When it comes to SFF computers, a fair amount of thought needs to go into the cooling setup. Here is a short guide on how to keep those thermals in check with proper setup:
First, determine how many fans your case will hold at once. You probably won’t be using every space available, but it is good to know what it can hold.
Next, think about what parts are going to need the most cooling power. If you have a radiator, or your CPU has a high TDP, they will need the beefiest fans. For better performance or fan noise levels, consider investing in premium quality fans to swap with the ones you have. Currently the best fan on the market (based on community review) is Noctua’s NF A12 x 25.
Now you should decide on what direction the fans should be facing. Typically, in SFF cases, a negative air pressure (meaning more fans exhausting air out rather than taking air in) is superior in most cases. This is because some positive air pressure setups can create vortexes of hot air that stay trapped in one part of the case. One fairly common setup uses the CPU cooler and GPU fans to pull cool air into the case, then a couple extra case fans on either the top or bottom of the case exhaust the hot air out.
Once you have placed fans in positions that you are comfortable with, it’s a good idea to give the system a test run while monitoring the temps. Fire up a game or a benchmark utility and keep an eye on the GPU and CPU temperatures for at least fifteen minutes. If neither one is going above 80c, then chances are your system is good to go. If not, you might want to change the positions of the fans, or in some cases, reseat the CPU cooler.
Even if your temps are good however, some people like to go the extra mile to drop them as much as possible. This can be done with beefier heatsinks, premium quality thermal paste, AIO solutions, or other exotic choices. Try to experiment with things, and let the SFF community know if you make any awesome discoveries!
First, determine how many fans your case will hold at once. You probably won’t be using every space available, but it is good to know what it can hold.
Next, think about what parts are going to need the most cooling power. If you have a radiator, or your CPU has a high TDP, they will need the beefiest fans. For better performance or fan noise levels, consider investing in premium quality fans to swap with the ones you have. Currently the best fan on the market (based on community review) is Noctua’s NF A12 x 25.
Now you should decide on what direction the fans should be facing. Typically, in SFF cases, a negative air pressure (meaning more fans exhausting air out rather than taking air in) is superior in most cases. This is because some positive air pressure setups can create vortexes of hot air that stay trapped in one part of the case. One fairly common setup uses the CPU cooler and GPU fans to pull cool air into the case, then a couple extra case fans on either the top or bottom of the case exhaust the hot air out.
Once you have placed fans in positions that you are comfortable with, it’s a good idea to give the system a test run while monitoring the temps. Fire up a game or a benchmark utility and keep an eye on the GPU and CPU temperatures for at least fifteen minutes. If neither one is going above 80c, then chances are your system is good to go. If not, you might want to change the positions of the fans, or in some cases, reseat the CPU cooler.
Even if your temps are good however, some people like to go the extra mile to drop them as much as possible. This can be done with beefier heatsinks, premium quality thermal paste, AIO solutions, or other exotic choices. Try to experiment with things, and let the SFF community know if you make any awesome discoveries!
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