Case airflow questions

[singh_uk]

Hello,

In my case there are now 2 92mm fans at the bottom front of the case, with HDD mounting bays infront of them, with 2 92mm fans exhausting, one at the top of the case and one at the back.

My 2 questions are -

My 260GTX is directly behind the hard drives. Should I mount the 2 HDDs in the bottom slots so the top of the card gets cool air flow, or mount the HDDs at the uppermost slots so the bottom of the card (where the fan is) gets more cool airflow? The HDDs are all very cool (25-28C) but I was thinking the air coming off them is probably warmed slightly. Basically - which side of a graphics card needs the cool air - the top or bottom (fan) side?


And also - would it be worth considering moving them out the way altogether to the 5.25" bays with an adapter or would this be a waste of money?

Thanks

 

[Shaman]

You want the cool air going to the bottom side of the card, that's where the fan intakes air and exhausts it out the back.

Putting the hard drives in the 5.25" bays is only a good idea if your 5.25" cover plates are perforated. If they are perforated, air is drawn in by the exhaust fans which should be enough to cool the drives. Otherwise just stick to the option of putting the drives on the uppermost slots, as long as they still get *some* airflow from the front fan.

 

[jterp7]

what kind of temps are you getting on the 260?

 

[singh_uk]

Thanks for the advice guys.

My temps arent bad - 260 idles at 44-45, on furmark wont exceed 80 (gets to about 70-75 in crysis), but it is at stock BFG GTX 260 OC speeds - was thinking of overclocking it a little.

CPU (e6600 OC-ed to 3.2ghz) idles around 30 and orthos brings it up to 50-51 max, HDs sit at 28C.