# Will 120mm Front Panel work for me?



## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

Guys, i want to put a 120mm fan in the front panel for intake.

Problem is that my casing doesn't have any holes in the front EXCEPT the panel for usb/audio/mic/firewire (which aren't plugged in, except for the usb ports). There are empty holes there which enable some air to go through

Question :

if i put the 120mm there and expect it to take air in from those empty holes, will it work?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

can you fit it low down on the side panel at the front of the case and you will need a 120 at the rear exhausting


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

An intake at the side over the CPU heatsink is also a good place for an intake fan. Even a side air duct without a fan is good if you have a rear fan exhausting. Remember, you need more CFM of exhaust than of intake.


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

spikeee said:


> Question :
> 
> if i put the 120mm there and expect it to take air in from those empty holes, will it work?


NO it will not work, you need proper ventilation in the front of your case for it to work.
Some cases have an opening at the bottom between the steel case and the plastic clip on facia if yours has this then it will draw the air upwards from there.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

ok this is my current setup :


80mm side (top) fan - intake
92mm rear fan - intake
120mm PSU fan (top) - outake
i have ventilation holes at side (bottom) panel
250gb HDD cooler fans (dual fans)
CPU fan

i want to add a 120mm front panel (bottom) - 110cfm (max)


i don't have any holes in front except for the multimedia empty holes. 

btw i thought more intake than outake is better? (less dust accumulation?)
please advice! thanks!


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

You need to get the air to flow across the Case
Reverse the rear fan to blow out and then install a front fan blowing in.
Your side and top fans are alright as they are.
You must have some type of ventilation holes to allow the air to be drawn into the case at the front,may have to buy a dremel or a drill


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

oh ok, so i should reverse the rear fan, making it :

INTAKE :

120mm (90-110cfm) 
80mm (30-40 cfm)

OUTAKE :
92mm (50-60cfm)
120mm (dynamic fan)


isn't the multimedia ventilation holes enough? :s


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

Sorry but they wont do the job,it's just like drinking with a straw you can suck all you like but you only get a restricted flow
If you can't get holes in the front save your money and but a case with holes in the right places,they don't have to be expensive to do the job


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

i guess i'll have to send it for modding.
what happens if i put the 120mm there anyway for the mean time? will there be any negative impact?


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## kodi (Jun 30, 2004)

Can you post some photo's of the inside and outside of the case where you are trying to install the fan.
You will be just wasting your time fitting the fan as it has to draw air from somewhere to be effective and by your description you don't have that.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

hmm ok i'll go home and get some pics for you guys to see! thanks for your advice!

if i install it anyway first, doesn't i help circulate air in the casing?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

yes but you may as well do the job corrctly in the first place


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

yes i understand that, but to do the job correctly, i would either need to :

1) purchase a new casing
2) mod the casing to have front grills/cagings

i doubt i'll do number 1 because i just bought this casing. anyhow both require money, and i'm very tight for now - so i was hoping for advice on how best to make do for now


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

all you need is a electric drill and small drill bit for a guide hole and a large drill bit to enlarge them and be sure you do not drill any cable or leave bits of metal lying around


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

erm i don't think i'll meddle with the casing - i was thinking of just sending it to people who do modding and they'd do it for me.

so how can i make do for now, without the front panel holes?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Is there a place on the side panel at the bottom front or over the CPU heatsink for a fan? If there is, put a fan blowing in there.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

ok my fans just arrived and this is what i've currently configured :


1) front panel intake (120mm)
2) side panel intake (80mm)
3) rear panel intake (92mm)
4) psu top fan outake (120mm)

what say you guys?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You want the rear panel to be an exhaust. Other than that it is good.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

also, why is there an intake on the top? heat rises, i thought all top fans should be exhaust?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

No, like I said, you need more exhaust than intake. Rear fans and top fans are always exhaust, side fans are always intake, and front fans are intake 99% of the time.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

I don't have an intake at the top - my top psu fan is outake
ok - changed rear to outake!

one other thing, i have a twin cooler fan for my 250gb HDD, the thing is that this HDD is right in the path of the 120mm intake airflow. should i move it (the HDD with the fans) lower or higher than the 120mm front intake?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If you can move it so it is below the intake fan, that would be best. This way, the cool air will fall onto the hard disk, get a little warmer, then rise.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

my twin cooler (which has one intake and one outake) is on the underside of the hard drive, so if i move it all the way down, the air flow won't be there.

also, my intake for the hdd is near the 120mm fan. 

i was thinking of putting the hdd RIGHT ABOVE the 120mm intake fan
what do you guys think?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

That will still be good.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

Alright, Matt! Finally got the pic!

Everything's labelled in the picture.
Now shown in the picture is an 80mm side intake fan that's EXACTLY at the same height as the 92mm outake.


Comments please


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

Where's the picture spikeee?


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

Sorry! Here's the pic now! Labels are included
Take note of the 80mm side panel fan that's not in the picture


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Looks Good. :smile:


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

thanks, matt  so this means that i will get good air circulation with this getup?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Yep. If you ever make an order out of Newegg, I would throw in one of these for under your video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888309


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

my sound card is but a ati radeon 9550 128mb, not very high end - do u think i need that ? or is it more for just removal of hot air?

oh yeah, also i ALWAYS thought that more intake than outake is better? it also helps to reduce dust pileup inside the casing, right?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

It will still help. Right now you have more intake than exhaust. Unfortunately, this pressurizes the air in the case, which heats up components. While they still get cooled overall, the cooling is not as effective.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

ahhh so i need another form of outake.. how else can i bring about more outake? mod my case to include a top blow hole? but my psu will be blocking the blowhole..


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

If you get that PCI slot cooler, that will give you more exhaust.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

Ok! Currently my CPU temp at idle is around 44 celcius. At mid-high peak usage, it hits around 53 celcius

is that ok?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Thats good. :smile:


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

hehe ok  how else can i lower this temp?  
i was thinking of changing my cpu fan because it's a really old one.

do you know of any ones that are silent YET efficient?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Zalman 7700, Zalman 9500. Both excellent heatsinks.


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

alright i'll check them out!  are they silent and efficient?  hehehe
they'll be able to fit my socket 478, ya, matt?

thanks, man! appreciate all your patient help etc


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

oh one more thing - i think i might be interested in the zalman 9500. matt, can you help me see if it'll block my rams or not, because it's quite big ain't it? 

i would like to place it with the rear of the HSF facing the 92mm outake.
also, was wondeirng about installation - i'm quite a lazy fella, was hoping that i wouldn't need to plant any external mounting stuff for my mobo. what say you?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

It is pretty big. What motherboard do you have? If you have four RAM slots, move the sticks to the front most channel. If you have two or three, move the sticks up to the front most slots. Also, you might want to read some reviews of people with your motherboard using that heatsink if the northbridge heatsink is very big.

Also, I would recommend that the fan be facing the front of the case. The fan will blow through the heatsink fins and toward the rear 92mm exhaust.

Can you get a closeup shot of the motherboard?


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

My motherboard is a MSI PM8M-V with Chipset VIA P4M800CE. 
It only has 2 ram slots and both are used up.

Yeah i was thinking that the fan would face the front, sucking air through the fins, then coming out to the 92mm outake rear fan.


Attached 2 pics. 1 is from my mobo
1 is from the MSI site.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

It should fit. The biggest issue will be the RAM, but I think that will be OK.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

the usual fitting problems for space are
it clears the capacitors
there is half in clearance between the top and the bottom side of the power supply
zalman have a list on their site on which m/b have been tested on and deemed suitable


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

i don't fully understand what you mean by "there is half in clearance between the top and the bottom side of the power supply"

ok will check zalman's site! thanks dai and matt!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

How much distance is there between the CPU socket on your motherboard and the bottom of your PSU?


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## spikeee (Oct 19, 2006)

i would say around 4-6cm of space


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