120 mm case fan on case side panel

[Engr62]

I recently mounted an ARCTIC F12 PWM 120mm fan on my case's (Rosewill Redbone) side panel. It is oriented so that it pulls air into the case since my AIO radiator is mounted on the back of the case with the fan on the radiator blowing out. This helped to lower my CPU (i7-4770K) temperatures from 60C full load to 52C full load.

However, the fan makes a lot of noise since it's pulling air in through the perforated side panel. I intend to get a dust filter to put over this so I don't pull dust into the system. Will the dust filter also lower the noise of the fan or will it make it worse?

 

[Guarana [BAWLS]]

it's likely to muffle it somewhat, but it's also going to stifle the airflow, as well.

Is the fan hooked up to a PWM header?

 

[Engr62]

Thanks for the reply.

I have some dust filters on the way to test out. I hope it doesn't reduce the airflow to the extent that it negates the benefit of installing the fan in the first place--otherwise, I've spent money on the fan and dust filters to stay at the same temperatures. It wouldn't be the first time I've thrown money away, though.

I do have the fan hooked up to a PWM header, and I tried using the "quiet mode" in my BIOS last night. My CPU idle temps went from 24C to 27C (with a room temp of 20C), but the full load temp stayed the same (52C). The noise wasn't AS noticeable in "quiet mode," but it's still there to a certain extent. But, I definitely don't want to run the system permanently without a dust filter on this intake.

The case I'm using (Rosewill Redbone) doesn't have the room to mount my AIO cooler's radiator in the front of the case where I can pull fresh air from outside the case over it. It's only got room for the one 120mm intake fan in the front due to the HDD and DVD drive bays. I had to mount it in the back of the case, so its fan is pulling warmer air from within the case over the radiator.

The Rosewill Redbone case has been a good case, but I know it's time to get a new case with better air flow. I'd really like to get the NZXT S340 Elite, but I can't really go without a Blu-ray drive. I know I could go the external drive route, but I really hate to add to the clutter.