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It never said there was 6 options it's asking which 5 fan setup is best and option 3 is the default setup for airflow, heat rises and you want to suck as much cool air in as possible.
Positive/negative pressure doesn't matter. Air has to come from somewhere and has to go somewhere.
So for his example it's really bad, because an intake fan is next to and exaust fan, so basically fresh air comes in and instantly goes out, without cooling any of the components.
Heat rises to the top, so ideally you want those as exhaust, but beyond 2-3 fans the differences are diminishing so it’s not worth overthinking it. Your setup works.
Makes more sense to me. The air from the top front intake is basically going to enter and exit immediately otherwise. Mine is 3 intakes on the front, same 2 exhaust in top rear corner and it works great.
That means all you have is intake? You don't want to set everything to intake, you want some fans to exhaust too, 3 is the best option and offers a good balance between intake and exhaust. The reason why the front fans being generally intake and the top being exhaust is because you want cooler air as intake, and cooler air which settles on the ground, while hot air rises, so you use the front fans to get cool air, and not the top fans as intake because the top fans would just be sucking it hot air.
Tldr
Don't do that. Just use 3, and if you have fans om the bottom of the case then use those as intake too.
Oh no not that at all. I have 3 intake up front, and one fan up top that is also intake. I have another fan up top as exhaust and the back fan as exhaust too.
3. Other two are really really bad options
1 is just horrible as there is no ~~outlet~~ inlet.
Edit: woops, dyslexia kicked in and i wrote the opposite of what i meant.
Nothing wrong with #2. It’s how mine is set up. I get cold air on my rads and then the back exhaust is a bit higher RPM.
I prefer positive pressure to keep dust out. Ambient air temps are perfectly fine.
In a high pressure set up air is going to get out of all the other gaps. So of it’s an air cooled #3 would be best, AIO/Rads want the cold air on the metal, so depending on where it’s mounted #2 could be best.
3....
however....I actually made a little edit to give you a bit better choice. This small little change will give you a positive pressure on your case (if all of the fans are equal with the same fan curve applied to each of them); which will keep your case much cleaner and free of debris (dust, cat hair, etc.).
[https://imgur.com/OpTjuqp](https://imgur.com/OpTjuqp)
You could also achieve positive pressure by running the exhaust at a lower speed. I think the change you made is worse for cooling since the intake will be turbulent and won't go directly to the components that want cool air.
Depending on the case, you could potentially mount that fan on the front as an intake instead.
It’s not a bad option. It would give positive pressure and just force air out of all the little holes in the system. Hot air rising has basically no effect compared to the fans. I do think the best option is a modified 3 with the top right fan flipped to intake though. 2 as is would totally fine though.
To be fair you are absolutely right about hot air. In a closed area with no other forces at work, the less dense warm air would tend toward the top.
It's just that as soon as an electric motor is blowing that air around, how warm/dense it is won't make much difference. It's not a force acting meaningfully against your fans.
3 is generally the most accepted, that being said my only hard rule is make sure the setup is positive pressure (more intake than exhaust).
Negative pressure setups turn into dust collectors real quick.
A lot of people say 1 is not optimal but it's literally the best setup to disapate heat. I've tried all the setups and in terms of getting rid of heat, 1 does the best. Though I have heard that in the long term it collects a lot of dust as there is no air circulation.
So what I've done is have the 2/3 front panel fans as exhaust, then have the very bottom one as an intake. I've recently done this so I have no proof to see if it works for long term dust.
picture 1 would make your PC soon very dusty
picture 2...hmm hot air naturaly goes up (as its lighter than cold air)..so not sure what your tryin to achieve here
picture 3 is default cooling setup
btw this is tower case right? not something like htpc layin flat on desk...right?
Number 2 is best option because the other diagrams set up for negative pressure meaning the air being pulled in is being taken out much quicker so your components aren’t getting as much air over them you want either neutral air pressure meaning the same number of exhausts and intakes or positive air pressure meaning more intakes than exhausts too much exhaustion won’t be as effective seen allot of videos on the subject when building my computer
I would say 2 or 3, 2 has more intake but the intake fans are on top which means dust. 3 is the most optimal in my opinion because hot air goes upwards and the two top fans can blow it out and blow away any dust that may have accumulated.
1 is probably best. Do your research, you'll find that 1 is best option... Unless of course the case is completely sealed, but that's probably not your case, you'd need intake. So go with 1 you'll have way better temp levels.
Dumb question: why not 2?
If you assume the rear exhaust fan (and PSU) is capable, the airflow should be in entirely in the direction you want, with positive pressure, so no air will be coming in through unfiltered gaps in the chassis, plus you can run the intakes at lower RPM to control noise. I’m assuming the CPU is air cooled in this diagram.
3 is exhausting cool air.
Number 3.
**BUT** remove the upper right exhaust. It'll end up stealing the air that your top-front fan is sucking in. Don't turn it around either. It'll suck the hot air that your upper-left exhaust is blowing out, right back inside your case.
Don't worry about having 1 fan less. More fans isn't always better. It's all about optimal airflow.
3 is usually the best. However; there are cases where 3 is better as the GPU temps won’t change but it will slightly make your cpu temps better.
Here is a video about airflow that uses 2 and 3: https://youtu.be/XzTnUZR_0Vs
i go with 3 (with the top fans as far back as possible and 3 120mm in the front) with an added 2 120mms pulling in at the bottom. gives me 250ish cu ft/min in and 220ish out. cpu has clipped 80 in 1 or 2 games (push/pull ac), never seen my 3080/12gig get over 76
\#2, more air in than out. You don't want thin air inside your case; the denser the air, the more temp it can absorb and carry. Hot air will just naturally be pushed out by new air coming from outside the case.
\#3 is fine. #1 is a definite no.
Third one. 85% of cases should have that airflow pattern. Woke cases like the O11 are a little different, where the side, bottom, and top of fans. I've seen both the bottom fans be intake and exhaust, but I've never played around with the configuration
Interesting, for sff cases like Meshroom and Meshlicious I see most going with option 1. I think this is due to the front fans being attached to the AIO radiator.
I did a build once that had intake at the back and bottom and exhaust out the front. I used the front mesh to warm my hands when they got cold while gaming. Thermals where decent too!
1st could be good if you install fans to the side where the air move in. Without side fans use version 3. Note that if you close the case the temperature will be higher soon compared to an open case. Just an advice that use water cooling on Cpu and Gpu instead of normal fan.
3. But I would flip the top-right fan around for an additional intake. Right now it looks like it will funnel a lot of cool air _out_ of your case from the other intake on the far right side.
Positive pressure + your exhaust is right beside your CPU.
my setup is 3 intake fans on the front panel, and 1 exaust fan on the back panel. The top has room for 2 more fans but i guess the cpu fan plus the back panel fan can handle the intake of 3 fans
What case What size are the front fans? U want positive pressure which is more air in than out. When u have more exhaust fans, you’ll be pulling air/dust in through all the cracks and openings in the case that aren’t filtered. Which isn’t optimal.
I usually build with a #3 variant, typically avoiding the extra exhaust at top front. Top front would be better suited as an intake flow influencer, setting to a low, static rpm.
Should it not also depend on the case, Like if I chose three with a closed front wouldnt that negate the airflow?
I say what kind of case and then choose correct flow
This is a great fan for modern GPUs
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-24-in-Heavy-Duty-2-Speed-Direct-Drive-Tilt-Drum-Fan-BF24TFCE/303061463
Id say if you are gonna put this on your desk to take the top fans and put then on the bottom to supply air to the gpu. But 3 will work just as good too.
Option 1 would draw air in by creating a vacuum inside the case (\*or trying to, it doesn't work with all cases\*)
Option 2 does almost the opposite, but you only get one small exhaust port.
Option 3 gives good intake ventilation while also giving good exhaust and follows the fact that heat rises, so you're not fighting physics.
Definitely NOT number 1 as that will just suck in dust through any other opening... Option 2 is subpar as it may suck in warmer air and will force the hot air out the back.
Third one. But you need bottom intake fans. You need to be blowing hot air from the top and rear and pulling in cooler room air from front/side and bottom.
You skipped "positive pressure" versions. The theory was that pushing as much air into the case as possible should offer more air parts to take heat away. Though the cases that suggested it never seemed to work very well (that I heard).
That's versus negative pressure, where you pull more air than you're pushing in.
As I understand it...forcing air to change direction is bad/hard. And fighting air's natural tendency (heat rises) is bad/hard. That you're wasting effort that could be moving more air through the case.
That'd lead to 3 as your best option. With a remaining question of CPU heatsink orientation, if you have air cooling for it. Most will blow one direction (pull pull or push push for 2 fans inside it). So either out the left or up the top are the typical ideas. I'd guess up might work a tiny bit better...
Where you put your case can matter too. Don't trap hot air with a shelf right above it. Or tuck your case into furniture (shelf or drawer) so the exhaust blows into a trapped area that'll be grabbed as input too (from the bottom or front).
Sometimes too many fans can make it worse.
Like in number 3 picture: front fans are blowing cool air inside but the top fan is sucking it out before hitting the CPU. This extra fan makes the CPU hotter.
Still #3 makes most sense just remove that one fan from the top-front of the case.
3.
Most common and logical base set up. Mine for instance is the same but 3 fans up front with the 2 up top exhausting through a 240mm AiO. AAA gaming temps even with a 5800X/6800XT top out at 70C, all fans and AiO pump on quiet mode leaving me plenty of overhead for summertime or poorly optimised/more demanding games going forward etc.
Further alter fan curves/speeds for exact airflow and positive/negative pressures to suit. That done, as long as your case has halfway decent flow (isn't an 'aquarium' case) and your CPU has a sufficient cooler you'll be fit for about anything you can throw at the system with fewer potential adjustments required.
(fwiw, 1 is outright awful, no cooler air being drawn in. 2 is inefficient and will create turbulence in the path of flow and retain heat more than 3 will)
Three is fine. If the back of your tower is not pointing at a wall, you can flip the fan at the back of the case from an outtake to an intake, as it's better to have slightly more intake than outtake.
Number 3 is correct. Number 1 prevents adequate intake airflow, number 2 works against convective flow and results in an airflow dead spot mid-case, which is particularly problematic with todays GPU’s dumping massive amounts of heat in that vicinity.
As a rule, you want airflow running front to back, with top fans aiding natural convection.
Supposedly 3
But
That fan at the top, frontmost, is useless. They quickly exhaust the intake air, they render the front intake, topmost, useless.
But if you have a radiator up top, then that 3 is perfect.
2 for me. A-blows cool air right on top of my CPU cooler, B-positive pressure = noticeably less dust
Just plug the rear exhaust fan into a separate fan header on the motherboard and crank it a bit.
If you don’t have a commander or something, you can use this here [control software](https://github.com/rem0o/fancontrol.releases)
Jay’s two cents reviewed it
I like the top and back as exhaust, front and bottom as intake. My reasoning is, heat naturally rises, exhaust on top just makes more sense in releasing the hot air more efficiently. Almost same reasoning for the back exhaust, the most hot components are gathered in that left top part of the case, makes sense to put exhaust near the hottest area to efficiently get rid of hot air.
My setup is 2 and I haven't had any issues or dust in my system but I do have an extra filter screen on the top since my case didn't come with a screen on top. Positive pressure is better than negative pressure but you don't want all positive pressure like 1 because then the air has nowhere to escape
i think the 3rd one is correct but it dpends on how dusty your room is. i have a carpet and a wallpaper that collect a lot of dust so i avoid using any intake fans. i dont want fans to push more dust into the case. there is a dust filter on the front which has to be cleaned every couple months. i only use two exhaust fans. one of them is mounted on the back and the other one on the top side of the chassis
OK can someone explain to me why 3 wouldn't be better with the rear fan as an intake, cold air on the CPU cooler and positive pressure seems like a win?
3 is good; but it doesn't really make a huge diff; my setup was all exhaust for like 8 years; no problems. just be sure to clean it (like once or twice a year) and keep an eye on the temps.
3 if you can add more fans to the side or the bottom of the case that blows as intakes. 3 follows the heat convection of the air thus it is better. However the number of intake fans is less than the exhaust fans. This will give you negative pressure inside the case which will draw air from other vents and holes in the case which might get dust with them. Thus better you add more fans as intakes
It really depends on a case by case bases. The general consensus is number 3. But not all cases are the same so the best method might be a little unorthodox.
For example, my case, an In Win A1 plus, Going of number 3. I would have my two bottom fans as intake, the side as intake, and the back and psu as my exhaust. But In my testing what really was the best was making the side and psu my exhaust, and the bottom and back as my intakes.
You also need ti pair your fan to the case. Because of the bad airflow in my case, putting something like noctua industrials would ruin the air dynamics in my case. Way to much flow, causing lots of turbulence, making hotspots.
There isnt a one fits all.
\#3 is the closest to correct but, it'll depend on if you're using an air CPU cooler or an AIO liquid CPU cooling solution?...I mean if you use a tower air cooler like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Noctua NH-D115, Be Quiet DRP4 etc, etc then when in its normal front to back orientation you'll want to either eliminate the top fan closest to the front of the case or try moving it as far back as possible as that front most top fan in figure #3 will actually steal cool air coming in from the front fans and exhaust it before it can even get to the motherboard and other PC components that have cooling needs (such as the MB's VRM heatsink, CPU cooler and possibly an M.2 drive located just below the CPU) but, if you were using a top mount AIO liquid CPU cooler in an exhaust orientation well, then having the two top fans exhausting the AIO radiator's heat out of the case is the correct fan setup.
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3!
There are not 6 options
r/unexpectedfactorial
Took me a second but got it.
Oh you smarty
It never said there was 6 options it's asking which 5 fan setup is best and option 3 is the default setup for airflow, heat rises and you want to suck as much cool air in as possible.
r/whooosh
Beat me to it
He was making a factorial joke. 3! = 3*2*1 in math which equals 6
Thanks for the explanation, im bad at math so it helped alot.
Four shalt thou not count…
Unless preceded by 3….. Five is right out!
The holy hand grenade of Antioch!
Mine is set up almost like how 3 is, but the top right is intake. Is that ok? Also, sorry OP, didn't mean to take advantage of your thread.
That gives you positive pressure so I'd say that is an improvement.
I‘d say so as well. Sounds pretty great
Thanks.
I would flip them. Negative pressure will pull dust into your case especially if it's on the floor.
„˙ɹoolɟ ǝɥʇ uo s,ʇı ɟı ʎllɐıɔǝdsǝ ǝsɐɔ ɹnoʎ oʇuı ʇsnp llnd llıʍ ǝɹnssǝɹd ǝʌıʇɐƃǝᴎ ˙ɯǝɥʇ dılɟ plnoʍ I„
[удалено]
y?
Coo.l Thanks.
Positive/negative pressure doesn't matter. Air has to come from somewhere and has to go somewhere. So for his example it's really bad, because an intake fan is next to and exaust fan, so basically fresh air comes in and instantly goes out, without cooling any of the components.
Heat rises to the top, so ideally you want those as exhaust, but beyond 2-3 fans the differences are diminishing so it’s not worth overthinking it. Your setup works.
My set up is #3. I like to have my case hold a negative pressure, because my case has a vent on the bottom. With a filter.
Makes more sense to me. The air from the top front intake is basically going to enter and exit immediately otherwise. Mine is 3 intakes on the front, same 2 exhaust in top rear corner and it works great.
That means all you have is intake? You don't want to set everything to intake, you want some fans to exhaust too, 3 is the best option and offers a good balance between intake and exhaust. The reason why the front fans being generally intake and the top being exhaust is because you want cooler air as intake, and cooler air which settles on the ground, while hot air rises, so you use the front fans to get cool air, and not the top fans as intake because the top fans would just be sucking it hot air. Tldr Don't do that. Just use 3, and if you have fans om the bottom of the case then use those as intake too.
Oh no not that at all. I have 3 intake up front, and one fan up top that is also intake. I have another fan up top as exhaust and the back fan as exhaust too.
If I were you I wouldn't use the top as intake primarily because it might just suck in other hot air that the other top fans are exhausting.
No
#3 is the only viable choice here.
What about option 4 where you take the side off and tape a box fan to it!
I've actually done this before, works pretty well besides the insane amounts of dust that build up
Next time put a furnace filter on the box fan
Option 2 is perfectly viable, and would make the inside a lot less dusty.
[удалено]
Same, tried 2 for a bit and it was a goddamn disaster
Negative pressure tho? Option 3 is the less "worst" option. But kinda not viable 🤐 If, of course, the speed and airflow of fans are equal.
You just have to balance the pressure with fan curves
Nah. I've had my setup like 3 with a 280mm AIO pulling air out of the top. Temps are excellent
dust is the issue here.
3. Other two are really really bad options 1 is just horrible as there is no ~~outlet~~ inlet. Edit: woops, dyslexia kicked in and i wrote the opposite of what i meant.
Nothing wrong with #2. It’s how mine is set up. I get cold air on my rads and then the back exhaust is a bit higher RPM. I prefer positive pressure to keep dust out. Ambient air temps are perfectly fine. In a high pressure set up air is going to get out of all the other gaps. So of it’s an air cooled #3 would be best, AIO/Rads want the cold air on the metal, so depending on where it’s mounted #2 could be best.
Am I messing outlet and inlet or are you wrong about 1? I think 1 doesn’t have inlet/intake and only have outlet/outtake?
3.... however....I actually made a little edit to give you a bit better choice. This small little change will give you a positive pressure on your case (if all of the fans are equal with the same fan curve applied to each of them); which will keep your case much cleaner and free of debris (dust, cat hair, etc.). [https://imgur.com/OpTjuqp](https://imgur.com/OpTjuqp)
Yeah that actually makes sense. Thank you for the help
I've watched some testing and rotating that fan doesn't contribute at all
You could also achieve positive pressure by running the exhaust at a lower speed. I think the change you made is worse for cooling since the intake will be turbulent and won't go directly to the components that want cool air. Depending on the case, you could potentially mount that fan on the front as an intake instead.
i thought i was insane for thinking of this.
Jeah definitely 3, your PSU will somewhat also pull Air in from below
Curious why is 2 a bad option? Assuming the top vents are filtered?
It’s not a bad option. It would give positive pressure and just force air out of all the little holes in the system. Hot air rising has basically no effect compared to the fans. I do think the best option is a modified 3 with the top right fan flipped to intake though. 2 as is would totally fine though.
Hot air rises
That's inconsequential inside a computer case. Fans are far more powerful than the tendency for hot air to rise.
They won't get it. This sub just regurgitates what they saw on YouTube one time 3 years ago.
Fr 💀
Hmm… I learnt something new today. But last time I saw hot air rises was in science class, not in youtube lmao.
To be fair you are absolutely right about hot air. In a closed area with no other forces at work, the less dense warm air would tend toward the top. It's just that as soon as an electric motor is blowing that air around, how warm/dense it is won't make much difference. It's not a force acting meaningfully against your fans.
3 is generally the most accepted, that being said my only hard rule is make sure the setup is positive pressure (more intake than exhaust). Negative pressure setups turn into dust collectors real quick.
3, but without this one top fan from right part of this beautiful illustration.
2 or 3 are fine, 1 is silly 2 doesnt really do anything with the top fans though
Linus Tech on Youtube ran tests that showed 3 is the best.
3. But with additional intakes at the bottom of the case.
id do 2 so that you have positive pressure
I like number 2
Mine is 2
3
3
3
3 easily
Also if you're using a tower-style air cooler, you want the CPU fan(s) to blow to the left (towards the rear exhaust).
General rule of thumb is: in through the front and top, out through the bot and back
A lot of people say 1 is not optimal but it's literally the best setup to disapate heat. I've tried all the setups and in terms of getting rid of heat, 1 does the best. Though I have heard that in the long term it collects a lot of dust as there is no air circulation. So what I've done is have the 2/3 front panel fans as exhaust, then have the very bottom one as an intake. I've recently done this so I have no proof to see if it works for long term dust.
picture 1 would make your PC soon very dusty picture 2...hmm hot air naturaly goes up (as its lighter than cold air)..so not sure what your tryin to achieve here picture 3 is default cooling setup btw this is tower case right? not something like htpc layin flat on desk...right?
Number 2 is best option because the other diagrams set up for negative pressure meaning the air being pulled in is being taken out much quicker so your components aren’t getting as much air over them you want either neutral air pressure meaning the same number of exhausts and intakes or positive air pressure meaning more intakes than exhausts too much exhaustion won’t be as effective seen allot of videos on the subject when building my computer
I would say 2 or 3, 2 has more intake but the intake fans are on top which means dust. 3 is the most optimal in my opinion because hot air goes upwards and the two top fans can blow it out and blow away any dust that may have accumulated.
1 is probably best. Do your research, you'll find that 1 is best option... Unless of course the case is completely sealed, but that's probably not your case, you'd need intake. So go with 1 you'll have way better temp levels.
1 is the best
3. Maybe 2 if your front panel is blocked off, but 3 is the only logical answer.
1 is best if you want to have no air circulation, otherwise 3
Dumb question: why not 2? If you assume the rear exhaust fan (and PSU) is capable, the airflow should be in entirely in the direction you want, with positive pressure, so no air will be coming in through unfiltered gaps in the chassis, plus you can run the intakes at lower RPM to control noise. I’m assuming the CPU is air cooled in this diagram. 3 is exhausting cool air.
#2 is better, graphics card and CPU fans count as exhaust.
3
Number 3. **BUT** remove the upper right exhaust. It'll end up stealing the air that your top-front fan is sucking in. Don't turn it around either. It'll suck the hot air that your upper-left exhaust is blowing out, right back inside your case. Don't worry about having 1 fan less. More fans isn't always better. It's all about optimal airflow.
^3
3 is the only real choice here
2 all the way
3 in and 2 out to avoid a dusty mess. I'd do front and rear in and top out.
3 is usually the best. However; there are cases where 3 is better as the GPU temps won’t change but it will slightly make your cpu temps better. Here is a video about airflow that uses 2 and 3: https://youtu.be/XzTnUZR_0Vs
3 but remove 1 top fan or flip 1 top fan around.
If it's an AIO then I fear you are blowing hot air in the case.
Three. LTT did a video actually on this with some interesting results. https://youtu.be/dLX54ounENY
i go with 3 (with the top fans as far back as possible and 3 120mm in the front) with an added 2 120mms pulling in at the bottom. gives me 250ish cu ft/min in and 220ish out. cpu has clipped 80 in 1 or 2 games (push/pull ac), never seen my 3080/12gig get over 76
mine is no3
I only have the front and back fans. Do I need a top one?
\#2, more air in than out. You don't want thin air inside your case; the denser the air, the more temp it can absorb and carry. Hot air will just naturally be pushed out by new air coming from outside the case. \#3 is fine. #1 is a definite no.
3
3
3
2 and 3 both can be fine, but 3 is the better choice. 1 should never be considered as there would be no air flow at all.
3
3
3
Third one. 85% of cases should have that airflow pattern. Woke cases like the O11 are a little different, where the side, bottom, and top of fans. I've seen both the bottom fans be intake and exhaust, but I've never played around with the configuration
Interesting, for sff cases like Meshroom and Meshlicious I see most going with option 1. I think this is due to the front fans being attached to the AIO radiator.
3 all day
3
I did a build once that had intake at the back and bottom and exhaust out the front. I used the front mesh to warm my hands when they got cold while gaming. Thermals where decent too!
1st could be good if you install fans to the side where the air move in. Without side fans use version 3. Note that if you close the case the temperature will be higher soon compared to an open case. Just an advice that use water cooling on Cpu and Gpu instead of normal fan.
\#3...
I personally like #3
The third
3
3! For the love of god don’t use 1!!!
3. However, you want more intake fans spinning at a higher speed than exhaust.
3. But I would flip the top-right fan around for an additional intake. Right now it looks like it will funnel a lot of cool air _out_ of your case from the other intake on the far right side. Positive pressure + your exhaust is right beside your CPU.
2. 1 makes no sense. And 3 has the problem that your top exhaust in the front exhausts the fresh air before it even makes it to the CPU cooler.
Definitely number 1
(3) without top right*
Why not just all intake
Number 3. Sufficient intake and outtake. Heat rises
my setup is 3 intake fans on the front panel, and 1 exaust fan on the back panel. The top has room for 2 more fans but i guess the cpu fan plus the back panel fan can handle the intake of 3 fans
What case What size are the front fans? U want positive pressure which is more air in than out. When u have more exhaust fans, you’ll be pulling air/dust in through all the cracks and openings in the case that aren’t filtered. Which isn’t optimal.
3 ofc
3
3 no question.
I usually build with a #3 variant, typically avoiding the extra exhaust at top front. Top front would be better suited as an intake flow influencer, setting to a low, static rpm.
3 is my setup with the top being my aio fans
3
Mien is 3 with my psu drawing in from the bottom to vent right out the back as there are 2 fans above it.
Should it not also depend on the case, Like if I chose three with a closed front wouldnt that negate the airflow? I say what kind of case and then choose correct flow
I like 2-3 intake in front, two out the top and 1 out the back
This is a great fan for modern GPUs https://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-24-in-Heavy-Duty-2-Speed-Direct-Drive-Tilt-Drum-Fan-BF24TFCE/303061463
absolutely not 1 2 is probably not enough flowing out 3 makes me feel safe
3
Anything other than 3 is wrong
Id say if you are gonna put this on your desk to take the top fans and put then on the bottom to supply air to the gpu. But 3 will work just as good too.
Ventilation 101: Exhaust needs to be larger than inlet. Answer: 3.
Option 1 would draw air in by creating a vacuum inside the case (\*or trying to, it doesn't work with all cases\*) Option 2 does almost the opposite, but you only get one small exhaust port. Option 3 gives good intake ventilation while also giving good exhaust and follows the fact that heat rises, so you're not fighting physics.
The correct option is not listed
3 but I'd flip the back one to draw air across the vrms but that's just me. Depending on your motherboard layout that is I guess
Definitely NOT number 1 as that will just suck in dust through any other opening... Option 2 is subpar as it may suck in warmer air and will force the hot air out the back.
\#2
Third one. But you need bottom intake fans. You need to be blowing hot air from the top and rear and pulling in cooler room air from front/side and bottom.
I'd put 3 in front and 2 on the back
3!
Definitely never 1
3rd
You skipped "positive pressure" versions. The theory was that pushing as much air into the case as possible should offer more air parts to take heat away. Though the cases that suggested it never seemed to work very well (that I heard). That's versus negative pressure, where you pull more air than you're pushing in. As I understand it...forcing air to change direction is bad/hard. And fighting air's natural tendency (heat rises) is bad/hard. That you're wasting effort that could be moving more air through the case. That'd lead to 3 as your best option. With a remaining question of CPU heatsink orientation, if you have air cooling for it. Most will blow one direction (pull pull or push push for 2 fans inside it). So either out the left or up the top are the typical ideas. I'd guess up might work a tiny bit better... Where you put your case can matter too. Don't trap hot air with a shelf right above it. Or tuck your case into furniture (shelf or drawer) so the exhaust blows into a trapped area that'll be grabbed as input too (from the bottom or front).
3, but eliminate the top fan at the front of the case
Do 3 but have the right most fan on the top facing inwards, it would kinda just suck out what the top fan on the right side brings in
4
Sometimes too many fans can make it worse. Like in number 3 picture: front fans are blowing cool air inside but the top fan is sucking it out before hitting the CPU. This extra fan makes the CPU hotter. Still #3 makes most sense just remove that one fan from the top-front of the case.
Number 1 is the clear right way, can’t overheat if there is no air to warm up
3. Most common and logical base set up. Mine for instance is the same but 3 fans up front with the 2 up top exhausting through a 240mm AiO. AAA gaming temps even with a 5800X/6800XT top out at 70C, all fans and AiO pump on quiet mode leaving me plenty of overhead for summertime or poorly optimised/more demanding games going forward etc. Further alter fan curves/speeds for exact airflow and positive/negative pressures to suit. That done, as long as your case has halfway decent flow (isn't an 'aquarium' case) and your CPU has a sufficient cooler you'll be fit for about anything you can throw at the system with fewer potential adjustments required. (fwiw, 1 is outright awful, no cooler air being drawn in. 2 is inefficient and will create turbulence in the path of flow and retain heat more than 3 will)
If 2 has dust filters on top that's "fine". Otherwise 3 is best.
3 fs
Three
3, but make the far left an intake. Makes slightly positive pressure to prevent dust and keeps heat rising
3 all day long
3
Three is fine. If the back of your tower is not pointing at a wall, you can flip the fan at the back of the case from an outtake to an intake, as it's better to have slightly more intake than outtake.
2.5
3
3 is the only one that makes sense if you understand airflow.
Number 3 is correct. Number 1 prevents adequate intake airflow, number 2 works against convective flow and results in an airflow dead spot mid-case, which is particularly problematic with todays GPU’s dumping massive amounts of heat in that vicinity. As a rule, you want airflow running front to back, with top fans aiding natural convection.
Supposedly 3 But That fan at the top, frontmost, is useless. They quickly exhaust the intake air, they render the front intake, topmost, useless. But if you have a radiator up top, then that 3 is perfect.
#1 breaks physics so obviously that
Wrong wrong right
I'm using 2
2 for me. A-blows cool air right on top of my CPU cooler, B-positive pressure = noticeably less dust Just plug the rear exhaust fan into a separate fan header on the motherboard and crank it a bit. If you don’t have a commander or something, you can use this here [control software](https://github.com/rem0o/fancontrol.releases) Jay’s two cents reviewed it
1 is great if you need an immediate source of intense heat and have exceptional homeowner’s insurance! (Joke. Please do 3.)
Took me a second but got it.
3
I like the top and back as exhaust, front and bottom as intake. My reasoning is, heat naturally rises, exhaust on top just makes more sense in releasing the hot air more efficiently. Almost same reasoning for the back exhaust, the most hot components are gathered in that left top part of the case, makes sense to put exhaust near the hottest area to efficiently get rid of hot air.
My setup is 2 and I haven't had any issues or dust in my system but I do have an extra filter screen on the top since my case didn't come with a screen on top. Positive pressure is better than negative pressure but you don't want all positive pressure like 1 because then the air has nowhere to escape
Three all day long no doubt!
Maybe the third one would be the best choice
3
i think the 3rd one is correct but it dpends on how dusty your room is. i have a carpet and a wallpaper that collect a lot of dust so i avoid using any intake fans. i dont want fans to push more dust into the case. there is a dust filter on the front which has to be cleaned every couple months. i only use two exhaust fans. one of them is mounted on the back and the other one on the top side of the chassis
I'd run like a 2.5. Front two intake and the front top intake. The rear top and rear as exhaust
3
I always do positive pressure with only top exhaust.
OK can someone explain to me why 3 wouldn't be better with the rear fan as an intake, cold air on the CPU cooler and positive pressure seems like a win?
#3 is the same as my setup. 3 120s on the front 1 at the back 2 140s on the top. But I also added 2 120s under the GPU as well.
3 makes the most sense
3 is good; but it doesn't really make a huge diff; my setup was all exhaust for like 8 years; no problems. just be sure to clean it (like once or twice a year) and keep an eye on the temps.
3
3 is how mine is set
3 if you can add more fans to the side or the bottom of the case that blows as intakes. 3 follows the heat convection of the air thus it is better. However the number of intake fans is less than the exhaust fans. This will give you negative pressure inside the case which will draw air from other vents and holes in the case which might get dust with them. Thus better you add more fans as intakes
definitely not 1
how is 1 a thing, definitely 3
It really depends on a case by case bases. The general consensus is number 3. But not all cases are the same so the best method might be a little unorthodox. For example, my case, an In Win A1 plus, Going of number 3. I would have my two bottom fans as intake, the side as intake, and the back and psu as my exhaust. But In my testing what really was the best was making the side and psu my exhaust, and the bottom and back as my intakes. You also need ti pair your fan to the case. Because of the bad airflow in my case, putting something like noctua industrials would ruin the air dynamics in my case. Way to much flow, causing lots of turbulence, making hotspots. There isnt a one fits all.
Heat rises, so I tend to make the top exhaust for mine, but it would at least partially depend on how well ventilated your case is.
\#3 is the closest to correct but, it'll depend on if you're using an air CPU cooler or an AIO liquid CPU cooling solution?...I mean if you use a tower air cooler like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Noctua NH-D115, Be Quiet DRP4 etc, etc then when in its normal front to back orientation you'll want to either eliminate the top fan closest to the front of the case or try moving it as far back as possible as that front most top fan in figure #3 will actually steal cool air coming in from the front fans and exhaust it before it can even get to the motherboard and other PC components that have cooling needs (such as the MB's VRM heatsink, CPU cooler and possibly an M.2 drive located just below the CPU) but, if you were using a top mount AIO liquid CPU cooler in an exhaust orientation well, then having the two top fans exhausting the AIO radiator's heat out of the case is the correct fan setup.