Need help on Case Air Flow/Fan setup

[slyu9213]

Well I have a case that I am almost sure that I will be purchasing. It isn't a bigger/well known brand (at least for me) a Xion XON 560 MicroATX Mini Case. There are 4 total spots for fans on the case and the two spots that can have more fans through a little easy modding.

Front: 120mm
Top: 120mm
Rear: 120mm
Left Side: 200/220mm
Right Side: 200/220mm

I don't know much about Air Flow so I need some help on what would be the most ideal setup of the fans in push and pull and maybe if the push or pull fans need to be stronger.

Here is a picture of the fan setup I was thinking of. Blue arrows mean intake, and red obviously mean outtake.

 

[getochkn]

the best config is the one that works for you. Depending on where you tower is, floor or desk, sides partially covered or not, back partially covered or not, etc.

Everyone has an "opinion" on the "best" config, but just because they read a website or it works for them, it may not work for you.

What I did in my PC which has 6 fans total including the 2 for my water cooling rad, is started up my PC in the morning, ran prime95 for 5 mins, got a temp reading, shut down, let it get to ambient room temp, switched a fan, turned on, ran prime95 for 5 mins, got a temp reading, did it increase or decrease? Then I just keep doing that and going till I came up with a setup that give MY computer the best cooling. It may not be "conventional" or others may TELL me I'm doing it wrong, but if it's the coolest at this configuration, than that works for me.

 

[slyu9213]

Your absolutely right. It is fine if I do my own configuration but I would still appreciate help in air pressure. Does the amount of air going in need to be higher than the air leaving the case or does the amount of air leaving need to be higher than the intake, or does it need to be the same (Intake CFM vs Outtake CFM.) We keep our house thermostat at 68F. My room is in the basement and roomy so it is still cool in the summer and requires a heater or a light coat in the winter. So the ambient temperature around my PC is cool. My previous setup was an Antec Three Hundred with 8 fans I believe. Four 120mm fans were used as intakes in the front, One 120mm intake on the side. Then there was a 140mm fan on the top as outake along with two 120mm fans in a push and pull configuration for my Kuhler 920 used as a rear fan. I don't think there was a case that my computer ever overheated.

Back to air pressure and flow, the real question I have that I really need opinions on is the configuration of the two 200/220mm fans on the left and right side of the case. One fan will be a intake that cools the motherboard and the components. That leaves the 200/220mm fan on the opposite side behind the motherboard. That fan can't directly cool the motherboard because well the motherboard rests on a metal plate like all cases. It still can cool some of the PCB of the motherboard and there are holes for cable management where air could move through. Would two 200/220mm fans blowing air at each other create bad pressure/air flow in the case?

These are all questions to see people's opinion. Obviously for the best results I need to test the configurations myself but I have yet to release my CPU and Motherboard and have not even bought the other components. I just want a head start before I get all components and start building before my schedule gets busy with school starting tuesday.

 

[getochkn]

Oddly enough, more fans blowing in creates less dust than blowing out, providing you put air filters over the intakes.

When more fans are blowing out than pulling in, the air pressure in the case drops, and thus air has to rush in from every small crack and hole in the case to equalize pressure, and brings in dust. This is referred to as negative pressure. I find if you have a small case, and big video card, sometimes this is the best option.

If more fans are pulling in than blowing out, it's positive pressure, bringing in cool air from the outside, and the pressure in the case increases, so it, and the heat, is forced out all the cracks and holes in the case.

Trying to set them equal is never going to work, there is always going to be a difference in pressure one way or the other.

The general consensus though, is that since heat rises, is to put the exhausts near the back and top, and the intakes near the bottom and the front, with cool air staying lower to the ground and being pulled in and trying to balance it roughly that way. I can't remember if mine worked out best with either 3in/3out or 4in/2out.

 

[slyu9213]

Haha thanks for your explanation. I'm going to continue looking at cases to look for the best one for my fit.

 

[slyu9213]

Another case I am looking at is the Cooler Master N200. It's a small case but allows me to use a 240mm Closed loop watercooler. The radiator would be placed in the front with a Push/Pull layout. My question is would it be better to have the front radiator fans blow out the front and bring in the air from the Rear, Top, and maybe side fans? Also when a 240mm with pull (or push/pull) fans are used there is very small space between the HDD bay on the bottom and the bottom half of the 240mm radiator/fan. Do you think it's better to remove the bottom HDD bay to allow air to flow more?