Cooling an enclosed computer cabinet

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ksimm033

New Member
I just purchased a nice desk without thinking about my computer. I thought having a cabinet for my computer would be nice and help keep little fingers away. After desk assembly I have now realized that there is no way without modifying the desk to keep the computer cool. The desk is made out of pressboard/particle board and is that way all around the cabinet with a hole for cables.

I have decided I will use a hole saw to cut out holes in the cabinet for case fans. What and how many fans do you guys recommend and where should I put them? I originally thought of 1 120mm fan in the back but then thought I might be better with maybe 3 80mm fans, 2 in the back and 1 in the front left for intake and exaughst. Any Ideas? Please keep in mind when making suggestions that I would rather not put a fan on the front door of the cabinet. Thanks for your help.
 
ksimm033 said:
I just purchased a nice desk without thinking about my computer. I thought having a cabinet for my computer would be nice and help keep little fingers away. After desk assembly I have now realized that there is no way without modifying the desk to keep the computer cool. The desk is made out of pressboard/particle board and is that way all around the cabinet with a hole for cables.

I have decided I will use a hole saw to cut out holes in the cabinet for case fans. What and how many fans do you guys recommend and where should I put them? I originally thought of 1 120mm fan in the back but then thought I might be better with maybe 3 80mm fans, 2 in the back and 1 in the front left for intake and exaughst. Any Ideas? Please keep in mind when making suggestions that I would rather not put a fan on the front door of the cabinet. Thanks for your help.
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The more the better, to a point. Obviously the greater the airflow, the better for your system, but it is all well and good it acting like a wind tunnel, it is the sound of the wind tunnel that isn't so appealing.

If you got a few decent 120mm or 140mm fans, 2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust, that would be enough I'd have thought. You could go for more if you want, as fans such as the Scythe gentle Typhoon's move a fair amount of air and are near enough silent, but to buy quite a few of them probably won't be that cheap.

You will also be better having more intake than exhaust. you don't want to create low pressure in there. Because it is fairly well sealed, unlike a case where it would suck in air from every single hole, it would do that,. but it wouldn't be able to maintain a high pressure, so you would create a small vacuum, so less air would be circulating. More intakes means you won't get that vacuum, and you will keep enough air in there for your components
 
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What do you think about if I just used 1 120mm in the back and made 2 air holes, one on each bottom side in the front?
 
not sure the exact dimensions but fits a mid tower with about an inch or two on each side and 5 inches in the back
 
ksimm033 said:
not sure the exact dimensions but fits a mid tower with about an inch or two on each side and 5 inches in the back
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I think you would need atleast 1 in and 1 out take, even though it is quite small compared to the case. 1 120mm at the bottom front and 1 120mm rear top would enough I'd have thought, and will be drawing in the coolest possible air, and expelling the warmest possible air because of the heat rising
 
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