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Rated: 100% (3 votes)
Loading ...Case Cooling, the more fans the merrier?
ByteKiller
Well, hello and welcome to my first article, hopefully the first of many!
I’ll get straight into the topic of discussion and that is case cooling. Since I am just beginning my first major mod project the first question I raised was what is the best method of cooling for me to use? Guaranteed most of you have heard of water cooling which I looked into, and thankfully a recent in-depth article in june’s custompc mag helped me make the decision….no….absolutely no 
despite the hype, despite the reviews the balance between cost and effectiveness of water cooling just didn’t cut it for me!
So that brings me to the humble fan…don’t you just love em? The whole reason I began this project was due to lack of space in my current case and rather mid level temperatures which I wasn’t satisfied with. When I first bought the case I thought it was brilliant, cooling setup looks good, stuff a couple of zalman 120mm fans in place of the standard case fans, a nice aero flower cooler and i’m good to go! Not so…
Up until my recent investigation into fan cooling I didn’t realise how much of a mistake I made, and how much a waste of time these new fancy, fan loaded cases are. So without further ado I shall present you with some material that will hopefully ease your anger and fustration towards me! 
Below I have listed several web links which articles discussing fan cooled cases and how the fans should be laid out, what fans should be chosen etc. Some of you no doubt will already know this, others won’t, hence the reason for this article.
Note: These are my own thoughts and opinions on the subject, please don’t bombard me with abuse if you do not agree with what is contained!
First up:
www.pcguide.com/care/care/gen/coolAir-c.html
I’ll highlight the points that stuck out to me, but feel free to read through the entire article if you having nothing better to do!
1. Keep the side panel on! Despite popular belief, taking the side panel off your case will not assist cooling as you may think. What it means is that any air pushed into the case will not be drawn over the components, but rather pushed out into the void of nothingness that is your room!
2. Cover exposed slots and holes! Taking you back to school for a minute, “air follows the path of least resistance” which would end up flowing straight out of exposed slots and holes in your case rather than flowing over the components and then out the rear of the case.
3. Keep the inside clean! Dust buildup is expected, but dust acts as insulation ( don’t believe me? check up alternative insulation techniques used in some houses, they use household dust as insulation ). So if you want your computer to act like a warm fire, keep your dust in, otherwise, out it comes!
Next link…
www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1835927,00.asp
Point brought home to me was this:
When purchasing fans ensure that the total CFM of air coming in through the front case fans roughly matches the CFM going out of the exhaust fans in the back of the case, as it keeps a constant, and consistent airflow through the case.
Next!
www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/45220/Yoshis_Mods_PC_Case_Airflow.html
1. Balance the CFM of air going into your case, with the CFM of air going out!
2. Heat rises, so you may want to provide an exhaust in the top of the case, either fan, or a mesh grill alongwith an air intake in the base if necessary.
3. Keep cables tidy as they disrupt airflow and clean out dust in your case, remember it acts like insulation!
www.technibble.com/case-cooling-the-physics-of-good-airflow
Provide air tunnels for fans using cardboard or other material to focus airflow on particular components.
Well, thats most of the links, but here are a few which were also helpful:
www.icrontic.com/articles/pc_airflow_heat_cooling_guide
Provides interesting test information on a variety of fan configurations which might startle you, make sure you read it, its definitely worth it!
www.scan.co.uk/tekspek/printall.asp?a=83
Some good info on fan cooling and general case layout.
Bottom line? Do not think that the more fans the better, its a load of rubbish as the icronic.com article will point out. So save yourself from the financial trauma of purchasing an extremely expensive case, get a decent sized case and mod it to your hearts content! Keep an eye out for my mod project, as it will give you some good insight into cheap cases that provide you with space, and ability to mod as you see fit!
If you have any questions, queries or want help with your own projects, feel free to send me an email.
Update: Gryphon made a good point regarding fans, and that is that the more fans you have, can mean more noise, so bear in mind the decibels for whatever case fans you buy, generally 20Db is about as loud as a whisper just for a rough guide. Also, don’t think this article condemns the use of more than 1 or 2 fans, its just giving you some guidance into how airflow works and how best to set up your case!
Thanks for your comment Gryph
Nice Article… although i notice you didnt mention that more fans tend to make a lot more noise - another reason to use less fans.
In my time i have had a bog standard case with a front intake fan and back exhaust fan (both 120mm) , then moved to the massive coolermaster stacker 831, wigh has mesh sides, so is practicaly open… you should have seen the temp drop between the two cases. I added a couple of fans to the stacker and they dropped further… My gfx card (8800gt) went from 50 idle to 20 idle, and my cpu temp dropped 15 degrees (idle).
I agree that tonnes of fans dont help but i think a few fans placed with an understanding of the airflow are better than 1 or 2. My case has 5 fans, runs cooler than it did with 2 and just as quietly.
also the icrontic article was using an athlon xp processor anda ATI9700pro gfx card, neither of wich generate a particular amount of heat, compared to an overvolted Q6600 and a 8800GT. i think that as components generate more heat, well need more fans to cool them sufficiently.
Thank you for pointing those out to me! I believe that one or two of the articles stated that more fans makes more noise but thanks for pointing it out!
I wrote this just so that as you say yourself, people can get a better understanding of cooling, so that icrontic article, despite low end components, just gives some idea to the readers!
Again, thank you for the comment 
Excellent guide. I should’ve read this and saved myself a week but you learn! I’ve ordered one new fan from Quiet PC, but already had another one which was more powerful, so it can be the exhaust. When my mobo blew up it killed both the supplied fans in the case, hence the replacements. I can’t help it with the lights though, so the side exhaust which is only 80mm, I’ll get another LED for that panel, blue this time.
In the newest build, I’m sticking to your rule 1 by replacing that rear case fan. That’ll give me 1,700RPM and 59CFM all the way through -not including the side 80mm and PSU fans. If I’m still not happy with the temps after that then I’ll break off the cheap blanking plates and screw some of the detachable kind from old cases into the gaps.
As for leaving machines on or turning them off I just paid my last electric bill of £130 so I’m definitely keeping them turned off when I don’t need them.
Keep up the entries.
Glad you enjoyed the guide, hopefully it will be one of many to come
I wasnt criticising the icrontic article. Its a good explanation of airflow, aplicable to any (standard) case. I just didnt want ppl to think once they have the ‘ideal’ 1 or 2 fans they cant improve the cooling. Its always worth experimenting. After all you cant pay much more than £12 max for a 120mm fan. From my experience a lot of air needs to be shifted in these overclocked ovens.
PS. going by the comment authers firsttimer seems to have written this article, as well as ByteKiller (the named author)… whats with the 2 names? :S
Agreed!
Yeah slight confusion during sign up that ultimately resulted in two names XD
On the subject of fans - ive just found a new akasa one. £3.50 with only 18dB noise and 46CFM airflow… thats 1 hell of a deal (imo)
A good choice for experimenting with - wont break wallet or ears.
No LEDs… oh well, cant have averything.
@bytekiller - i know what you mean about the usernames, i was given a different standard log in name and plog login name… dunno why.
sorry, forgot the link 
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/
ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=608229
also make that 49cfm.
Click to manage your blog
- Case Cooling, the more fans the merrier?
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