# Proper airflow For CM Elite 430



## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

I my name is preston and I was wondering If I have proper airflow inside my case. 

Psu: 120mm facing downward.
140mm front intake
120mm side intake
120mm bottom intake
2x 120mm top exhausts
120mm Rear exhaust.

CPU cooler: CM Hyper 212+ (push/pull configruation).

Here's how I think this is good airflow with same amount of fabs for exhaust intake I think I reached a balance point.

My front fan cools hard drive and rises up o be exhausted. Bottom gives the 140mm fan an extra push to get there faster. It also diectly hits GPU on it's way up. Side fan stirs the air around fins of gpu so air is not stale. Top right fan exhaust from the RAM and the airfrom intake fans. Wht air is left goes through CM hyper 212's first fan. And makes A direct line out of the case. the 2nd fan propels the air through the exhaust creating a very nice "tunnel of air" 

Also the 120mm left fan expells leftover air from the hyper 212+ because its right over the heatsink so as the hot air rises the air is expelled by the fan.

So thats my airflow I apoligize if its wrong but tell ke what you think do I need to change anything??


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## Johnny1982 (Oct 15, 2010)

Whilst having loads of fans is good for small talk, they are really not all necessary. A good airflow is front intake, rear exhaust and no fan on the side as they disrupt the airflow and can cause temps to actually rise.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

Yep.

Air should come in the front and go out the back and/or top.

I have antec 1200 with 3 120mm fans at the front, 2 120mm fans at the back and a 200mm fan at the top.

There is an optional side fan but as Johnny said having this fan would disrupt the air flow and could cause more heat than dissapate it. Think of it like a mini cyclone or whirlwing insisde the case, there air really isn't going anywhere so therefore you just have a noisy machine that is slightly cooled but not as much as it should be.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Lso you sugggest switching my side fan With the bottom fan? Take the bottom fan out? Then leave tje rest of the fans the way they are? This is my first buikd at 14 so dont know much about airflow.

Heres what I did I took out the side fan and put it on the bottom fan mount. Here is a general layout of case and the fans I'm using

2 PWM fans cooler master blademaster and arctic cooling AF12 both are going to be attached to Hyper 212+

140mm CM Essentials 1,000 RPM Blue (Front Intake)

120mm Stock fan from case (Bottom Intake)

120mm Scythe 12mm fan (Top Right Exhaust)

120mm CM Sickleflow blue (Back Exhaust)

120mm Rosewill RCA-1024BK (Topp Left Exhaust)

All of these fans aresilet and move 60 CFM except the rosewill. 


I did bot add my side fan so is thatgood airflow for case?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

if your temps are ok then its good persnally I think its a bit OTT


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## Johnny1982 (Oct 15, 2010)

For my overclocked rig one CM Sickleflow 120mm fan at the front and one CM Sickleflow fan at the back is more than sufficient with no overheating at all. My graphics card is also factory overclocked and I can still take it further with my current airflow, also with no temp issues. My 212+ also only has the one original fan and my CPU is overclocked by 900mhz to 4,10ghz. When it gets cold where I stay, I can simply turn the fans off with my fan controller for a quieter PC.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Too many fans can be as bad, or worse, that too few.
One 120mm in front & rear is usually more than enough.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Crap I alreadybought the fans

Forgive me bringing up a dead thread but is it actually bad to have the side fan? I'm replacing most of my fans with a cougar VC 12h ts a greatfan and I'm gettigthree of them!!!! So my noise problems are solved and I'm just gonna install fan on side i dont think it will matter. So total 3 cougar case fans 1 scythe fan 12mm 1 140mm CM essentials and stock fan that came with the case. Also have Hyper 212+ plus blademaster and paired it with a arctic coolig AF12 so I have good airflow on case and all ofthese fans are Top Quality!!! 

Tell me what you think.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

The affect of a side fan really depends on the specific installation. Some systems benefit from a side intake; others from an exhaust; and others see no benefit from either or are hindered. Ambient temperature and even specific applications may also affect what benefits (if any) you reap.

I'll give you an example. Refer to the "My System" at left. Case is an Antec Sonata III and cpu cooler is an ArcticCooling Freezer64. I've added a fan to the left side panel directly over the CPU and and one to the bottom of the case feeding the graphics card. I've also added a high performance exhaust fan on the rear and moved the stock Antec Tri-cool to behind the front cover. All fans are controlled manually. 

The side and bottom fans are really only needed during hot weather and are turned OFF completely most of the time. During hot weather and intense gaming sessions, I've found best temps (while also paying attention to noise) are with the front and rear fans turning at ¾ - full and the other two at about 1/3.

Bottom line, experiment. Monitor your temperatures with your system in different configurations and see which works best for you. Remember, every fan you add, while it may not affect your temps, it will increase the background noise level.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Alright when myncougas case fans arrive I will experiment is te side fan is better to have or just not have t all thank you for awnsering all my threads


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Side fans commonly cause turbulence in the case and disrupt the desired front to rear airflow.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Hey guys forgive me bringing up an old thread but I'm wondering some things.

First the fan setup on my CM elite 430 is non existent ATM due to RMAing the Motherboard.

Second my power supply prevents me from using my bottom fan slot is that acceptable or do I need a fan there.

Third I have no where to plug all my fans in besides molex adapters...

Is there a cheap 3-4 fan controller that doesn't overload my case with wires?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Connecting case fans to the PSU is preferred but you can use a fan controller.

Is there any particular reason you want more fans? Are you experiencing heat issues?



Tyree said:


> One 120mm in front & rear is usually more than enough.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

No I just like having all the fan slots filled. Should i use a bottom fan?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Tyree said:


> Too many fans can be as bad, or worse, that too few.
> One 120mm in front & rear is usually more than enough.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Yes I realize that but I'm OCD when it comes to my PC's Fans....

So now what do you think?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

If you really feel like you need to fill all the _optional_ fan slots to satisfy your OCD, buy the cheapest ones available, install them into the slots and leave their power cables unconnected. This will mean the front-to-rear airflow path is not disrupted by unnecessary fans.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Problem my modular PSU does

Not allow me to use a bottom in take fan.... This a horror I won't have all my PC fans filled it will bug me a lot.

What's the point in fans that don't do anything?

Also quick question my PSU seasonic X650W has two motherboard plugins which one do I use.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Apart from the front and rear fans, all other case fans are optional, and in the vast majority of cases are not required.

Install the two fans, make sure there's a clear airflow path between them, close the case, monitor the system temperatures, then forget about the optional fan slots. :smile:


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

"Forget about the fans".... No can do, they're in my brain locked in there. I need 6 fans in my case. Then two on my CPU then 1 on PSU

I was thinking about buying this cool gizmo


NZXT sentry Mesh panel 5 fan controller. It's nice black and sexy...

25.99$ hmmmm I can control all of y fans if I use t...


5 fans on the controller
1 on mobo PWR Fan
2 on Mobo 4 Pin PWM Fans
1 on PSU totally modular
1 on GPU

My system will not overheat it will be boss with lots of cool fans 

But is this fan controller thing worth it?


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## Johnny1982 (Oct 15, 2010)

Go with Koala's suggestion as previously mentioned too many fans can be worse than too many. Or purchase this case: Obsidian Series® 550D Mid-Tower Quiet Case - Obsidian Series - Cases and not worry at all about fans. 

You're putting too much emphasis on the need for so many fans. Install fans as previously mentioned (one front intake, one rear exhaust), check temps and post back. If their are overheating issues THEN you can address them. Overthinking will get you nowhere.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Counterpunch said:


> What's the point in fans that don't do anything?


No point at all but it fills the fan slots that you seem concerned about being filled.



Counterpunch said:


> I need 6 fans in my case. Then two on my CPU then 1 on PSU
> 
> My system will not overheat it will be boss with lots of cool fans


Incorrect, you "want" 6 case fans and that many fans can actually cause overheating.
The CPU has it's own cooling fan(s), the CPU has it's own cooling fan. No more are required or needed.



Counterpunch said:


> Also quick question my PSU seasonic X650W has two motherboard plugins which one do I use.


You haven't posted the Brand & Model of the Mobo so use whatever the Mobo requires. The 20+4 pin Mobo connector and the CPU connector.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

yeah as said you dont need all the fans but you can if you want. Also the 20+4 pin is the big connector that goes in the mobo and the little one goes by the cpu. If you dont plug the little connector in your system will get power but your cpu wont and will go into a reboot loop when you turn the system on.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

The model number for the psU is this


SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD 

And can having too many fans really raise temps?

Thanks


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Counterpunch said:


> And can having too many fans really raise temps?
> 
> Thanks


To be repetitive, yes. Too many fans can cause turbulence in the case disrupting the desired front to rear airflow.



Tyree said:


> Too many fans can be as bad, or worse, that too few.
> One 120mm in front & rear is usually more than enough.


Again in Posts 13-15



greenbrucelee said:


> Yep.
> 
> Air should come in the front and go out the back and/or top.





Tyree said:


> Side fans commonly cause turbulence in the case and disrupt the desired front to rear airflow.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

What about not having a side fan or bottom fan but two top fans?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

You have been offered knowledgeable advice on case fans and their use. 
Feel free to use as many fans as you want in any location you want.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

fan at front, fan at back and/or top, no need for anything else.


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## Counterpunch (Mar 28, 2012)

Well it won't reside my temps if I install the bottom and side fan will it...


Fan configuration is a pain in the butt you all tell me all I need is. Front fan and exhaust fan...

I already bought the fans so shouldn't infill the rest of the fan slots...?


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## T_Rex (Oct 21, 2012)

Counterpunch said:


> Well it won't reside my temps if I install the bottom and side fan will it...
> 
> 
> Fan configuration is a pain in the butt you all tell me all I need is. Front fan and exhaust fan...
> ...


Not really that case is now my staple 'regular' build case and I have used it about 80 or more times over the past 4 months - only three times did I add more fans and it was for an overclocker/s. Tyree is correct more often than not 2 fans is all you need.


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## WOLFMAN1966 (Sep 2, 2006)

in my case, because its a gaming build, and because I like my fans(they glow blue), I have 3.....I replaced the stock fan in the back, then added 2 fans in the top blowing outward....haven't had a problem. 
I COULD put another fan at the bottom, and one on the side of the case, luckily ...I don't feel the need to add any more.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Counterpunch said:


> Well it won't reside my temps if I install the bottom and side fan will it...
> 
> 
> Fan configuration is a pain in the butt you all tell me all I need is. Front fan and exhaust fan...
> ...





Tyree said:


> You have been offered knowledgeable advice on case fans and their use.
> Feel free to use as many fans as you want in any location you want.


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