fan configuration help?

aggelos123 · Aug 13, 2014

hello.so i have 2 fans in my case.one 80mm intake at the front and 1 120mm exhaust at the back.and i am thinking of changing the fan configuration cuz it isnt enough to cool my pc effectively.especially my psu gets very hot during gaming.my psu is top mounted and i have the cougar spike mini gaming case..
so will it be better to just flip the 120mm exhaust fan and make it intake?so i will have only intake and 0 exhaust fans?
or should i put the 120mm to the front as intake and the 80mm at the back as exhaust?
p.s yes i have considered buying another fan but i dont have any shops currently close to me cuz i am for vocation in my village.so yeah.what can i do to improve cooling and air flow a bit?

geofelt · Aug 13, 2014

What parts do you have in your case?

I normally like to have more input fans than output.
Your case tends to stay cleaner.

If your PSU gets hot, it is likely underpowered and running full out.
80mm fans are noisy and don't do much except make noise. Find a place for it if you can.

To relieve your cooling problem, take the side covers off.

Scampi · Aug 13, 2014

Which make/model of PSU is it your using & system specifications please ? it could be that the PSU isn't enough power for your needs, and that you need more headroom so it's not running close to it's maximum capabilities, which would make it run hot. Or it could be a low build quality PSU.

In the meantime, yes, i'd put the 120mm at the front as an intake fan & the 80mm as the exhaust. This should help get more air into the case. Plus the PSU fan acts as an exhaust fan in a way as well. Then replace the 80mm with a 120mm when you can. Also consider putting an additional 120mm intake fan on the side panel at the lowest position, close to the graphics card. As it looks, the GPU close to the bottom of the case, airflow circulating around it is hard to achieve with just a front & rear fan .

Also keep on top of cleaning your case, fans & components with some compressed air, i also give a burst on my PSU through the fans either side to dislodge & remove dust, just ensure you hold the can at a certain angle so as to not spray it as a liquid (you get the hang of it eventually, if it does come out a little wet, just leave the syetem for a few hours before using it). Dust can cause components to become clogged up & make them run hotter. Ideally you'll want to keep on top of this before the dust gets too bad & makes cleaning a harder job for you. I try to clean my PC every 6 months, as this is when it starts to get bad for my situation.

aggelos123 · Aug 13, 2014

geofelt :

what you mean my psu is underpowered?it doesnt get enough power?
its the corsair cx500m

aggelos123 · Aug 13, 2014

Scampi :

Which make/model of PSU is it your using & system specifications please ? it could be that the PSU isn't enough power for your needs, and that you need more headroom so it's not running close to it's maximum capabilities, which would make it run hot. Or it could be a low build quality PSU.

In the meantime, yes, i'd put the 120mm at the front as an intake fan & the 80mm as the exhaust. This should help get more air into the case. Plus the PSU fan acts as an exhaust fan in a way as well. Then replace the 80mm with a 120mm when you can. Also consider putting an additional 120mm intake fan on the side panel at the lowest position, close to the graphics card. As it looks, the GPU close to the bottom of the case, airflow circulating around it is hard to achieve with just a front & rear fan .

Also keep on top of cleaning your case, fans & components with some compressed air, i also give a burst on my PSU through the fans either side to dislodge & remove dust, just ensure you hold the can at a certain angle so as to not spray it as a liquid (you get the hang of it eventually, if it does come out a little wet, just leave the syetem for a few hours before using it). Dust can cause components to become clogged up & make them run hotter. Ideally you'll want to keep on top of this before the dust gets too bad & makes cleaning a harder job for you. I try to clean my PC every 6 months, as this is when it starts to get bad for my situation.

ok here is my build.i build it like 6 months ago
cpu:amd athlon x4 750k
gpu:sapphire radeon hd 7770
ram:4gb 1600mhz
psu:corsair cx500m
cpu cooler:CM 212 evo

Scampi · Aug 13, 2014

aggelos123 :

That looks fine to me.

In which case, just try the fan rotation now, then replacing the 80mm with a 120mm & adding another 120mm on the side panel if you feel it's necessary (may as well get 2 if it's hard to get hold of them for your situation).

Just monitor your temps with a free program like HW monitor. If those are okay, shouldn't be too much to worry about.

geofelt · Aug 13, 2014

Your psu has plenty of power.
The psu fan is responsible for keeping the psu cool enough. It is not responsible for any case cooling.
It seems that the interior air hot air is entering the psu and causing it's fan to spin up.

No harm will come if you run with the side covers off.
Just don't let any cats or kids poke around near it.

aggelos123 · Aug 13, 2014

Scampi :

i should have gotten a case with a bottom mounted psu...but i was in a budget and couldnt afford anything more expensive than that.this case that i have it costed 25 euros so yeah

.also.i cannot mount any fans in the side panel cuz the 212 evo is touching it.also.i tried to rotate the fans but the cables are going through the 212 evo and i am afraid they will melt lol.so i changed them to normal...i will most likely just buy a 120mm fan to put it as intake.anyway.till then i will run my system with open case when i play games . thanks for the help.

Scampi · Aug 13, 2014

aggelos123 :

Dang. Well hopefully the 120mm will help some with temps, in place of the 80mm.

The CX series PSU's aren't brilliant, that may simply be the reason why it feels hotter than it should be, lower quality components/fans used in it. CPU/GPU temps in HW monitor, provided all being within reasonable amounts should be fine.

Graphics card under load, below 70c is good, lower the better (100c is death for this component). Athlon 750K is recommended to be kept below 74c, lower the better.

If it's something that concerns you a lot, replace the PSU with something better from the likes of a Seasonic 80+ Gold.

aggelos123 · Aug 14, 2014

Scampi :

hm..gpu during gaming goes to 70C..its ok..but i have always had problems monitoring the temp of my cpu...i have used EVERY program out there available...and most of them tell crazy temps.for example HW monitor says that my cpu is 54C while in idle.and i have seen sometimes the cpu go like 255C max LOL.in load it says that it goes to 85C.take a look here: http://postimg.org/image/3tyakfz69/
this was captured while i was typing to you.
also i used the program provided with my motherboard .. my motherboard is gigabyte f2a88xm-hd3 the program is called easy tune 6.take a look at what easy tune says.(temp is with blue numbers) http://postimg.org/image/i6z8xc27f/
and i dont know now what program to trust.easy tune at full load says my cpu goes not above 55C.while hw monitor says it goes 85c+ lol.also check here . the temps match between these two..
http://postimg.org/image/46xfwzbyl/
basically i think that hw monitor tells crazy temps in the cpu section.
also i think that easy tune is off of the target a bit but is the closer one.
and when i see my cpu temps i see the TMPIN2 which matches with what easy tune says.

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