Case Fan Configuration help needed

[rapsux321]

I currently have a case with one 120mm fan at the front, one 80mm on the interior front blowing on the HDD, 2 on the side of the case and one in the rear. I think im having airflow problems and am wondering which fans should be sucking air in and which should be blowing air out. it seems when I have the fans blowing out the CPU and GPU cooks.. I know the general rules for fans but they arent well.. working.. so what would you do with this fan configuration for in out.

 

[aziraphale]

Front side sucking air in; rear side blowing out. Side usually blowing in, but depending on how the fan sits it could be that you have to play around a little bit and observe the temps at different settings. But one general rule is that the intake and the outflow should be approximately the same.

 

[SK711G]

Slight modification, you want to have a negative pressure in the case, i.e. more air going out than going in.
This is because if you have a perfect balance you will have hot spots, places in the case where air is just rotating inside the case getting hotter and hotter.
The only "problem" with negative air pressure is that you will suck air from every hole in you case, more dust will accumulate. Dust = heat, just clean your case on a regular basis, and do your best to filter incoming air, and seal the case the best you can.

thx
SKG

 

[bobbknight]

Just keep in mind:

Intake air-cool
Exhaust air-hot

In all my cases I have cooler air entering from the front of the case, and the warmer air exiting from the back of the case.
Case configuration can have either a positive or negative impact on air flow.
I have a coolermaster wave master case it's built like a tank and looks good, but it's crap at cooling, it has 4x8cm fans that make lots of noise but do little to cool. That's because little air moves from front to back inside the case, from outside it. Currently it's a bright shiny silver door stop.

I have 3 Antec SuperLanboys 12cm front and 12cm rear fans and the fans in the PSU's they all stay nice and cool with good air flow.
As does my one other case the Antec 900 with 2x12cm fans in front and 1x12cm fan at the back with an added 20cm fan on top. This too, is a cool running case.

 

[assasin32]

Air circulation is usually from Front (intake) to Back (exhaust), and hot air rises while cool air stays low. Keep that in mind and try not to mess up this thermal balance and use it to your advantage and you should be good.