Carbide 500R Fan Setup (Help, please, first time builder)

[kreax]

The current set up for my Carbide 500R is...
Two 120mm front bottom, intake
One 200mm side (bottom-ish), intake
One 120mm back top, exhaust

I know the general rule is side + front = intake, and back + top = exhaust. Other than that, I know jack-diddly-squat. Just looking for the most efficient set-up.

So...

(1) Do I need to buy additional fans?
(2) How do I properly measure CFM to understand the flow of air?
(3) Since the case has holes all around, would it be better to create positive air pressure or negative air pressure?



I have not fully put together my first system (I will be doing it this saturday), so I do not have any heat metrics to share.

 

[sosofm]

You don't need to measure nothing , look at the specs of the fans ( CFM ) and do a simple math. Your intake is huge , in your place ill put 2 more fans on top for a better outake.And if you have fan controller put the side fan to a slower rotation.

 

[kreax]

@sosofm, thanks, I appreciate your advice, but the Carbide 500R doesn't indicate the CFM of the fans. I've checked. I've also tried searching for that information online, and the only thing I was able to pick up from information floating around is that the stock fans actually aren't very good. I've heard it from a few different sources, but I don't know how true those statements really are.

For some stupid reason, Corsair decided not to disclose the fan specs other than size, and that they are equipped with LEDs.

Edit: *facepalm*

I just came across this on corsair forums :

Front 120mm x 25mm
RPM - 1200
CFM - 43.2
dBA - 18
Static pressure - 1.6mm H2O
Power - 1.2 Watts

Rear 120mm x 25mm
RPM - 1200
CFM - 43.2
dBA - 18
Static pressure - 1.7 mm H2O
Power - 2.16 Watts

Seems like the source is credible. I will continue to look for information about the side 200mm fan. If anyone knows that off-hand, I would really appreciate it.

 

[sosofm]

That is not such a big problem if you put the side fan to a lower speed and add 2 more fans on top of the case , if you do this you will have good air flow and good case cooling.

 

[Rugger]

I know the general rule is side + front = intake, and back + top = exhaust. Other than that, I know jack-diddly-squat. Just looking for the most efficient set-up.

So...

(1) Do I need to buy additional fans?
(2) How do I properly measure CFM to understand the flow of air?
(3) Since the case has holes all around, would it be better to create positive air pressure or negative air pressure?

Don't foget that your PSU will also act as an exhaust. To answer your specific questions:
1. I wouldn't buy any additional fans unless you get high temps using the front/side intake and rear/top exhaust setup.
2. You don't need to measure CFM...and wouldn't want to spend the cash to get the proper tools to do that. Simply monitor temps for your CPU/GPU. Your good to go as long as they aren't excessive at load. You can test this using CPUID to monitor hardware and running a stress test program like PCmark.
3. Again...stress test and monitor...don't overthink this!