PITA fans?

Syxx_Killer · 04-20-09, 08:39 AM

I just did my annual computer blowout of dust. One thing I wanted to do was remove the 120mm fan in front of my case. I'm just wondering if anyone else has a fan in a spot that is a real PITA to get in and out? My case doesn't have any removable drive bays; one of the things that reviews pointed to back in 2005. When putting the 120mm fan in my case when building it back in 2005, I had a real battle. I always knew that if I had to remove it I would have a real fight on my hands. Well, I removed it today while I had my case open. It was a huge fight. I had to use vice grips to get it out. I replaced it with an 80mm fan. Even that took a little bribing to get in there but nowhere near as bad as the 120mm fan. I've got the 80mm pointing out to expel warm air. My computer sure is running cooler. I can already feel my sinuses stuffing up from all that dust.

HunterICX · 04-20-09, 09:51 AM

My old P4 PC had one.
a big space hog of a Fan on top of the CPU.
sweatbreaking to remove, and after 30 minutes of doing all sorts of things...I just gave up.
so if I cleaned the case I just left it and cleaned the area as best I could

HunterICX

NeonSamurai · 04-20-09, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syxx_Killer

Well, I removed it today while I had my case open. It was a huge fight. I had to use vice grips to get it out. I replaced it with an 80mm fan. Even that took a little bribing to get in there but nowhere near as bad as the 120mm fan. I've got the 80mm pointing out to expel warm air. My computer sure is running cooler. I can already feel my sinuses stuffing up from all that dust.

Umm... put the fan back blowing the other way. You don't want to mess with the airflow directions or have all the fans blowing outwards, otherwise it creates these hot air pockets in the system (and makes the fans work harder). Fans in the front for almost all cases are designed to suck air into the case and have it flow through the case and out the back/sides. Also you may regret having put in the 80mm fan as it moves less air then then 120mm fan, and may cause it backwash due to the gaps around the grill for the 120 fan (unless the grill was for an 80mm fan originaly).

The rules for airflow in a computer are to have the air flow in one direction, and flow out where you can expel the most air (almost always the back) as that will cause a slight suction effect drawing in air from openings in the front panel and front sides. It also helps prevent the computer from sucking hot air back in to the case.

Konovalov · 04-20-09, 12:41 PM

Yep to that said above by NeonSamurai. Airflow all in the same direction such as in the front and out the back. Why would you want dust blown out the front of your case.

My Antec P182 case has one front mounted 120mm fan sucking in air from the base of the upper chamber while at the rear top and rear roof I have two 120mm fans sucking hot air out. And the less clutter and cables in the way maes for better case airflow from the front and out the back.

SteamWake · 04-20-09, 01:14 PM

Not to long ago I pulled the heatsink/fan off my cpu to clean.

Not to hard to remove, had 4 tabs that quarter turned and pulled up to release.

The trouble cam when I went to replace it. If it wasent sitting just exactly so on the cpu the machine would cut off in a matter of seconds. Took me quite a while checking that everything was plugged in the right place etc. before I realized it was that the heatsink was not seated properly.

So just a word of warning.

Arclight · 04-20-09, 01:54 PM

LGA775 socket? Always had trouble getting that sink in place as well.

And yeah, the front intake fan in my case is a real pain too. At some point I removed it to put it back in with vibration dampening mounts... took me a hour to get the cursed thing back in place.

Syxx_Killer · 04-20-09, 02:19 PM

The airflow in my case is going one way - just back to front. I put an 80mm fan in front because it is way too hard to put another 120mm in. The front grill has holes for an 80mm or 120mm fan. Before I switched the front fan around all the fans were pointed inwards. My case has a 120mm fan on back, an 80mm fan on the side covering the video card, and now an 80mm in front (expelling the air). It really is no trouble having air coming out the front. I agree that a 120mm fan would be better, but I wasn't going to fight with another one. So far all my temps are normal if not even cooler.

NeonSamurai · 04-20-09, 02:57 PM

Hmm realy? as that is odd..

Is the case set up for it? what about the power supply?

If you got more fans in the back you should run it the other way, particularly if you got a video card and/or power supply venting out the back, otherwise its just going to suck the expelled hot air from those 2 things back in the case.

Usually the cooler air is found in the front of the machine due to how we tend to keep the back close to walls or corners, and how most computer desks are designed.

Syxx_Killer · 04-20-09, 03:18 PM

Here is a site that reviewed the case I have back in 2005. I didn't read the review but the pictures on the review look like mine except my case is all red instead of black and red. I didn't use the PSU that came with it. I have a Fortron Blue Storm 500w with a 120mm fan.

http://www.extrememhz.com/mgeviper-p1.shtml

Here's a pic showing my system temps:

Here's one showing my video card temps:

Everything seems to be ok.

Reece · 04-21-09, 01:13 AM

Some of the fan positions are a PITA for sure.

It took me awhile to build but I have a 120mm fan at the rear and underneath, these are high rev fans (around 4000rpm), both have external filters (the same as used with airconditioners), I also have top and front fans that expel the hot clean filtered air, works well!

NeonSamurai · 04-21-09, 02:27 PM

Hmm well for that case design you technically have all the fans blowing the wrong direction. What will happen if you have any good kind of video card (especially if you have 2 or more of them) is they will expel their hot air out the back, it will rise up, and get back in by the fan above and blown across your cpu (and some of the hot air expelled from the psu will get sucked back in due to proximity). Also if you have a horizontally mounted cpu cooling fan then you may have the 2 fans fighting each other.

The temperatures you posted prove nothing I'm afraid, your system was idling at the time you took them and thus meaningless. Plus they may be erroneous if the sensors are not properly installed, and it may not indicate any hot spots on the board anyhow. You would need to run your system 100% maxed out for about 10-15 minutes to know if there are problems or not.

Also another issue is that the air screens are on the front, so any dust getting in the system will get stuck on the inside of the screen and will eventually clog up.

Anyhow I stand by my original recommendation of having the air flow front to back.

04-20-09, 08:39 AM	#1
Syxx_Killer Admiral Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 2,387 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	PITA fans? I just did my annual computer blowout of dust. One thing I wanted to do was remove the 120mm fan in front of my case. I'm just wondering if anyone else has a fan in a spot that is a real PITA to get in and out? My case doesn't have any removable drive bays; one of the things that reviews pointed to back in 2005. When putting the 120mm fan in my case when building it back in 2005, I had a real battle. I always knew that if I had to remove it I would have a real fight on my hands. Well, I removed it today while I had my case open. It was a huge fight. I had to use vice grips to get it out. I replaced it with an 80mm fan. Even that took a little bribing to get in there but nowhere near as bad as the 120mm fan. I've got the 80mm pointing out to expel warm air. My computer sure is running cooler. I can already feel my sinuses stuffing up from all that dust.

04-20-09, 09:51 AM	#2
HunterICX Rear Admiral Join Date: May 2006 Location: Malaga, España Posts: 10,750 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	My old P4 PC had one. a big space hog of a Fan on top of the CPU. sweatbreaking to remove, and after 30 minutes of doing all sorts of things...I just gave up. so if I cleaned the case I just left it and cleaned the area as best I could HunterICX __________________

04-20-09, 12:41 PM	#4
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	Yep to that said above by NeonSamurai. Airflow all in the same direction such as in the front and out the back. Why would you want dust blown out the front of your case. My Antec P182 case has one front mounted 120mm fan sucking in air from the base of the upper chamber while at the rear top and rear roof I have two 120mm fans sucking hot air out. And the less clutter and cables in the way maes for better case airflow from the front and out the back. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

04-20-09, 01:14 PM	#5
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Not to long ago I pulled the heatsink/fan off my cpu to clean. Not to hard to remove, had 4 tabs that quarter turned and pulled up to release. The trouble cam when I went to replace it. If it wasent sitting just exactly so on the cpu the machine would cut off in a matter of seconds. Took me quite a while checking that everything was plugged in the right place etc. before I realized it was that the heatsink was not seated properly. So just a word of warning. __________________ Follow the progress of Mr. Mulligan : http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=147648

04-20-09, 01:54 PM	#6
Arclight Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Land of windmills, tulips, wooden shoes and cheese. Lots of cheese. Posts: 8,467 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 10	LGA775 socket? Always had trouble getting that sink in place as well. And yeah, the front intake fan in my case is a real pain too. At some point I removed it to put it back in with vibration dampening mounts... took me a hour to get the cursed thing back in place. __________________ Contritium praecedit superbia.

04-20-09, 02:19 PM	#7
Syxx_Killer Admiral Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 2,387 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	The airflow in my case is going one way - just back to front. I put an 80mm fan in front because it is way too hard to put another 120mm in. The front grill has holes for an 80mm or 120mm fan. Before I switched the front fan around all the fans were pointed inwards. My case has a 120mm fan on back, an 80mm fan on the side covering the video card, and now an 80mm in front (expelling the air). It really is no trouble having air coming out the front. I agree that a 120mm fan would be better, but I wasn't going to fight with another one. So far all my temps are normal if not even cooler.

04-20-09, 02:57 PM	#8
NeonSamurai Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Socialist Republic of Kanadia Posts: 3,044 Downloads: 17 Uploads: 0	Hmm realy? as that is odd.. Is the case set up for it? what about the power supply? If you got more fans in the back you should run it the other way, particularly if you got a video card and/or power supply venting out the back, otherwise its just going to suck the expelled hot air from those 2 things back in the case. Usually the cooler air is found in the front of the machine due to how we tend to keep the back close to walls or corners, and how most computer desks are designed. __________________ SH3 Newbie Guide Links and other helpfull stuff

04-20-09, 03:18 PM	#9
Syxx_Killer Admiral Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 2,387 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Here is a site that reviewed the case I have back in 2005. I didn't read the review but the pictures on the review look like mine except my case is all red instead of black and red. I didn't use the PSU that came with it. I have a Fortron Blue Storm 500w with a 120mm fan. http://www.extrememhz.com/mgeviper-p1.shtml Here's a pic showing my system temps: Here's one showing my video card temps: Everything seems to be ok.

04-21-09, 01:13 AM	#10
Reece CINC Pacific Fleet Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Down Under Posts: 32,814 Downloads: 171 Uploads: 0	Some of the fan positions are a PITA for sure. It took me awhile to build but I have a 120mm fan at the rear and underneath, these are high rev fans (around 4000rpm), both have external filters (the same as used with airconditioners), I also have top and front fans that expel the hot clean filtered air, works well! __________________ *Sub captains go down with their ship!*

04-21-09, 02:27 PM	#11
NeonSamurai Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Socialist Republic of Kanadia Posts: 3,044 Downloads: 17 Uploads: 0	Hmm well for that case design you technically have all the fans blowing the wrong direction. What will happen if you have any good kind of video card (especially if you have 2 or more of them) is they will expel their hot air out the back, it will rise up, and get back in by the fan above and blown across your cpu (and some of the hot air expelled from the psu will get sucked back in due to proximity). Also if you have a horizontally mounted cpu cooling fan then you may have the 2 fans fighting each other. The temperatures you posted prove nothing I'm afraid, your system was idling at the time you took them and thus meaningless. Plus they may be erroneous if the sensors are not properly installed, and it may not indicate any hot spots on the board anyhow. You would need to run your system 100% maxed out for about 10-15 minutes to know if there are problems or not. Also another issue is that the air screens are on the front, so any dust getting in the system will get stuck on the inside of the screen and will eventually clog up. Anyhow I stand by my original recommendation of having the air flow front to back. __________________ SH3 Newbie Guide Links and other helpfull stuff