Fan direction question.

[HesCalledTheStig]

I just switched my aging AIO with a 212 EVO cooler.  I want to re-purpose the fans from the AIO as case fans for more air flow.  Currently, I have a 140MM in the rear for exhaust and 2 140mm fans in the front of the case as intake.I want to add the 2 fans from the AIO in the top of my case but I dont know if they should be intake or exhaust.  The fan on my cooler is also in a push setup.  For reference, my case is a Thermaltake H200 TG RGB Snow Edition (See link).

 

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Tempered-Glass-Pre-Installed-CA-1M3-00M6WN-03/dp/B07X57R96B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SU8A7O8G82R0&dchild=1&keywords=thermaltake+h200+tg+rgb%2C+snow&qid=1597511740&sprefix=Thernaltake+h200%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Here's a photo of the current setup.  Ignore the lettering on the graphics card, I was proud of my card when i got it lol.

 

[sub68]

clean the dust bro

[LIGISTX]

4 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

I just switched my aging AIO with a 212 EVO cooler.  I want to re-purpose the fans from the AIO as case fans for more air flow.  Currently, I have a 140MM in the rear for exhaust and 2 140mm fans in the front of the case as intake.I want to add the 2 fans from the AIO in the top of my case but I dont know if they should be intake or exhaust.  The fan on my cooler is also in a push setup.  For reference, my case is a Thermaltake H200 TG RGB Snow Edition (See link).

 

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Tempered-Glass-Pre-Installed-CA-1M3-00M6WN-03/dp/B07X57R96B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SU8A7O8G82R0&dchild=1&keywords=thermaltake+h200+tg+rgb%2C+snow&qid=1597511740&sprefix=Thernaltake+h200%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Here's a photo of the current setup.  Ignore the lettering on the graphics card, I was proud of my card when i got it lol.

 

If anything, I would put one fan in to top rear as exhaust, and thats it. That way you get a nice column of air from the intake fan directly at the heatsinks fan, then the heated air will go out the rear and rear top fans. That will be plenty enough airflow.

[LIGISTX]

1 minute ago, sub68 said:

clean the dust bro

Its not very dust, looks mostly fine to me.

[sub68]

Just now, LIGISTX said:

Its not very dust, looks mostly fine to me.

the front fans

[HesCalledTheStig]

4 minutes ago, sub68 said:

clean the dust bro

Thank you captain obvious.  I will be cleaning the dust while I take care of other maintenance including adding the fans.  If you dont have an answer for me, go away troll.  Thanks!

[HesCalledTheStig]

6 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

If anything, I would put one fan in to top rear as exhaust, and thats it. That way you get a nice column of air from the intake fan directly at the heatsinks fan, then the heated air will go out the rear and rear top fans. That will be plenty enough airflow.

Never considered that.  I'll give it a try!

[sub68]

2 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

Thank you captain obvious.  I will be cleaning the dust while I take care of other maintenance including adding the fans.  If you dont have an answer for me, go away troll.  Thanks!

well having a top exhaust like @LIGISTX said

also nice big hero six figure

[Parideboy]

The ideal setup would be with a balanced airflow between intake and exhaust (actually slightly unbalanced favoring intake, to prevent dust from finding its way through the case openings). Usually, you'll want to have more intake fans than exhaust. At the same rpm, an intake moves less air due to the resistance of dust filters and radiators (and case obstruction, if present). That being said, either have more intakes or slow down the exhaust ones. 

In my case I have 6 fans, 3 intakes and 3 exhaust. The exhaust being locked @5v (they're not PWM) while the intake ones ramp up as temperatures rise.

 

What I would do, is buy some dust filters such these (if the case doesn't have any top ones), put both fans as intake and run them at it's lowest (either with a fan controller or PWM). 

 

Another option would be what @LIGISTX said, just make sure to tune the rpm (of either the exhaust or the intake) to get a balanced airflow.

If you don't care at all about dust buildup, run it as you please. Exhaust fans are marginally more effective than intake at cooling.

[HesCalledTheStig]

13 minutes ago, Parideboy said:

The ideal setup would be with a balanced airflow between intake and exhaust (actually slightly unbalanced favoring intake, to prevent dust from finding its way through the case openings). Usually, you'll want to have more intake fans than exhaust. At the same rpm, an intake moves less air due to the resistance of dust filters and radiators (and case obstruction, if present). That being said, either have more intakes or slow down the exhaust ones. 

In my case I have 6 fans, 3 intakes and 3 exhaust. The exhaust being locked @5v (they're not PWM) while the intake ones ramp up as temperatures rise.

 

What I would do, is buy some dust filters such these (if the case doesn't have any top ones), put both fans as intake and run them at it's lowest (either with a fan controller or PWM). 

 

Another option would be what @LIGISTX said, just make sure to tune the rpm (of either the exhaust or the intake) to get a balanced airflow.

If you don't care at all about dust buildup, run it as you please. Exhaust fans are marginally more effective than intake at cooling.

The fans I have are PWM so I like the idea of running them both as intake. The case has a magnetic dust filter on the top.  I wish it had filtration in the front as that's where my dust issue stems from.  I live in a very old house that seems to produce 10x the amount of any other place Ive lived, haha.

[Parideboy]

4 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

The fans I have are PWM so I like the idea of running them both as intake. The case has a magnetic dust filter on the top.  I wish it had filtration in the front as that's where my dust issue stems from.  I live in a very old house that seems to produce 10x the amount of any other place Ive lived, haha.

That explains the dust. I haven't cleaned my rig in a full year and I'm not even close to that amount. Always have dust filters on intakes, if possible.

How's the exaust fan running now? You might have to ramp it up if going 4 intake.

 

BTW, I've edited the link. You might want to try in those filters fit in the front. They're not pretty tho

[HesCalledTheStig]

2 minutes ago, Parideboy said:

That explains the dust. I haven't cleaned my rig in a full year and I'm not even close to that amount. Always have dust filters on intakes, if possible.

How's the exaust fan running now? You might have to ramp it up if going 4 intake.

 

BTW, I've edited the link. You might want to try in those filters fit in the front. They're not pretty tho

The rear exhaust fan is also running off a 4 pin PWM header on the motherboard.  Should I install a fan controller to keep it running full throttle with the new intake fans installed?

 

As for the filters you linked, they would actually be perfect.  I'd never even see them in my setup.  The only issue is, I'd have to disassemble the case everytime I wanted to clean them.  Unless I put them on the rear of my fans inside the case.  In that case, they would definitely be an eyesore.

[Parideboy]

3 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

The rear exhaust fan is also running off a 4 pin PWM header on the motherboard.  Should I install a fan controller to keep it running full throttle with the new intake fans installed?

On what header is the fan connected? Check in the bios if there's a option to control the single headers

8 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

As for the filters you linked, they would actually be perfect.  I'd never even see them in my setup.  The only issue is, I'd have to disassemble the case everytime I wanted to clean them.  Unless I put them on the rear of my fans inside the case.  In that case, they would definitely be an eyesore.

You could try to fit them between the fans and the rad, don't know if this would actually make it any easier. At this point I'm not even sure if they'll do their job.

[HesCalledTheStig]

Possibly a dumb question but what if I was to run the fan more towards the front as an intake and the one towards the rear as an exhaust?

[Parideboy]

6 minutes ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

Possibly a dumb question but what if I was to run the fan more towards the front as an intake and the one towards the rear as an exhaust?

I don't know if the fans will interfere with each other honestly. You can test it

[57chevy]

2 hours ago, HesCalledTheStig said:

Possibly a dumb question but what if I was to run the fan more towards the front as an intake and the one towards the rear as an exhaust?

The case isn't that large so I don't think you need to put two more intake fans on the top.  Your front intake fans are pretty much blowing directly into the cooler fan so the cooler is getting direct fresh air from the front intake.  Adding a top intake in the front half of the case basically means you have two fans blowing into each other and possibly redirecting the airflow before it reaches the cooler.  If anything, a low rpm setting on a exhaust fan in the top rear like @LIGISTX mentioned before would be all you need. Put a filter on the front intakes then try to create a slight positive pressure in the case so that the air is trying to find any way out. Negative air pressure would mean the case is trying to suck air in through any hole, gap, or crevice without a dust filter which would mean dust everywhere.