fan setup in HAF X for positive pressure

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ilovejuice

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Dec 30, 2013
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Hello,
I am wondering how to set up fans in HAF X case to have positive pressure. Right now I am using only stock fans (4) - front and side intake, rear and top (only 1) on exhaust. I found this guide:
http://www.demcifilter.com/c48/Performance.aspx

But I have no idea how to measure CFM of my gpu/psu/cpu fans. I have Asus gtx 780 with dc2oc cooler, corsair ax760 and Dark Rock Pro 3 as CPU cooler.

This is the first time I bought a high-end PC and I'm a little paranoid about all these dust issues (especially with my case having wholes everywhere). I am also going to buy Demciflex Filter Set for HAF X + 5Bay Filter for front.

Could anyone help me with that? The more I read the more confused I get...

Edit. Should I remove stock filters after receiving Demciflex? I don't think they restrict airflow too much - seem pretty useless overall.
 
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doubletake

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Sep 30, 2012
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It's pretty simple, do you have more intakes than exhausts? If so, then you have a positive pressure setup. Well, assuming you don't turn your intakes down to lowest speed and then install a crazy 4000RPM Delta exhaust.
There's really nothing to worry about when it comes to dust buildup; as long as you're willing to make the effort and clean our your computer every couple of months, you should be just fine. I used to clean out my RV-02 every 2 weeks, then as I had less and less time to do so, stretched that out to every 2 months. I found that there was barely any difference in dust buildup due to having decent filtering on the intakes. Also, since I always monitor my temperatures, I came to realize that even after a couple of months of no cleaning, my CPU and 2x780s barely saw increases in temperatures.

As long as you don't live in an excessively dusty place, you'll be just fine, no reason to be paranoid.
 
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ilovejuice

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I though it was simple until I've found this guide on demciflex website (they take every fan in the case into the equation). I guess I'm just overreacting.
So if I stay with the current setup - only 4 stock case fans, front intake, side intake, top and rear exhaust +8 demciflex dust filters it should be fine?
Should I remove stock "filters" (I wouldnt really call them this way - it looks like this: http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee158/Solmors/P1030198.jpg?t=1282266487 ) after placing demciflex? Or can I skip removing PSU etc and leave them in place? I would probably only remove them on intakes (side/front) to have better chance for positive air pressure.
 
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doubletake

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Well tbh, you kinda need to just deal with this in the manner you most see fit. You already went against the recommended setup for a positive-pressure build by getting a GPU with an open-air cooler instead of a blower cooler, and the HAF-X isn't really the best case for trying to do positive-pressure since it's so full of openings. All you can really do now is make the best of things by just applying all the included filters and making sure to clean then every few weeks, and you won't have a problem with temperatures. After all, you have a very capable CPU cooler, and since you only have one of those DCU-II 780s, heat dump/buildup in the case shouldn't be a problem. However, if you ever want to go SLI, you may have to rethink your cooling setup.
 
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ilovejuice

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I'm not planning to go SLI so I guess it will be fine, thanks of help.

Do you think it would work if I set intakes (side/front) to 100% and exhaust (rear/top) to idk, about 70% instead of auto on all of them? Would that be enough to maintain positive air pressure?

Also I don't mind adding more fans, but from what I've read I can't seem to find a good place for 1 more intake, only option is 1 more exhaust on top... I guess I could also try switching rear to intake and redirecting CPU cooler but I wouldnt like to do this again right now ;/
 
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doubletake

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Well of course, if you're ok with the noise levels, set the fans however you want to maintain ensure that you have positive pressure. You're really overthinking this though, the first thing you need to do before worrying about potential temperature issues is to actually stress and test your system to see if you even have any issues in the first place. My guess? None whatsoever. You have a very decent CPU air cooler, a massive 20cm fan pointed at your GPU's very decent cooler, and as long as you aren't planning on massive overclocks involving significant over-volting of either components, you'll be absolutely fine.
 
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ilovejuice

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I can't find place for 1 more intake, so I will stay with 2/2 right now. I think I will replace my 110CFM stock intakes from CoolerMaster with some high CFM ones. Unfortunately I can only find Spectre Pro series from BitFenix with CFM higher than 110, or am I missing something?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835345036

They have really mixed reviews, so I guess I'll have to buy one first and see how it works. It seems that it will fit in the 200mm slot on the side too.
 
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doubletake

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Well again, before doing anything else like spending money on potentially redundant components, thoroughly test your system as-is to see if its current thermal and sonic performance are acceptable to you. Then, give it a few weeks or so and see how the system looks like after it's been cycling air throughout the case, because remember that putting in higher CFM fans will lead to faster dust buildup. Once you've gotten a good idea of how your cooling/filtering setup performs, then consider or plan changes/upgrades.
 
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Paperdoc

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It is actually impossible to calculate whether you have more intake than exhaust capacity, because all the fan specs are for unimpeded air flow. But a vital part of dust reduction is the use of filters on intake fans. They not only reduce air flow through the fan, their effect can become larger if you let the filter get really clogged.

So how can you ensure you have a slight positive pressure inside to reduce air (and dust) inflow at cracks? One really good suggestion I got here from a few years ago is: don't rely on calculations - test it! Get some source of a little bit of smoke as an indicator - like an incense stick. With the computer running and the stick smouldering, place the smoke source near an opening in the case, and watch which way the smoke blows. If it is blown away from the case, you have what you want. If the smoke is sucked in, you need to rearrange some stuff.
 
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ilovejuice

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Thank you, I will definitely test it soon!
Right now I am quite impressed with temperatures, GPU idles at 24 degress, CPU below 30.
Max temp on GPU I have seen is 63 degrees, usually doesn't go above 60 when gaming, CPU 50/51 degrees (max 58 on hottest core after 10minutes of Prime95)
I haven't done any overclocking yet.
One more question - in this guide http://www.demcifilter.com/c48/Performance.aspx they say that I should count 80% of intake CFM when using Demciflex filters. But they don't count it when calculating exhaust CFM. Is it correct when I'm going to use filters on both, exhaust and intake fans? Or should I simply ignore this part if using filters everywhere?

Right now I have 2x110CFM as intake and 110+61CFM as exhaust. Will test this with incense stick in a few days. With new fans it would be about 300 intake/170 exhaust.
I am waiting for Demciflex to arrive and replace stock filters soon.
 
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Paperdoc

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They assume you will NOT use their filters on an exhaust fan, so no need to de-rate the fan capacity. So, why do you plan to use filters on exhaust fans? Surely you don't care about preventing dust from inside the case from escaping out through those fans, which is what you'd get with filters placed on the inside for the fan. Placing a filter on the outside of an exhaust fan would only capture dust from inside the case trying to leave and clog up the INSIDE surface of the filter (the side facing the fan). There would be no point in that. Such a filter would not prevent dust from outside the case from flowing (BACKWARDS!) through the fan.
 
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