Mounting fan on Thermalright ultra 120

[espeed]

Hiya,

I have just built my new system and am trying to decide which is the best way to mount the fan on the ultra 120. Should I have the fan mounted so its pushing cool air through the fins and on through to the rear case exhaust, or should i mount it on the other side of the cooler and have it suck all the heat from the fins and blow out through the rear case exhaust?

The reaosn i ask is becasue if i have it blowing through the fins, alot of the air is just pushing out over the top of the cooler and is quite loud because of the resistance from the fins.

Im after advice from anyone who has this cooler.

Thanks.

[peterhuang913]

First one: push air through fins and out the back.

[Andyf]

I really don't see how it can matter that much. The two are equivalent, surely, its exactly the same principle. If the air is pushing over the top, move the fan down a bit. If anything I would suggest pushing onto the fins, because:
a)the flow is more 'concentrated' (i.e. if its pulling the air can approach the fan from a wider set of angles)
b)fans create swirl. The HS vanes deflect the swirl into longitudinal motion (like a crude version of a jet engine stator). This is good because high airflow speed = high heat transfer (high nussult numbers)
c)no interaction between exhaust fan and swirl from intake fan, due to the HS acting as a flow straightener.

Basically I'm pointing to some reasons why you could pick, but it really shouldn't matter. I see absolutely no reason why people spend extra cash to use 2 fans (one on each side). It makes no sense to me.

EDIT: if you are really bothered, try both and see which one gives lower temps!

[espeed]

unfortunately i cant lower the fan to much more as it will become out of alignment with wire bracket which holds it on, but i guess i could bend things....ill take a look. Also i will try pushing and pulling and monitor temp change.

thanks.