Just a quick question about configuration of case fans. And of course, the question, why?

in from front, out at back. It has been discussed here many times in the past.

You want air to flow through the case, since hot air rises, you position a fan or fans in the front near the bottom to pull air into the case, then position fans in the rear higher, blowing air out.

Oh, thanks. Am I to take it then that there's not much point just having the one sucking air out at the back?

if thats all you got, but I'd recommend you add one to the front pulling air in.

For a 2nd opinion, yes, optimally your fans should be blowing air in in the front and out in the back, exactly what SB said.

I would also reccomend an intake fan if you only had one.

If you get more case fans in the future, be sure you're running at a balanced pressure with the air outside. Don't set 3 fans to intake and 1 for exhaust, but rather 2 for intake and 2 for exhaust. If they weren't balanced you would be either pushing too much air into the case or sucking too much out, which is horrible airflow. Always keep it balanced.

Actually, if only one fan is installed, it would be better for it to be an exhaust fan.

The exhaust fan will remove all the hot air lingering around the socket area, whereas with an intake fan alone, cool air will come at the bottom of your case & stay there. The hot air around the socket area will remain in place so the intake will only be dusting up the inside of your case.

They should make cases out of some kind of material which lets air through its surface but doesnt let dust in, like some kind of mesh, that would almost eliminate the need for noisy fans.

Either that or make water coling a lot cheaper, im plannign on getting a water cooling kit in a few months, but im extremely scared about fitting it. 1 drop of water is all it takes to completey b0rk your entire system

The mesh idea has a single fatal flaw, it would become a dust magnet and as such would also be a huge shroud of static around your precious components.

I have 2 in the back and one on the side. Should the side one be pulling air in?

And, I want to be some more fans, should I buy 1 or 2 for the front?

Side push air inside.
Front push air inside.
Rear push air outside.
Top push air outside.

It never hurts to have enough fans... buy all you can...

The more fans you have, the harder it is to control the airflow.

A few well placed fans will do wonders without making too much noise.

That's weird..the case fans in my tower (one on top and on the side) suck air in the top...and out the side...lol

From a ventillation standpoint, it will always be benificail to have a negitive pressure area inside the case as this will draw air into the case through the ventillation slots and out the exhausting fan. If you have fans blowing into the case at a faster rate than they exhaust it will create a positive pressure in the case and it will be harder for the hot air to escape. Rather than add a bunch of new fans, get a single large exhaust fan and add ventillation holes where you need them. This should also cut down on the dust inside the case as you will be sucking in less airborn particulates.

But when controlled, the results are better. Never hurts.