Optimal Airflow

[Djinni]

Right so been thinking.... my PC is on the window sil... and cold air is coming in from the top of the window - window opens inwards from the top with a hinge at the bottom. Making a "V" rather than the usual "<" Also north facing towards a headge... so ... don't get much sun here.

Currently my setup is:

Exhaust: 1x Top & 1x Rear
Intake: 2x Front & 1x Side

PSU Pushing hot air up, Graphics card pushing hot air down, side fan blowing (Hopefully) cool air in the middle.

CPU Cooler in Push/Pull from front to rear (blowing out the rear exhaust)

Radiator on the Wall to the left side, which tends to be on whenever i'm in.


(Fans are just the basic ones that came bundled with the case + CPU Cooler,

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Wondering if I would be better having Top, Rear and Front on Intake with Side on Exhaust?

Proposed soltuion:
Exhaust: 1x Side
Intake: 2x Front, 1x Top, 1x Rear



My main problem with this I think though is blowing hot air from the CPU over the RAM...

[Djinni]

Lots of view... no opinions huh?

[Pappahealar]

Well, Since the top fan is the biggest fan in the setup that is the one most important to worry about. And in your case, since cool air is basically falling from the window right onto your computer making it a intake would be the most logic one. So get a program such as HWmonitor and monitor your current setup for an hour or so. Then change the intake/outtake on your fans to your second proposition and monitor those settings for an hour or so. There is not much you can lose really. If the RAM is overheating you can just change it back. If your computer get cooler, then you can just be happy

[Sephiracle]

If the air that is coming outdoors is your primary source of air flow to the room, I would probably recommend making the top intakes, and since the case is facing to the right, make the front ones intake, exhaust through the back/bottom.

But I would monitor the temps in the configurations and see how they respond to those changes.

[BicycleMafioso]

Why did you mount your PSU with the fan upwards?
Did you turn the fan around? Because that is an intake fan, meaning it draws air from your case, it doesn't release it there.
Most people today mount it downwards, so they draw it through the intakehole and happily exhaust it in the back as not to intrude in the cases airflow.

[Djinni]

Why did you mount your PSU with the fan upwards?
Did you turn the fan around? Because that is an intake fan, meaning it draws air from your case, it doesn't release it there.
Most people today mount it downwards, so they draw it through the intakehole and happily exhaust it in the back as not to intrude in the cases airflow.

Supposedly the way it's men't to positioned... it's really too tight a fit turning the unit any other way, as for turning the fan itself, no I haven't... but I do feel alot of airflow blowing upwards when I put my hand over it, so I assume it's an exhaust fan. As for having the fan side down towards the bottom of the case, as I said before it's too tight a fit, not to mention there are no air holes in the bottom of this case.
It did worry me a little during the install, as it seems very prone to things falling it in it...

---------- Post added 2011-11-15 at 12:12 AM ----------

If the air that is coming outdoors is your primary source of air flow to the room, I would probably recommend making the top intakes, and since the case is facing to the right, make the front ones intake, exhaust through the back/bottom.

But I would monitor the temps in the configurations and see how they respond to those changes.

Yes, the air coming in through the window is the only source of airflow in the room.

Yeah sorry fan specs are:

1 x top 140 mm TwoCool™ fan
1 x rear black 120 mm TwoCool™ fan with blue LED
2 x front black 120 mm fans with blue LEDs and speed control knobs for HDDs
1 x side 120 mm fan

[FlawlessSoul]

If you look at the fan in the PSU, and see this side of the fan:



(eg; the hub of the fan, not the frame) then it is an intake. You're probably being deceived by the slow rotation and air cavitation that it's actually blowing against your hand.