Case airflow question

[mica3speedy]

I have a centurian 5 case, with the stock 80mm 26cfm in front as well as a silverstone 120mm 106cfm. In the rear I have the stock 120mm 43cfm pushing air out. The silverstone pumps a bit of air in, but the stock rear fan barely pushes anything out. I was wondering if replacing the rear fan with a fan with more cfm will help with temps and airflow. My current temps with coretemp 41 (36 with speedstep) idle, and 56 under load with orthos. my ambient temperature is 24. For cpu cooling I have a zalman 9700.

 

[Halos]

Those temps really aren't anything bad. They certainly seem low enough to have a stable system. However, if you are looking to lower the temps then a more powerful fan in the rear has always helped in my experience. Sounds like you have plenty of intake as well. Do you have a vent/fan on the side panel as well? I find that helps a bit as well.

 

[mica3speedy]

well I wan't to overclock more than I currently am, currently running e6700@3GHz. I have two vents on the side. One is directly over the zalman that can have a 80mm fan attached to. The other vent is right below it, right over the pci and pci-e slots. That one I may be able to rig another 80mm fan to as well. So maybe a fan on the side as well as a more powerful rear fan?

 

[Halos]

In the case of fans, 90% of the time, the more the merrier. If you have the space for a fan on the side and on the back, go for it. And if you're willing to put a second in on the side there... then go for it, imo. My own case has 2 intakes, 1 rear fan, 1 side and one top, all blowing out. With the right fans it's not very loud, and considering that I am gaming 95% of the time I use my computer, I don't hear the slight noise of my fans anyways.

 

[mica3speedy]

so what would be a good recommendation for a replacement rear fan? Also when I do decide to put side fans in, should they blow into or out of the case?

 

[Halos]

If what you're really lookign for is to move the air, I would go with this Thermaltake Fan. It has an adjustable fan speed controller that comes with it. The downside to this fan is that it will be loud if you crank it up, but if you're really looking to push air, it will get the job done. It can be adjusted from 35-95ish CFM. You can also set it to change the fan speed according to the case temp or manually change the speed.

Also, I would suggest for the side fans to have them blowing out. Since in the middle of the computer is where the hot air tends to gather, having those side fans blowing outwards gets that nasty hot air out of there. I've never really seen the need for intake other than in the front. Physics tells us that by having air being blown out of the case it must be replaced so it will be pulled in essentially, along with the fans that are bringing it in.

 

[mica3speedy]

not a bad fan . It's no louder than my silverstone fan, and pushes almost as much air out as the silverstone does in. Thanks for the suggestion on the side fan as well.

 

[Halos]

Anytime I hope everything works out for you. Overclocking computers can be great if you do it right.

 

[mica3speedy]

how true, hit 3.33ghz, but my temps are a little high.

 

[Halos]

Which proc are you using that you have pushed to 3.33ghz?

 

[mica3speedy]

I have an e6700 with a zalman 9700 hsf

 

[Halos]

Not bad at all. How are the temps doing now with the airflow working a little better? Idle/Load?

 

[AlbertLionheart]

As Halos said, you have to balance the airflow through the system. What gets forgotten is the PSU which also extracts air from the case - and sometimes has to compete with chassis fans doing the same thing. If the balance is wrong the PSU cooling comes second and without enough airflow the PSU overheats. For every fat fan dragging air our, you need one to shove fresh cool air in. Bigger fans run slower which means they are quiet!

 

[mica3speedy]

well my temps are now 38c idle, 49 load (orthos). Motherboard temps are now 29c, down from 38c. About to turn speedstep back on to see if that will lower my idle temps even more. But the big thing is my load temps . My actual cpu (T_case) temps are 30c, 42c load. Ambient temperatures right now are 27c