Advice for Fractal R3 & Noctua Fan Cooling

[MasterMic]

Firstly, here is my current build:

P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (ECO A.L.C. Cooler/Heatsink)
Saphire HD 4870 1GB
Samsung T220 (22" LCD, 1680x1050, 60Hz)
OCZ 2x2GB DDR3-1333
PCP&C 750 W (S75CF)
Antec 900 Case

I have been looking for a new, quieter PC case for a few days and have settled on the Fractal Design Define R3 (Titanium). I am also considering using Noctua NF-P12-1300 fans to keep it quiet. What would be the best way to configure the fans for optimal air flow? I will set the environment first:

My computer is in a compartment in my desk with the front and back open and the rest of the sides covered. The compartment has the dimensions 48-1/2 cm H x 30 cm W x 55 cm D. The case will most likely be against the right side of the compartment. The R3 case is 44 cm H x 20.7 cm W x 52.1 cm D.

The case has the following fan options:

1 rear 120mm (which will have the radiator of the ECO A.L.C. attached)
2 front 120mm fan
1 bottom 120mm/140mm fan
1 side panel 120mm/140mm fan
2 top 120mm/140mm fan

I am thinking of putting 2 Noctua NF-P12-1300 fans on the front, 1 Noctua NF-P12-1300 on the back (on the ECO A.L.C.) and leaving the side, top and bottom options empty because of my limited environment.

Would this be an effective cooling solution? If so, which direction should I place each fan? If not, which fans should I also include? I would like to have the best cooling possible, even if I must purchase a few more fans.

Here is my current shopping cart:


Thank you for reading my lengthly post. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[MasterMic]

[Jim G]

I would suspect that your initial plan would work... two intakes on the front and an exhaust on the rear seems like a sensible place to start. We have an R3 with that precise setup and it does a fine job of cooling a Xeon server setup that typically runs at 100% all day and night. It's surprisingly quiet to boot...

The 120mm Noctuas are a good choice, imho - I've found them to be quiet and able to move a good amount of air to boot. I had to use both the LNA and ULNA on ours to prevent them from keeping the HDDs too cool.

[Abula]

I had to use both the LNA and ULNA on ours to prevent them from keeping the HDDs too cool.

Sorry for the offtopic question, but why is it bad to have cooler hdd?

[Jim G]

http://labs.google.com/papers/disk_failures.pdf

That will be able to explain it better than I can... some good charts in there. In a nutshell - if your HDDs are too cold or too hot they are more likely to fail sooner. I like mine in the range of 30-40 degrees Celsius based on my interpretation of that study.

[MasterMic]

I would suspect that your initial plan would work... two intakes on the front and an exhaust on the rear seems like a sensible place to start. We have an R3 with that precise setup and it does a fine job of cooling a Xeon server setup that typically runs at 100% all day and night. It's surprisingly quiet to boot...

The 120mm Noctuas are a good choice, imho - I've found them to be quiet and able to move a good amount of air to boot. I had to use both the LNA and ULNA on ours to prevent them from keeping the HDDs too cool.

Thanks for the reply. My birthday is coming up, so I think I'll ask my parents for this.