# NZXT Phantom 630 - Air Flow/Fan Position



## flyingspatula (Apr 15, 2013)

Hey, I am thinking about buying this case and just want to get some ideas and advice on how I would best approach airflow with it. I will be overclocking and using an H100 since I already have one (even though its in RMA process). My real question is if I should move the 200mm side fan to the top so I have 2 200mm sucking air out and then under that put my radiator and 2 120mm fans under that for a push/pull configuration. Now I would have no side fan but I would buy a 140mm fan and put it on the bottom so that I can pull cool air in under my video card.

Does this sound like a good cool configuration for air flow? I have heard of people attaching radiators at the bottom of the case or front so that instead it sucks cool air in so it benefits more with cooling the water.

Any opinions?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

One 120mm in the front & rear will usually be all that is needed and will maintain the desired front to rear airflow.
Liquid cooling has no advantages over air for normal use. OC'ing newer CPU is basically a waste any improvements will only be seen in benchmarks.


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

Mostly that configuration would depend on the airflow direction of the CPU fan. If it's front-back, I'd put the fan in the front rather than the bottom. If it's one that blows down onto the heatsink, placing the fan on the bottom would be preferable since your primary exhaust is out the top.

Unless you need cooling across add-in cards, bottom-top airflow is actually more thermodynamically efficient. However, that depends entirely on how restricted the airflow is, and whether you have a CPU fan that is going to disrupt the airflow.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Aftermarket CPU fans should be orientated to blow to the rear of the case maintaining the desired front to rear airflow.


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## gozzygozborn (Feb 26, 2013)

if you have the two (top/rear) fans blowing air out and the one front fan blowing air in, you might have something like a bottleneck because you are trying to push out alot more air than is coming in. This also may be an issue if you are looking for silence. As you probably know for airflow you want good cable routing and remove any 3.5" bays that you are not using.


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## flyingspatula (Apr 15, 2013)

Hm, my Phantom 630 has two 200mm intakes front/side, and then three exhaust 2 200's on top and one 140 on back. That itself would be ok, but I also have a radiator 2 140's on top so that seems to be way too much exhaust. I could make a push/pull configuration and maybe alleviate that a bit. Not seeing any great options though. I could buy an additional 140mm and install it either at the bottom or use the pivotal drive bay fan which I hear helps.


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

It depends on how tight the chassis is in the front. Just because you don't have as much front intake as you have exhaust doesn't mean you don't have enough incoming airflow. Air will come in through every gap in the case if the front fan's positive pressure isn't enough to compensate for the negative pressure created by the exhaust.


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## flyingspatula (Apr 15, 2013)

Well, I will be taking all of the drive bays out so there will be no real blockage of the front 200mm other than the dust filter. I use SSD's that will be behind on the back of the case instead. I don't really know what kind of benefit the side 200mm will offer, given a 670 will cause a good amount of blockage that low on the case.

If I were to push/pull using the 2 200's and 2 140's, how exactly does that work again? I have been told multiple different things and have not really gotten it correctly. One person has told me essentially you blow air into the radiator from both sides. Another told me you just have the bottom two blow air into the radiator, then top two exhaust out of the case. What would be the correct way?

Thanks


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

There isn't really any single "correct" way.

However, you don't want both sides blowing into the radiator. The fans will negate each other. Your effective airflow in that situation would be the stronger minus the weaker. If one side produces 45 CFM and the other produces 60 CFM, the effective airflow across the radiator would be 15 CFM.

The fans on each side need to blow in the same direction.


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## flyingspatula (Apr 15, 2013)

Ok, I assumed that was the correct way as pushing into radiator from below, then pulling out of radiator from above made more sense. I will have to give this a go and see how it cools. Alternatively, I could take out my 200's on top and just use the 140's but seems like a waste having two fans not used. Hopefully I will be intaking enough air from the front and side to not need to do any of that.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

flyingspatula said:


> I don't really know what kind of benefit the side 200mm will offer, given a 670 will cause a good amount of blockage that low on the case.
> 
> If I were to push/pull using the 2 200's and 2 140's, how exactly does that work again? I have been told multiple different things and have not really gotten it correctly. One person has told me essentially you blow air into the radiator from both sides. Another told me you just have the bottom two blow air into the radiator, then top two exhaust out of the case. What would be the correct way?
> 
> Thanks


Side mount fans commonly disrupt the desired front to rear airflow. 

For the radiator- if fans are mounted front & rear, the correct orientation is for the front fan to be pushing and the rear fan to be pulling so air through the radiator and out the rear of the case. That's a push/pull configuration.
Two fans mounted on the same side should of a radiator should be blowing into the radiator directing air out of the case.


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