PC Case AIRFLOW; A Visual Guide for Optimal Cooling.

[Music] airflow can be a little bit like thermal paste application everybody thinks they know the best way of doing it when in reality there are multiple different ways to achieve great results over the last couple of years I've run airf flow visualizations on almost 200 different PC builds some with similar and others with vastly different configurations and whilst this video doesn't aim to provide any scientifically accurate information I do feel like this could be a great opportunity to talk about and showcase some of my own personal findings and Visually explain how airflow Works in general cooling might seem simple and for the most part it is but there there are some factors which come into play to truly optimize [Music] it the first and foremost Factor contributing to your overall air flow comes from the case fans themselves PC case fans come in all sorts of styles shapes sizes and speeds the most common sizes being one 120 mm and 140 mm and whilst fewer chassis support them it's not uncommon to see sizes from 180 mm to 200 mm which bring their own advantages too 120 mm fans are truly the most flexible for the average PC build and most cases can house at least four of them it's a size which has been refined over the years to deliver great performance with almost every aesthetic in mind from black fans to White those shrouded with RGB to those without RGB reversed fan blades fans with thicker frames then there's the fans with a host of different materials the selections at 120 mm are truly endless 140 mm fans typically rotate more slowly than 120 mm but they move an equal amount of air if not sometimes more thanks to their larg diameter and often wider fan blades 140 mm fills a sweet spot for those seeking quiet operation whilst keeping the hardware cool moving on to some of the larger sizes such as 180 mm and 200 200 mm they move huge masses of air whil it's keeping sound to an absolute minimum these can be essential for creators and those building a system for productivity where Sound Sensitivity is a priority over anything [Music] else PC cases come in many different styles sizes and Aesthetics with the most popular form factor being the time proven midtower chassis there are a number of different factors to consider when choosing a Cas size but Al ultimately your hardware and relative cooling requirements will no doubt contribute a large part of this decision the two main categories across all pck sizes are airflow focused or aesthetic an easy way to identify each would be that airflow Focus cases typically have an unobstructed front air intake whereas aesthetic cases May prioritize glass or a solid front panel an open front will typically run the system a good few degrees cooler due to the nature of the design allowing colder air a direct entrance into the case the cons of this setup would typically be more internal dust more noise and less viewing angles on the flip side a solid front panel may run a few degrees warmer in favor of lower noise and less dust it's easy to make the observation that they have terrible air flow but this isn't always true with optimized intake fans the static pressure can be plenty enough to efficiently pull air into the chassis an easy way to visualize how static pressure Works can be seen right here in the studio following an airflow visual for a build video I need to exhaust all of the smoke out of my studio I do this by placing a large fan next to an open window next I'll open another window further along the room as the fan exhausts all of the smoke out of the window the opposing window is drawing cleaner fresh air in at the same rate [Music] so let's assume you've chosen a case for your PC build a frustrating step in the next stage of the process can be working out the best way to optimize it for airf flow the general idea here is simple pull C air in as efficiently and with as little turbulence or obstructions as possible whilst removing the warm air in the same manner think of the heat inside the PC being a little bit like the Steam on a coffee heat rises so the ideal setup is to drive cool air inside the case in such a way that it moves heat upwards and Away From the Source if you are building a PC solely for gaming installing a radiator at the top of the chassis is the most common method when gaming on average the GPU tends to be the hottest part of the system by installing the radiator at the top the cool air from the intake fans is able to flow freely over the graphics card keeping it at lower overall temperatures this is called a GPU priority cooling setup alternatively if you tend to carry out more CPU intensive tasks such as productivity and editing it's not uncommon to mount the radiator at the front of the case as an intake this gives the processor immediate cooler air flow helping to manage the overall CPU temperatures Dr own product productivity tasks this is called a CPU priority cooling setup choosing graphics card or processor as your main cooling priority will ultimately come down to your individual needs again there isn't a right or wrong way just make sure the highest point of your radiator is always higher than your pump that way you can ensure no air gets stuck inside the pump itself a more simplified cooling setup will come in the form of a tower cooler a power cooler is one of the easiest and most hassle-free cooling solutions for a PC they are cost effective easy to replace if something fails but most of all can run quieter than their liquid counterparts under normal operating conditions the key to an efficient air cooled setup is to get direct cold air straight through the tower then straight out the case again in one fluid motion installing a single fan behind and directly above the tower cooler can help with expelling the warm air hair whilst also providing extra vrm cooling I often see people mounting exhaust fans in front of the tower cooler for the most part this isn't an ideal setup as those exhaust fans could deprive the CPU Cooler of the ER requires the two perks of air cooling should always be Simplicity and cost don't overspend on fans that serve no [Music] benefits [Music] so how does air interact with various cooling setups a dual chamber panoramic chassis is perhaps one of the least airflow efficient this is primarily due to the limited intake from the bottom fans or as typically configured the side fans blow air directly at the adjacent glass this causes turbulence before being pulled out of the exhaust fans that's not to say the cooling is poor it isn't it's just least efficient duel chamber cases typically make up for their airflow drawbacks by counteracting this with more fans a typical duwel chamber chassis would usually permit three bottom fans three side fans three top fans and a single rear this combination works to side step the turbulence by simply creating pressure to move the internal air which results in cool overall temperature mid Tower and Micro ATX cases with an open front panel tend to be the most efficient for both liquid and air cooling thanks to their larger volumes and cooling support midtower cases are often considered to have large voids of wasted space but that space can actually be crucial for airflow Direction additional pcie hardware and of course to support much larger Hardware if you're using an air cooler an open front panel would usually be a must as this will allow air flow to be direct and most performant for liquid cord systems and open front panel is still greatly beneficial to keep temperatures lower but it's not as crucial as radiators dissipate heat over a larger surface [Music] area [Music] small form factor cases typically rely more heavily on convection cooling this allows the chassis itself to harness and radiate internal heat they usually have fewer fans which can result in more noise as those fans are working much harder to cool the hardware installed I personally feel that small form factor build should be modest in terms of performance sticking an I9 inside along with an RTX 490 is a great idea to flex but just because you can doesn't always mean you should understanding small form factor limitations is the key to a successful build and as anybody in the small form factor Community will tell you it's the trial and error that makes this size good fun full tower cases are becoming increasingly more Niche but they lend themselves to high performance custom cooling where raw power is an absolute must when pushing heavy overclocks a full custom loop system can be an ideal solution due to their unrivaled cooling power over such a broad surface area full tower cases also have the capacity to house more storage drives and give the Builder more opportunities to get creative with almost Limitless space these really are the airflow Kings but the cost is high and you have to ask yourself how much desk real estate do you have to [Music] spare building a gaming PC doesn't have to be complicated understanding your own needs before building it will help and of course trial and error will occur that's a fundamental part of any hobby and let's face it pcdiy is a hobby I don't always get it right and neither will you that's totally fine but hopefully this video will help you understand the core basics of cooling hardware and the general rules associated with that my best advice would be worry less game more and remember you don't need a 100 fans oh wait never mind [Music]

Channel: Mr Matt Lee

Views: 708,591

Keywords: PC Build, PC, Gaming PC, Gaming Community, Pc mod, Gaming PC Build, How to Build a PC, gaming gear, gaming setup, fractal, asus rog, Mr Matt Lee, airflow visualization, airflow, Dream PC Build, Small Form Factor, SFF PC, Radeon, ITX, Micro ATX, Tuf Gaming Radeon, Tuf Gaming, Zalman, Air Cooler, ASUS, PC Case, PC Airflow, Airflow Guide, Airflow Visualization, Gaming PC Airflow, Airflow Explained, PC Gaming, PC Gamer, Build a PC, How To Guide, Optimal PC Cooling, Optimum

Id: YNcd-IGMj2c

Length: 12min 38sec (758 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 25 2024