Just got new case and Corsair H50. . .much hotter than Cogage TRUE Spirit

[Deleted member 68403]

Hi All. First off, I have spent the the last 10 hours working on my computer and my nerves are shot and not in the best of moods, so hopefully this doesn't come off as too much of a rant. TL;DNR Version: Corsair H50 with radiator fan exhausting is not producing great results.

My Antec 900 was feeling awfully cramped with the Radeon 5970. Plus, that case is a dust MAGNET. Seriously, I haven't even had my 5970 7 weeks and when I took off the side panel this morning, it was caked in dust, ugh. So anyways, I ordered a Cooler Master Cosmos S RC1100 last week which arrived this morning. I chose this case because it offers good airflow while maintain positive pressure (less dust) and every entry into the case has a high quality dust filter.

I went ahead and installed everything, only to find out the my trusty Cogage TRUE Spirit wouldn't fit because the 200mm side fan intruded into the chassis too far. So I busted out my trusty dremel and cut odd some of the fan's outer plastic casing until it was almost even with the fan. Tried to install the side panel again, and it wouldn't fit. The side fan needed just 2 more mm shaved down, but there was nothing else that could be shaved.

Seeing as I live in Utah and there are no reputable local computer stores here, I checked Best Buy to see what they had. To my surprise, there was a store an hour away from my house that had a Corsair H50 in stock. So I went ahead and ordered it and installed it. The Cosmos S case has a rear 120mm exhaust fan. I removed the fan, and installed the radiator there, then mounted the exhaust fan to the radiator. I figured that the radiator is getting a lot of air intake from the side 200mm fan, so setting the fan to exhaust would maintain the positive pressure in the case and still produce acceptable results.

I was wrong. After running Linx for 1 hour, my CPU temps are about 85 degrees C, as opposed to about 68 degrees C with my Antec 900 and CoGage TRUE Spirit. The ambient temp in my house right now is 65 degrees F. So I doubt my overclock will hold when summer rolls around with my current setup. Any ideas?

 

[Cript]

Is the water block making good/even contact with the cpu? If you remove it and your thermal paste is evenly distributed...

 

[SonDa5]

Try cooling radiator with fan as intake rather than exhaust.

 

[Deleted member 68403]

Try cooling radiator with fan as intake rather than exhaust.

I know that's what the instructions say to do, but isn't that counter-intuitive? I mean, you are blowing warm air across your CPU, across your motherboard, across your RAM, etc. I'm not seeing the logic in that, but I will give it a shot.

 

[SonDa5]

I know that's what the instructions say to do, but isn't that counter-intuitive? I mean, you are blowing warm air across your CPU, across your motherboard, across your RAM, etc. I'm not seeing the logic in that, but I will give it a shot.

If you case has good air flow it should work out great. Also push/pull config works very well.

My custom Corsair H50 setup in my moded Antec 900 case.

 

[Deleted member 68403]

Try cooling radiator with fan as intake rather than exhaust.

SonDa5, you diabolical genius! I removed the stock rear exhaust CM fan and put the Corsair 120 mm fan there as an intake. I then moved the previous CM fan up to the top of the case as an extra exhaust fan. Positive pressure still maintained for my dust prevention needs. Anyways, 30 minutes of Linx right now, and all cores are hovering between 60 - 64 degrees C! HUGE Improvement, much better than my previous setup! Woo-hoo!

PS I was sort of right about my original logic - RAM is about 4C hotter, and north bridge is 5C hotter. . .but CPU is 20 - 25C cooler, small price to pay I guess.

 

[LGabrielPhoto]

Hello!
Good to see another member in Utah.
Yes, the whole myth about never using your rear fan as intake is just that, an old myth being carried through time from when cases only had one intake and one exhaust.
With a good case, and a top exhaust, you can do it with good results.
Have you ever considered that most cases have the front intake right in front where your HDDs are ?
That "cold" air is going through really hot running HDDs before it actually gets to your mobo unless. In my case, with 6 HDDs, I definitely do not want that as my only source of cold air lol
My HAF932 has plenty of air cooling capabilities so i have that taken care of, but I just wanted to give you an idea of why that old "rear fan cannot be intake idea" is one that can be broken.
Good to read your temps are working fine now.
The H50 is a nice cooler. I had it at home and it actually was able to beat my Mugen 2 by 5C. It lost to my Noctua NH-D14 by 6C so I returned it but it was a nice little unit although I hate the way you have to install it.
Regards

 

[heatlesssun]

Following in my footsteps! So far I've been happy with the H50 cooling my 920 and I setup the rad fan for intake and it seems to work well. The Antec 1200 does have dual rear exhaust fans so I imagine that helps.