Fans - which direction?

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H1HID

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
120
My computer case sits below a desk kind of in the corner but not butted up against a wall. I have a few questions about which way the air should flow.

Heres the current fan direction...

PSU Fan - downwards into case (cant change that)
Side 92mm Fan - Inwards pretty much blowing directly on top of the CPU fan
CPU 92mm Fan - Blowing towards the CPU from the top of the heatsink (TR XP-90C)
Front 120mm Fan - Intake
Rear 120mm Fan - Exhaust

What can I do to make the airflow better in my Thermatake Tsunami case or is it optimal? The cables are managed with very little in the way and my two hard drives are spaced apart to allow the 120mm fan blow between them.

What would happen if I made the front an exhaust and the rear an intake (hahaha...i said rear intake)?

Thanks!
 
It sounds like you have more inflow than outflow, if the PSU is blowing in (which seems strange, because most exhaust air out the back). I've always believed in having more exhaust fans than intake - it is better to pull air into the case as required than to force air in (which can cause dead spots). If your PSU is really blowing into the case, I might consider switching something aorund - you really want a nice flow of air through the case - normally in the front and side and out the back and top (top being through the PSU for most).
 
Since warm air rises, I would suggest adding a 120mm low RPM speed exhaust fan at the top (rear part of the top) of your case.
 
I'd be really surprised if that PSU fan is really blowing in. Every single one I've seen takes warm air out of the case and blows it out the back.
 
Sometimes it is hard to tell, just take a piece of notebook paper and hold it up against the fan and see if it is getting sucked up against the grill or blown away. I can't count the number of time I've been confused on which way a fan is blowing.
 
This is how I can tell which way a fan blows. The side that the fan will be blowing is the side with the fan motor bracket.... so if you are facing the front of the fan (no bracket getting in the way if you rotate the blade) the fan is blow away from you.
 
coolchu001 said:
This is how I can tell which way a fan blows. The side that the fan will be blowing is the side with the fan motor bracket.... so if you are facing the front of the fan (no bracket getting in the way if you rotate the blade) the fan is blow away from you.
Click to expand...

Yep, the air comes out the side with the cord on it - that's how I remember.
 
Good to know, although it can be hard to tell in the case of PSU fans, or other fans where the wires are not visible.

Looking at a picture of your case, I don't know how better to change that except the possibility of a fan tunnel to channel air from the outside of your case to directly onto the HSF or perhaps a HSF that blows air perpendicular to the mobo to help exhaustion of hot air. It sounds like ytou have it as best as possible, but are your temps not up to your standard or are you just wondering?
 
the temps are relatively good considering the overclock but still fluctuates alot and would like to optimize it some more. Ill try turning the side fan into an exhaust and see what that does. i should prolly add another fan on top like it was mentioned.

I was just wondering more than anything and really considering that my CPU is at 1.60v and at 2700mhz (stock is 2200mhz) the temps at idle arent all that bad. Its just that at game playing it goes up 15-16 degrees. thought maybe optimal case flow would mitigate those load temps. Thanks for everyones input.

Maybe you guys are right and the CPU fan is an intake and blows out the back. I hope thats the case.
 
If your side fan is in close proximity to the CPU fan I'd be cautious of turning it to exhaust, as it will be stealing air from the CPU fan, instead of supplying cool outside air to it.
 
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