I need advice on Zalman Z9+ airflow design!

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AlexanderHUN

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Dec 9, 2013
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Hi guys
Im about to buy a new PC the last thing left are the extra fans and which of them will be intake/exhaust.
The case is a Zalman Z9+, there will be a Noctua NH-U14S CPU cooler in and an R9 290 videocard.
How should the airflow look like?
My friend said the Rear fan should be exhaust and one from the bottom and from the the top should be intake. And thats all. Is this a good idea?
 
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ssddx
i'd suggest buying some higher cfm fans and using a fan controller. say fans 50-90cfm range and then having them dialed back using a controller. you could also use the motherboard and use a program like speedfan if you wish, your choice.

PWM fans report rpm and are also controllable easily. a good motherboard will allow non-pwm fans to be controlled by regulating voltage though.

there are so many fan brands its hard to really know all the good ones. sleeved bearingg types wear out the fastest, multi ball bearing fans last much longer but make a bit more noise. hydro bearing i'm not sure about but they are definitely better than sleeved.

yate loon is a well known brand and has decent stuff. delta is the king of fans and makes quality...
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ssddx

ssddx

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May 27, 2009
17,054
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74,965
airflow should typically always be

air intake front and bottom, air exhaust rear and top.

heat rises which is why we use this arrangement since it is ideal. side fans are typically intakes.

typically its best to have a positive pressure design (more intake cfm than exhaust) since it doesnt suck in as much dust into the nooks and crannies of the case but either works.

what your friend suggested about one intake top, one bottom with the exhaust being rear doesnt make sense to me.
 
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ssddx

ssddx

Titan
May 27, 2009
17,054
5
74,965
while perhaps not the best performing fans... the built ins are typically good enough for most users.

are you planning on overclocking? if so then yes i agree with better fans.

while he may be correct about the fan being somewhat blocked off he is incorrect in that it transfers to an 70% loss of air flow. there is some space behind that oddly shaped front panel so the airflow isnt going to be limited by a big margin. less than a full open front mesh case for sure but not as much as he suggests. the air flowing through the restriction will be higher velocity passing through then will slow back down when the space widens when it passes through the fan. basically the fan is using negative pressure to suck air through. while not as efficient as open... the front fan is hardly unusable.

depending on if you want to overclock or not... that would affect what fans you want to buy... let me know if you're going to oc
 
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ssddx

ssddx

Titan
May 27, 2009
17,054
5
74,965
i'd suggest buying some higher cfm fans and using a fan controller. say fans 50-90cfm range and then having them dialed back using a controller. you could also use the motherboard and use a program like speedfan if you wish, your choice.

PWM fans report rpm and are also controllable easily. a good motherboard will allow non-pwm fans to be controlled by regulating voltage though.

there are so many fan brands its hard to really know all the good ones. sleeved bearingg types wear out the fastest, multi ball bearing fans last much longer but make a bit more noise. hydro bearing i'm not sure about but they are definitely better than sleeved.

yate loon is a well known brand and has decent stuff. delta is the king of fans and makes quality high end (really high airflow) fans but you probably dont need anything that extreme. most fans from your major manufacturers like corsair, nzxt, etcetera arent terrible but i would read a review to see what they are rated at. the site i link below has reviews submitted for many of the fans.

all the fans you could ever want
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l1/g36/Fans.html?id=sBouzV7J

you will be looking at the 12 volt fans. check your case specs to see what size fits where.
 
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