air supply

[ilambat]

is better to have fans taking more air into the case or blowing air out as i have

2 x 8mm fans taking air in from the side of the case
12cm fan from front of case taking air in
and 12cm fan takin air out da back and 2 small abt 4cm fan taking air out and psu 8mm taking air out is this good?

[Spawn-Inc]

i'm not 100% sure but i would think its best to have equal in and out airflow.

[Bucko]

I run one 120mm intake fan and have 2x80mm and 1x220mm fans for the exhaust.
Seems to work fine, but then the design of my case is all open from top to bottom at the front, so the air is still drawn through.

[Ichbin]

its probably better to have more exhaust. if you have a fan on the side of your case make sure thats exhaust as well.

[GT40_GearHead]

not sure i agree Ichbin, more exhaust means negative static pressure, this will leave a LOT of dust in all the nooks and carnies of the case


case fans have the maximum efficiency when they are able to work with no +/- static pressure

but this can be hard to achieve in some cases, so the only criteria that remains is dust collection thus i would say a small amount of positive static pressure would be better

[si-skyline]

from what i have learnd i would of said that it would be better to have more exhust then intake. this is because air is then pulled from the front and every were else to the exhust fans. this gives you better air flow with less fans.

i wouldnt recommend having more intake then exhust because alot of air goes into the case. heats up and then is not getting pushed anyware

i learned it from a tutorial ages ago on fan setups. thats the most i remember

hope that helped

si-skyline

[xmastree]

Hmm, you will always get air in = air out, but where it happens depends on the fans. More fans exhausting will suck air in through every hole in the computer case. More inlet fans will blow air out from all the holes.
If the PC is standing on a dusty carpet, IMO it's better to blow out through all the holes. At least you can control where the air comes in, to an extent.

That's the same as GT40's +ve pressure idea.

[intergalacticman]

you really want either your most powerful fans or more fans blowing out.
for example, i have 3 fans. the 2800 RPM one blows out the back, the 2400 RPM blows in from the front, and the 2100-1800RPM one blows out from the top.
the more fans blowing out, the more hot air blows out.

[xmastree]

the more fans blowing out, the more hot air blows out.And the more fans blowing in, the more cool air blows in.
What goes in must come out. Same thing really.

[dgrmkrp]

just a suggestion... going with balanced idea, if u have fan controllers or if you plan on making a custom cooling setup, think push-pull :) and add ducting or efficient heatsinks. i plan on having 2 fans on my tower heatsink in push-pull connected to 2 fans at opposite sides of the case (front and back), that are also in a push-pull configuration.. each pair would be connected to its own channel on the fan control (need a model with higher wattage), so i can control them simultaneously..
it would be something like this:

back<<fan11<<fan21<<tower<<fan22<<fan12<<front :)

this is the most efficient setup i can think of.. and it should prove quiet if well built..
good luck..

[Ichbin]

not sure i agree Ichbin, more exhaust means negative static pressure, this will leave a LOT of dust in all the nooks and carnies of the case


case fans have the maximum efficiency when they are able to work with no +/- static pressure

but this can be hard to achieve in some cases, so the only criteria that remains is dust collection thus i would say a small amount of positive static pressure would be better

I guess i learn something new every day :P

but you can also get dust filters, but that severely impacts the air coming from the fan.

[NuKS]

I don't know much about the physics of airflow, but I think the flow show be as even as possible. Why you say? I think the air will flow through the case easier, and if there is too much exhaust/intake I can see where there would be dead air spots in your case. I think the best way to test out which is better is to test it out. Who knows? Having more intake might be better for your system, or it might not. I think there are a few factors that might determine which is best for you.

[si-skyline]

I second nuks.. lol i was about to say the same sorta thing about testing set ups.

at the end of the day as long as your parts are in a good temp range it dont matter. of course dust and management should be accounted for too..

if you do test the differnat ones out you can use a lighter out side and inside the case to give your self a idea were all the air is going. and even better if you use a candle and cardboard cut outs for parts and close the case better agian,

of course be carefull if you do use a lighter or candle because it will burn you and will burn or melt things in your case, be careful of how strong the flow can be

si-skyline

[Omega]

doing anything with open flame in a computer is retarded.

use incense. it's cheap, easy to get, etc. hold it by one of your intakes. and the smoke should just follow the airflow.

[.Maleficus.]

doing anything with open flame in a computer is retarded.

use incense. it's cheap, easy to get, etc. hold it by one of your intakes. and the smoke should just follow the airflow.
I second this. Don't use open flames. Incense burns with basically no flame, so you aren't going to burn anything at all. And, you can make you room smell nice in the process.

[Spacehonkey]

Incense ...can make your room smell nice...


...use incense. it's cheap, easy to get, etc...

Yeah I think we all know what your really using the incense for.;)

[rendermandan]

but wouldn't the fan turbulance cause the smoke to dissapate and disappear?

[Spacehonkey]

but wouldn't the fan turbulance cause the smoke to dissapate and disappear?

Yeah I don't think incense would be enough. I would just use some type of smoke machine that'll create enough to see cycle through the case.

[xmastree]

Thermal imaging. It's the only way to go.

[si-skyline]

I wouldnt say it was retarded.. yeah sure its a bit extreme but if your carful you will get positive results. and also if you were really paranoid use cardboard cut outs instead.. on the other hand using a lighter under a wire or something else is retarded

in all my time iv heard people come up with ideas on how to see air flow and every one of them has been shot down in flames. using a lighter or candle is the easyest way to see were the air is blowing..

even tho i have had an idea but cant be bothord putting it to work... chop up paper into small announts and put some in your hand under the intake and watch were the paper goes. strongly doubt that it will work tho :P


Yeah I don't think incense would be enough. I would just use some type of smoke machine that'll create enough to see cycle through the case.

alot of smoke machines are oil based so they can create a short once it has settled

[Spacehonkey]

...alot of smoke machines are oil based so they can create a short once it has settled

I didn't know that. Thx for the info.

[si-skyline]

there are types of smoke machines out there what are not.. i dont know the differant kinds or the affects of each one. just know to stay clear of oil based smoke machines..

for something so simple you would think there would be a simple solution for it. but nada..

btw, the hole ligther thing is just a sugestion.. it personally works for me and is the best and cheapest way iv found of seeing were the air is going because it blows the flame.

hehe i wonder how much thermo imaging would cost? would it really work?

[Spacehonkey]

Couldn't you use a feather to get the same effect the air will have on a lighter.

[xmastree]

alot of smoke machines are oil based so they can create a short once it has settledHuh? Oil's a better insulator than air, that's why they use it in HV transformers.

[si-skyline]

lol great idea spacehonkey :)


Huh? Oil's a better insulator than air, that's why they use it in HV transformers.

I dont know how or why... i just know it wont work and is not very good for your electronics because its ment to leave a oily resadue on the cards what cause the shorts..

like i dunno if you have seen the mixtures for a smoke machines but its basicly a oil and some other crap heated up til it goes to a vapor and along the line it has to condence and turn back into what it was.. causing the short.

il try and find a artical on this but doubtful xD iv just pulled it from memory from a year ago :P

[xmastree]

It's probably the other crap, and the oil just carries it. I agree that an oily residue won't be nice though, as any dust will just stick to it making a real mess.

[Omega]

it's not like I'm telling you to put oil in your case, lol.