I have an Ncase M1 on the way and bought an Asus ROG Strix RTX 2080 Super A8G to go in the build. I have checked this in the compatibility list, and it looks like it should just squeeze in by removing the front IO ports with the stock card fan assembly.
For the rest of the system I have:
- Ryzen 3900X
- Kraken X52 (fans in pull configuration)
- Asus ROG Strix X570-I
- 32 GB (2x16G) Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZN
- Corsair 1TB MP600 NVMe SSD
- Seasonic SGX 650
However, I've had had the idea to remove the stock card fans and use 2x Noctua NF-A12x25 2000 RPM PWM or similar on the bottom of the case. The video card has two PWM ports for controlling fans, so this seems like a possible configuration. The thickness of the card and heatpipe assembly looks to be a 2 slot height if the fan assembly is removed, which should give me room for 2x 120x25 MM fans at the bottom of the M1.
My main concern with a pull configuration for this setup is that blowing air out towards the bottom air filter doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and will probably pull dust in through the ventilation holes on the side of the case which is probably not ideal. However, removing the filter would improve airflow. In a push configuration, pulling in air from the bottom of the case and blowing on to the card would allow me to filter the air coming into the case.
I am planning on replacing the NZXT fans on the Kraken X52 with the NF-A12 or NF-F12 2000 anyway, so I would be able to test the various configurations before doing the swap on the radiator. With that in mind though, my main questions are:
- Is this worth doing?
- The fact there will be some gap ~1 mm between the card heat-pipe assembly and the fans make a big difference?
- Dose a pull configuration (away from the card, exhausting out the bottom of the case) or a push (blow air onto the card) work best?
- Can I fit the case front IO ports in with 2x 120 MM fans at the bottom of the case?
