Stuck on best fan setup

D

dbunder

n00b
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Sep 11, 2005
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I just got in 4 brilliant Aspire red LED 2600rpm 80mm (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811998107) case fans and installed them into my Lian Li case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112025) which fits 4 80mm fans. Two on the bottom front with a dust filter, which I removed (clean house, not much dust gets in there, and I wanted maximum red light), a top blowhole, and one in the back top of the case. My average CPU temps have gone up about 5-6C since I've installed them. The old fans moved way less air, so I don't know what's going on.

Before I removed the old fans, I didn't think to see how I had the air flowing in the case. Oops. So right now, the two front fans are intakes, the other two fans blow air out. The power supply also blows air out and is cranked to full fan speed. I'm guessing this isn't an optimal configuration. The configuration makes sense to me, but duh, I got something wrong. :)

Any suggestions as to how I can reconfigure the fans to get better flow going in the case? Would having the blowhole suck air into the case be better than blowing out the hot air at the top of the case?

The 5-6C increase concerns me. It's a pretty huge jump from average 28C CPU temp to 34C CPU temp.

Thanks much for any suggestions!

btw, if it makes any difference, my CPU cooler is a Zalman CNPS7000-Cu running at full blast on a P4c 2.8@stock speeds.
 
I would just start turning fans on/off and start changing their orientation from blowing in to blowing out. Mess with some fan settings and up come up with the best configuration. There isn't a "cure-all" for you situation because they're all different. My guess is you have no air pressure (negative or positive) in your case and air is just kinda sittin' around.
 
So your system is using the front two fans as intakes, and the blowhole and rear and PSU as exhausts. I would have thought that would mean a slight negative pressure in the case, provided the PSU is doing anything... Do those fans push significantly more air? Have you tried running them side by side and feeling the air movement, as I wouldn't be surprised if they exaggerated the fan specs.

Also, remember that it is becoming summer quite quickly....
 
Oh, they definitely move air very quickly. I made sure to test that. :) And it's not the weather... there isn't any summer in San Francisco. I'll just futz around with the orientation until I figure out something. I had it right before... just gotta get it right again.
 
Reversed the blowhole fan, getting about the same, sometimes even worse temps. It's really not any warmer in the room than it usually is. No cables blocking airflow. Every fan running full blast. Perplexed. Anyone have any other suggestions for a fan configuration for my case, other than putting it in a giant zip-lock baggie and putting it in the minifridge?

edit: I completely reversed the airflow (except the PSU, duh), and i'm back at my normal temps. Common sense, in this case, didn't work for me. :)
 
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