Improving temps Lian Li TU 150

[ChopNorris]

Hello everyone, I´m looking for new ways of improving my build, it is the first time I´ve build in a miniITX case and I´m not a pro with airflow related things. My actual build is this . It has a 3800x and a 2080 SUPER, so as you can imagine cooling is an important factor. Now that summer is arriving my temps are rising to around 68º on the CPU (with automatic boost and undervolt) and around 75ºC on the GPU (OC and undervolt). After looking around I think that I could improve my temps a lot if a change the GPU fans for some case ones (maybe Noctua NF-F12?) and change the Noctua A12X15 that i have in the bottom to the front and rear. I´m also thinking that maybe changing the fan setup could work. Maybe using the front as exhaust and the back as intake? That way the CPU would get fresh air. I´m not sure about the bottom ones, actually I´m using them as intakes. But I´ve been recommended that if a change the fans maye I could use the as exhaust too.

What you guys think? Thanks in advance.

 

[fabio]

Hey! Which version for the TU do you have? The one with the aluminum or glass panels?

Anyway, I suggest first to remove the b3rd back fan, it doesn't do anything.

About the GPU, I've tried with some fan below in my Titan RTX founder edition, and they did just more noise, no change at all in temp.

I have the aluminum panel that are open on the GPU side to let it breath, so I never had temp issue!

But 75C are ok for the GPU under stress/game!

 

[tinyitx]

After looking around I think that I could improve my temps a lot if a change the GPU fans for some case ones (maybe Noctua NF-F12?) and change the Noctua A12X15 that i have in the bottom to the front and rear.

I´m also thinking that maybe changing the fan setup could work. Maybe using the front as exhaust and the back as intake? That way the CPU would get fresh air.

I´m not sure about the bottom ones, actually I´m using them as intakes. But I´ve been recommended that if a change the fans maye I could use the as exhaust too.

What fans you are using for the 3rd cooler fan and the front intake fan?

My thoughts are:-
If you keep the 3rd CPU cooler fan, better use a 120x25 (not 12mm slim fan) with good flow to match the fans of the D15S. If the space is limited that to a slim fan, better ditch it then. Also, if a fan is used at that position, better to install it to the case rear panel than to the cooler.

You can try to use the rear case fan as intake and the front case fan (better be another 120x25 fan with good air flow) as exhaust as you are correct to note that fresh air now is intaken from the rear. The main drawback of such set up is that most people would have the case sit against a wall and the space in the rear may not be sufficient to provide a good free flow of ambient fresh air. Of course, the front now exhausts hot air and it is just not nice , especially in the summer.

As for the bottom case fans, using two 120x15 slim intake fans might not be too helpful. They definitely cannot be set up as exhaust as this runs against the card's fans. But, you may consider removing the shroud+fans of the Galax 2080S (possibly voiding the warranty...but if there is no sticker and you do it carefully, you can put them back if you ever need warranty work) and then you might have enough space to install 120x25 intake fans. These will supply much more air to the card and could potentially lower the GPU temp. At the same time, with the fan shroud removed, you can try these two bottom case fans as exhaust too (which some Ncase M1 users have good thermal result).

 

[ChopNorris]

Hey! Which version for the TU do you have? The one with the aluminum or glass panels?

Anyway, I suggest first to remove the b3rd back fan, it doesn't do anything.

About the GPU, I've tried with some fan below in my Titan RTX founder edition, and they did just more noise, no change at all in temp.

I have the aluminum panel that are open on the GPU side to let it breath, so I never had temp issue!

But 75C are ok for the GPU under stress/game!

I´ve got the glass version. I´ll remove the back fan then, but should´t it help to take the hot air out? 75ºC is not that bad, but as summer aproaches I think the temps will rise, and for example with the GPU fans at 100% I get about 10ºC less (but it sound like a rocket) so I think that changing the fans could help a lot.

What fans you are using for the 3rd cooler fan and the front intake fan?

My thoughts are:-
If you keep the 3rd CPU cooler fan, better use a 120x25 (not 12mm slim fan) with good flow to match the fans of the D15S. If the space is limited that to a slim fan, better ditch it then. Also, if a fan is used at that position, better to install it to the case rear panel than to the cooler.

You can try to use the rear case fan as intake and the front case fan (better be another 120x25 fan with good air flow) as exhaust as you are correct to note that fresh air now is intaken from the rear. The main drawback of such set up is that most people would have the case sit against a wall and the space in the rear may not be sufficient to provide a good free flow of ambient fresh air. Of course, the front now exhausts hot air and it is just not nice , especially in the summer.

As for the bottom case fans, using two 120x15 slim intake fans might not be too helpful. They definitely cannot be set up as exhaust as this runs against the card's fans. But, you may consider removing the shroud+fans of the Galax 2080S (possibly voiding the warranty...but if there is no sticker and you do it carefully, you can put them back if you ever need warranty work) and then you might have enough space to install 120x25 intake fans. These will supply much more air to the card and could potentially lower the GPU temp. At the same time, with the fan shroud removed, you can try these two bottom case fans as exhaust too (which some Ncase M1 users have good thermal result).

The fans in the rear and back are a pair of Cooler Master SF120R ARGB. The one in the rear is installed in the case panel, it seems to be in the cooler becase it doesn´t leave any free space. I think that the space in the back would not be a problem, even though, how much should I leave?
I used slim fams in the bottom since there is no space for normal ones with the GPU fans. If I remove them i would have around 4cm from the case to the heatsink, so I would need something to keep the fans close to it. I considered the A12x25, but I cant´stand the brown scheme, would NF-F12 a good replacement, at least those are available in chromax. I wanted to use my A12x15 in the front and rear since I´ve read that their performance for aiflow is pretty good and that why I could save some extra bucks. Would they work?

Thanks both for the replies!

 

[tinyitx]

It is hard to specify how much clearance you need to the rear of the case. Perhaps at least 150mm, but then space is needed to the left and right for some proper airflow.

CM SF120R looks to have decent spec. If they are replaced by the Noctua A12x15, I do not expect there will be a big difference. Perhaps it will be slightly worse as both airflow and static pressure of the A12x15 are slightly lower than that of the CM 120R.

What I would suggest you to do now is to remove the side glass panel and run some tests. Without the side panel, this most likely remove any hot air accumulation inside the case and should provide an, more or less, upper bound of what you can achieve with this case. If CPU and GPU max temps are lower than the current values of 68C and 75C in a significant way (say, more than 5C), then it is worthy to improve. Otherwise, this might not be worth the effort. ( BTW, use a desk fan to blow some fresh air directly onto the side-panel-opened case when testing.)

If you remove the shroud-fan of the Galax and then use NF-F12 25mm Chromax, it would work. My guess is, the temp will be lower but perhaps the main benefit is much lower acoustics when the card is under load.

 

[ChopNorris]

It is hard to specify how much clearance you need to the rear of the case. Perhaps at least 150mm, but then space is needed to the left and right for some proper airflow.

CM SF120R looks to have decent spec. If they are replaced by the Noctua A12x15, I do not expect there will be a big difference. Perhaps it will be slightly worse as both airflow and static pressure of the A12x15 are slightly lower than that of the CM 120R.

What I would suggest you to do now is to remove the side glass panel and run some tests. Without the side panel, this most likely remove any hot air accumulation inside the case and should provide an, more or less, upper bound of what you can achieve with this case. If CPU and GPU max temps are lower than the current values of 68C and 75C in a significant way (say, more than 5C), then it is worthy to improve. Otherwise, this might not be worth the effort. ( BTW, use a desk fan to blow some fresh air directly onto the side-panel-opened case when testing.)

If you remove the shroud-fan of the Galax and then use NF-F12 25mm Chromax, it would work. My guess is, the temp will be lower but perhaps the main benefit is much lower acoustics when the card is under load.

I don´t have any problem with clearance then in any of the places I usually usually use it.
I´ll do some testing as you have suggested, I´ll use a game like The witcher 3 to see some "real" performance (I don´t think that prime95 for example can be taken as a representation of normal use).
I share your opinion about the acoustics. I value silence and with my actual fan curves I dont get much extra noise that what I do at idle. GPU fans tops at 70%rpm but if I let it go to 100% the temps decreases in around 10ºC, as a drawback I can almost hear the fans from the next room ?
I suppose that with some good fans I could get those temps or even better without having that amount of noise. The problem is that I´ll have to choose between placing the fans at the bottom and leave some space between them and the heatsink, or place them on the heatsink and have that space between them and the intake.

Thanks again!

 

[ChopNorris]

Did some testing as you recommended and I´m a bit confused with the results since removing the side panel made the temps worse. After some gaming I get this temps:
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 65%: 72ºC GPU/ 66ºC CPU
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 100%: 64ºC GPU/65ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 65%: 76ºC GPU/64ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 100%: 67ºC GPU/64ºC CPU

I don´t have any desktop fan to use as you said. Why can this be?

 

[tinyitx]

Did some testing as you recommended and I´m a bit confused with the results since removing the side panel made the temps worse. After some gaming I get this temps:
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 65%: 72ºC GPU/ 66ºC CPU
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 100%: 64ºC GPU/65ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 65%: 76ºC GPU/64ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 100%: 67ºC GPU/64ºC CPU

I don´t have any desktop fan to use as you said. Why can this be?

The most likely reason is this:-
When panel is off, exhaust from the GPU leaves the heatsink fins and goes out to the case surrounding vincinity but is, more or less, sucked back by the two bottom case fans and thus recycles back into the GPU. End result is higher GPU temp.
When the panel is on, exhaust from the GPU leaves the heatsink fins and cannot escape out of the case and is drafted upward by the airflow of the CPU cooler. Without the above recycling, GPU temp is lower.

For the CPU, the effect is just the opposite.
When panel is off, GPU exhaust does not go into the CPU airflow path, thus CPU temp is lower.
When panel is on, GPU exhaust goes into and through the CPU and thus CPU temp is higher.

This is why using a desk fan to blow fresh ambient air onto the case could be useful to prevent/minimize/neutralize any possible exhaust recycling.


If the current gaming temp of GPU 64C is acceptable to you but it is just the 100% GPU fan noise that is annoying, one possible next step is to remove the Galax shroud+fans. Then, install two Noctua 120x25 fans (Chromax fan for the colour is Ok if you do not like the beige ones) at the case bottom as intake. Whether the fans are attached to the Galax heatsink or attached to the case does not really make a big difference (thermal wise and acoustic wise), I suspect. This arrangement should (at least) match the stock fans thermally but with lower noise, as they do not need to spin that fast to provide the same (or more) amount of air.

 

[fabio]

Did some testing as you recommended and I´m a bit confused with the results since removing the side panel made the temps worse. After some gaming I get this temps:
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 65%: 72ºC GPU/ 66ºC CPU
- Side panel ON, GPU fans at 100%: 64ºC GPU/65ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 65%: 76ºC GPU/64ºC CPU
- Side panel OFF, GPU fans at 100%: 67ºC GPU/64ºC CPU

I don´t have any desktop fan to use as you said. Why can this be?

Did you try to remove the bottom fans?? (Not switching off, removing completely)

I got better temps and noise without

 

[ChopNorris]

The most likely reason is this:-
When panel is off, exhaust from the GPU leaves the heatsink fins and goes out to the case surrounding vincinity but is, more or less, sucked back by the two bottom case fans and thus recycles back into the GPU. End result is higher GPU temp.
When the panel is on, exhaust from the GPU leaves the heatsink fins and cannot escape out of the case and is drafted upward by the airflow of the CPU cooler. Without the above recycling, GPU temp is lower.

For the CPU, the effect is just the opposite.
When panel is off, GPU exhaust does not go into the CPU airflow path, thus CPU temp is lower.
When panel is on, GPU exhaust goes into and through the CPU and thus CPU temp is higher.

This is why using a desk fan to blow fresh ambient air onto the case could be useful to prevent/minimize/neutralize any possible exhaust recycling.


If the current gaming temp of GPU 64C is acceptable to you but it is just the 100% GPU fan noise that is annoying, one possible next step is to remove the Galax shroud+fans. Then, install two Noctua 120x25 fans (Chromax fan for the colour is Ok if you do not like the beige ones) at the case bottom as intake. Whether the fans are attached to the Galax heatsink or attached to the case does not really make a big difference (thermal wise and acoustic wise), I suspect. This arrangement should (at least) match the stock fans thermally but with lower noise, as they do not need to spin that fast to provide the same (or more) amount of air.

Makes sense! Thanks for the explanation. 64ºC is far better than what I get, of course that I would be happy to lower them more ?. As far asI know A12x25 are not available in chromax, the most similar that I found is the black version of the NF-F12. Anyway, if you know better fans I dont mind using another brand.
Placing the fans in the bottom of the case would be easiest way, I´m concerned about the gap but if you say that it does not make a differentece I think I´ll take that solution. Is hard to connect the fans to the GPU? Anything else I must take into account? I suppose I would need something like this

Did you try to remove the bottom fans?? (Not switching off, removing completely)

I got better temps and noise without

At first I had the case without them, and temps were higher, guess that the GPU are so far to act as intakes.

Another thing that I haven´t taken into account is using some specific coolin solution like a Kraken G12 o an Accelero. Do you think it is worth it? Especially because the heatsink included with the GPU is pretty big.

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[ChopNorris]

I tried to post a link and seems that it created that empty space. Where I say "I suppose I would need something like this" I was refering to this Gelid PWM Adaptator

 

[ChopNorris]

I found stock of the Noctua NF-F12 chromax and I ordered 3 of them (two for the GPU and probably one for the back), so I´m finally going for it. Any other thing I must take into account? Should I keep front and bottom as intakes and the back as exhaust, or shoudl I change it?

Thanks again!

 

[LJA]

Sorry that I jump so late to this thread, but I have a very similar set up, what did you finally do? thanks in advance

PD: How did you managed to install the original right fan of the D15 without having issues with the USB3 front panel connector?