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Q: Orientation of case fans ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Orientation of case fans
Category: Computers > Hardware
Asked by: richardjmoss-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 04 Aug 2004 08:27 PDT
Expires: 03 Sep 2004 08:27 PDT
Question ID: 383407
Hello,

I've just bought a new computer case and front and rear fans for it.
Now, this might be a silly question, but which way around should I
have these fans - ie, if I have them one way, they'll suck air in,
turn them around and they'll blow it out. I'm aiming for keeping the
case as cool as possible. The rear fan is 120mm, the front fan 80mm.

I hope this is sufficient information, if not please let me know.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Orientation of case fans
Answered By: bobbie7-ga on 04 Aug 2004 08:49 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
According to the following forums regarding cases and cooling the
front fans should be intakes, and the rear fans should be exhausts.

Excerpt:

?How are your fans positioned? (..). Also, are the fans in the correct
orientation? The front fans should be intakes, and the rear fans
should be exhausts.?

Source: Anandtech
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=37&threadid=1361045&enterthread=y


-----------------------------------------------------

Excerpt:

Ideal orientation of case fans 

?I have 4 case fans, all cooler master. I was thinking, that you all
are more experienced in cooling, so I ask you all: what?s the ideal
orientation of the case fans? Should they blow into or out of the
case? I have 2 in the front, 1 on top of the case, and 1 on the back,
by the cpu cooler.?

?The two in the front should be intake and the other two should be
exhaust. The best position for the two in front should be as low to
the ground as possible.?

?Front and sides are intake...rear and top are exhaust?


Source: Insanetek
http://insanetek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=596


The best setup for a case is having cool air come in from the front
and hot air expel from the back.
See the diagram at the following link:
http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/airflowtweak/2.shtml

You should have an intake in the front and one exhaust in the back
http://www.techzonez.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-4636.html


?Fanning should be so that from bottom front of the case, there should
be cold air intake, and from the back top (power) there should be
exhaust.? http://www.techimo.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-90743.html



Search criteria:
Orientation of case fans
Cooling case fans

I hope this helps!

Best regards,
Bobbie7

Request for Answer Clarification by richardjmoss-ga on 06 Aug 2004 07:49 PDT
Hello,

Thanks for the prompt response, info looks good to me :)

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 06 Aug 2004 07:51 PDT
You're welcome!
richardjmoss-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Prompt and valid information.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Orientation of case fans
From: omnivorous-ga on 04 Aug 2004 08:55 PDT
 
Richard --

There's more than a little debate over this issue, which is one of the
reasons that Microsoft has pushed for instrumentation in the PC to
measure hot spots.  What's clear is that airflow through the case
should be uniform (no dead areas with active components) and that the
processors themselves should have a heat sink and be in the main air
flow.

Here are two additional resources that are very good:
EndPCNoise.com
"Guide to Silent Computer Cooling," 
http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/computercooling.html

AMD
"Athlon System Cooling Guidelines," (April 3, 2000)
http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/cooling_guide.pdf

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA
Subject: Re: Orientation of case fans
From: thegreatiam-ga on 13 Aug 2004 14:12 PDT
 
One more concern is dust as well. You should have as many in the back
blowing exaust also because if you are blowing air onto circuitry you
are going to creat an air filter for dust and such and you will end up
overheating anyhow. By removing air you are going to bring the focus
on the environment and not just one spot. Thermaldynamics 101, crayon
tactics use the tip to color a page or turn it on it's side and rub
the whole thing down.

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