Blocking One Of My Case's 12cm Fan Holes?

sitalchauhan

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
244
Hey, I am just wondering what is the best way to block a 12cm fan hole on my case?

I want to block the rear exhaust on my Antec P180, and just use the top fan as the only exhaust:
P180_inside.jpg


I have got a window on my case though so want it too look decent while it is blocked.

What would be the best way to do this?

The only way I cant think of is by getting some Plexi Glass, cutting it into a square with rounded corners, and drilling the 4 fan mounting holes in the corners. Then just mounting this Plexi glass inside the case with screws through the case's fan holes.

But this is a lot of effort, surely there is something I can buy from a store or mod more easily that I haven't thought about?

Thanks!
 
Haha, my first thought was duct tape, but it sounds like that might be a little ghetto for your tastes.
 
Some Lian Li cases came with metal pieces for that. They were pretty much 120mm squares of brushed aluminum, with holes in the corners. Might be able to find one of those for sale somewhere.
 
Cardboard + double sided tape (or just regular tape).
Absorbs and blocks the noise excellently too. Also, its free. :D

Use cardboard from a 6-pack, product box, anything with a cool logo and put double sided tape on the back of it. You shouldnt really notice it through a fan grille, and it would look decent through the window.

If looks matter id look into getting one of those LIan Li blocking plates, or fab one out of plexiglass like you said.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions guys. My case holes are currently ghetto blocked with duct tape etc. But since I am spending hundreds on a new water cooling system and painting my case internals black, I thought I would do everything properly this time and avoid ghetto mods :p

The Lian-Li fan covers sound ideal, but I cant find them anywhere on google :( Can anybody find a picture of one? Or know which Lian Li cases they came with?
 
Would metal be easier to work with? Cut it to size, drill holes, and spray paint it black?

The other thing I guess would be to get some sound dampening type foam, since these are typically a black and dark color, and use that to block the holes.
 
Cardboard + double sided tape (or just regular tape).
Absorbs and blocks the noise excellently too. Also, its free. :D

Use cardboard from a 6-pack, product box, anything with a cool logo and put double sided tape on the back of it. You shouldnt really notice it through a fan grille, and it would look decent through the window.

If looks matter id look into getting one of those LIan Li blocking plates, or fab one out of plexiglass like you said.

No no no... No to all of this except that last sentence. ;)

Cut yourself a piece of sheetmetal or rigid plastic to the correct dimension and put it in place with fasteners. You've got a really nice case, a nice setup and a window. You haven't taken short cuts up to this point, so why start now!?

If you don't have the tooling (angle grinder, dremel, saw, whatever...) to cut sheetmetal use the rigid plastic. Something your can score and cut with a razor or box knife.

Whether you go with metal or plastic, rather than buy material try to salvage material from an old case. Ex: I have old PII and PIII era cases laying around that I cut up for their plastic and steel panels for other mods. :)
 
I have decided on buying an A4 sheet of 3mm black acrylic. Then just cutting out a 12cm x 12cm square using a jigsaw. Drilling the 4x 5mm holes in each corner for the mounting screws. And then flame polishing the rough cut edges to make them nice and clean.
Only going to cost me £1.00 for the A4 sheet of acrylic and I won't even be using half of the sheet :)
 
Are you just installing a 120mm rad up top or something larger?
I installed a 240mm rad on top (in front) as you can see in the pic..
IMG_3853.JPG

I have my rear 120mm fans running and all is good. The side fan was a giant mistake since it turned this quiet case into a loud, annoying POS.
Forgive the mess, but this is what I've done to the inside to fit the water cooling setup.
IMG_3859.JPG
 
IMG_3853.JPG

I have my rear 120mm fans running and all is good. The side fan was a giant mistake since it turned this quiet case into a loud, annoying POS.

Oh, that poor beautiful side panel... :( What gave you the crazy idea to pull the trigger on that idea? Sorry bro... I love that case though. :)
 
I'm actually planning to install either a 360 or 480 radiator from the rear exhaust fan. I'll be making my own brackets using 10mm x 3mm Aluminium strips, bent at each end with holes drilled, then attached using nuts and bolts. Here is where I got the idea from:




The Swiftech MCR320 (360mm Radiator) is £50, and the MCR420 (480mm Rad) is £60. So for only £10 more I am tempted to go for the 480mm rad. Even though a 360 should be fine for my system, for only £10 more I might as well just get the larger radiator!

The reason I want to block the rear exhaust fan hole on the case (but keep the top exhaust fan), is so that hot air is not coming out of the rear of the case and being blown through the radiator. I am going to block the rear exhaust fan (as well as switching the vented PCI slot covers that come with the p180 with standard non-vented PCI slot covers) so that only fresh ambient air is pulled through the rad :)
 
I hadnt actually thought about modding a fan filter. I would be reluctant to use tape though as with the heat from the pc case, the tape is likely to become unstuck and start peeling off. I could actually use a black fan filter, but behind it mount a thin sheet of aluminium that has been spray painted black. That would actually look really good if I can find a good looking 120mm black dust filter
I'm going to give the perspex a go first, since it's only £1, but if I cant get the perspex's edges cut straight or polish them up properly I'll give the fan filters with aluminium a try.
 
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