General Fan/Cooling Questions

[m0mentas]

I'm just really getting into hardware for my computer and had some general questions to ask. Hopefully you all won't think I'm dumb for asking them or anything. Okay..

- I have a side vent on my computer case, if I want to add a fan on it, what would be the setup? I mean, should it go, case, fan, vent? And what is the purpose of it? Should I set up the fan to blow air into it or use it as an exhaust?

-What type of fan would you recommend I put in the front of my case? I'm pretty sure I should have that fan suck air from the front and between my HDDs and have another push the air out the back right? Just checking.

- I have a generic 120mm fan in the back, an AeroCool 80mm (http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835129238) fan to go on the side where the vent is (after I find out the setup), and another AeroCool 80mm fan on the way to go in the front. Is there a certain type of 120mm fan you all would recommend I replace with the generic one that came with the case or leave it as is?

- What are your opinions on PCI fans and their cooling advantages to a case?

- Do you know of any 5.25" bay fans/conditioners that are reasonably priced, easy to setup, and work well?

- How difficult is it to setup a fan controller, and which one would you all recommend?

Sorry if I'm bombarding this message board with problems, but I'm just trying to learn as much as I can, thanks.

* FYI my computer now runs at 31C(case)/35C(cpu) on idle, and 37C(case)/47C(cpu) during games or intense usage.

[juppy]

Originally Posted by m0mentas I'm just really getting into hardware for my computer and had some general questions to ask. Hopefully you all won't think I'm dumb for asking them or anything.

No such thing as a dumb question around here. If you don't know the answer, then it's not dumb to ask.

- I have a side vent on my computer case, if I want to add a fan on it, what would be the setup? I mean, should it go, case, fan, vent? And what is the purpose of it? Should I set up the fan to blow air into it or use it as an exhaust?

Most of the ones I've seen have went case, then fan, then the tubular vent thing. It just gives a more direct path of cool air to be shot over your processor area instead of relying on the flow of the other fans. Side fans usually blow inward, but it depends on how your heatsink fan on your processor blows. If it sucks air down and blows into the heatsink, then the side fan would blow inward. If the heatsink fan sucks air up through the heatsink fins and blows it upward, you'd want the side fan to blow air out of the case as well. Basically, just don't have them going opposite directions or they'll be working against each other.

-What type of fan would you recommend I put in the front of my case? I'm pretty sure I should have that fan suck air from the front and between my HDDs and have another push the air out the back right? Just checking.

Correct. Front sucks in, back blows out. Brand doesn't really matter much, although alot of people like quieter fans like the Vantec Stealth or the Panaflo's by Panasonic. Ball bearing type are better and will last longer than sleeve bearing type.

- I have a generic 120mm fan in the back, an AeroCool 80mm (http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835129238) fan to go on the side where the vent is (after I find out the setup), and another AeroCool 80mm fan on the way to go in the front. Is there a certain type of 120mm fan you all would recommend I replace with the generic one that came with the case or leave it as is?

Again, brand doesn't matter much. I've heard people say go with good name brands and I've heard other people say generics last pretty long too. Whatever you can afford and want to use really. Just have to replace sleeve bearing fans more often than ball bearing fans because they wear out quicker.

- What are your opinions on PCI fans and their cooling advantages to a case?

You mean like a slot fan? Those are okay, but they're generally not needed. They're good if for some strange reason you DO have a dead spot in your case where not enough air is flowing, but usually one front and one rear fan (and the cpu fan, of course) are adequate enough. Side fans are optional, but they'll help out too. I didn't know the answers to your last two questions, sorry.

Sorry if I'm bombarding this message board with problems, but I'm just trying to learn as much as I can, thanks.

That's what this place is here for. Ask away.

* FYI my computer now runs at 31C(case)/35C(cpu) on idle, and 37C(case)/47C(cpu) during games or intense usage.

Those are good temps.

[not important]

juppy has your questions pretty well covered. I wouldn't be too concerned about adding more fans (noise) to your case with Temps in that range.