Best possible airflow in new build

PaulieG · Jan 19, 2021

So, I'm building a micro ATX system for the first time and I'm a little rusty with building in general, at least for things like optimizing airflow in a restricting case. So I'm looking for suggestions for where to install the AIO and the case fans inside of this Darkflash DLM21 Mesh to optimize airflow. If you look through the pictures, you will see a diagram of the inside. All help is greatly appreciated.

Amazon.com: darkFlash DLM21 MESH Micro ATX Mini ITX Tower MicroATX Black Computer Case with Door Opening Tempered Glass Side Panel & Mesh Front Panel: Electronics

These are the system components being installed:

Asus Tuf Gaming B550m Plus
AMD Ryzen 3600x
Gigabyte Aorus RX 580 4gb
Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 500gb SSD
Mushkin Redline Black 4133 CL19 DDR4 16gb (8x2)
Enermax Marblebron 650w modular PSU
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 AIO
3 Deepcool 120mm RGB fans 500-1500 RPM

kapone32 · Jan 19, 2021

That case will be fine for airflow. You will have direct positive airflow going into the case and the best place to place the AIO would be the top with the fans on the bottom pushing air through the rad. and leaving the front clear to pull cool air into the entire case to aid with cooling the GPU and other components. If you don't have them already Arctic F12s would do good here.

sneekypeet · Jan 19, 2021

Top of that case looks short. I mean hight above the mobo for rad and fans without hitting RAM or VRM cooling. You may be left with no option other than the front for the AIO.

Keep in mind, that LFII 240 has a thicker rad than the "standard" 27mm. IIRC it's like 38-40mm thick without the fan.

There is an image that shows the AIO above the board, but Im mobile, and it's tiny. I default to the top for "best" thermals as the heat is leaving the case versus being pushed through the box as warmed intake airflow.

Processor	5800x(2)/5700g/5600x/5600g/2700x/1700x/1700
Motherboard	MSI B550 Carbon (2)/ MSI z490 Unify/Asus Strix B550-F/MSI B450 Tomahawk (3)
Cooling	EK AIO 360 (2)/EK AIO 240, Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280/EVGA CLC 280/Noctua D15/Cryorig M9(2)
Memory	32 GB Ballistix Elite/32 GB TridentZ/16GB Mushkin Redline Black/16 GB Dominator
Video Card(s)	Asus Strix RTX3060/EVGA 970(2)/Asus 750 ti/Old Quadros
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB/WD Black M.2 NVMe 500GB/Adata 500gb NVMe
Display(s)	Acer 1080p 22"/ (3) Samsung 22" 1080p
Case	(2) Lian Li Lancool II Mesh/Corsair 4000D /Phanteks Eclipse 500a/Be Quiet Pure Base 500/Bones of HAF
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 850G(2)/EVGA Supernova GT 650w/Phantek Amps 750w/Seasonic Focus 750w
Mouse	Generic Black wireless (5)
Keyboard	Generic Black wireless (5)
Software	Win 10/Ubuntu

System Name	Best AMD Computer
Processor	AMD 7900X3D
Motherboard	Asus X670E E Strix
Cooling	In Win SR36
Memory	GSKILL DDR5 32GB 5200 30
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse 7900XT (Watercooled)
Storage	Corsair MP 700, Seagate 530 2Tb, Adata SX8200 2TBx2, Kingston 2 TBx2, Micron 8 TB, WD AN 1500
Display(s)	GIGABYTE FV43U
Case	Corsair 7000D Airflow
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Void Pro, Logitch Z523 5.1
Power Supply	Deepcool 1000M
Mouse	Logitech g7 gaming mouse
Keyboard	Logitech G510
Software	Windows 11 Pro 64 Steam. GOG, Uplay, Origin
Benchmark Scores	Firestrike: 46183 Time Spy: 25121

System Name	EVA-01
Processor	Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling	ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory	PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s)	Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage	Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s)	Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s)	Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply	be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse	ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard	ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software	Windows 11

Best possible airflow in new build

PaulieG

kapone32

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator