cooling: blow more in or suck more out?

[error_f0rce]

i recon "blow more in" is the best way.. only cos u can blow it directly at some things.. its more aimable.. he he

but as a general rule.. in at the bottom front.. out at the top rear.. and what come in has to find a way out.. it needs to be "balanced"..

but a big extra "blow more in" fan stuck on the side blowing directly at my toasty1900xtx grfx card is what i have as well as the front and rear fans..

trog

The only problem with your theory is that regardless of how much air you have blowing into your case, unless it exhausts as fast, or faster than your intake, the hot air will still be trapped in you case. Back to square one...

 

[cdawall]

that is why i love my cooler master adj. fan the s.o.b. is loud as heck when it gets up and goes at like 70-80cfm (not bad for an 80mm) but is near silent at 55-60cfm with that and another coolermaster silent 80mm (only 30cfm) and the psu make up my exhuast then i have 3x 30cfm intake fans (1x side over vid card 2x in the front but not over my hdd it made the drive unstabe go figure stupid maxtor) my case sits at idle almost silent and cool as can be in houston summer

 

[trog100]

"Back to square one"

not entirely.. a general case temp is one thing.. cooling a particularly hot area (my 1900 card for example) by blowing outside air onto it can help.. its not the actual case temp that matters but the temp of the bits inside the case..

a bad area in most cases is the bottom rear corner where a few toasty pci cards can sit.. the general airflow can kinda bypass it..

trog

 

[cdawall]

no pci cards so im a ok

 

[error_f0rce]

"Back to square one"

not entirely.. a general case temp is one thing.. cooling a particularly hot area (my 1900 card for example) by blowing outside air onto it can help..

Ok, I see your point as far as the cooling application for a card/component with direct air current.

its not the actual case temp that matters but the temp of the bits inside the case..

Not sure what you mean by "bits", but high case temps can actually reduce your PSU rated wattage by up to 50% and cause lower performance in all your other components as well... I'd say that matters.
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/technology/myths/

I've seen situations where people have aftermarket cooling on their graphics cards/processors and can't figure out why they are still so hot, then they correctly ventilate their case (slight negative pressure) and see a 10C-15C drop in CPU/GPU temps.

 

[randomperson21]

err0r_force is right: i got a 10C drop in gpu temps with the neg pressure stuff he was helping me with.

the only noticable thing that heats up in my case now (i.e. warm to the touch) is my psu, believe it or not. the 120mm fan in it, although silent, doesn't push a ton of air...

 

[jakax]

wait..
i have a question so you should have the more powerful fan in intake or exaust

 

[pentastar111]

I noticed that, in cooling this less than adequately cooled case(in stock form) of mine(Gateway 5032GT case). I had to cut a 80mm hole and install an intake fan blowing directly over my HDD. That sucker never gets hot. I then "punched" another hole (a 120mm) to "exhaust the hot air coming from the video card. So here it is in a nutshell:::::One 120mm TTsmartfan as CPU cooling(front mount), one 80mmTTsmartfan2,as HDD cooling (side mount). One 80mm Vantec tornado as primary case exhaust(rear mount)and another 120mm TTsmartfan as the video card exhaust(side mount). All intakes are filtered. My case temps never and I mean never reach over 36C! The case and the CPU temps are pretty much the same as well as the HDD temps. According to Speedfan my temps for all three of the above mentioned locations average between 27 to 30C except under extreme "protein folding" use. Then the CPU might reach 37 to 42C. LOL. As far as the video card is concerned. This EVGA 7900GT(stock clocked) for doing simple tasks such as typing this reply, the temp is at 44C and under gaming load between 45 and 55C. The cooling solution is UGLY at best as the case is far too narrow to mount the fans in the case, so external measures had to be taken. UUUGGGLLLY, but effective. As far as the question more intake vs more exhaust? I get superb cooling running 1 primary intake and two exhaust's the other intake "only"cools the HDD. it would definitely depend on the case. I believe that the more CFM in both areas is the best bet. So long as as you move air in and you move air out. I prefer more air moving "out"!

 

[randomperson21]

wait..
i have a question so you should have the more powerful fan in intake or exaust

if you look at the previous posts, you'll see my temps+fan config.

i personally like more cfm out than in, allows for "negative" pressure that sucks out any dead spots.

 

[pentastar111]

if you look at the previous posts, you'll see my temps+fan config.

i personally like more cfm out than in, allows for "negative" pressure that sucks out any dead spots.

Amen. Keeping in mind that AMBIENT air temps play a vital role if you are using traditional "fan" cooling solutions. I mean if you are in the mohave desert or in "Death Valley" in a little tin shack with no A/C., and the temps are 130 degree's F you'll never get anything below that air temp. I keep my room between 72 to 74 F. It really helps. One other thought, the negative pressure depends upon the case design too. I doubt very highly that I'd ever be able to get negative pressure in the LIan Li V1000 because of the thousands of ventalation holes on the front of this unit.

 

[error_f0rce]

One other thought, the negative pressure depends upon the case design too. I doubt very highly that I'd ever be able to get negative pressure in the LIan Li V1000 because of the thousands of ventalation holes on the front of this unit.

That's a very good point, I hadn't even considered that. I wonder... if you blocked all those vents, like in the front where the drive bays are, if it would actually lower your case temps since you are, in essence, increasing your negative pressure. If anyone tries this, please post your temp results! I'd like to see if it would be worth "insulating" your case's air vents...

 

[pentastar111]

That's a very good point, I hadn't even considered that. I wonder... if you blocked all those vents, like in the front where the drive bays are, if it would actually lower your case temps since you are, in essence, increasing your negative pressure. If anyone tries this, please post your temp results! I'd like to see if it would be worth "insulating" your case's air vents...

This case is sitting in my room waiting to be filled with "goodies". As soon as it is up and running I'll do some messing around in that area. i'll let you know