Case Fans - what to do?

thescouselander · 24 May 2024 at 20:43

So I bought this PC here a while back and from the start I found the cooling fans to be extremely noisy which I traced to the AIO pump not spinning up properly when plugged into the CPU Opt header and a large amount of negative pressure within the case as a result of all the fans sucking air out. I've fixed the pump by plugging it into the AIO Pump header and recently I've taken out the rear fan which has helped with temperatures enormously. Seems that the fans were fighting each other and all the GPU heat was going straight up into the AIO rad but now I've got a decent stream of warm air from the front fans and a much cooler AIO rad.

The question is what to do about the back where the fan was. I don't think Kolink make a reverse version of the installed fans but the gap looks quite big with nothing there. Does anyone know of a suitable reverse fan that would look good in that space so I can set up a push pull system?

MissChief · 24 May 2024 at 20:45

Leave it without one.

thescouselander · 24 May 2024 at 20:47

MissChief said:
Leave it without one.

Definitely an option - maybe I'll get used to it.

mattyfez · 24 May 2024 at 21:55

Or flip fan around so it flows in the opposite direction?

thescouselander · 24 May 2024 at 21:57

mattyfez said:
Or flip fan around so it flows in the opposite direction?

Tried that - didn't like the look of the back of the fan.

ATIorNvidia · 25 May 2024 at 07:10

Put the fan back how it was and leave it unplugged? There's not much more to do if you dislike the way it looks on the intake side, and don't want to leave it empty.

SpellowHouse · 25 May 2024 at 08:14

You are describing a common problem. Fans are often put in for display, these days, and all they do is fight each other. If all your fans are blowing out then I would certainly remove the fan at the back of the case and leave it off. Not only does it reduce the negative pressure but it also give a much larger area for air to get in to the case, increasing the flow.

I don't know about the air filters on that case, but ideally the PC should only be drawing air in through filters and air pressure should be positive, so some of those fans should be reversed. You could just live with the negative pressure, I guess, but then I would definitely leave the back fan off forever!

freddie64 · 25 May 2024 at 10:41

The Kolink Unity Arena has reverse airflow fans on the side so maybe they will sell the fans seperate in the future.

As for your rear fan, can you just have the ARGB cable plugged in so you get some of the light effect but not the airflow? (obviously the fan blades will not light up properly)

pastymuncher · 25 May 2024 at 11:17

What about a Phanteks Halo in that position? There are 120mm and 140mm versions.

mattyfez · 25 May 2024 at 13:18

You can also get 'backwards' fans, for example...

REVERSE FAN - ANTEC

antec.com

Might be worth hunting for one that suits your asthetic if it's somehting that bothers you that much.

thescouselander · 25 May 2024 at 19:35

Thanks for the suggestions. The Antec one looked pretty good but they're not easy to track down. I found this one that might work though and could look ok at the back. For filtering I've got some filter mesh thats already applies to the bottom half of the back and I can put that right up. Hopefully with a fan pushing in I can increase the case pressure a bit more and optimise the flow further.

ATIorNvidia · 26 May 2024 at 07:06

There's also sellers on ebay/etsy and such who make decorative fan grills that you could put there.

thescouselander · 26 May 2024 at 07:46

I suppose I could flip the AIO rad fans. Maybe not ideal since the rad is at the top but it's free and since there is already a mesh filter on the top it would improve dust management.

SpellowHouse · 26 May 2024 at 10:02

thescouselander said:
I suppose I could flip the AIO rad fans. Maybe not ideal since the rad is at the top but it's free and since there is already a mesh filter on the top it would improve dust management.

It is perfectly fine to do that.
You could also consider placing them on top of the radiator, so that the RGB is (presumably) is more visible on the top of the case. I'm guessing about that, since I don't know your case. Fans are also sometimes quieter when they are pushing rather than pulling, so it may also make a sonic difference. Try all the options.

thescouselander · 26 May 2024 at 10:19

SpellowHouse said:
It is perfectly fine to do that.
You could also consider placing them on top of the radiator, so that the RGB is (presumably) is more visible on the top of the case. I'm guessing about that, since I don't know your case. Fans are also sometimes quieter when they are pushing rather than pulling, so it may also make a sonic difference. Try all the options.

Might do that then. If I have to take the cooler out it's would be an opportunity to repaste with some better thermal paste too so it would probably be worth the effort overall.