SP or AF for front intake?

[AceOfSpades1209]

Hi im buying a new front intake fan and cant decide whether to get SP or AF. I have a generic PC case which doesnt have a front vent for the intake fan and only has a small opening under the faceplate for air to come in. Behind the faceplate is the metal mesh filter and behind that is where my front fan was before it stopped working. The fan mainly blew air into my R9 290 since they were both really close to each other which fan type would be better? 

[Rampiks]

a SP fan would be better suited for that

[Oshino Shinobu]

a SP fan would be better suited for that

SP is good for getting past obstructions, such as drive cages and radiators. For this sort of thing, he'd want a fan to move as much air as possible, so AF would probably be better. 

[blackadder]

Sp unless you have about 2 inches of free space for air flow fans. Also i hope were not talking about corsair, i would get other fans. Only use af fans for exhaust. Unless you have a open case airflow fans are a waste of money. Sp fans will generally perform better in a case.

[sylarspock]

I would say go for the Air flow fans

However if your R9 290 is very near to the fan and positioned at the same level as the fan, you could use SP Fans as well.

[blueballs]

AF

[ANewFace]

AF. Air Flow Fans. SP are static pressure, which is for RADs

[Rampiks]

SP is good for getting past obstructions, such as drive cages and radiators. For this sort of thing, he'd want a fan to move as much air as possible, so AF would probably be better.

op stated that it is only a small opening for air to get in, AF fans are for open enviroments

[Oshino Shinobu]

op stated that it is only a small opening for air to get in, AF fans are for open enviroments

Open in the direction the air is flowing, yes. AF will move a larger volume of air, but with less density. SP will draw in less air, but with higher density (in the way it is flowing), so they're not as well suited for environments that restrict the amount of air they can push. 

[0ld_Chicken]

if it has a small opening and a filter on the "intake" then I dont see a open air designed case fan (AF) doing as much good as a SP fan.  otherwise people would be using case fans for better results on aircoolers and such.  3 of my intakes are SP 120 (yeah corsairs) and they work better at 60% than the noctua NF S12a at 100% as a filtered intake

 

 

Hi im buying a new front intake fan and cant decide whether to get SP or AF. I have a generic PC case which doesnt have a front vent for the intake fan and only has a small opening under the faceplate for air to come in. Behind the faceplate is the metal mesh filter and behind that is where my front fan was before it stopped working. The fan mainly blew air into my R9 290 since they were both really close to each other which fan type would be better? 

 

[AceOfSpades1209]

Thanks guys for your opinions and so far SP looks like the best choice for my situation. Really appreciate all your support

[ThomasD]

Open in the direction the air is flowing, yes. AF will move a larger volume of air, but with less density. SP will draw in less air, but with higher density (in the way it is flowing), so they're not as well suited for environments that restrict the amount of air they can push. 

Very true, but consider that it is not really volume that carries heat away from components.  A volume of pure vacuum can conduct no heat,  it is the mass of the air (the actual molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) that absorbs and carries away the heat (which is exactly why water, being so much more dense, is more efficient than air.)

 

So, any time there are any sorts of restrictions to flow (be it tight intakes, or obstructions inside the case) it is better to go with SP fans.

 

The only benefits of AF fans are that they are (generally) cheaper, quieter, and draw less power.  But always remember that those last two "benefits" are also directly related to the fact that they do not provide as much cooling potential.  A low SP rating is also a way of admitting that, when faced with any sort of obstruction the actual flow rates (as opposed to stated) will be lower.  The higher the SP the more "true" a fan will tend towards its ideal specs.