Log Sliger CL530 - Tame RTX 3090 FE?! (Build Log)

[MarcParis]

Hi all,

Back to November 2020 where RTX 3XXX or AMD 6XXX or Zen 3 CPU stocks were scarce (in fact it's even worse on GPU and better for CPU) I decided to try another mini ITX layout to make universal platform than Sliger SM550 (Sandwich layout, slightly modded to fit full GPU of 2.5 slots & IS-60).
Indeed, even today, only EVGA XC3 was "compatible with SM550+...and based on my recent experience on RTX3090, sandwich style case has to be avoided for RTX 3080/3090.

Sliger CL530 is available here :
https://www.sliger.com/products/cases/cl530/ (USA & all except Europe)
https://www.density.sk/product/cl530/#case-style (Europe)

For once I'll try to go straight on my review..

Basically CL530 genes are the same as Fractal Design Node 202 but with very very strong upgrades (back fans in GPU compartment, taller CPU cooler, better cooling & build construction overall)

Here is setup to be assembled inside CL530 :

• CPU : Ryzen 7 5800X (originally R7 1700X) : Stock frequencies for now
• CPU Cooler: ID-Cooling IS-60 EVO, fully modified.
  • Back plate & screws : Noctua AM4 kit for L9i/L9a
  • Top Fan : Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM (Sterrox power..) (m3x30 screws ordered separately, not provided with cooler)
  • Bottom Fan : Noctua NF-09x14 PWM (2500rpm max). Connected to AIO Pump (as it can tend to be very noisy!. I'm aiming 1400rpm max in standard conditions)
  • RAM sticks are easy to switch after assembly!
• MB : Asus B450-i Strix (what else? AMD AM4 AGESA V2 PI 1.2.0.0. applied...SAM with RTX 3K ready..) Cherry on the top : NO issue with gen 3 riser
• RAM : Corsair LPX Vengeance 2x8Gb (appeared to be B-die..however even XMP profile (3200 16-18-18-18) is not working with Zen 1 or 3. Just need to for 3200 18-18-18-18) I might replace them with my Flare-X 3200 14-14-14-14 if needed.
• PSU : Corsair SF750. I also tested SX700 (working well) and SFX-L SX800-LTI...however this later put herself in safe with current peal from RTX3090...weird
• SSD#1 : Samsung 840 pro 240Go (2.5" SATA). Figured out how to secure it on second assembly session (lack of handling manual for CL530)
• SSD#2 : AData SX8200 Pro 2To (m.2 NVME 4x Gen 3)
• GPU : Infamous & allmighty RTX 3090 Founder's Edition
• FAN Management : Through Bios (4204 B450-i Strix). On 4204 bios, there is even no upper limit for CPU temperature (before it was limited to 75°C)

Here are some picture of the build (pretty easy task except 1st build is longer as you don't have any handling manual (in carton or on website))

SFX-L PSU are fully compatible with CL530, with no major issues
Back fan mounting system (compatible with 15mm & 25mm fans, screws provided with case) is including grid. However no AIO can be put in place instead

In order to control back fans, I've added a thermal sensor (very convenient)
You can also notice how difficult it is for airflow to passthrough riser (despite ribbon split in 6 parts)

SX700 is working great in this case too!

FINAL Assembly!

Overall how was my experience with this build?!
Skipping all the details, from a test, I decided to stick on CL530, even upgrading CPU from R7 1700X to R7 5800X (at last found it at MSRP!). Experience was not straight forward as I encountered several issues...almost all related to RTX3090!


Let's focus on answer to this topic :

How to tame RTX3090 FE (or any RTX 3080/90) inside CL530?

First you need new constraints imposed by RTX 3080/3090. Everybody was focused on passthrough fan, however, it's a minor concern versus real issue on those cards : GDDR6X chips temperature, especially those on back plate as they are not actively cooled! (common to all RTX 3080/3090, even custom ones)

Latest HWinfo64 is monitoring Memory Junction temperature.

This is the reason why RTX 3090 FE core is around 65/70°C...but sometimes its fans are becoming crazy, reaching 100% speed...and core could massively underclock...because GPU fans cannot do anything to cool GPU back plate!

Stop believe that this issue is only for Bitcoin/ETH miners. My RTX3090 FE is also reaching 110°C on GDDR6X while playing Control in 4K, DLSS, full RTX for example. However I don't experience massive underclock on the core (almost no impact on performance). Also each time I enter a menu (in game) temperature is decreasing really fast (proving cooling is effective)

This issue on GDDR6X on GPU backplate is the main reason I strongly advice to avoid RTX 3080/3090 in sandwich style case...especially when I monitored its temperature.

Remember thermal sensor I put between back side fans?

Well it's reaching 62°C!! (in winter conditions, ie approx 20°C ambiant temperature in room) In sandwich style case (like Sliger SM serie, Dan 4A, Loque, Form D), your motherboard will be exposed to an ambiant temperature of 60°C! I don't even speak about m.2 located on back of motherboard! On top of that, you won't have any airflow to decrease temperature of GDDR6X temperature!
Without knowing that Linus confirmed my findings with this video on watercooling RTX3090 : (66°C on back plate of GPU)

It's also explaining why in my Cerberus-X I got better thermals/noise with 645LT instead of C14S.
As you can see C14S is creating hot spot just on GPU back plate vs 645LT where airflow is not restricted (in all case side exhaust fan is a must!) :

But question is now : how to tame RTX3090?!
At start I was thinking to just limit FPS to 60...works well for standard rasterized games (like Horizon zero dawn)...however with all new games with Ray Tracing, even with DLSS you are reaching 60fps...thus I was forced to find a better solution..

Basically you need to undervolt it (not underclock), take control of its fan curve...and all this is time consuming as you need to check clocks/voltage at stock settings.
My inital captures were really useful as they were showing clocks (around 1785mhz when full 3D render)

Thus after, not so many trials, I reached those values for my RTX 3090 FE :

• Voltage : 0.806mV
• Core Frequency : 1800mhz
• Power usage (approx) :
  • Max : 320W
  • Average : 300W

Do I avoid reaching 110°C on GDDR6X? Nope! But time required to reach this limit is way longer, and each time I open menu, temperature is dropping very quickly (-6/8°C instantly)

Meanwhile, I've setup back side fan to spin at around 1300rpm while gaming (back side temperature at around 50°C). However I experience strange behaviour of the fans...even setup with 35% fan speed (should be 1150rpm) fan are reaching up to 1500rpm. I guess it's related to high ambiant temperature OR/AND RTX 3090FE passthrough fan...I'm still investigating..
My goal is to have RTX 3090FE AND back side fans at around 1300-1400rpm during load.

Here are gameplay samples :
Control 4K 120, HDR, Ray Tracing Max

Way of improvment?

• Less restrictive Riser in terms of airflow
• Possibility to use NF-A12x25 fans on back

Knowing this RTX3080 FE should work like a charm in CL530 with dual NF-A12x25 on back...and riser will have an offset..
I'm also investigating on N-ATX case

Last short point from my review : ID-Cooling IS-60 EVO reinforced with Noctua backplate, screws & fans..
It is giving stock R7 5800X full potential! On stress test (Intel burn test 2.54 standard), R7 5800X was reaching 78°C. (130W of power monitored)
I'm also confirming that 92mm on bottom (ie IS-47K) is clearly a way too noisy choice (even with noctua fan)...not effective at all!
Cherry on the top : IS-60 EVO is not restricting RAM choice/height..


As usual, more to come soon!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 14th February 2021 : RTX 3090 FE & R7 5800X are tamed! (CL530+ is born!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's start with RTX 3090 FE inside CL530.

First thanks to @Kommando for inspiration on CL530 riser mod!
I decided to follow his example...mod is pretty simple & straight forward...but I was unprepared to final outcome of this mod!

Here is final assembly result :
BEFORE : Riser is creating a wall!

AFTER : Riser lines split & grouped by 2. Make sure to keep all flex on extremities, not in the middle

I didn't encounter any issue to put back RTX 3090 FE in position

Important : Before powering it ON, you have to check that all back fans are free to spin freely!

That's a pretty mod, isn't it? But what its benefit ??!!

Long story short RTX 3090 FE potential thermal throttle is fully gone inside CL530!!!
Cherry on the TOP, R7 5800X is also cooler as exhaust is working better!

I saw important temperature drop on either RTX 3090 FE Core & GDDR6X, meanwhile back fans temperature remains approx the same

• Core : From 77°C/76°C to 71°C/72°C (in peak)
• GDDR6X : From 110°C (thermal throttle) to 102°C (104°C in peak)
• Back Fan temperature : 62/63°C
• R7 5800X : From 71°C to 67°C

On top of that, RTX 3090 FE fans are spinning slower than previously, reaching now 1200 rpm with 300-310W load (better than in my Cerberus-X stock)!

Any evidence?!
Of course, just compare those 2 CONTROL runs :
BEFORE :

• In 10 minutes
• RTX 3090 Core : 76°C
• GDDR6X : 110°C
• Back fans temperature : 62°C
• R7 5800X : 71°C

AFTER :

• In 15 minutes
• RTX 3090 Core : 71°C
• GDDR6X : 102°C (104°C Peak)
• Back fans temperature : 62°C
• R7 5800X : 67°C

By the way I first tested Cyberpunk 2077 with this mod, after one hour of gameplay I just realized that GPU temperature was no longer rising...Thus I decided to test apples to apples with a new Control run!


Let's proceed now with R7 5800X paired with Noctuaed IS-60 EVO inside CL530.

I insist that Noctua AM4 backplate (from L9i/a) is a must to properlly compress heatsink on CPU IHS.

On CPU, I simply tweak 92mm bottom fan curve (damnit this small 92mm 14mm (2500rpm version) fan is noisy!..it should be called NF-A9x14 PPC as it's sharing their noise level..)

To compare cooling & CPU performance I ran several time Intel Burn Test 2.54, Very High Profile (like in Cerberus-X) :

• Stock R7 5800X RAM @ 3200MTS (CL530, Noctuaed IS-60 EVO), average all cores clock of 4250Mhz :
  • IBT 2.54 Very High : 789.41sec (13.8% faster than R7 3800X OC 4.3Ghz)
  • Max temperature : 86.3°C
  • Max CPU Package Power : 133.36W
• Overclocked R7 3800X 4.3Ghz @1.3125v RAM @ 3800MTS (Asetek 645LT Intake, Side Exhaust) :
  • IBT 2.54 Very High : 915.72sec
  • Max temperature : 78.9°C
  • Max CPU Package Power : 120.03W
• Overclocked R7 3800X 4.3Ghz @1.3125v RAM @ 3800MTS (Noctua C14S Push/Pull Intake) :
  • IBT 2.54 Very High : 915.80sec
  • Cinebench R20 (multi) : 5120
  • Max temperature : 73.9°C
  • Max CPU Package Power : 119.23W
• Overclocked R7 3800X 4.3Ghz @1.3125v RAM @ 3800MTS (customed 92mm watercooling, push/pull) :
  • IBT 2.54 Very High : 917.12sec
  • Max temperature : 79.5°C
  • Max CPU Package Power : 118.33W

I saw some users were reaching 90°C (at stock) with AIO 240mm...I don't even know how they can manage to do so!
Basically I'll keep stock R7 5800X (love seeing boost clock at more than 4.8Ghz..)
While gaming R7 5800X is within higher 60°C (65-67°C in modded CL530) (you can check Control Runs video).

I'll finish with some phtos of the external, especially with my HI-FI feet assembled with magnetic tape :

Only advice : never use Acetone to remove glue on paint (I just managed to whitened one corner of CL530.. )

As a conclusion, modded CL530 is really astonishing! Reaching those temperature is such case size with such power angry components is a feat!
When buying CL530 I thought it was just average on temperature management, however, it is one of the best suited case to feat new RTX 3080/3090 GPU!

Now it's time to enjoy playing with it!

PS : I hope this feedback will be helpful to @KSliger @shadowfear & @riba2233 for CL520/530 and P/N ATX cases

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 28th February 2021 : Additional tweaks for CL530 (long-term)!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to my first experiments/builds with CL530, I was negatively surprised that my PSU SX800-LTI (v1.0) was forced to protective shutdown! As solution I switched it by Corsair SF750 and it was working well.
However for long/intense gaming session I was hearing fan noise, that was clearly not from other fans (cases, cpu cooler or RTX 3090 FE)....it was in fact SF750 fan that was screaming...remembering me dark times from Node 202, where PSU was simply too warm. This problem is clearly not not short term.

Worst solution is to replace "so-called" noisy fan by Noctua fan (as I can read a lot of topics) without solving main root cause : case internal is too hot, leading to either lack of exhaust or intake as a direct consequence of hot air recycling!

My 1st action to test if my SX800-LTI was able to support or not RTX 3090 FE, in proper conditions. Thus I put them back to my "all-mighty" Cerberus-X (pre-production sample from early 2017!..)

What can I say about this experience?
Well very simple..just have a look (if not already done..) to my video (same benchmark in Control, same parameters on RTX 3090 FE (1800Mhz @0.806v), except fan curve...no need to tweak it!)

RTX 3090 FE is simply so cool on both Core (64°C, time to fan to kick up, -8°C vs best setup in CL530) or GDDR6X (100°C, -6°C/-8°C vs CL530).
This experience was shockingly good as it's proving one more time my cooling concept inside Cerberus-X (rear 92mm AIO intake simply rocks for gaming!!).
I also try to overclock my RTX 3090 FE but with no great success as coil whine was increased due to higher power draw. Balance (Performance/noise-cooling) reached with 1800mhz @0.806v is really good on RTX 3090 FE (still higher clocks than by default!)

Anyway at the end of experience, I was seriously considering to get rid of CL530 for a case similar to Cerberus-X (like NR200P). But thanks to @Kommando with his additional fan on top of PSU in CL530, I decided to give it another try!

My decision to give another try to RTX 3090 FE in CL530 was also motivated by my experiment of my MSI GTX 1080 ti Gaming X inside CL530...not so "cool" as you will see in incoming lines.

Unfortunately results were not so great (to stay polite) :

• MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X : 83/84°C....at stock settings! As comparison same GPU in Cerberus-X with massive overclock (+17% power) is reaching 76°C....
• CPU : Another side effects of opened air GPU...its hot air is warming also CPU...it's reaching 80°C with NF-A12x25 spinning at max speed!
• Geforce sharpened filter : well only positive output from this experiment : I ran Control in 1080p (high details) on 4K TV (LG CX 55) and to be honest it was looking good! I also tried it on my 27" monitor, even on 1080p it's looking surprisingly good...it will be good to see if I see any massive difference with DLSS 2.0...maybe for another day!

With both issues (PSU overheat & GTX 1080 Ti very bad cooling performance) it was clear CL530 has reached its last trial...if not succesful CL 530 was doomed to be replaced with no remorse.

Here are changes of the last chance build for CL530 :

• Addition of a 120mm x 25mm fan on top of SFX PSU (thanks @Kommando) :
  • 
  • I used Fractal Design Venturi HP-12 PWM fan (really goods I'm using since 2016 as far as I remember)
  • I appreciate a lot their Rubber corner
  • Fan is fixed with cut power cord from PSU plug
• Replacement of Noctua NF-A12x25 by a second Venturi HP-12 PWM fan...but why???!!!
  • 
  • 1st reason : vibration! IS-60 EVO with 2 fans tends to vibrate a lot. Rubber corner of HP-12 PWM have proven to be quite effective so far
  • 2nd reason : design! HP-12 are not as gray as photo
• Case orientation :
  • As stupid as it seems, putting GPU on top (vertical stand) is leading to better overall temperature. Thus I'm back to this setup.

What about results?
For a change, I decide to use Control... However in this trial run I decide to focus more on more demanding areas (compared to first run) where RTX 3090 FE was using about 320-330W (max consumption reached with 1800Mhz/0.806v)


Cooling results :

• RTX 3090 FE:
  • Core : 74°C with spikes to 75°C with fan around 1420 rpm
  • GDDR6X : 106°C with spikes to 108°C
  • Compared to 1st trial temperatures are higher by 2°C approx
• R7 3800X:
  • 73/74°C with HP-12 fan around 1100/1200 rpm (easy comparison versus GTX 1080 ti trial...)
  • Compared to 1st trial, CPU was reaching barely 70°C. +3/4°C degress with similar fan speed
• PSU:
  • Trial is too short to hear screaming..) Let's move to longer trial

Now time to do long trial...3 hours of Cyberpunk 2077! This should be very representative of new setup performance!

Here are focus on RTX 3090 thermals

Average values are the most interesting one :

• RTX 3090 FE:
  • Core:
    • Max : 75°C
    • Average : 70°C
  • GDDR6X :
    • Max : 106°C
    • Average : 98.3°C
  • Power :
    • Max : 326W
    • Average : 271W
  • Fan speed:
    • Max : 1443rpm
    • Average : 1313rpm

First point : SF750 fan didn't scream during this gaming session! I'm convinced that this additional fan is essential in CL530!

CL530 was very close to anticipated retirement! With this build CL530 won some time!
I'm amazed with my Cerberus-X (4 years later...) but I'm still doubtful with CL530...

Now I still need to check when gaming load is constantly at max power usage, issue I encountered with Twin Mirror, in specific scenes GPU power is reaching 330W and CL530 became really noisy...

 

[rfarmer]

Thanks for the write up, the information on the FE VRAM temps is very useful. I have seen a lot of people having a difficult time cooling the 5800x, it is nice to see the IS-60 works so well.

 

[MarcParis]

Thanks for the write up, the information on the FE VRAM temps is very useful. I have seen a lot of people having a difficult time cooling the 5800x, it is nice to see the IS-60 works so well.

Thanks.
I’ll post gaming sessions to demonstrate behaviour inside CL530.

Be careful, it’s IS-60 EVO...
I need to test it more with R7 5800x, but for now, it’s working like a charm...

ps : gddr6x temp issues are not specific to FE model..

 

[Tuscany]

Great stuff!
I don't like the case, but I like the build, very good work

Confirming that the 92mm Noctua (A9x14) is terribly noisy after ... 25%.

 

[paulesko]

I am no longer going to buy a 3090 due to financiual issues lately, but when I saw all those mems at the back of the board, I thought about using this to active cool the back plate.
It´s only for watercooled rigs, but interesting anyway

MP5WORKS – Watercooling Components

mp5works.com

 

[MarcParis]

I am no longer going to buy a 3090 due to financiual issues lately, but when I saw all those mems at the back of the board, I thought about using this to active cool the back plate.
It´s only for watercooled rigs, but interesting anyway

MP5WORKS – Watercooling Components

mp5works.com

I hope you will recover fast.
Thanks for sharing. Watercooling RTX 3080/90 is making a lot of sense, thanks for sharing that.

 

[paulesko]

I hope you will recover fast.
Thanks for sharing. Watercooling RTX 3080/90 is making a lot of sense, thanks for sharing that.

Thank you, it´s nothing very important, just no money for toys. :/

I have an Ncase and I was thinking about aircooling the card, and watercooling just the backplate, because there are some 3090 with interesting heatsinks, that cool very well the cores and front mem chips, while I could watercool the CPU and the GPU backplate with a single 240 side radiator. This mp5works "thing" attaches to the GPU via some "hooks" to a standard backplate, so it offers a lot of possibilities. I don´t know if it would fit a founders edition card though

 

[ignsvn]

Exactly how many cases do you own, @MarcParis ?

 

[rfarmer]

Exactly how many cases do you own, @MarcParis ?

Good question?

 

[MarcParis]

Exactly how many cases do you own, @MarcParis ?

Good question?

For sure it's a good question..

Not that many as I'm selling them each time I can.

Taking into account my former cases (not sold), here is the list :

• Bitfenix Phenom (from my main gaming, full custom watercooling) setup till 2016)
• Sugo SG07 (from my old gaming setup converted into multimedia/email in 2013 when phenom took the lead)
• Sliger SM550 (waiting new setup)
• Sliger CL530 (Active)
• KI Cerberus-X (Active)

Sold/Given cases :

• Antec P180 Mini
• Fractal Design Define Nano S
• Node 202
• S4 mini

Back to Sliger CL530, here is first gameplay in Control(4K 120, HDR, Ray tracing max)
GDDR6X & back plate temperatures are monitored.

Cyberpunk 2077 is the next game I'm planning to play. It's even more demanding than Control.

More to come!

 

[REVOCCASES]

out of interest, and if it doesn't cause too much trouble, could you take your thermal sensor and measure the temp between GPU backplate and the riser cable (maybe with one of the fans there switched off)? I was wondering if you would exceed the thermal rating of the insulation in sandwich style cases with this card.

 

[MarcParis]

out of interest, and if it doesn't cause too much trouble, could you take your thermal sensor and measure the temp between GPU backplate and the riser cable (maybe with one of the fans there switched off)? I was wondering if you would exceed the thermal rating of the insulation in sandwich style cases with this card.

If I understand well, you are requesting to have thermal sensor just located in middle of riser (almost in front on GPU), am i correct?
It should be even worse compared to today's location, but not that far away..

My current max temperature overhere is 64°C (Cyberpunk 2077).

I'm not sure I will have to be honest with you as I don't expect massive gap. But let me think.
What will be the final purpose of your request please?

 

[REVOCCASES]

If I understand well, you are requesting to have thermal sensor just located in middle of riser (almost in front on GPU), am i correct?
It should be even worse compared to today's location, but not that far away..

My current max temperature overhere is 64°C (Cyberpunk 2077).

I'm not sure I will have to be honest with you as I don't expect massive gap. But let me think.
What will be the final purpose of your request please?

Yeah, somewhere there where the tape is glued on the riser ribbons.

I'm asking because I've seen someone with a molten riser in a DAN Case on Reddit, although not with RTX3090 FE (obviously). Should be no problem in the Sliger but I'm curious how hot it would get there with stock settings and case fans off at this position.

again, no problem if it's to much trouble to run this test. No need to take apart your build for that.

 

[MarcParis]

Yeah, somewhere there where the tape is glued on the riser ribbons.

I'm asking because I've seen someone with a molten riser in a DAN Case on Reddit, although not with RTX3090 FE (obviously). Should be no problem in the Sliger but I'm curious how hot it would get there with stock settings and case fans off at this position.

again, no problem if it's to much trouble to run this test. No need to take apart your build for that.

Hot back plate on RTX 3080/90 is not specific to FE models..
Do you have reddit link of this molten riser please?
I don't know exactly thermal resistance of riser, but they should reach easily 85°C, at least for the ribbon.

Anyway it's pretty interesting discussion..

 

[REVOCCASES]

Hot back plate on RTX 3080/90 is not specific to FE models..
Do you have reddit link of this molten riser please?
I don't know exactly thermal resistance of riser, but they should reach easily 85°C, at least for the ribbon.

Anyway it's pretty interesting discussion..

Unfortunately not. I saw this some months ago.

The ADT (and similar) cables are rated 80C (long term). Short term the insulation can stand more. If I remember correctly the guy was running some rendering job for 12 hours before the cable gave up.

 

[MarcParis]

Unfortunately not. I saw this some months ago.

The ADT (and similar) cables are rated 80C (long term). Short term the insulation can stand more. If I remember correctly the guy was running some rendering job for 12 hours before the cable gave up.

At 80°C it's fine with my temperature range (mid 60°C with active cooling), even at long term.
However in Dan A4 (sandwich style), without active cooling, it's becoming hazardous

 

[tinyitx]

This guy's EVGA 3090 XC3 Ultra has a IR gun measurement of 97°C backplate temp after running a few hours of rust map editing. Even though this is just one data point, but it is still alarmingly high.

[Official] NVIDIA RTX 3090 Owner's Club

3090 fe | eBay jesus, i wish all of them the worst.

www.overclock.net

 

[MarcParis]

This guy's EVGA 3090 XC3 Ultra has a IR gun measurement of 97°C backplate temp after running a few hours of rust map editing. Even though this is just one data point, but it is still alarmingly high.

[Official] NVIDIA RTX 3090 Owner's Club

3090 fe | eBay jesus, i wish all of them the worst.

www.overclock.net

Thanks for sharing this info!
As stated this hot backplate issue is not exclusive to FE models.

Crosschecking inputs, having such a hot GPU backplate (97°C) inside a sandwich style case...wouah...I start understanding how riser ribbons can melt....

 

[REVOCCASES]

This guy's EVGA 3090 XC3 Ultra has a IR gun measurement of 97°C backplate temp after running a few hours of rust map editing. Even though this is just one data point, but it is still alarmingly high.

[Official] NVIDIA RTX 3090 Owner's Club

3090 fe | eBay jesus, i wish all of them the worst.

www.overclock.net

Worth noting that he said he has a fan blowing over the backplate. really would like to see some measurements in a sandwich case

 

[Kommando]

Great choice of a case. And very fine writeup. Seeing that you struggle with the backplate and temperatures, I may have two ideas of improvement for you.

Regarding the airflow from the "blocked" fan: I went with this mod, where you basically cut the two connecting tapes of the riser und arrange two lines behind each other. I tried to put three lines into one, but that was too much pressure on the fan cover and made the fan blades hit the cover.
This frees up a huge chunk of the blocked surface. If you want to go with it, i'd recommend arranging 3x two lines behind each other. Or just try it like me with 3 in 1. Maybe it works, since it depends on the back cover.


google foto's uploaden

And regarding air flow in general. There is this huge inlet on the front cover which isn't used by anything...
And since I happened to have an NF-A14 PWM lying around i just went on. Guess what fits between the SF450 and the metal cover of the case just perfectly?



If you use the anti vibration pads on both sides, it just fits by pressure. Not worrying pressure in any way.

I hope these ideas can help you a bit with your little temperature problem.

PS:
- IS 60 Evo fans (A12x25 and A9x14 are both connected to CPU). Fan curve is adapted to CPU-Temperature.
- NF A14 is connected to Pump (System temp) and constantly rotating at 600 rpm.
- Graphics card fans (2x A12x25) are connected to the card. Thats why they don't spin on the picture.
- Exhaust fans (2x A12x15) are connected to System fan header. Fan curve is adapted to System temperature (low rpm, since they can get a bit noisy).