Airflow question - change the rear exhaust to an intake?

Overread

Overread

Overread

Associate
Joined
28 Feb 2021
Posts
25
So I've got the current build and I'm wondering if I can improve the cooling a little by shifting the fan positions around. The photo below shows the current side and position/direction of the fans in my system.

Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case - standard setup (large fan on front, smaller fan on rear exhaust position)
1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer* II High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm - set to vent up;



Intake on the front, exhaust on the back and top.
I'm wondering though, as the intake on the front has to go through the block of harddrives on the front, am I simply losing a lot of cooler air flow.
Would it be worth considering swapping the top fan around to an intake to bring in cool air to that region and then let the top be the only vent, or is that going to mess with the air flow in the main region that's generating heat.
 
Looking at the manual (page 22) and the following video I could potentially increase the airflow by adding more fans.

www.youtube.com

Best Full Tower of 2014 - Phanteks Enthoo Pro Case Review

Pricing:NCIX (CANADA): http://search.ncix.com/search/?qcatid=0&q=Enthoo+ProNCIX (US): http://www.ncixus.com/search/?categoryid=0&q=Enthoo+ProPhanteks is at i...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

Swap the front 200mm for a pair of 140mm fans
Shift my drives around - I think I can remove one 3 HDD cage if I move one SSD to one of the other mounting brackets in the case to improve air flow.
Remove the bottom cage mount and the PSU shield (far as I can tell the PSU shield is mostly just there to hide cables and make it look neat) and then put either a 140mm or if space allows 2 120mm fans
I could also put a 120mm on the side of the drive cage (as shown in the video) to help pull through air from the front fan setup.
 
So having had a look at a few things here's my current thoughts:
1) The current fan controller that the case fans are connected too has 3pin connectors for the fans and a 4 pin that connects to the motherboard CPU Fan opt (as stated in the case manual). As this controller can only take 3 pin and has a max of 30W total output chances are it won't be using it for anything save the rear fan.

case manual; Fans - page 31

2) Looking at the manual for my motherboard I've got CHA_Fan1p; CHA_Fan 2,3,5 (4 is free but might be blocked by the radiator at the top). I assume CHA Fan1P is the same as the other channel fans and the p might just denote that it works with the AIOPump if if that is in use. So in theory I can add between 3 and 4 additional fans before I'd have to consider a fan hub.

motherboard manual; Page 1-2


3) Current plan:
a) Remove 140mm fan and add 2x Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B14-PS 140mm fans to the front of the case and connect to CHA FAN connectors on the MB.
b) Remove 1 HDD cage (bottom) to help improve airflow.

This then leaves me either 1 or 2 free fan slots on the MB. 2 if CHA_FAN1p functions normally.
I've then got options of adding at least one or two fans in the following spots:
a) To the remaining HDD cage so that air flow from the front is maximised - 120mmfan
b) To the bottom of the case to add more air intake; just remove the PSU shield and add a 140mm fan.
c) Change the rear fan from a 3pin controlled via the case controller to a 4pin fan; 140mm fan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom