Need suggestions for case fan placement!

[andymion]

Hey there, first time poster here.

The other night, I noticed after a reboot that my CPU temperature was
running in the upper 60s, where it was normally mid-30s. I was already
concerned about not having enough cooling in my computer and planning
to get more, so that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Yesterday, I installed two additional 80mm case fans, on the lowest
spots of the front panel, as well as cleaned out the heat-sink on my
CPU, which had grown quite dusty.

The temperature is now normal again, but I'm left with a thought I
just can't put to rest: are my case fans set up optimally?

There are five fans total in my computer: P/S, CPU, and 3 80mm case
fans.

At present, they are set up like this:

-The two new fans are on the bottom of the front panel (as stated
before), and are intaking.
-The old 80mm case fan is in the center of the access panel, also set
to intake.
-P/S and CPU fans are set up as normal.

Specifically, I'm concerned about the old 80mm case fan. I changed it
to intake yesterday, thinking that it would be better to pull in more
air, but now I'm not so sure. I have no fans on the back of my case,
save for the P/S fan (only exhaust fan on the computer). I have holes
for exhaust, but nowhere to install another case fan of any sort for
another exhaust, yet I can install two more on the front panel (for a
total of four on the front). This confuses me more, since I don't
really see how they could be too effective in drawing in more air with
that plastic panel right behind them.

Is this the best possible setup I could have with what I have already?
I do plan to add more cooling when I do my next hardware upgrade (a
video card... this radeon 9600 is struggling way too hard with the
games I try to play on it nowadays ), but I can only work with what
I have for now.

Any thoughts or suggestions for how I could get the most out of my
cooling, and what I should plan for in the future? (rig profile in
signature)

 

[wtfsnottaken]

After much trial and tribulation, I finally solved the problem of my PC
cooling problem which might help in this case. I might not have the
same setup as you but I have an exhaust fan on both the side and back
of my computer case. This is what I have found to be most efficient.
You need to keep in mind that for optimal cooling results, and for
cooling of the processor most importantly, a fan will be needed on the
upper-back side of the computer case to exhaust the heated air - keep
in mind heat rises so those fans on the bottom of your case will do
nothing more than circulate cold air. Also keep in mind that for the
most efficient air circulation inside of the case, there should be an
equal amount of cold air entering at the same rate heated air is
exhausted. An extra cooling fan to bring in cool air to the inside the
case would also help substantially as well.

 

[Joel]

Hey there, first time poster here.

The other night, I noticed after a reboot that my CPU temperature was
running in the upper 60s, where it was normally mid-30s. I was already
concerned about not having enough cooling in my computer and planning
to get more, so that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I have 2 powerful case fans those are too powerful that I have have to use
controller to reduce the speed to cut down the noise, and a regular case fan
just to fan for fun <g>. Anyway, CMOS reported the mboard temperature was
around 34 Celsius when CPU temperature was around 64 Celsius or so.

Reported by Everest program. Last time CMPS reported Case temparature was
around 35 Celsius

 

[Shep©]

Hey there, first time poster here.

The other night, I noticed after a reboot that my CPU temperature was
running in the upper 60s, where it was normally mid-30s. I was already
concerned about not having enough cooling in my computer and planning
to get more, so that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Yesterday, I installed two additional 80mm case fans, on the lowest
spots of the front panel, as well as cleaned out the heat-sink on my
CPU, which had grown quite dusty.

The temperature is now normal again, but I'm left with a thought I
just can't put to rest: are my case fans set up optimally?

There are five fans total in my computer: P/S, CPU, and 3 80mm case
fans.

At present, they are set up like this:

-The two new fans are on the bottom of the front panel (as stated
before), and are intaking.
-The old 80mm case fan is in the center of the access panel, also set
to intake.
-P/S and CPU fans are set up as normal.

Specifically, I'm concerned about the old 80mm case fan. I changed it
to intake yesterday, thinking that it would be better to pull in more
air, but now I'm not so sure. I have no fans on the back of my case,
save for the P/S fan (only exhaust fan on the computer). I have holes
for exhaust, but nowhere to install another case fan of any sort for
another exhaust, yet I can install two more on the front panel (for a
total of four on the front). This confuses me more, since I don't
really see how they could be too effective in drawing in more air with
that plastic panel right behind them.

Is this the best possible setup I could have with what I have already?
I do plan to add more cooling when I do my next hardware upgrade (a
video card... this radeon 9600 is struggling way too hard with the
games I try to play on it nowadays ), but I can only work with what
I have for now.

Any thoughts or suggestions for how I could get the most out of my
cooling, and what I should plan for in the future? (rig profile in
signature)

I'd suspect a badly installed CPU.I only ever run a cooler fan and one
back exhaust fan even when I've over clocked systems.Ambient room
temperature and airflow to the case are important too of course.
HTH