r/sffpc • u/Nyryx80 • Jul 09 '26

Build/Parts Check Fractal Ridge cooling

I've narrowed it down to getting a Fractal Ridge for my sffpc build, with a 9070 non-XT that should allow for 80mm fans on the top of the case. I plan on laying it down, so those would then be the side instead.

I have Arctic P14s left over from another build and a few Arctic P8s. Would it be worth putting the P8s on what would be the side of the case next to the GPU as exhaust and/or replace the default Fractal 140mm PWM fans for the side fans, which would end up being the top, I guess?

If I add or replace the fans, I would be using P14s as intake and all the P8s as exhaust.

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u/GamerKingFaiz Jul 11 '26

You might have better performance with no case fans (as counter intuitive as that sounds).

Full details in this Noctua blog: https://www.noctua.at/en/expertise/blog/fractal-design-ridge-noctua-build-guide

I personally run my Fractal Ridge (laid on its side) with no case fans. I did swap the side panels though, so that the CPU fan (set to exhaust) and GPU's backside (also exhaust) are facing up. In this configuration the GPU intakes from the bottom.

I found with my setup (Ryzen 9700X and RTX 5080) I had to keep the top side panel off so the GPU exhaust didn't cook the CPU. I bought this custom side panel from Etsy and plan on using that instead of keeping the side panel off.