Looking for some advice on choosing suitable parts for a Kolink Void RGB Tempered Glass Case.

**Bruce** · 02-06-2023, 11:36 AM

g’day evergrim and welcome to the forums.

as you say, that case can have 3 fans on the front panel, and two at the top.
extra fans are dead easy to install, you just need the screws (which they come with) and the fan header on the motherboard to power it from, so make sure whatever mobo you get has SYS_FAN1, SYS_FAN2, etc for the number of extra fans you require.
or, another way is to simply plug the fan into a spare Molex power connector via an adapter like this;
[ATTACH type=“full” width=“152px” alt=“1675682975444.png”]11496[/ATTACH]

as to the CPU fan, the stock cooler they come with are surprisingly effective, but if over-clocking or where you know it’ll be under heavy load for long periods, I’d get an after market one, say from Noctua.

I’d also suggest doing yourself a favour and checking out www.umart.com.au if you haven’t heard of them.
they started out in Brissy but now have stores in all capital cities except N.T.
I am yet to find anywhere else that beats them on price.
they also used to have an excellent “we’ll build it for you” service and charged $80 (from memory but that was maybe 8 years ago I last heard someone who had used them for that).

**evergrim** · 02-06-2023, 12:13 PM

Thanks for your reply.

I will give it a go at installing some extra fans myself if I end up going with that particular Kolink case. It would be easier to just go with a different case that already has extra fans included but I just really like the look of the Kolink Void. It’s a shame that PC Case Gear doesn’t include the option to have more fans and cooling options with that particular template. I will check out Umart as well to see what their options are. Thanks for the tip.
and the fan header on the motherboard to power it from, so make sure whatever mobo you get has SYS_FAN1, SYS_FAN2, etc for the number of extra fans you require.

I had a look for the fan header information for the ASUS ROG STRIX B660-A GAMING WIFI D4 but I can’t figure out how many fans that particular board is capable of. Are you able to help me find that particular information. On the ASUS website it says “ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting, including one RGB header and three addressable Gen 2 headers” Is that the ones you were referring to? And what is the difference between an RGB header and a Gen 2 header?
as to the CPU fan, the stock cooler they come with a surprisingly effective, but if over-clocking or where you know it’ll be under heavy load for long periods, I’d get am after market one, say from Noctua.

Ah I see it comes with a stock cooler that’s good. They really don’t make that information very clear in the online listings for those CPU’s. I won’t be overclocking so I think I will just stick with the stock cooler.

**Bruce** · 02-07-2023, 12:59 AM

see here; https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards...d4-model/spec/
scroll down to Internal I/O connectors and it shows it can handle up to six fans; one for the CPU, an optional one for the CPU, one for a water pump and three chassis fans.

RGB and Gen2 headers are for LED lighting - each to his own, but a bit of a wank really if you ask me.
(he says noting you like the case )
I’d rather spend the $$$ on better components.

I did get a NZXT water pump, mainly to get firsthand experience in installing them and to see what the fuss was about and if they really were any better than the stock cooler - and it came with a RGB ring on the CPU pump - and yes, it does look cool! (y)
so what do I know!

and if you stick with the stock cooler and do find you’d like lower temps, you can easily upgrade to a better heatsink and fan at any time.

**evergrim** · 02-07-2023, 03:59 AM

Thanks for the info.
RGB and Gen2 headers are for LED lighting

Are those RGB and Gen 2 headers compatible with ARGB fans?
I was hoping to use the Kolink Umbra Void ARGB PWN 120mm fans (Yes I like the rainbows, even better fans with infinity mirrors in them

)

I was initially hoping to have four chassis fans but if there are only 3 headers with this motherboard where do you suggest is optimal to install them. The Kolink case I want to use says it can support three fans in the front and two at the top. Here is a diagram of what I was hoping to do showing four fans installed but if I can only have three which one should I omit from the build?

**Bruce** · 02-07-2023, 05:16 AM

can’t answer your ARGB question, I’ve only dipped my toe in the RGB water pump pool and that was enough for me.

without opening a whole new can of worms, there is also a rabbit hole you can go down with negative and positive pressure within your case.
that is, how many fans to you want to ‘blow’ and how many to ‘suck’.
personally, I like positive pressure, more fans pumping air in than ones sucking air out.
does it really matter either way - probably not.

if I was you, I’d consider getting something like this; NZXT Kraken X73 360mm RGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler - Umart.com.au
double check it’ll fit and the cables are long enough - but you get the idea.

this way it uses the water pump header, and cools the CPU, but also with all those fans, mounted on the front, will draw in enough air that you wouldn’t need any top fans, and just get a good, quiet, back fan. plus you get your sexy RGB lights everywhere!!!

**evergrim** · 02-09-2023, 09:58 PM

After doing some research I have decided I am going to build the whole PC myself and use an AIO liquid cooling system like you suggested.

I ordered everything yesterday so here is my completed parts list:

Case: Kolink Void RGB Tempered Glass Case Black

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B660-A Gaming Wi-Fi DDR4 Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core i5 12600 Processor

RAM: Team T-Force Delta RGB 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16 DDR4 Black

SSD: Team Cardea Z44L M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD 1TB

PSU: Phanteks AMP PH-P750G 750W Modular Gold Power Supply

Rear Case Fan: Kolink Umbra Void ARGB PWM 120mm Fan

Top Case Fans: Cooler Master MasterFan MF120 HALO 120mm ARGB Fan Kit

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid PL240 Flux Liquid CPU Cooler

I was initially going to go with the ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 KO Gaming LHR 12GB for my GPU but I have held off on ordering the GPU for now until I can fit the motherboard and front radiator and fans to measure. The Kolink Void case says it can support Graphics cards up to 310 mm but that isn’t accounting for the radiator and fans at the front and the ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 KO Gaming LHR 12GB that I initially wanted is 275mm long so it might be a snug fit. Also I probably don’t need a 12GB GPU so probably will do more research into a smaller form factor 8GB GPU.

I have to say the most difficult challenge with putting this whole build plan together has been the case. A lot of extra effort and checking due to the case being more aesthetic and also a mid tower. Would have been easy to do if I had a regular vented full tower or something but I wanted the challenge of getting it to work for this case.

I will post an update if I have more build questions or hopefully to show the completed build some time soon.

**Bruce** · 02-09-2023, 10:07 PM

sounds like you have approached the whole task with the right amount of logic and methodology.

I had some initial concerns over some of the parts, only because I have never heard of them, but upon checking (like the SSD and PSU) they seem be very as good as any other brand I would have suggested.

my only, slight concern would be the CPU.
budget permitting, have you considered the benefits in extra cores, threads and Hz if you jumped up level to the i7 or i9 ranges?

**evergrim** · 02-09-2023, 10:20 PM

my only, slight concern would be the CPU.
budget permitting, have you considered the benefits in extra cores, threads and Hz if you jumped up level to the i7 or i9 ranges?

I did give the CPU some thought and was initially going to go with the i7 12700 but I decided to go down a level to the i5 12600 for a few reasons. Firstly when considering my use case my graphical goals are for 1080p at 60fps and no higher than that. Also I have quite an extensive backlog of games which I am focusing on finishing first so I won’t be using it for the most high end current games.

Because of the somewhat poor ventilation of this case and also thinking about gaming in summer heat in Australia I decided I would rather have the i5 due to it running cooler. I am hoping that the i5 with that 240mm AIO cooler should be nice and cool all the time. And also budget wise the i7 was putting me a little bit over what I was planning to spend for this build.

Longer term in a few years when I am ready to step up to 4k gaming and playing the more current gen games I will want to do another build anyway designed with that in mind.

**Bruce** · 02-09-2023, 10:33 PM

once again - sounds like you have done your research.
good to see! (y)

I only needed an i3 for my home office, non-gaming, PC.
but it was a high Hz at it’s time.
initially I had a stock cooler that kept it in the high 50’s, then I got a NZXT 120mm radiator AiO water cooler and it now never gets above 42, and that was about three weeks ago when QLD had the mini heatwave and the outside temps got into the high 30’s and the humidity was mid 90’s.

**evergrim** · 02-10-2023, 04:28 AM

Originally posted by Bruce

Initially I had a stock cooler that kept it in the high 50’s, then I got a NZXT 120mm radiator AiO water cooler and it now never gets above 42, and that was about three weeks ago when QLD had the mini heatwave and the outside temps got into the high 30’s and the humidity was mid 90’s.

That sounds promising then. I’m sure the AIO will do a good job in summer.

I had a question about the AIO radiator and fan installation at the front of the case so I drew up a diagram to make it easier to explain.

So is it correct that the goal of a front mounted radiator / fans is to intake air into the front of the case? And to intake using the right side option in the diagram you would have to turn the fans around and have the backs of the fans visible when looking into the side panel of the case?

And can the fans go on the front side of the radiator or the back side? (if they were on the front they wouldn’t be visible when looking into the case). Is there an ideal configuration for which side of the radiator the fans should go? Ideally I want to see the RGB fans when looking into the case.

Also is it better to have the radiator mounted with the hoses at the top like in my diagram or flipped around with the hoses at the bottom? I have read about the recommendation for the top of the radiator to be higher than the top of the pump which I think it should do with both positions.

**Bruce** · 02-10-2023, 05:12 AM

for me you want as little stress on the water pipes as possible, so long, lazy curves, nothing too tight.
as to how that ends up, I don’t think it matters, it’s a sealed unit after all, with theoretically no air pockets.

traditionally you would have the back fan sucking air out, and in your case the twin radiator fans in front of the radiator so you see the RGB lights, and they suck the cool air in.
but the downside may be that with the radiator being behind the fans, you’ll be blowing hot air into the case.
again, I don’t think it’ll matters too much, and you could always put another exhaust fan on top.

and don’t forget, the power supply will have a back fan AND a ‘bottom’ fan (depending on orientation in the case) that both will be sucking air out as well.

but in this scenario, I wonder how it would go if;
[ul]
[li]the back fan sucks cool air in[/li][li]the radiator is on the front of the case with the fans towards the front[/li][li]but the fans are mounted backwards, drawing air in from the case, over the radiator, and out the front[/li][/ul]
just a thought!

**evergrim** · 02-10-2023, 09:29 AM

Thanks for all this help. I appreciate it.

So will the air going through the radiator cool the liquid coolant in the fins and then exit the radiator into the case hotter than it was outside the case? Does that only happen if the fans are on the left side sucking the air through the radiator rather than on the right side blowing the air through?

I also have to take into consideration (yes again the problematic aesthetic case) that having the fans on the right hand side will have the top fan sitting flush against the back area of the V infinity mirror, essentially against a wall. If the radiator was against that V shaped wall instead would those gaps in the radiator fins moving away from that wall create a larger space for the top fan to move more air through?

I initially was going to just use a single fan 120mm AIO cooler instead mounted at the bottom of the V where there is better air flow but then I fell down the rabbit hole on Youtube of people saying you have to have the top of the radiator above the top of the pump to avoid air bubbles, so then I thought ah well I can just put the radiator and fan at the top then, until I noticed that it would just be sitting against a wall, so that became a dead end.

Before that I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out tower cooler stack height compared to the width of my case which didn’t seem it would fit well in a mid size case (some would fit but they would almost be touching the glass), so then I started down a path of using the Cooler Master i70C LGA1700 RGB CPU Cooler but ended up with probable RAM clearance issues with the 49mm very tall T-Force RAM I had chosen and then trying to find RGB Low Profile RAM sticks like the Hyper X Fury RGB that I found, but all of those types have been discontinued it seems so no luck there. Again I know I’m making more problems for myself at every turn because I want the nice rainbow lights everywhere but that is part of the challenge I want to overcome with this build.

Another question I have is because I bought the Cooler Master MF120 3 x fan kit I will have one spare fan that I could possibly mount below the front radiator to cool the lower part of the case. The Kolink Void case can have three fans mounted at the front so might be good to put that one in too. Do you think that would help balance the general air flow and negate some of the warm air coming from the radiator? And would that lower fan help to cool the PSU? It could balance out having 3 x Intake Fans and 3 x Exhaust Fans so maybe a neutral pressure system. I will have to wait and see once the radiator is installed if any parts of the radiator would block that fans mounting point though. I drew up a diagram to illustrate my current idea of how it might work so can you please have a look over it to see if you notice any issues with it?

If I did do that setup I think I would have to use a fan splitter cable (which may come with the kit) to put all three Cooler Master fans into one header, like CHA_FAN2 from my picture. With just the 5 fan option I would be able to use a separate fan header for each fan which appeals to me for simplicity but I don’t suppose it would be that much harder to chain those 3 fans together. Can three fans be daisy chained together like that and run from a single fan header without any issues?
but in this scenario, I wonder how it would go if;

[ul]
[li]the back fan sucks cool air in[/li][li]the radiator is on the front of the case with the fans towards the front[/li][li]but the fans are mounted backwards, drawing air in from the case, over the radiator, and out the front[/li][/ul]

A reversed air flow system? That is really getting down the rabbit hole there. I think I would struggle to get my head around it as a first time builder, considering how much difficulty a regular direction flow system is giving me with this particular case. Would be interesting to look if any others have posted builds like that online though. Intriguing idea.

One final question regarding choosing a GPU:

PC Case Gear emailed me back and told me that “the chosen graphics card (ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 KO Gaming LHR 12GB) will obstruct the installation of the radiator from the CPU cooler” so I am going to go for a smaller sized card now, and maybe 8GB instead of 12GB, maybe a RTX 3050 instead of 3060. I have seen some much shorter GPU’s like the 235mm long MSI GeForce RTX Ventus 2X OC 8GB. Or do you think I am better off paying a bit more for a 3060 for my use case? Any other video cards you can recommend? For some reason I feel kind of wary of the Gigabyte brand but that might be unfounded. I just have it in my head that ASUS or MSI would be better. Is Gigabyte a good quality brand that I should consider as an option?

**Bruce** · 02-10-2023, 11:49 PM

air bubbles are only a concern if making your own water pipes.
the AiO units are advertised as air free.

yes, basically the air comes out of the radiator fins hotter than when it went in.
how much hotter? - it wouldn’t be much and would be reduced if the radiator has more fans and those are spinning faster.

as to having a spare fan - yes, mount that as well. basically more fans are better than less.

with daisy chaining, since fans draw bugger all current, one molex cable from the PSU, with the appropriate splitter will run three fans. I’ve never run more than one fan off a mobo header, so not sure on that one, but I’m going out on a limb and saying NO as I reckon they spec each header for a particular purpose - in this case, running one fan.

sadly I have no PC gaming experience so have never cared what GPU I got.
however, if the mobo/CPU didn’t have embedded graphics, and multiple screens were needed, I would often get Gigabyte branded cards, which seemed to simply be rebadged Nvidia stock. never had any issues with their mobo’s either.

nothing against you or your build, but all you have confirmed for me is all this arty-farty rainbow crap just gives more grief than it should.
people may claim it looks good, but I’ll even debate that!

**Bruce** · 02-14-2023, 05:06 AM

@evergrim - still need help?

Looking for some advice on choosing suitable parts for a Kolink Void RGB Tempered Glass Case.

Looking for some advice on choosing suitable parts for a Kolink Void RGB Tempered Glass Case.

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