I can only have one fan should it be an intake or exhaust

[Michael2]

I have upgraded a pre built pc but it doesn’t have any intake/ exhaust fans and is running quite hot because of the hd 7870 I installed. there is only 1 area for a fan and I want the lowest temperatures possible, should it be an intake or exhaust,   
Thanks

[Statik]

Without a doubt intake.

[Michael2]

Ok thanks a lot 

[IvarD]

I'd say go for exhaust. Why?  Because the interior of the case will be filled with hot air comming our of the HDD, SSD, CPU and/or GPU. The way CPU heatsinks usually work is not by grabbing cool air to the CPU but rather exhausting the hot air around said CPU.

 

The idea with a case airflow is to cycle/refresh the air inside it as quick as possible, and air (or any fluid) that is not moving has a higher pressure than moving air. Meaning that if you add an intake fan it won't take in as much air as you would want it to. Having an exhaust fan reduces this pressure and takes out the hot air inside the case. This negative pressure will force air to get into the PC through any space it has.

[Gorilla Warfare]

EXHAUST Fan 100%

[Chabax]

On 5/8/2020 at 1:04 AM, Statik said:

Without a doubt intake.

Wrong af

[Statik]

On 5/8/2020 at 7:39 PM, IvarD said:

This negative pressure will force air to get into the PC through any space it has.

Also making it filthy, and starving other fans (i.e. GPU) for air. As well, SSDs and HDDs don't fill your case with hot air.

 

7 hours ago, Chabax said:

Wrong af

Care to elaborate...

[Michael2]

On 5/8/2020 at 11:39 PM, IvarD said:

I'd say go for exhaust. Why?  Because the interior of the case will be filled with hot air comming our of the HDD, SSD, CPU and/or GPU. The way CPU heatsinks usually work is not by grabbing cool air to the CPU but rather exhausting the hot air around said CPU.

 

The idea with a case airflow is to cycle/refresh the air inside it as quick as possible, and air (or any fluid) that is not moving has a higher pressure than moving air. Meaning that if you add an intake fan it won't take in as much air as you would want it to. Having an exhaust fan reduces this pressure and takes out the hot air inside the case. This negative pressure will force air to get into the PC through any space it has.

Doubt you will see this as i posted this thread ages ago but thanks to you I have had a reliable gaming machine for almost 2 years, Big Respect!