator), and then you'd need top-mounted fans to pull the hot air out the top. It's kind of confusing and it took me a little while to wrap my head around it. My explanation was kind of crappy, so I apologize for that. :) But overall, since heat rises, you don't want to be pushing that hot air back down. Air in from the bottom and out at the top. I don't really understand what you're saying. Why would you use warmer inside case air to cool your rad? Also in regards to top mounted fans, you always have them blowing out, it's common sense that heat rises, in the exception when you have your rad mounted at the top, then it's ok to have it drawing air in to cool the rad and have your rear fan blowing warm air out, they're just swapped around. In a normal fan cooled set-up, you have your rear fan drawing cool air into the CPU while the top exhaust fan drives the warmed rising air out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubbo Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 This is an interesting tip, I'll have to check how I have mine setup when I get home and try this out. I have 2 of these coolers, and my media centre one was always fine, but when I put one in my main PC, it was very noisy. I'm pretty sure my media centre was mounted with the hoses at the bottom, but I'm not sure about my main PC. I ended up putting a fan controller on the pump of my main PC to reduce the voltage slightly which also stops the noise, although it isn't really recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I don't really understand what you're saying. Why would you use warmer inside case air to cool your rad? Also in regards to top mounted fans, you always have them blowing out, it's common sense that heat rises, in the exception when you have your rad mounted at the top, then it's ok to have it drawing air in to cool the rad and have your rear fan blowing warm air out, they're just swapped around. In a normal fan cooled set-up, you have your rear fan drawing cool air into the CPU while the top exhaust fan drives the warmed rising air out. It really doesn't matter what kind of air you blow through the radiator. It will still dissipate heat. For example, if the ambient air temperature is 150 degrees in your bedroom and you sit in front of a fan, the air feels colder and it cools you off. The air is still 150 degrees that's being blown at you, but it still cools you down. Same principle applies in a PC. Also, unless you have your PC case in an open area, it's generally not a good idea to blow air in from the back. The graphic cards exhaust air out the back and it will rise up and be sucked back into the case if you have a fan pointed that way. You can probably get away with it if you have good top-mounted fans, but it's still better to exhaust from the rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan R. Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 @HeadsUp Thanks for posting this. I have a similar cooler from Corsair, and noticed a slight noise as well. Nothing terrible, probably less than yours. I have mine mounted with pipes upwards mainly for aesthetics. It makes sense now that I think about it; I had it working against gravity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadsUp Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 I agree, and I always follow the principle of "in from the bottom/front, out of the top/back". What I was basically saying was it's more efficient to push air through a radiator, than to pull air through it. Turbulent flow is more efficient than laminar flow. But there's more to consider in regards to a PC case, as we've both noted. Most cases support an intake at the bottom/front and an exhaust through the top back, if you just look at how your video card is mounted, that'll give you a hint, also a lot of cases have dust filters that force you to pull air through them. For example, my 300R case has a dust filter on the bottom for the PSU fan and in the front for the two fans to be used as intake. That leaves the top and rear fans to be set for exhaust or lose a proper airflow. @HeadsUp, how is the noise level from that Corsair fan compared to the cooler you had before? I was recently also considering going for a similar solution, but am still unsure whether there will be any gain for me regarding the noise level. The noise level wasn't too loud, but it was enough to be annoying with a low frequency clicking noise... after explaining my problem to Corsair tech support they explained that it was the air trapped in a small bubble that was causing the noise and that if I mounted the radiator hoses down should alleviate the problem. I tried it and ta da! no more clicking :) Here's the original response from Corsair: Technical Support It's recommended if the hoses located on the bottom of the radiator so the air bubble will stay on top of the radiator. try and look past the poor grammar XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted July 24, 2012 Member Share Posted July 24, 2012 The noise level wasn't too loud, but it was enough to be annoying with a low frequency clicking noise... after explaining my problem to Corsair tech support they explained that it was the air trapped in a small bubble that was causing the noise and that if I mounted the radiator hoses down should alleviate the problem. I tried it and ta da! no more clicking :) I didn't mean the clicking noises :) Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. Now that you have it working properly, how is the noise level compared to a stock cooler on the CPU? Apart from being able to cool the CPU better than a heatsink, how does the fan of the Corsair cooler compare to the one on the heatsink? I was thinking of a similar solution for myself, because I was thinking that the fan from the Corsair watercooler is quieter than a stock heatsink that comes with the CPU. In my case, I have a Noctua heatsink with a huge fan on it, so I'm not that sure whether there will be a benefit for me, noise-level-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun N. Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I believe it tells you to mount it this way round in the instructions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan~ Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks for the heads up Headsup. Are these coolers really any good? Going to build a new system soon and have a Nocthua Nh-d14 in mind for an 3700k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun N. Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I have an Antec Kuhler H2O 620 - It keeps it cooler but its just as noisy as my fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odom Member Posted July 24, 2012 Member Share Posted July 24, 2012 Are these coolers really any good? Going to build a new system soon and have a Nocthua Nh-d14 in mind for an 3700k I currently have that Noctua Nh-D14, that's why I was wondering if it is worth it to switch. By the way Dan, due to the size of the Noctua, I had to remove one of the fans, at it was hitting the RAM heatsinks. Keep that in mind for your build, you might run into the same issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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