@@vi_EviL_iv you can fit it with out modding it. The outside screws won’t have anything to attach to but if you’re using lian li uni fans, it won’t matter as they click together
@Marco Munoz Hi man. I used a 3M double sided tape and put them on the two ends of the fans, the other two ends are held by screw. I did that for the bottom and top fans.
@@vi_EviL_iv my guess is it's not worth it for the bottom. The filter/cutouts are for 240/280 fans. Not 360. Having 2 obstructed fans probly isn't as effective as 2 unobstructed fans.
Pretty neat testing. I think I'm going to get this case. I prefer all air cooling and I think it's going to work out well for me. I want two front 140 intakes, two bottom 140 intakes, two top 140 exhausts, and the 120 in the back exhausting. A lot of possibilities for a ton of airflow in this case, and I really appreciate not having the PSU in the way! Thumbs up.
@@warren2336I have the case in black and I might be biased cuz I love the look of the case but its overall a great case. Super versatile and its a great case to play around with!
many people have had no issue getting that nh-15 in the case, so suprised you did not attempt to put it in. Air cooling in this is case is fairly easy and will not throttle the cpu. The air cooling setup does not require the usage of the side fans.
TL;DR - best config is - AIO front intake x 2 - bottom intake x 2 - side exhaust x 2 - rear exhaust x 1 - top exhaust x 3 This is actually my config and I didn't follow the guide on the official site (side exhaust and front intake) as by experience I always put CPU radiator fan to intake. Thanks Chris for proving that.
Agreed you so underrated Chris should definitely be at a much higher level of subs as your videos are always top tier and informative! Excellent video as normal mate sat and watching it with a brew :)
So I have this case, as well as the O11 Dynamic XL. I moved my build from the XL to the Mini, but then went back to the XL because I missed having a giant PC box, lol. Now I'm thinking about going Mini again, and I have it in my storage - though I was thinking this time, I should see how to properly setup my cooling in the MIni. This video helped A TON. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for being so thorough with this video. I just finished a build in this and grabbed a couple of extra 140s to fill it out and really needed this specific video. Thanks again bud!
Nice video. I just ordered this case myself. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Liam L delayed the case due the front panel which is why you were probably getting cooler temps with the AIO on the front. They have since fixed it with the consumer version that went on sale today
I just got this case and have the exact same side aio exhaust and fan layout. Getting at least 10 degrees higher temps than you however. I've never my cpu go under 42
This is great effort of establishing best fans config , but would be also great if you could used CPU air cooler rather then AIO to see how that effects both GPU and CPU cooling. I think, but again I only imaging having Air cooler and 2 fans on top, possibly one before CPU coolers fan would hurt slightly temps as the top exhaust fan would take good portion of front intake air and exhaust without even making its way to CPU cooler. Thanks
What I think is happening with the air cooler high temps is that the top two front fans are diverting a bunch of fresh air coming in from the from and side intake fans. I wonder what would be the effect of removing those 2 fans and potentially covering that space with something to prevent fresh air escaping before reaching the CPU cooler. It seems there are too many fans blowing air all over the place when there should be a clear path for the air to follow. I'm really considering this case for a 100% air cooled build, the case is gorgeous, but I'm not 100% convinced on its air cooling abilities, specially when compared to the Fractal Torrent case.
I have a Fractual Design Define Mini C, and my testing when I first got it did exactly as you described. I keep the mesh top on, and only have front intakes, bottom intakes, and just the solitary exhaust at the rear top. Was far better for temps then any other configuration.
yup, idk why people keep adding exhaust in front of an air cooler, the problem is so obvious and hard to miss. most youtuber were doing the same thing, using the most possible fans isn't a smart thing unless you're doing custom loop with 2 radiator or more
Thank you for doing this. I feel like you covered all the bases. I really wish you could do a quick comparison with the other Lian Li Cases with similar configuration changes (based on what you've established here).
I would add that if you can't put rad in front (big GPU), there are actually better thermals (in my testing) with side radiator in, front fans out. The hot air goes directly out of the case and doesn't heat the GPU much, if at all. It's unorthodox, but if you look at the angles and airflow it makes sense. Note that bottom fans should be further left, and lower front 140 at a slower speed than the top one for optimal airflow.
Interesting video. I would like to know if the 3rd top fan (toward the front end) actually helps or impairs cooling. I'm also curious about having the side mounted radiator set up as pull exhaust, with the fans on the outside and the radiator mounted on the inside. I'd like to use some T30 30mm fans and a thick radiator, so using both sides of the panel would make a big difference.
Can confirm side AIO works very well with radiator inside and fans outside as exhaust. Plenty of room for a thick radiator and 30mm fans this way. Still don't know about top fans.
Found an issue w/ 280mm aio in front.. The tubes get in the way of one of the top fans.. that & my atx board I put in blocks another top fan.. My current fan config is as follows: 280mm aio front intake 2 120mm side exhaust 2 140mm bottom intake 1 120mm top exhaust in middle over ram 1 120mm rear exhaust All netting a net positive of 80. Any further recommendations? I could possibly fit a 140mm on top instead.
Can you do an updated video with the case that has been revised? Also, with the radiator in the front can you test is with the fans inside the case in a pull position? These would help as the push or pull across the radiator does make a difference.
I run a 4080 Noctua edition and a 12600KF slightly overclocked cooled by the U14S with two front A14 fans and two A12x25 in the back and on top right after the cooler. The top one is really crucial, because it helps to take away the heat coming form the cooler and keeps the VRM area from heat soaking. The fact that bottom fans do nothing for the GPU temps is really surprising, though.
Thanks for sharing. I received the revised version, hopefully it will be even better :) It could be nice if you would do an updated video after Lian Li sends you the new panels for free.
I just built a white mini for the fun of it for an obnoxious light show. I would have definitely gone with the air. The normal size PSU is another plus. I wonder when normal people can purchase it and the price difference?
I have this case and im wondering if the front top mounted fan is a good option when using an air cooler, I feel like it sucks the cool air as soon as it enters the case and it might hinder a bit of performance for the air cooler since it sits on the back of the case
Love the video! I was wondering why you didnt consider a 280mm aio as top exhaust as any losses from the placement would surely be worth it since the 280 is so much bigger?
For anyone with the improved case I can confirm the 240 front intake AIO results match up with the video. I dropped my 13700k idle, avg and stress test peak CPU temps between 3-6C switching the radiator from the recommended side exhaust to front intake. It is now just below the thermal throttling limit at 5.15GHz with MSI's box cooler 253W setting.
So you have the Aio on the front (side) of the case next to the motherboard and have it in intake mode so it’s taking fresh air from the front fans blowing into the case into the intake fans ? Is that what your saying ? Also did that increase the GPU temps ?
@@lightzpy8049 he has his aio in the front. Like in the actual front. Sides next to the motherboard are 2 exhausts to throw out some of the hot air from the front intake
I feel like you could fit 3x 120mm uni fans at the bottom. The edges probably won’t be able to screw in but I’m sure it’ll be fine with the rest screwed in
@@ChristopherFlannigan How much of an improvement in thermals is the mini air compared to the standard mini? I know you used different hardware, but I'm curious since I'm considering buying the air
Chris - great vid. I had already built my LL AIR MINI case (white) before watching this and I was happy with your conclusions. Why? Well because I too had put my 240 LL Radiator on the side (like your original config). I also think it looks better all around with the radiator barely visible and similar fans front/back/top and bottom - all LL. I haven't got my graphics card yet (waiting for prices to drop when next gen is out next month) - so looking forward to comparing temps with yours when I do. I have to say that I think the graphics card temp a few degrees cooler is more important to me than my CPU - especially, as I have an AMD build with a Ryzen 9 7900X - which will handle higher temps - I'm told. So I will report back when I fire it up. Cheers from Adelaide Australia - Chris.
If you ever read this, overall nice test but I think you have mist few quite important ones. Especially with air cooled CPU you should have tried this: - rear intake (quite possibly remove rear fan all together as you have it way to close to the one on cpu cooler and set a cpu fans to get fresh air from the back of the case and push it to the front, 2x top (fans moved to the rear) intake, 2x front exhaust, no bottom fans - rear no fan set cpu cooler fans to intake from the rear and push to front, top and front set to exhaust and bottom intake I think in most cases your 3 top exhaust fan was actually hindering performance as whenever you have front intake, the most front top exhaust fan would just simply take cool air that was just pushed into case and exhausted it right back out without allowing it to be actually used to cool anything. Another one to test would be: - 1x front fan (top only) intake, 2x bottom intake, 2x top exhaust, 1x rear exhaust
Thanks for the video. I found it a few days after placing my order for an air cooling setup, but will most likely go for a front mounted aio as recommended. The 13 degrees difference was huge.
What ist with Front exhaust ??? Pls Side as intake and Front exhaust bottom intake top exhaust rear intake or exhaust ... Than also Radiator in the Side intake and ob Front exhaust ... Id think Rad in side as intake woth Front exhasuting it would give best thermals ... And pitting Radiator infront of Fans would hide the Backside in a Push config
Hi great video. Just a quick question that could be very helpful. Would installing the rad in a pull configuration affect the static pressure of the fans considering you there is a small gap between the case chassis and the fan. I say this because in the case you mount the rad in the front mount fan enclosure included in the lian li, there is a small gap that doesn’t let the fan directly touch the radiator. This would be very helpful cause I’m planning a full custom loop in this tower and once everything is installed y would have to empty the loop to move radiators. Thank you very much
If you are exhausting with the top fans and also the aio fans i wonder if it might be better to change that 120 single fan at the back of the case to intake rather than exhaust?
Thank you for the advice and excellent presentation that allow multiple selections. If a 65w CPU (e.g. i5-12400/5600X) are used, will the air cooler be still workable in this case?
I just bought this case and gets delivered next week. I have a question though. On the Lian Li website it says when using a ATX mobo that the bottom 140mm fans can only be 20mm thick max, but I'm assuming that is wrong, can i use standard thickness 140mm fans on the bottom? Also can I fit three 120mm fans on the bottom instead of two 140mm fans? I have three 120mm Noctua 3000rpm Industrial fans that I'm currently using as front intake in my current case and I'd like to use them as bottom intake in the Lian Li case.
what is the problem with installing fans at the intake? there are reverse fans, they will provide a beautiful face and sufficient air flow, probably this technoblogger does not know that there are such fans)
Amazing video. Thank you. In the vertical front AIO radiator configuration, is that using the 140mm case fans, or the 120mm or 140mm fans that come with the AIO radiator?
How about a build with an air cpu cooler and the 2 side fans as exaust instead of intake? If they are set as intake maybe intefier the front intakes and kills the air flow. Usually good air coolers outperforms cheap AIO, this thermal difference look way to far.
I would like to see a comprehensive test like this with just the air cooler! For example during the test it was a NH-D15 instead of the NH-D15S which would be a lot better for clearance at nearly identical performance to the NH-D15, and also the side exhaust fans starved the air cooler from cool air, so the test should have been made without side exhaust fans for air cooling.
I'm using the included fans as configured out the box in the Lian Li 011 Air Mini and getting perfectly acceptable performance. System : 12700k with 125w profile set in bios, Asus Tuf z690 D4, 32G Crucial 3600 DDR4, Asus Tuf 3070ti, Noctua U12 S CPU cooler. So just the two included 140mm fans intake up front , The CPU cooler which is 120mm and the rear 120mm included fan as exhaust. Gaming loads on the CPU are in the mid 60s as well as the GPU never reaching 70c. I do have very good ambient temps of 19c in my office space which is in the basement of my home and always nice and cool.
@@TheJamesKF Aww poopy, those are good ambient temps for sure, I have my ambient temps at 35c. So even with a Fractal Torrent case, and NH-D15s I do get about the same as your temps but boy is it not quiet at all, I have to compensate by pushing the fans in the system quite a bit. I bet your system is very nice and quiet. These fans at 65-70% are already very audible. I sort of pretend that it's whitenoise and that's how I live with myself, but countries with hotter temps are such a pain to cool PCs in.
These videos are great, thanks for the hard work! That air cooler you tested with is a terrible cooler though, throttling is expected. I would have loved to see you test the nh-d15 so it was a more apples to apples comparison to the original 011 mini. I mean, how can this case perform worse with air than the original mini?
Having a difficult time building in the lian li air mini with a Lumen S24(0) aio for the AM4 platform. It hard adjusting the pump line to the CPU. Should i go top mount or in front the case? Another option is maybe going stock cooler. Yes these are newbie questions.
I know this is an old video, but it’s great. Though I’m curious about how thermals would change if this was full water cooled with multiple radiators. Could you have too many radiators and not enough air coming in/moving out, or is the added radiator surface area going to provide lower temps regardless of being somewhat restrictive to air flow.
Hi Chris, sorry for the late question but I just bought this case. Can I front mount an aio with the fans on the inside of the case, in a pull configuration? I have RGB fans so would prefer them on the inside.
Hey Christopher, I know this is an older video but wanted to reach out to see how you had the actual fan headers connected on this build? I was trying to make it out from the interior pictures but it's ab it challenging with the contrast. I have the same case and configuration but am getting significant fan noise, I currently have all 8 of the non-radiator fans connected to a PWM Fan hub at fan input 4 on my board and although I've adjusted the BIOS settings to PWM I'm still hearing a LOT of fan sound. Thanks!
With the air cooler configuration, the top fans should have been intake, blowing down onto the cpu. With them being exhaust, this meant the intake from the front 2 fans were being pulled straight out of the case. It would actually have been preferable to have no top fans at all, then having them as exhaust.
I just installed the SLs today and decided to move my fans around as well (again). I chose the weird one (top rad intake with 2x Noctua 140 Industrial, bottom intake with 3x120 SLs, and side exhaust 2z14 SLs and back Noctua 120 Noctua Industrial). I've never had better temps than this. And it's so quiet. Almost crazy. The Noctua fans doing the heavy work helps ofc. But still. Lol
I tried top intake once using ml12 fans.they soon had ticking sounds cos the mag lev has to work harder to keep weight of rotor and blades against the gravity to keep spinning. Interesring you got better temps. Hope the noctua fans last longer
Thanks for that. I should be getting my case soon. Which ram do you have? I want to compare the height of my vengeance lpx, hopefully mine should fit, but just want to be sure.
I would have liked to seen what 2 140mm's at top would have done instead of the 3 120mm's. We know the 140's are considered better for the front, but would have adding them for the Top also improved temps even more?
If u dont care about asthetics wouldnt you say just having the 3 stock fans plus the 2 fans on an aio would be enough fans for a ryzen 5 7600 with Zotac 4090?
anybody finding that the case is pretty loud? just built in it and have 3 fans plus 2 fans on aio and it gets kinda loud but maybe im only noticing it cus my last build only had 2 fans in total
is the rear in this case 120mm or 140mm? Currently I have Phanteks P500a with 420mm front as intake and 280mm radiator top as exhaust and 140mm rear exhaust as well. Im thinking switch to this case for better airflow. Props to Lian Li that listen to their customers and make full size psu for this new Lian Li O11 Air mini case.
The rear can hold a 140mm fan if you're getting an older version of the case. The new, updated one will only have room for one 120mm fan at the back. Edit: The new one, i meant the new Air mini with the mesh front and not the glass "dynamic" version.
Thanks for the great vid, helped me setup my fans! :) Noob question: How do you control the ram sticks color coz I think we use the same - hyperX fury 3200mhz - pls correct me if I'm wrong though, but I don't know how to control mine. They're not even showing the same colors at the same time. Thank you!
Which fans do you suggest exactly for intake and exhaust in Combination with a 280mm aio in the Front? 120mm ? 140mm ? I do have a Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX 280mm at the moment. And i thought about combine them with more corsair fans but noctua and arctic seems to have better cooling and less noise option. Thank you very much! And i apoligize for my english!
Hi. Can anyone please help. Is there a moment in this video where we see a picture of the ideal configuration? I’m just hoping I can pause it and see it visually. Thanks
Hello Chris! QUESTION! So, will the GPU be fine long-term being *that* close to the front-mount AIO? Huge thanks for this video btw! I have the same case and am planning to buy the same GPU for it.
Just placed an order for this case. Your video answered all the questions I had regarding cooling configurations. Very helpful!
Vids on the specifics like this are so unbelievably clutch
These fan config vids are life savers!
No problem
@@ChristopherFlannigan Any chance you can squeeze a 3 120mm fan on the floor instead of the 2 even with some modifications
@@vi_EviL_iv you can fit it with out modding it. The outside screws won’t have anything to attach to but if you’re using lian li uni fans, it won’t matter as they click together
@Marco Munoz Hi man. I used a 3M double sided tape and put them on the two ends of the fans, the other two ends are held by screw. I did that for the bottom and top fans.
@@vi_EviL_iv my guess is it's not worth it for the bottom. The filter/cutouts are for 240/280 fans. Not 360. Having 2 obstructed fans probly isn't as effective as 2 unobstructed fans.
Pretty neat testing. I think I'm going to get this case. I prefer all air cooling and I think it's going to work out well for me. I want two front 140 intakes, two bottom 140 intakes, two top 140 exhausts, and the 120 in the back exhausting. A lot of possibilities for a ton of airflow in this case, and I really appreciate not having the PSU in the way! Thumbs up.
Thanks
Looking at this case myself. How'd it work out for you?
@@warren2336I have the case in black and I might be biased cuz I love the look of the case but its overall a great case. Super versatile and its a great case to play around with!
Yes @Turn_Back_To_Truth
THANKS for the heavy lifting. You are the first to address the push-pull conundrum. Excellent video as usual.👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
Thanks
many people have had no issue getting that nh-15 in the case, so suprised you did not attempt to put it in. Air cooling in this is case is fairly easy and will not throttle the cpu. The air cooling setup does not require the usage of the side fans.
Thanks for doing case specific fan configuration test, not many are doing and hope you continue to do!
hands down the best video about fan config for this case (and other similar cases) no idea why it's only got 100k views...
TL;DR - best config is
- AIO front intake x 2
- bottom intake x 2
- side exhaust x 2
- rear exhaust x 1
- top exhaust x 3
This is actually my config and I didn't follow the guide on the official site (side exhaust and front intake) as by experience I always put CPU radiator fan to intake. Thanks Chris for proving that.
Agreed you so underrated Chris should definitely be at a much higher level of subs as your videos are always top tier and informative!
Excellent video as normal mate sat and watching it with a brew :)
It's getting there, thanks for the feedback
So I have this case, as well as the O11 Dynamic XL. I moved my build from the XL to the Mini, but then went back to the XL because I missed having a giant PC box, lol.
Now I'm thinking about going Mini again, and I have it in my storage - though I was thinking this time, I should see how to properly setup my cooling in the MIni. This video helped A TON.
Thanks a lot!
Thank you for being so thorough with this video. I just finished a build in this and grabbed a couple of extra 140s to fill it out and really needed this specific video. Thanks again bud!
This is exactly the video I was looking for. I just got the same case, AIO cooler and similar configurations.
Great work. Logical, sensible and with a clear recommendation supported by testing. Thanks very much for putting this together.
This is the best cooling video for this case on TH-cam.. thanks!!!
Nice video. I just ordered this case myself. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Liam L delayed the case due the front panel which is why you were probably getting cooler temps with the AIO on the front.
They have since fixed it with the consumer version that went on sale today
I can only hit the thumbs up button once! Really Enjoy the in depth review of different configurations. Always great to watch ;-)
I just got this case and have the exact same side aio exhaust and fan layout. Getting at least 10 degrees higher temps than you however. I've never my cpu go under 42
This is great effort of establishing best fans config , but would be also great if you could used CPU air cooler rather then AIO to see how that effects both GPU and CPU cooling. I think, but again I only imaging having Air cooler and 2 fans on top, possibly one before CPU coolers fan would hurt slightly temps as the top exhaust fan would take good portion of front intake air and exhaust without even making its way to CPU cooler.
Thanks
What I think is happening with the air cooler high temps is that the top two front fans are diverting a bunch of fresh air coming in from the from and side intake fans. I wonder what would be the effect of removing those 2 fans and potentially covering that space with something to prevent fresh air escaping before reaching the CPU cooler. It seems there are too many fans blowing air all over the place when there should be a clear path for the air to follow.
I'm really considering this case for a 100% air cooled build, the case is gorgeous, but I'm not 100% convinced on its air cooling abilities, specially when compared to the Fractal Torrent case.
what did you go for
I have a Fractual Design Define Mini C, and my testing when I first got it did exactly as you described. I keep the mesh top on, and only have front intakes, bottom intakes, and just the solitary exhaust at the rear top. Was far better for temps then any other configuration.
yup, idk why people keep adding exhaust in front of an air cooler, the problem is so obvious and hard to miss. most youtuber were doing the same thing, using the most possible fans isn't a smart thing unless you're doing custom loop with 2 radiator or more
Only 42k subscribers
Man u deserve 42 million sub
What a review
Sorry thats not a review
Thats a scientific research
Thank you for doing this. I feel like you covered all the bases. I really wish you could do a quick comparison with the other Lian Li Cases with similar configuration changes (based on what you've established here).
I would add that if you can't put rad in front (big GPU), there are actually better thermals (in my testing) with side radiator in, front fans out. The hot air goes directly out of the case and doesn't heat the GPU much, if at all.
It's unorthodox, but if you look at the angles and airflow it makes sense.
Note that bottom fans should be further left, and lower front 140 at a slower speed than the top one for optimal airflow.
Interesting video. I would like to know if the 3rd top fan (toward the front end) actually helps or impairs cooling. I'm also curious about having the side mounted radiator set up as pull exhaust, with the fans on the outside and the radiator mounted on the inside. I'd like to use some T30 30mm fans and a thick radiator, so using both sides of the panel would make a big difference.
Can confirm side AIO works very well with radiator inside and fans outside as exhaust. Plenty of room for a thick radiator and 30mm fans this way.
Still don't know about top fans.
@@Mithadon Thanks you for this info, appreciated
Many thanks for this! Exactly what I needed to clarify all my questions :) Best wishes from Germany!
The new front panel redesign might improve temps, are you planning to test with the new mesh panel?
Can you try the updated front mesh and test it for Air cooling?
Thanks
So what's the final word?
Front Intake, side exhaust, top exhaust, bottom intake, rear exhaust???
Awesome video! Case should be arriving soon!
you are so amazing!!! please make these fan config videos a priority!! very informative and so helpful!!
I'm pleasantly suprised, my plan for my buddy's build I'm building him is the best overall setup, that being the front rad intake with side exaust
thanks for review. thinking of getting this case, my theory is side and front on intake should be pulling in lots of air to keep the air cooler low.
Found an issue w/ 280mm aio in front.. The tubes get in the way of one of the top fans.. that & my atx board I put in blocks another top fan..
My current fan config is as follows:
280mm aio front intake
2 120mm side exhaust
2 140mm bottom intake
1 120mm top exhaust in middle over ram
1 120mm rear exhaust
All netting a net positive of 80. Any further recommendations? I could possibly fit a 140mm on top instead.
Also Chris you're looking pretty jacked! Good work in the gym getting those gains
Can you do an updated video with the case that has been revised? Also, with the radiator in the front can you test is with the fans inside the case in a pull position? These would help as the push or pull across the radiator does make a difference.
Im searching for an answer to this too
Should work the same
I run a 4080 Noctua edition and a 12600KF slightly overclocked cooled by the U14S with two front A14 fans and two A12x25 in the back and on top right after the cooler. The top one is really crucial, because it helps to take away the heat coming form the cooler and keeps the VRM area from heat soaking. The fact that bottom fans do nothing for the GPU temps is really surprising, though.
Thanks for sharing.
I received the revised version, hopefully it will be even better :)
It could be nice if you would do an updated video after Lian Li sends you the new panels for free.
Damn, you got this case fast Chris! I just built 4 Lian Li Minis a couple days ago, and didn't realize this thing came out?
I just built a white mini for the fun of it for an obnoxious light show. I would have definitely gone with the air. The normal size PSU is another plus. I wonder when normal people can purchase it and the price difference?
I have this case and im wondering if the front top mounted fan is a good option when using an air cooler, I feel like it sucks the cool air as soon as it enters the case and it might hinder a bit of performance for the air cooler since it sits on the back of the case
Love the video! I was wondering why you didnt consider a 280mm aio as top exhaust as any losses from the placement would surely be worth it since the 280 is so much bigger?
Great vedio
But some reviewrs mentiond that lower fan can lower gpu temps up to 5 degrees
For anyone with the improved case I can confirm the 240 front intake AIO results match up with the video. I dropped my 13700k idle, avg and stress test peak CPU temps between 3-6C switching the radiator from the recommended side exhaust to front intake. It is now just below the thermal throttling limit at 5.15GHz with MSI's box cooler 253W setting.
So you have the Aio on the front (side) of the case next to the motherboard and have it in intake mode so it’s taking fresh air from the front fans blowing into the case into the intake fans ? Is that what your saying ? Also did that increase the GPU temps ?
@@lightzpy8049 he has his aio in the front.
Like in the actual front. Sides next to the motherboard are 2 exhausts to throw out some of the hot air from the front intake
What do you mean by improved case? Thanks
@@Lemonard0 Reviewers got a case with tiny air holes. Those were revised for the production version. Temps are a bit better than the initial reviews.
@@lightzpy8049 Yep GPU is maybe 1-2C hotter with this layout but it's not close to thermal throttling anyway.
most excellent, thank you for the research and video. this was the best information i've found for this case.
I feel like you could fit 3x 120mm uni fans at the bottom. The edges probably won’t be able to screw in but I’m sure it’ll be fine with the rest screwed in
You can
@@ChristopherFlannigan How much of an improvement in thermals is the mini air compared to the standard mini? I know you used different hardware, but I'm curious since I'm considering buying the air
Can you try the air cooler again now that Lian Li has fixed the metal mesh on this case?
the radiator is partially blocked when mounted on the side, maybe that's why there's a big difference between side mounted and front mounted.
Chris - great vid. I had already built my LL AIR MINI case (white) before watching this and I was happy with your conclusions. Why? Well because I too had put my 240 LL Radiator on the side (like your original config). I also think it looks better all around with the radiator barely visible and similar fans front/back/top and bottom - all LL.
I haven't got my graphics card yet (waiting for prices to drop when next gen is out next month) - so looking forward to comparing temps with yours when I do. I have to say that I think the graphics card temp a few degrees cooler is more important to me than my CPU - especially, as I have an AMD build with a Ryzen 9 7900X - which will handle higher temps - I'm told. So I will report back when I fire it up. Cheers from Adelaide Australia - Chris.
What next gen cards?
Ok, you talked me into getting a Deep Cool 280mm AIO instead of going all air with the Fuma 2 Rev. B.
If you ever read this, overall nice test but I think you have mist few quite important ones. Especially with air cooled CPU you should have tried this:
- rear intake (quite possibly remove rear fan all together as you have it way to close to the one on cpu cooler and set a cpu fans to get fresh air from the back of the case and push it to the front, 2x top (fans moved to the rear) intake, 2x front exhaust, no bottom fans
- rear no fan set cpu cooler fans to intake from the rear and push to front, top and front set to exhaust and bottom intake
I think in most cases your 3 top exhaust fan was actually hindering performance as whenever you have front intake, the most front top exhaust fan would just simply take cool air that was just pushed into case and exhausted it right back out without allowing it to be actually used to cool anything.
Another one to test would be:
- 1x front fan (top only) intake, 2x bottom intake, 2x top exhaust, 1x rear exhaust
I just started rebuilding my PC in this case. How much of a difference do you think there will be between a 240 and 280mm AIO?
I like how he says under load.
Thanks for the video. I found it a few days after placing my order for an air cooling setup, but will most likely go for a front mounted aio as recommended. The 13 degrees difference was huge.
can you fit two radiators simultaneously in front/side setup ?
Extremely useful video, thanks for posting!
Could you fit 3 120 fans on the bottom? I heard this was a potential option? Also thank you for doing this!
Also wondering the same thing
I have seen pictures that you can put 3 x 120mm fans on the bottom.
Thank you so much your videos where so helpful I'm my case choice and layout plan great job
What ist with Front exhaust ??? Pls Side as intake and Front exhaust bottom intake top exhaust rear intake or exhaust ... Than also Radiator in the Side intake and ob Front exhaust ... Id think Rad in side as intake woth Front exhasuting it would give best thermals ... And pitting Radiator infront of Fans would hide the Backside in a Push config
Hi great video. Just a quick question that could be very helpful. Would installing the rad in a pull configuration affect the static pressure of the fans considering you there is a small gap between the case chassis and the fan. I say this because in the case you mount the rad in the front mount fan enclosure included in the lian li, there is a small gap that doesn’t let the fan directly touch the radiator. This would be very helpful cause I’m planning a full custom loop in this tower and once everything is installed y would have to empty the loop to move radiators. Thank you very much
If you are exhausting with the top fans and also the aio fans i wonder if it might be better to change that 120 single fan at the back of the case to intake rather than exhaust?
Thank you for the advice and excellent presentation that allow multiple selections. If a 65w CPU (e.g. i5-12400/5600X) are used, will the air cooler be still workable in this case?
I just bought this case and gets delivered next week. I have a question though. On the Lian Li website it says when using a ATX mobo that the bottom 140mm fans can only be 20mm thick max, but I'm assuming that is wrong, can i use standard thickness 140mm fans on the bottom? Also can I fit three 120mm fans on the bottom instead of two 140mm fans? I have three 120mm Noctua 3000rpm Industrial fans that I'm currently using as front intake in my current case and I'd like to use them as bottom intake in the Lian Li case.
what is the problem with installing fans at the intake? there are reverse fans, they will provide a beautiful face and sufficient air flow, probably this technoblogger does not know that there are such fans)
Amazing video. Thank you. In the vertical front AIO radiator configuration, is that using the 140mm case fans, or the 120mm or 140mm fans that come with the AIO radiator?
Dude this is so helpful, thankyou!
How about a build with an air cpu cooler and the 2 side fans as exaust instead of intake?
If they are set as intake maybe intefier the front intakes and kills the air flow.
Usually good air coolers outperforms cheap AIO, this thermal difference look way to far.
Your work is very appreciated. Thank you!
Isn’t it recommended to have more intake than exhaust fans? Won’t this setup create a more dust inside your PC?
Thats what I wanted to ask. Maybe if we keep the rpms of the intakes higher than the exhaust can prevent that?
I would like to see a comprehensive test like this with just the air cooler! For example during the test it was a NH-D15 instead of the NH-D15S which would be a lot better for clearance at nearly identical performance to the NH-D15, and also the side exhaust fans starved the air cooler from cool air, so the test should have been made without side exhaust fans for air cooling.
I'm using the included fans as configured out the box in the Lian Li 011 Air Mini and getting perfectly acceptable performance. System : 12700k with 125w profile set in bios, Asus Tuf z690 D4, 32G Crucial 3600 DDR4, Asus Tuf 3070ti, Noctua U12 S CPU cooler. So just the two included 140mm fans intake up front , The CPU cooler which is 120mm and the rear 120mm included fan as exhaust. Gaming loads on the CPU are in the mid 60s as well as the GPU never reaching 70c. I do have very good ambient temps of 19c in my office space which is in the basement of my home and always nice and cool.
@@TheJamesKF Aww poopy, those are good ambient temps for sure, I have my ambient temps at 35c. So even with a Fractal Torrent case, and NH-D15s I do get about the same as your temps but boy is it not quiet at all, I have to compensate by pushing the fans in the system quite a bit. I bet your system is very nice and quiet. These fans at 65-70% are already very audible.
I sort of pretend that it's whitenoise and that's how I live with myself, but countries with hotter temps are such a pain to cool PCs in.
@@zereimu Yes I can imagine with ambient temps like those its challenging indeed. Cool or quiet. Choose one!? 😎
These videos are great, thanks for the hard work! That air cooler you tested with is a terrible cooler though, throttling is expected. I would have loved to see you test the nh-d15 so it was a more apples to apples comparison to the original 011 mini. I mean, how can this case perform worse with air than the original mini?
Fact is the o11 he tested had the old mesh so these numbers are all off
is this with the new front panel im having hard time picking air mini or o11 mini, i saw the o11 mini vid and it has better thermals which is odd
Quick question: Did you try side mounted push pull as intake? I only push-pull exhaust on your results.
Having a difficult time building in the lian li air mini with a Lumen S24(0) aio for the AM4 platform. It hard adjusting the pump line to the CPU. Should i go top mount or in front the case? Another option is maybe going stock cooler.
Yes these are newbie questions.
I know this is an old video, but it’s great. Though I’m curious about how thermals would change if this was full water cooled with multiple radiators.
Could you have too many radiators and not enough air coming in/moving out, or is the added radiator surface area going to provide lower temps regardless of being somewhat restrictive to air flow.
Could you explain why the temps are so much different than the Dynamic 011 Mini? It is like a 20°C difference....
Can you do a video for the Lian li o11 dynamic case. The regular Size case not Xl. Thanks
I have a time-lapse and thermal testing video on the channel
This is great work, thank you !
Hi Chris, sorry for the late question but I just bought this case. Can I front mount an aio with the fans on the inside of the case, in a pull configuration? I have RGB fans so would prefer them on the inside.
Hey Christopher, I know this is an older video but wanted to reach out to see how you had the actual fan headers connected on this build? I was trying to make it out from the interior pictures but it's ab it challenging with the contrast. I have the same case and configuration but am getting significant fan noise, I currently have all 8 of the non-radiator fans connected to a PWM Fan hub at fan input 4 on my board and although I've adjusted the BIOS settings to PWM I'm still hearing a LOT of fan sound. Thanks!
With the air cooler configuration, the top fans should have been intake, blowing down onto the cpu. With them being exhaust, this meant the intake from the front 2 fans were being pulled straight out of the case. It would actually have been preferable to have no top fans at all, then having them as exhaust.
On YT you have to use all RGB fans you can.
Do you think itll be good to have 3 120’s on top as exhaust? Will the front fan near the intake fans be exhausting that fresh air out?
I just installed the SLs today and decided to move my fans around as well (again). I chose the weird one (top rad intake with 2x Noctua 140 Industrial, bottom intake with 3x120 SLs, and side exhaust 2z14 SLs and back Noctua 120 Noctua Industrial).
I've never had better temps than this. And it's so quiet. Almost crazy. The Noctua fans doing the heavy work helps ofc. But still. Lol
Have you tried the 2x side fans as intake instead of exhaust?
(top back exhaust , front ,bottom,side intake)
I tried top intake once using ml12 fans.they soon had ticking sounds cos the mag lev has to work harder to keep weight of rotor and blades against the gravity to keep spinning. Interesring you got better temps. Hope the noctua fans last longer
Will it be possible to mount the gpu vertically? Maybe it will be better for temperatures
Nice video on my favorite case :)
But I have a Noctua nh-d15 in my air mini and it fits fine. No issues. Only had to raise the front fan a bit for the RAM.
Thanks for that. I should be getting my case soon. Which ram do you have? I want to compare the height of my vengeance lpx, hopefully mine should fit, but just want to be sure.
@@0views372 I have the CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5600.
I would have liked to seen what 2 140mm's at top would have done instead of the 3 120mm's.
We know the 140's are considered better for the front, but would have adding them for the Top also improved temps even more?
would be nice to see, since i accidentally ordered 6 140mm fans, lol
If u dont care about asthetics wouldnt you say just having the 3 stock fans plus the 2 fans on an aio would be enough fans for a ryzen 5 7600 with Zotac 4090?
Just starting to build a pc with this same pc, im going to get a 7800x3d, would it be better if i buy a Matx Mobo and put a 280mm AIO on the top?
anybody finding that the case is pretty loud? just built in it and have 3 fans plus 2 fans on aio and it gets kinda loud but maybe im only noticing it cus my last build only had 2 fans in total
Can you make a video like this with the ROG Z11 Case?
Can you please test this with a 280mm AIO?
Hello! Have you tried AIO Side Intake with a push pull setup with two extra 120 mm slim fans?
is the rear in this case 120mm or 140mm? Currently I have Phanteks P500a with 420mm front as intake and 280mm radiator top as exhaust and 140mm rear exhaust as well. Im thinking switch to this case for better airflow. Props to Lian Li that listen to their customers and make full size psu for this new Lian Li O11 Air mini case.
The rear can hold a 140mm fan if you're getting an older version of the case. The new, updated one will only have room for one 120mm fan at the back.
Edit: The new one, i meant the new Air mini with the mesh front and not the glass "dynamic" version.
can that power supply fit in the regular mini?
Thanks for the great vid, helped me setup my fans! :)
Noob question: How do you control the ram sticks color coz I think we use the same - hyperX fury 3200mhz - pls correct me if I'm wrong though, but I don't know how to control mine. They're not even showing the same colors at the same time. Thank you!
Which fans do you suggest exactly for intake and exhaust in Combination with a 280mm aio in the Front?
120mm ?
140mm ?
I do have a Corsair iCUE H115i ELITE CAPELLIX 280mm at the moment.
And i thought about combine them with more corsair fans but noctua and arctic seems to have better cooling and less noise option.
Thank you very much!
And i apoligize for my english!
So should be great temps with a decent aio.
Hi. Can anyone please help. Is there a moment in this video where we see a picture of the ideal configuration? I’m just hoping I can pause it and see it visually. Thanks
Love your videos, super helpful!
Hello Chris! QUESTION! So, will the GPU be fine long-term being *that* close to the front-mount AIO?
Huge thanks for this video btw! I have the same case and am planning to buy the same GPU for it.
Awesome video! Thank you!
Can this case take a 280 ml rad with an Atx board ?💥 Maybe in front for 280 rad ( intake ) a d have 2 / 120 fan on side as out