Side case fan-is this worth it?

[dagwoood]

I have a 80mm side case fan that draws air in and blows onto the area where my CPU is. The fan came with the case, is quite noisy, and as it's a generic brand I'm not that convinced it's doing as good a job as a decent quality fan would.

I was going to buy an Akasa Amber fan as I already have two of these drawing air out of the back of my case and I know they do remove a lot of air and are relatively quiet.

It occurred to my though that I could buy a 80mm to 120mm converter and install a 120mm Akasa Amber which would be even quieter and blow more air into my case, but would it be worth the extra expense; i.e.would it improve the cooling of my CPU? Might it also help to keep my motherboard components cooler?

If anyone has any experience with side case fans and if they're effective, I'd be grateful for your advice.

Cheers, dagwoood.

 

[dagwoood]

Well a positive pressure would help better with your temps than a negative, do you have a front intake?

I don't have a front intake fan, just the side case fan and two at the rear(my psu is a twin fan model so this may help in removing air at the top of my case).

if noise is an issue, buy a fan controler...
theyr cheap and effective ways of reducing noise, and still giving you that little extra cooling.

but... buy cheap, buy twice... or 3 times in my case ( lol no pun intended)

120mm fans are deffo quieter, and almost ssilent when speed is reduced to the equivilent CFM as an 80mm

also, the way there are mounted can effect it, if objects are placed in the way of the airflow, a rushing air noise can be heard, very loud.

just some ideas ?
Rick

It's not worth buying a fan controller really; I'd just prefer to buy a new, better quality fan. Thanks for mentioning objects being in the way of the air flow. I've had a look and it looks like my ATX cable might be in the way of the airflow if I had the larger fan.

I'd need to take my side panel off to see if I could re-route the ATX cable if I did have a 120mm fan; I'm not 100% sure whether the cables position at the moment is obstructing the airflow to my CPU fan, so a re-jig may be in order anyway.

Thanks for the input guys.

Cheers, dagwoood.

 

[dagwoood]

Dagwood, do you mean that apart from the PSU there are 2 rear fans? If so try moving one to the front as this will increase the pressure.

Suicidle_tramp, yes you're correct, I have 2 rear fans in addition to the fans in my PSU. I've got to leave the 2 fans in the back so as to avoid vented air circulating back into my case(which is what would happen if I only use one rear fan).

I have a spare fan(noisy variety!)so I'll fit that at the front to see if a front fan makes any difference to the temps. If it does, I'll get another Akasa Amber and fit it in the front.

Cheers, dagwoood.

 

[dagwoood]

This is just a thank you to everyone who's posted advice/input. I've ordered a 120mm Amber and adapter(should have them tomorrow)and I'll post back when I know whether it makes any difference to my temps.

Suicidle_tramp, I've had a look at trying to attach a fan at the front of my case and it would involve removing the whole of my front panel to do properly. I'm a bit reluctant to do this to be honest as, knowing my luck, I will snap or break one of my connections to my front panel display/speaker. I'll give it some thought though to see if I can get a fan to fit safely.

Cheers, dagwoood.

 

[dagwoood]

Spot the idiot!! I fitted the adaptor and fan and tried to slide my side back on but the PSU was in the way

But it wasn't a total bust. I went with suicidle_tramp's suggestion and fitted the 120mm fan to the front of my case(the cover came off no problem and there was enough slack in the wiring so as I didn't break anything). I'm not sure yet as to whether it's going to help keep my CPU much cooler, but it's idling a couple of degrees lower than normal. It's dropped my hard drive temps by 7 degrees and my graphics card idles at 37 degrees as opposed to 42 which can't be a bad thing.

I still may get another 80mm amber and try it in the side.

Cheers, dagwoood.