Airflow

mishima

mishima

mishima

Soldato
Joined
10 Dec 2006
Posts
4,715
Hi,

I have recently fitted 3 Akasa Amber 80mm fans into my case to try to suck out any heat dispersion from the motherboard, cpu and other components. It has just occured to me that perhaps it might be better to have one of them blowing air in and one out. Should I leave them as they are?

or should I have some that are sucking air out and some that are blowing it in?

Ignore the one fan facing the wrong way I corrected that after I realised
ambers.jpg
 
Your first order of business should be tidying that mess of cables that is corking off your airflow. ;)

Do you have any intakes or other fans that are not in the picture?
 
some cable tidying might help :) ....edit: beaten to the post

fans on the back plate generally blow out
- do you have any front mounted fans ?

.
 
This was an earlier picture taken when I had just fitted the fans, trust me its a lot more tidy now.

That's all I have in the case, just those 3 Ambers. The Intel fan cooling the CPU is being removed soon and a thermalright is replacing it. So Ideally when I fit this new CPU cooler I could then alter any fans whilst I have it open the case.
 
By the way, in the below pic I have circled an area that I might possibly be able to fit a fan into. I could use that to blow air into the case possibly?

Ignore the mess...again an old pic lol.
frontfan.jpg
 
You could really do with a new case tbh, that's just a glorified metal box.

Its no wonder you've got airflow problems, you've got one fan blowing out through the extra connector holes, two trying to blow through a sheet of metal full of pin holes and cables everywhere. The only case fan you actually have is in your psu, and its got a psu to cool.

If you don't want to get a new case, you could start by cutting out that horribly restrictive grill for the rear fan and if you can cut a proper hole underneath it for a 2nd one. Then get some rubber c-edge moulding to cover the edges, or some tape, and if need be stick some standard 80mm grills on the back. Cut out the grill at the top too and the metal grill at the front and add a fan there and the poor fans might actually be able to move some air.

But seriously, for a modern setup like that that case is dire.
 
Oi don't rip my case :o , it cost me a tenner from the chink at the pc store down the road!!

I like it for the size and for the value. I'm not bothered about how it looks, the airflow in it is better than it looks in that picture, that was taken a while ago when I was just setting up.

You know just under the PSU were I have the Amber sitting with the holes for the case fan, would you suggest completely removing that? I could cut it from the very edge so that it is just a hole. Would that be better than having a grill?
 
mishima said:
You know just under the PSU were I have the Amber sitting with the holes for the case fan, would you suggest completely removing that? I could cut it from the very edge so that it is just a hole. Would that be better than having a grill?
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Yes. Cut it out, bin it, and put something on the edge so you don't cut yourself on it.

Probably best to remove the pc first, unless its thin enough that you can use cutters. You have to be careful you don't get any bits of metal in the case that could short something out. What i do is tape a bag over the inside of the hole to stop bits of metal falling in the case.
 
I've posted over @ Case Central asking for a decent case under £45. Do most cases support 120mm or 80mm case fans? Cause I have just bought those 4 Ambers :(!
 
mishima said:
I've posted over @ Case Central asking for a decent case under £45. Do most cases support 120mm or 80mm case fans? Cause I have just bought those 4 Ambers :(!
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120. The ambers aren't that good anyway, flog em.
The case will mostly come with some, and its likely they will be quieter than your current akasas.
 
I will have to do a bit of research then into cases, never bought one before had this one for about 5 or so years lol. Come over to the thread on Case Central Joe and recommend me one ;)

My gf is gonna kill me all the money I'm spending on this system!!
 
Just looking at the ocuk selection the akasa zen looks decent. Heres the product page. Its nothing special, but its ten times better than your current one for cooling.
The akasa eclipse 62 is a very well regarded round these parts, personally i think its an ugly mess but the design is certainly good, so that bodes well for the zen.

If you can find a modern one i'd say try and get an antec, but the only one in your price range seems to be an older model without some of the more modern features like a front 120mm fan.

I have to say, i'm not a case expert and i certainly don't buy cases at the rate of some of those knowledgeable case experts that can be found lurking in cc. ;)
But on the other hand, what you choose should be largely down to what you like the look of, providing its got at least one 120mm fan.

Edit: It seems you picked the zen yourself, so that wasn't a bad suggestion. :p
You've managed for 5 years with your current case, so i would say don't be put off because its out of stock. Surely you can wait a few days/weeks for it...
 
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Yeah does look very nice that Zen case, I was drawn to it straight away and it comes with some case fans too which is good. I would prefer that black zen one but I have a beige DVD-RW and FDD - I guess I could paint them black lol.

hahha yeah I can wait, doesn't seem to have an ETA though :confused:
 
It comes with one drive cover, on the top bay, so at least one optical drive can be hidden behind that.

Send ocuk a webnote and ask for an eta. Just checked various retailers and none seem to have an eta, but it might still be worth a shot.

Ocuk don't have a very good selection of cases within your budget so it might be worth looking elsewhere. Coolermaster have some very nice cases which should be in your price range, i have a centurion 5 and i would recommend it, and i really like the look of the centurion 534. The only problem with them is they are a little cramped.
 
You really need some rounded cables Mishima... :D

One 120mm fan at the front bottom of the case (blowing air in), 2 x 120mm fans, 1 blowing air out near the CPU, one at the top (optional).
 
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