All fans ran at fixed RPMs during the tests, with baseline temperatures captured over ten minutes while the system ran the Time Spy benchmark and a 12-thread 7-Zip benchmark simultaneously. In the standard layout, the CPU averaged 65.2°C and the GPU 70.9°C. Moving the card to the bottom of the case, connected via a PCIe riser cable, did almost nothing for the GPU but improved CPU and VRM temperatures by 4.2°C and 7.0°C respectively.

Other placements traded temperatures in different directions. Putting the GPU in front of the triple-fan intake improved GPU core and VRM temperatures by 7.1°C and 4.6°C but pushed the CPU up 3.4°C. Swapping the AIO cooler from exhaust to intake, creating positive air pressure, cooled the processor by a further 6.2°C but raised GPU temperatures by 16.0°C. The best all-round combination, GPU in front of the side intake with the AIO as an additional intake, brought the GPU core down 10.5°C, the hotspot down 14.0°C and VRAM down 7.8°C, with CPU and VRM temperatures also slightly lower.

TrashBench acknowledges the experiment does not cover the many variables that dictate case temperatures, including fans and the components themselves. Even so, it suggests chassis design could do with a shakeup to reach optimal thermals, however impractical the tested layouts may be for most builds in their current form.