Fan Placement Recommendation

[AldiPrayogi]

Hi guys,

 

After the recent LTT video, I was wondering where I should put my fans. I just bought 5 Arctic F12s.

 

I have a 5-fan (crappy fans mind you, they're all 3 pins) config right now, two at the front + 1 at the bottom as intake and 1 at the top and 1 at the back as the output.

 

I was wondering if it'd be better for my GPU to put 2 fans at the bottom and 1 at the front as intake and 1 at the top and 1 at the back as the output, or if it'd not matter since I have a full ATX case anyway.

 

Thanks!

[Chris Pratt]

The problem in that video was specifically a smaller compact mid tower case combined with a long graphics card. It effectively created a wall that the air could not penetrate. With a full tower that won't be an issue. What is an issue is mixing the directionality of the air flow like that.

 

Cases offer multiple fan placement options not so you can fill them all, but so you have choices as to the airflow pattern you want to use. For best results, you should a smooth, direct path from intake to exhaust that washes over all your components. Having something like front and bottom intake can create eddies in the airflow that actually create pockets of air pressure that prevents air from reaching your components. You should stick with just front intake and back exhaust. A top exhaust may be fine if it's at the back of the case. At the front, you'll just kick your fresh intake right back out.

 

[Ralfi]

Hey. What's your case & system specs? & what idle/load temps are you seeing currently with your "crappy fans"?

 

Nice choice with the new fans. I can see where you're coming from with wanting intakes below the GPU, but it depends on the case & whether it allows cool air to come in unhindered.

 

If you wanted to only place one fan on the front, then put it in line with the CPU fan (assuming you have a tower air cooler) so air flows from front to back.

 

Typically, if you have a perforated front panel, i'd recommend to place 3 intakes on the front & an exhaust on the rear & top (behind CPU). If temps are fine, then leave it, but if your case is flexible enough to allow air from beneath & you want to experiment then go for it.

 

[AldiPrayogi]

1 hour ago, Chris Pratt said:

The problem in that video was specifically a smaller compact mid tower case combined with a long graphics card. It effectively created a wall that the air could not penetrate. With a full tower that won't be an issue. What is an issue is mixing the directionality of the air flow like that.

 

Cases offer multiple fan placement options not so you can fill them all, but so you have choices as to the airflow pattern you want to use. For best results, you should a smooth, direct path from intake to exhaust that washes over all your components. Having something like front and bottom intake can create eddies in the airflow that actually create pockets of air pressure that prevents air from reaching your components. You should stick with just front intake and back exhaust. A top exhaust may be fine if it's at the back of the case. At the front, you'll just kick your fresh intake right back out.

 

So would it better if I put 2 at the bottom as intake and 3 at the top and back as exhaust?

[AldiPrayogi]

1 hour ago, Ralfi said:

Hey. What's your case & system specs? & what idle/load temps are you seeing currently with your "crappy fans"?

 

Nice choice with the new fans. I can see where you're coming from with wanting intakes below the GPU, but it depends on the case & whether it allows cool air to come in unhindered.

 

If you wanted to only place one fan on the front, then put it in line with the CPU fan (assuming you have a tower air cooler) so air flows from front to back.

 

Typically, if you have a perforated front panel, i'd recommend to place 3 intakes on the front & an exhaust on the rear & top (behind CPU). If temps are fine, then leave it, but if your case is flexible enough to allow air from beneath & you want to experiment then go for it.

 

I have this case Aero One Frost, and my idle temps on both my CPU and GPU are in the low-mid 40s. I live in South East Asia so it's normal to have a high 20 to low 30-ish degrees days. The spec is a R5 3600 and a 1660 Ti.

 

The bottom fans would be hindered I think since I have 2 hard disks and a PSU down there. But if it can lower the GPU temps then I'd be happy, this thing is loud and anything that can lower its load/noise is always welcome to me.

[Ralfi]

12 minutes ago, AldiPrayogi said:

I have this case Aero One Frost, and my idle temps on both my CPU and GPU are in the low-mid 40s. I live in South East Asia so it's normal to have a high 20 to low 30-ish degrees days. The spec is a R5 3600 and a 1660 Ti.

 

The bottom fans would be hindered I think since I have 2 hard disks and a PSU down there. But if it can lower the GPU temps then I'd be happy, this thing is loud and anything that can lower its load/noise is always welcome to me.

Hey that case doesn't seem too bad!

 

Similar options to my 4000D, so i'd try the typical setup I mentioned above - 3 front intakes with an exhaust on the back & top. Let us know how you go.

 

[Chris Pratt]

1 hour ago, AldiPrayogi said:

So would it better if I put 2 at the bottom as intake and 3 at the top and back as exhaust?

Depends on the case design and what else you have going on in there. Sometimes a bottom to top airflow is preferable, particularly in ITX cases. Other times, it could be much worse, particularly if you have a lot of components that would block the airflow, a PSU shroud, etc.

[AldiPrayogi]

2 hours ago, Ralfi said:

Hey that case doesn't seem too bad!

 

Similar options to my 4000D, so i'd try the typical setup I mentioned above - 3 front intakes with an exhaust on the back & top. Let us know how you go.

 

What about the dust?

[Ralfi]

8 hours ago, AldiPrayogi said:

What about the dust?

Should be ok. That’s a well balanced in/outtake setup. 
 

It’s even more dust resistant if your PC is off the floor. 
 

Mine has hardly any dust even after 6 months since being built…

 

[AldiPrayogi]

5 hours ago, Ralfi said:

Should be ok. That’s a well balanced in/outtake setup. 
 

It’s even more dust resistant if your PC is off the floor. 
 

Mine has hardly any dust even after 6 months since being built…

 

Thanks for the info! I'll post here once I've installed the fans.

 

That's a sexy ass looking gpu man. And my tower cooler is also a Deep Cool lol

[Ralfi]

1 hour ago, AldiPrayogi said:

Thanks for the info! I'll post here once I've installed the fans.

 

Cool. Good luck.

1 hour ago, AldiPrayogi said:

And my tower cooler is also a Deep Cool

Heh, yeah they're good value. I swapped the fan out & cable-tied a new fan that matched my case fans (30mm deep hence the cable ties). This fan's less noisy than the DeepCool one....may be an idea for you in future.

[AldiPrayogi]

10 hours ago, Ralfi said:

Cool. Good luck.

Heh, yeah they're good value. I swapped the fan out & cable-tied a new fan that matched my case fans (30mm deep hence the cable ties). This fan's less noisy than the DeepCool one....may be an idea for you in future.

Dude. Fucking hell. That was the most intense fan swap I've ever done. 

Warning, it's gonna be a long post.

 

So while I was changing my fans, I thought that I might as well move a 2.5 inch ssd to its proper mount (it was taped to the case before) and changing its SATA data cable, no biggie. I also wanted to try using a fan hub that I haven't used before. All was going smoothly. 

 

Until I pushed the power button and there was only black screen on the monitor. The motherboard also had its CPU + DRAM debug light on. Big trouble.

 

I thought that I had pierced/scratched the mobo or knocked off a cap. I thought that it might be the fan hub that was causing trouble, so I disconnected it, no dice. Then tried unplugging the newly installed fans, still no dice. Then I thought maybe I need to do a clear CMOS, so I popped off the CMOS battery, pressed the power, etc, then put it back in. Still no post. I then tried replugging the 24 & 8 pin CPU power cable, reseating the RAM, tried different DP port, still no post. Then I unplugged all the USB things off the board + unplugging the SSD (that had the new SATA cable). Lo and behold, it posted! Great, I put everything back without putting the side panel on, set XMP on, changed the SATA cable back to the old one, and plugging the fans directly to the mobo instead of using the hub. I tried turning it back on again and to see if it would go to Windows, and it did. At this point, I thought that the problem was the bad SATA cable, since I've disconnected it then it successfully posted. Everything was fine, thank God. Until I tried putting the back side panel back on.

 

So my setup is a bit weird, here's a photo of it attached. All the testing and swapping I just told you was done on the table. So I needed to properly set up the PC and put it back on the shelf. I closed the back side panel, put it on the shelf, turned the PC on, then the same problem happened. Black screen, fan at 100%,  the two CPU and DRAM debug lights were on PLUS it would turn itself off after 5 seconds then it'd turn itself on again on a loop. I thought that maybe my power supply was broken? It should've had protections that would turn itself off, right? Or maybe I had pinched a wire that caused a short circuit? I wasn't sure. 

 

I did the whole inspection all over again. Resetting the RAM, unplugging stuffs, etc. Until I tried reseating the 8 pin CPU pins, then it posted. This is weird, since the last time it posted, the problem wasn't that (I thought it was the bad SATA cable or/and the a mouse USB dongle). I tried plugging in things one by one at this point, and thankfully it successfully posted while it's on the shelf with the back side panel on.

 

So here I am, on my now fixed (I fucking hope so) computer, that I don't know how it was fixed, and what caused the problem in the first place. Plus it now has nice new fans too, which is nice.

 

Quote

 

[Ralfi]

Good to see you got through the scares by plugging away (literally). That CPU plug may not have clipped in properly, so when you first put the rear side panel on, it may’ve nudged it just enough to disengage a pin. Hopefully things are ok, but if you get the black screen, check that all the molex power plugs are actually clipped in - if they come out without you unclipping the latch, then they weren’t in right.

 

Now that it’s working, are the temps/noise ok? Post some idle/load temps when you can bring yourself to work with the thing again (sometimes after dramas like that, it’s good to take a break lol).

[AldiPrayogi]

16 hours ago, Ralfi said:

Good to see you got through the scares by plugging away (literally). That CPU plug may not have clipped in properly, so when you first put the rear side panel on, it may’ve nudged it just enough to disengage a pin. Hopefully things are ok, but if you get the black screen, check that all the molex power plugs are actually clipped in - if they come out without you unclipping the latch, then they weren’t in right.

 

Now that it’s working, are the temps/noise ok? Post some idle/load temps when you can bring yourself to work with the thing again (sometimes after dramas like that, it’s good to take a break lol).

I've played Kena Bridge of Spies for a bit and I think my GPU temps is a little bit better now. I used your config btw, 3 fans at the front and 1+1 at the back and top.

 

Both the idle and load temps are reduced by a couple of degrees (3-4 C). But the biggest difference is the noise now. So much better and quiet even under load. These fans rock.

 

Thanks for the recommendations!