# Correct air flow :)



## wkw427 (Nov 9, 2008)

This is the case I have
Newegg.com - Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan

In hindsight, It is a bad case. Very bad. Because, in my opinion, the whole front of it is mesh, backed by some kind of foam, and it gets very dusty.

However, I'm wondering if I should rearrange the fans for better airflow.

There are three fans in the case

120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, front, blowing in

CPU fan is a stock intel one, runs fairly cool.. Haven't bothered to check its rotation.. I think it blows down on the heat sink. Dunno. It is stock
PSU is bottom mounted, with intake on underneath the case and exhaust out the back

The only modification I did was turned the 120mm front fan from blowing out top blowing in. The airflow was bothering me. I think this may be the cause of most of the dust on the front..

But I'm wondering, what would be the BEST configuration to reduce dust and improve airflow? Which of these options would you recommend?

Stock:
120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, front, blowing out*

Current:
120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, front, blowing in

Option1:
120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, side panel, blowing in

Option2:
120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, side panel, blowing out

Option3:
120mm rear fan, blowing out
140mm on the top, blowing out
120mm LED fan, disabled. I don't think my HDDs need very much cooling. Would stop dust, too. 

Option4:
Put my PC in a cra 1995 ATX case that weighs about 30lbs, has no usb on the front, but has better cable management then this one 

*Would really want to stay away from this. I don't like air blowing in my face


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

You are never going to stop the dust... Especially with a mesh case, Trust me... Your best bet is to clean it out regularly. I clean my tower out once every 30 days.

The best fan configuration is the original. The rule of thumb is to keep all air flowing from the front to the back, bottom to top in a tower configuration.


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## wkw427 (Nov 9, 2008)

Well, the stock wasn't front to back. more like, middle to front/back/top. The way I have it, intake it in the front, exhaust is in the top and back


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## GZ (Jan 31, 2010)

I currently use an Antec 300 which is similar (without the entire mesh front). My configuration is

1x 12cm front (intake - low speed)
1x 12cm side panel (exhaust - low speed)
1x 12cm rear panel (exhaust - variable speed)
1x 14cm top panel (exhaust - variable speed)

This has proven to be the most effective setup in my situation. When I had the side panel fan set to intake, the GPU ran about 2° to 3° cooler, but my system and CPU ran a bit hotter. I suspect it had to do with disruption of airflow.

EDIT:

And, directing airflow over your HDD(s) can reduce their temps by quite a bit... Although they don't get super hot, the heat has a tendency to linger, especially in a mesh case where air will be drawn in through the path of least resistance.


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Re: side-panel fans, it tends to vary from PC to PC, depending on what components are where, cabling, HDD position etc. All these can interfere with the airflow, causing hot-spots to build up.

Sometimes having a side-fan blowing in can help, other times it can hinder and t'other times the PC is cooler without a side-fan - All you can do is monitor the temperatures then trial-and-error :sigh:


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