Best way to setup case cooling?

[Fil]

I have 2 Intake 80MM fans and one 80mm exhaust fan. I also have a side fan but its blowing air into the case. Is it better to use this as an exhaust fan or leave it the way it is?

Thanks

 

[The Terminator]

I would say make the side fan exhaust, as itll be above ur CPU and Video card, the 2 biggest heat generators. Youve already got good cold air flow in.

 

[Asus]

You want air to flow and not pulling against each other. Side fans blow in for a reason. The CPU fan blows air down. The board has other hot components on it that don't have a fan that need cooling as well.

You have a good setup as it is. 2 80mm fans in with 1 80mm fan blowing out (1 in the powersupply blowing out as well I assume). That would be a good airflow system with even intake and exhaust.

Having the side fan is Ok. It can bring cooler air in right near the hot components. It's also increasing the air pressure in the case. Low or high pressure can causes an increase in temp.

Just wondering but is the side fan centered in the panel or is it placed near either the CPU or GFX card?

 

[FireCrack]

Personaly i say it's better to have more exaughst than intake fans if you have more intake fans your just stuffing the case full of air that eventualy gets hot rather than venting it out as fast as possible.

 

[[Matt]]

If the side fan is blowing directly onto the CPU then it should remain an intake fan.

 

[C1Team]

I have 3 intakes 2 front and the side panel and 2 exhaust. Leave the side as the intake.

 

[WySiWyG]

Try hiding all the wires if you havent. Free up some space and let the air flow more easily.

 

[Shamrock]

I have 3 intake fans (80mm) and 1 exhaust fan (120mm) and I have my case temperature at 15 C. I have 1 intake in the front and 2 intakes on the side while my exhaust is in the rear.

 

[bryanf445]

You want air to flow and not pulling against each other. Side fans blow in for a reason. The CPU fan blows air down. The board has other hot components on it that don't have a fan that need cooling as well.

You have a good setup as it is. 2 80mm fans in with 1 80mm fan blowing out (1 in the powersupply blowing out as well I assume). That would be a good airflow system with even intake and exhaust.

Having the side fan is Ok. It can bring cooler air in right near the hot components. It's also increasing the air pressure in the case. Low or high pressure can causes an increase in temp.

Just wondering but is the side fan centered in the panel or is it placed near either the CPU or GFX card?

asus where you been man? haha havent seen you on here in awhile.

 

[J_Tweedy]

is it pretty important to have a intake fan at the front? I think the only intake ive got is a centered side fan.

Also, do fans draw much power? Ive got a 400W psu, but with a power sucking 6800gt im worried i might not have enoug power if i add another fan.

 

[Fil]

My side fan is in the middle of the side panel which is blowing on the memory slots. The cpu fan is a bti farther to the left and my PSU has 2 fans in it one at the bottom and one at the back. So i should leave it like this? My CPU temp is 38C on idle and goes up to like 50C when I'm playing a game. My mobo temp is 20-26C. I made a custom slot fan thats blowing on the video card. It's a 40MM fan I glued to a bracket and then snipped the wires and changed it to a 4 pin molex connector. Anyways so I shoudl leave it as exhaust or intake?

Thanks

 

[The Terminator]

is it pretty important to have a intake fan at the front? I think the only intake ive got is a centered side fan.

Also, do fans draw much power? Ive got a 400W psu, but with a power sucking 6800gt im worried i might not have enoug power if i add another fan.

youd prolly have better temps if you had a fan on front, also, ur psu can handle it no worries.

 

[J_Tweedy]

youd prolly have better temps if you had a fan on front, also, ur psu can handle it no worries.

Sweet, cheers man.
Also, anyone know the best way to get wires and cords out of the center of the case to get better airflow? i.e. attach them to the side? or what?

 

[MiccyNarc]

I have an 80 MM fan in back as intake, about an inch below the PSU, two side 80 MM fans as intake, an 80 MM fan built into the PSU as outtake (2 actually, 1 in bottom and 1 in back), and 1 80 MM fan in the front as outtake.

 

[oni_666]

Sweet, cheers man.
Also, anyone know the best way to get wires and cords out of the center of the case to get better airflow? i.e. attach them to the side? or what?

The best way to clear up wires is to route them around the right hand side case panel, behind the motherboard if you can, taking into account, bare wires etc, cover any wires that may short out on the case with insulation tape ( available from electrical stores).
You can also cable tie wires to the drive bay enclosure, or push wires into the spaces in between drives, etc.

If you have IDE leads then buy rounded cables or make your own out of the flat cables.
To make your own..you will need a small craft knife or scalpel, some insulation tape, ( bright colours are nicer), Some household kitchen foil or baking foil .

Then what you do is..
Lay the IDE lead flat on a piece of wood,
Carefully cut in between each wire, starting about an inch or so from each connector.
If you expose any wires then use tape to cover them.
Be very careful not to cut any wires, or the lead will be useless.
After you have cut in between all the wire,
You need to hold both ends and twist the lead, To create a rough rounded cable, Put tape at either end to secure the new lead as it is.

Take a length of kitchen foil, slightly smaller than the distance between the 2 ends connectors, Lay the cable on the foil and carefully wrap the foil around the cable, until the entire length is covered by nice silvery foil, put a little bit of tape at each end, to secure the foil. then starting at one end wrap a piece of tape around the cable and fold the tape around the cable from one end to another.
You now have a free rounded IDE lead.
(The foil is used to provide additional shielding to the cables, to cut down on crosstalk and interference).

Or bung the lot in the bin and buy a nice SATA drive.

Here's my bit about cooling...

Keep side fans as intakes, especially one that are situated above the cpu or gpu.
Since in most cases the front intake fans are at the bottom of the case, there is no point having a side fan as an exhaust unless it is at the same height as the psu.
Because any cold air drawn in by the front lower fans would be automatically vented by a side panel exhaust fan, thus defeating the object of having front lower fans as intakes.
If you really must have another exhaust fan, apart from the psu one, then situate it at the back of the case, in line, with the cpu socket, and below the psu.

You can add a top blowhole too, But blowholes largely depend on where the other intake & exhaust fans are in the case, Blowholes have been known to create increased case temps, because of either wrong positive or negative air pressure into and out of the case.

To work out the best fan additions to a case..It is made easier if you have internal lighting, a side window, and a Joss stick.

Switch off the lights in the room, light the joss stick (incense stick) and by holding the stick near the fans at the front of the case, You should be able to see where the smoke exhausts from the case.
You may find smoke escaping from in between gaps near cd roms, or floppy drives, Note where these gaps are, and use insulation tape on the inside of the case to limit or close these gaps.
Your case, with saide panels connected should ideally be air tight.
If the smoke, on its travels around your case, draws over the gpu and cpu, and then exits from a rear fan or the psu fan, then this is ideal, If not, reposition fans and try again, But keep checking for gaps!

No problems with my Lian Li PC75 though, 38 *c full load on the cpu.
2 front 80mm fans intake.
2 rear 80mm fans behind cpu and near gpu, intake.
2 rear, top 80mm fans exhaust.
one 80mm psu as exhaust.
All on fan controllers.
Turn up for CS (with headphones on)
Turn down for when I wanna write a letter.

 

[J_Tweedy]

wow, thanks man. that helps a lot. All my fans seem to be in the right position- and i think airtightness isn't an issue. Also i have a SATA so that wont be a problem. The wires thing should be good tho, and im gonna add another intake at the lower front. (ive got one on the side, but ive got 3 exhaust fans including psu)