Intake Fan positioning (inside or outside of chassis)

[OptimalMayhem]

I have two 120mm fans to mount to the front as intake fans on my case. There is room between the removable front panel and the chassis to have them there, so they'd be outside of the chassis frame and not visible when the side panel is removed. But I've seen lots of pictures of people mounting their fans on the inside of the frame on similar cases.

 

I'm not using RGB fans to from an aesthetic standpoint having them hidden looks better to me. Does it matter from an airflow perspective? Doesn't really seem to me like it would. It's either pushing or pulling air through the same amount of material either way.

[Chronified]

Usually inside is better, so the front panel is less restrictive. Having the fan blades pressed right up against the front doesn't work very well.

 But it all depends on the case. What case do you have??

[Skiiwee29]

what case, what fans? Generally it would be advised to have them inside so they have more room and access to air if its a closed off front panel. 

[OptimalMayhem]

I have a Cougar MX331 Mesh, the fans are Cougar Vortex. The front panel is all mesh and theres decent clearance between the fans and panel. When i put it together it seemed like it was designed to go this way, but ive seen it both way in pics of other cases and started second guessing it.

[Chronified]

I'd go inside, the fans will be marginally less restricted by the mesh with the extra gap provided.

 

Honestly, both will be fine unless you're already running 90c on a stock cooler haha. Do whatever your aesthetics please you. That's a decent case and it'll have alright airflow either way. 

[OptimalMayhem]

Thanks for the replies. I think you're probably right, but just for giggles I've decided to actually take the time and do some (simple and informal) experimenting to see if inside vs outside does anything for my noise or temps. I'll let you know how it goes.