Just ordered this slot cooler (if you happened to see the other thread I started about cooling, it's because I am using a 4U chassis with poor airflow). Studio workstation by day... X99 gaming rig by night.
Currently, I'm using a Noctua NH-C14 for a CPU cooler, but I'm considering trying out an H100 or similar... if it fits on the slot cooler I just linked. Two 120mm fans makes me think it should work, and my graphics card is on slot 3 (I know, I know... slot 1 but they're all x16 3.0 so w/e), so slots 1&2 will be holding the cooler anyway. Would this be a terrible idea? Is the radiator on the H100 likely to be way too heavy for a PCI bracket?
If I'm talking crazy here, I'd like to know before I order one, pop the sucker open and install it, only to find that it was a stupid idea and I then have to reapply the old cooler and return the AIO.
Also, any recommendations for AIO coolers? I'm pretty set on changing the fans out with some Noctua Industrial PWM 120's I already have, so is it just down to radiator thickness at that point? It seems like it would be quite a lot of static pressure, pushing through a radiator, then straight against a metal plate that pushes it out those 2 small, vented brackets. Could that be a problem?
I've never liquid cooled before, but I've read a lot about it, and just don't want to make a noob mistake, thinking that I'm being adventurous. OH, and how loud are the pumps on those things? I'll just forego it entirely if it's going to be a fair bit louder than the C14. I can live with high idle temps (idles 45C; load temps 65C), but noise is the kicker for me. Still has to be quiet during the daytime.
I suppose I should edit and add... from the image of the slot cooler, does it look like that thing would even line up the mounting holes with an H100?
I have no clue what your mounting is for your rack mount, and how much room you have around it. But you can try to modify the case so you can mount the H100 to the side/top? I dunno.
Is that slot cooler an enclosed unit designed to blow all air out of the back? It sounds like it is from the description. If so, I don't see why it couldn't work with an AIO as long as it could be mounted. Mounting may be a challenge though. Even if the holes lined up and the radiator didn't conflict with anything, there is still the stiff tubing to deal with. It might put too much tension on the two little screws holding the slot cooler.
I think the cooler itself may be worth having even if you don't mount a radiator to it though considering 4U cases often are limited to 2x 80mm exhaust. I'm actually considering getting one for my own 4U build.
Ok, so after installing the cooler, a radiator definitely would not clear the memory DIMMs. I could maybe fit a rad in between the cooler and vid card, having the fans as intakes, which would then exhaust from the radiator directly to the vid card. It would be extremely tight, if the rad even fits, since all the slots would be populated. 2 cards, plus two for the cooler, two for the vid card, and one for a rad. Does anyone have an opinion on whether the packed case may or may not be worth the CPU temps? Dunno how much better it would actually be, or if the rad would even fit within the width of a card slot.
The only reason I'd flip the fans is so as not to work against the fans of the 980. I'm thinking it won't work out, but if anyone has thoughts, please share.
I think either way you're going to be dealing with a lot of obstructed airflow which is terrible for a radiator. The purpose of a radiator is to pull or push air over the fins to cool the liquid. If the airflow is obstructed then air wouldn't flow over the radiator thus the heat from the cpu would warm the liquid so in theory instead of cooling it you'd be dealing with a CPU hot enough to cook pizza and eventually melt considering it didn't shut down the system first. Same goes for the GPU. You can't do that to airflow. You're practically reusing the air emptied into your case.
Well, the radiator, itself, wouldn't be choked; it would have the slot cooler pushing on one side, with the graphics card fans pulling on the other side, which would eventually vent out the sides of the vid card heatsink. It's this dynamic that keeps me interested, as well as wondering if the overall case airflow would suffer too much by adding the slot cooler as an intake.
I'm still waiting on a reply from protocase, as I've contacted them about building a custom 6U that could handle an NH-D15 or a radiator. If that option turns out to be too expensive, I'm hoping this (AIO on bracket) could work, although, I don't have high hopes for it, at this point.