please help. should these 4 additional fans (2 + 4) be intake or exhaust?

demonikal

demonikal

New Member
Building a computer for a friend. This is the case.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6430030

I have everything I need. All the components plus 2 fans, but don't want to buy the other 4 unless it's really necessary. Even my rig doesn't have this many spots for fans. I already have intake at the front and exhaust at the back. But I'm wondering where I should put intake and where I should put exhaust on:

Top rear
Top middle
Bottom
Side panel (if you think I should put a fan on the side panel)

*He isn't a gamer (nor am I). He just does a lot of video editing.

Thanks!!
 
FuryRosewood

FuryRosewood

Active Member
filling a case with fans isn't really necessary, and often times can just cause additional turbulence in the case. id suggest really if you want to spend any money on anything, and adding any fans too, buy a fan controller. you wont notice how much a difference those fans make till their turned down...fans are NOISY. (oh ze irony as im using a antec 1200, with a ton of fans, but yes, fans aren't necessary, but airflow can be achieved with as little as two fans, and good cable management)
 
Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
Theres two schools of thought. 1 says positive pressure inside the case (ie. fans pushing in air faster than it can go out). This prevents dust entering the case because the intake fan will be filtred and no dust can get in because of the pressure.

The other way is to suck out the air with more or bigger fans than what is pushing in. This creates a negative pressure in the case, sucking in air from everywhere including dust. Its very effective cooling however.

So make a choice on how much cooling you need. If it isn't much then use the positive pressure model to reduce dust, or if you need lots of airflow and movement, then use the negative pressure model, but monitor dust.
 
FuryRosewood

FuryRosewood

Active Member
^ Just don't do what a friend of mine did, all fans pointing in XD He ended up giving the machine away when all it needed was some fans to be pointed out...hilarious
 
MMM

MMM

New Member
Never seen a computer with out dust inside regardless of Hi or low air pressure, even with filters you will get a light build up over time.

Oh sorry I have seen a clean computers but they were in a controlled environment.
 
demonikal

demonikal

New Member
FuryRosewood said:
^ Just don't do what a friend of mine did, all fans pointing in XD He ended up giving the machine away when all it needed was some fans to be pointed out...hilarious
Click to expand...

Just for the sake of never messing up another build:

I realized while building my friend's computer that I actually had my own first build in the wrong direction with the rear fan. I only have two spots for fans in my midtower case, front and rear, then a dust screen at the side panel directly across from the CPU fan (with a wide plastic cylinder screwed into the panel jutting inside the case), and a long rectangular vent below that on the side panel that has much bigger holes for air.

Okay, so I never was really taught which way a fan goes and none of my fans or his have the arrow pointing in the direction the air flows on the outside of the blades. So, what I'm asking here is: if you look at the side of the blades with the round part of the blades jutting out or you look at the side of the blades with the round part of the blades jutting in, which way do you place them so you have intake and which way do you place them for exhaust.

I don't have a super high-end video card in mine and nothing is overclocked and I do monitor dust, but still I don't want to impede the airflow.
 
Ankur

Ankur

Active Member
demonikal said:
If there's an intake on the side, wouldn't it be blowing air onto the CPU fan that is trying to get hot air out of the case?
Click to expand...
Which side is the CPU fan? The side panel fan also depends whether the video card is attached or not. As Video cards use the side panel intake for cooling.
 
demonikal

demonikal

New Member
Ankur said:
Which side is the CPU fan? The side panel fan also depends whether the video card is attached or not. As Video cards use the side panel intake for cooling.
Click to expand...

If the front of the my friend's tower (optical drives, etc.) is facing me and I'm facing it, then the CPU fan would be facing the side panel on the left. He has onboard video, so there is no fan for the video card.

In my case however, my video card's two fans point down toward the bottom of the case where there are no spots for additional fans.
 
Ankur

Ankur

Active Member
demonikal said:
If the front of the my friend's tower (optical drives, etc.) is facing me and I'm facing it, then the CPU fan would be facing the side panel on the left. He has onboard video, so there is no fan for the video card.

In my case however, my video card's two fans point down toward the bottom of the case where there are no spots for additional fans.
Click to expand...


Well I see the side panel fan is not required in your friends case then and is the bottom fan intake? I guess this will create a negative pressure as Bigfella said.
 
demonikal

demonikal

New Member
Ankur said:
Well I see the side panel fan is not required in your friends case then and is the bottom fan intake? I guess this will create a negative pressure as Bigfella said.
Click to expand...

For my friend's case I have only decided on intake for front and exhaust for rear. It would be far too noisy to have six 140mm fans in there especially when I guess he doesn't really have a need for them. So we agreed that 3 fans would suffice. He never has had a desktop PC that had lights, so I'm putting blue LED fans in there. I just need to figure out where to put that 3rd fan if you can help with that. Could either go on top-rear, top-middle, bottom, or side panel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top