Advice Airflow in mini tower ("Demon M60")

[shleepy]

Hi everyone!

On a whim / because I couldn't find a similar case in stock with the dimensions that I was looking for, I ordered a "Demon M60" case from Aliexpress. It should be arriving in the next couple of days, and I'll be able to verify the dimensions and general quality. I suspect that the listed compatibility details (CPU heatsink height, max GPU dimensions) are probably inaccurate. But in general, it's a similar case to SGPC K60 and a bunch of other little towers with front SFX PSU layouts. It looks like a crappy but vented acrylic side panel is included.

I'm looking for advice about what kind of CPU (air) heatsink to get, and how to arrange the fans, given the lack of a traditional intake fan slot. I'll have a i5-13600KF CPU (I'll try undervolting it), a 2-slot GPU that takes up the entire bottom of the case, and a Corsair SF750 PSU.

The best options that I see:
1) Tower heatsink with fan pointing to back of case; back fan + top fan as exhausts
2) Top-down cooler (hopefully getting some air via side panel); back fan + top fan as exhausts
3) Top-down cooler (hopefully getting some air via side panel); back fan as intake, top fan as exhaust

I'm guessing that option 1 would be best for CPU cooling, just because of how effective tower heatsinks are, but the fact that there's an opposite-facing CPU heatsink fan next to the PSU fan seems strange to me, even if that PSU fan should rarely spin up.

The specific heatsinks that I had in mind:

• Thermalright SI-100 if getting a top-down cooler
• Thermalright Silver Soul 110 or 135 as a tower cooler, depending on whether the case looks like it can actually accommodate a 135mm heatsink height.

(I love Noctua, but am budget-conscious for this build; it seems like the equivalent-ish Thermalright heatsinks are great values.)

Thanks for your advice!

 

[scatterforce]

Hi there and welcome.

*Disclaimer, I have not built in this case, but can provide feedback based on my experiences.*

Of the 3 options you listed, Option 2. Having more negative pressure will help your GPU thermals, which are more important in gaming applications. Neither side panel, the metal or the acrylic, look great at airflow.... which means your cooler will be pulling hot air from your GPU.

My choice: Option 4, intake at the back, exhaust at the top, with a Silver Soul 135 or ID-COOLING SE-207-XT Slim. The 207-XT should perform better, and is only $10 more. If you are that tight on budget, get something other than a 13600KF. GPU is always more important for gaming than CPU. Heck, the 13500 is going for $1 more than the 13400 right now and will make cooling much easier.

 

[shleepy]

Thanks! I was actually about to post about forgetting option 4, which was exactly what you mentioned. It's definitely a logical choice (what with the whole "hot air rises" thing), but I've seen some forum posts elsewhere, with people not reporting improved temperatures with that heatsink fan orientation in other cases, for whatever reason. For this case (assuming I end up keeping it), I can't think of a more "logical" orientation, though.

I can definitely spare an extra $10 on a heatsink but didn't know about the 207-XT. I just didn't want to spend 3x the price of the Thermalrights on a Noctua cooler for an improvement of ~3 degrees or something.

I'm also open to experimenting with fan orientations after buying a heatsink, so the biggest question was really just whether to get a tower or a top-down cooler.

 

[scatterforce]

I'm also open to experimenting with fan orientations after buying a heatsink, so the biggest question was really just whether to get a tower or a top-down cooler.

With the looks like of the side panels, I would go with a tower. Intake at the back, feeding the tower with exhaust at the top. With the power supply drawing air from inside the case, this will still create negative pressure and benefit your GPU.

You should definitely post your build with thermals when you are finished. Good luck!

 

[tinyitx]

There is an upgraded version （ie M60P）in their store in jd.com. The main upgrades seem to be the front panel being perforated and having an audio port. It costs about 5 US bucks more. Not sure if you can find it in Aliexpress.

The perforated front panel can potentially bring great cooling benefit, especially allowing the option to point the fan of the PSU to face to the case front. These US$ 5 can be game-changing money.

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[shleepy]

The M60P definitely looks like it improved the M60 design! Since ordering the M60, I also found the Mechanic Master C24, which looks generally similar but better, and which also has a newer version with some airflow from the front.

I got the M60 in the mail today, and it unfortunately doesn't quite fit my needs (and also came in the wrong color). The dimensions are SLIGHTLY bigger in all directions than listed on Aliexpress (I think more like 265mm x 215mm x 160mm, excluding all protrusions), which wasn't a huge surprise. But I expected the supported GPU length to be better than listed, based on the photos. Instead, it might be the only listed length that's overstated at 220mm. The cables + mounting assembly for the front USB ports are exactly in the worst spot possible. The photos of a big-ish video card in the case are probably real but with the front USB connectors removed.

I'm seeing if I can come up with a solution that leaves me with a USB port or two in the front (e.g., if I can find individual USB ports with right-angle mounts/cables) but leaning towards replacing the case with something else.