# PUMP & FANS



## Vando23 (Sep 13, 2012)

I have the following setup: Gigabyte G1 Z170 Gaming, Titan X, etc etc..with a EK water pump and triple rad. I am getting too many different ideas regarding where to plug in the pump and the 3 fans. Assuming I'm using the onboard fan controls (Bios). So I thought I would ask the experts...Merry Xmas


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

What is attached to the cooling system? Is it CPU-only or CPU+GPU? For the former, it doesn't matter whether it's front, rear, or top-mounted. The only thing that matters is that the radiator is large enough to dissipate the waste heat. If your radiator is sized adequately, the parts attached to its cooling loop will be cooled to the same temperature equilibrium regardless of mounting method. What is changed by the mounting method is the ambient case temperature, which affects all of the parts NOT in the cooling loop: motherboard, drives, add-in cards, etc.

If you're running the system with a wide-open throttle all the time, and have the GPU attached to the water cooler, a top- or rear-mounted radiator is your best option as it will increase the lifespan of the components not in the liquid cooling loop. If you're not pushing the system like that, once your machine is at normal operating temperature, the internal heat gain from a front-mounted radiator likely won't even be measurable.

One of the better videos discussing this is here: 







Heat isn't the only concern though. If you're concerned about dust buildup inside the machine, having filtered, front-mounted fans will mean less dust. You can put fans other places, but if you do you need to make sure that the front fans need to have a combined static pressure greater than the sum of the other fans in the system. This creates a positive pressure in the case, which prevents dust from being sucked in via every non-sealed opening in the case.


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