How to properly install fans in a computer case?
The computer is stuffed with a lot of components, which heat up during operation. Accordingly, a cooling system is needed. Sometimes you have to fix something yourself, such as a broken fan, or maybe you need to install an extra one. How to properly install fans in a computer case. learn all the details of the process in this article.
Case Ventilation. myths and reality
Cooling of various components. one of overclockers’ favorite topics (not only overclockers though). Good ventilation of the hull is very important here. because if we lower the temperature in it by at least a couple of degrees, we will also lower the temperature of all the elements inside it by the same amount. Unfortunately, I have not come across any more or less precise methods of enclosure ventilation calculation. But in abundance from article to article there are general recommendations that have become bronzed after frequent use and cannot be taken at face value.
Here are the most common of these myths:
Advertisement
- the performance of the fans on air intake should be approximately the same as fans on exhaust
- It is necessary to let the cold air in from the bottom and let it out from the top
- The more expansion slots and 5″ bays filled in the case, the worse its ventilation
- Replacing normal air loops with round ones noticeably improves the ventilation of the case.
- Front fan noticeably lowers temperature in the case.
As a result the struggle for ventilating the case often becomes reducing to installing fans of maximum possible size and capacity into all standard holes, after that a drill (hacksaw, jigsaw, chisel, sledgehammer, “angle grinder”, autogenous. underline the necessary one :-), and fans are hammered into non-standard places. After that, a couple of fans are added to the inside of the case for a better effect. usually for the air-conditioning of the video card and the hard disk.
It’s better not to speak about time, effort and money spent on all this. Though the result is usually quite good, but the noise, produced by this “battery” at full speed is beyond any limits, and the dust it sucks with the speed of a vacuum cleaner. As a consequence, the case soon begins to grow with fenbasse and reobasses, becoming like a mixing console of the average hand. And the process of starting a game instead of just clicking the mouse is now like getting ready to take off an airliner. we should not forget to increase the speed of all these fans. In this article I will try to show how to achieve a similar effect “with little effort.
All mass housing can be divided into three kinds. the desktop, the Tower with a top (horizontal) PSU and the Tower with a side (vertical) PSU. The last two occupy the main share of the market. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the third kind is considered the worst in terms of ventilation. here the processor finds itself in an airtight “” next to the power supply, and it is quite difficult to organize the fresh air supply there.
The general principles of ventilation are quite simple. Firstly, the fans should not interfere with natural convection (from bottom to top), but help it. Secondly, it is undesirable to have non-blowing stagnant areas, especially in places where natural convection is difficult (primarily the lower surfaces of horizontal elements). Third, the greater the volume of air pumped through the enclosure, the smaller the temperature difference in it compared to the “outside”. Fourthly, the flow does not like various “twists”. changes of direction, contraction-expansion, etc.п.
How does air exchange occur?? Suppose the fan is pumping air into the case with increasing pressure. Dependence of flow on pressure is called operating characteristic of the fan. The higher the pressure, the less air will be pumped in by the fan and the more air will be exhausted through the vents. At some point the amount of air pumped in will equal the amount of air leaving and the pressure will not rise further. The more surface area of the ventilation openings, the less pressure it will have and the better the ventilation. Therefore, a simple increase in the area of these openings “without noise and dust” can sometimes achieve more than the installation of additional fans. And what will change if the fan doesn’t blow air in, but blows air out of the case? Only the direction of flow will change, the flow rate will remain the same.
“Classic” variants of case ventilation with an overhead PSU are shown in Fig.1-3. Actually, these are actually three variations of the same method, where the air goes diagonally around the case (from the front bottom corner to the back top corner). The red color shows the non-blown areas. How tightly they are filled does not affect the flow resistance. It still passes over them. Note the lower area where the graphics card is located. One of the most critical components for overheating. Installing the front fan allows you to bring some fresh air to it (and to the Southbridge as well), knocking down the temperature by a couple of degrees. To tell the truth, in this case the hard disk is “by the side of life” (if it is installed into standard place). In Fig.4 shows why this happens. Here is a schematic representation of airflow through the fan (darker color corresponds to higher speed). On the intake side, air enters evenly on all sides, with its velocity dropping rapidly as it moves away from the fan. On the discharge side, the “range” of the air flow is noticeably greater, but only along the axis. An unblown zone is formed on the side of it. The same “aerodynamic shadow” appears behind the fan hub, but it quickly goes away.
advertisement
Here is a real life example to illustrate. To find the best way to cool my desktop I reversed the fan in the PSU downward. This is supposed to improve the PSU cooling. now it is blown with fresh air instead of the old ones from the case. But the temperature sensor of the PSU showed just the opposite. the temperature has increased by 2 degrees! How could this happen?? The answer is easy. The board with a sensor was installed away from the fan, so it was in the aerodynamic shade. Since together with the temperature sensor in this shade were some other elements, to avoid their failure was restored status quo.
Now let’s move from theory to practice. Our main objective. Increase the area of the ventilation openings, preferably quickly and without the use of locksmith’s tools. Their area must be at least equal to the effective area of the fan (that is, the area swept by the blades), or better to exceed it one and a half times. For example, for an 80mm fan, the effective area is approximately 33 sq. ft.see. If there are several fans and they all blow (or, conversely, all blow), their effective area adds up. This is especially true for cases of old designs, which still remember the Pentium-2 and yet continue to be produced (and sold) to the complete wear and tear of the stamps.
My Codegen desktop also belongs to such “veterans”, it has gone through three motherboards already. As for “features” it has a place for a 90mm front fan, which according to the designers’ idea should draw air through a slot at the bottom of the front panel with only 5 square meters of area. see., and symbolic holes 1,5 mm in diameter in front of it (later I’ve reamed them in staggered order up to 4 mm. so even more beautiful). Of course, the case is not a submarine, the air will be sucked through other small cracks and leaks, the exact accounting of which is impossible. But anyway the ventilation in normal mode reminds of running in gas mask.
Computer Configuration During Testing:
- CPU Athlon T-red-B 1,6v. 1800@166X11, Evercool ND15-715 cooler connected via. switch (used second speed, 2700 rpm)
- M/b Epox 8RDA3, bridge airflow turned off
- video Asus 8440 Deluxe (GF4ti4400), act. The cooler covers the chip and memory.
- 512 Mb RAM Hynix
- HDD Samsung 7200 RPM
- CD-ROM, FDD, Rack-container
- Modem
- TV/capture card Flyvideo
- Codegen 250w power supply
- Total power (without PSU). about 180W
Processor temperature was measured through Sandra, graphics card. by built-in sensors via SmartDoctor, in the case under the top lid above the processor (didn’t forget to. housing the desktop) was placed remote sensor electronic thermometer, the second sensor of this thermometer measured the temperature in the room. The results were then adjusted to an outside temperature of 23 degrees.

The system was strained by running in the 3DMark2001SE game test cycle. At baseline, the temperature inside the chassis was 15 degrees higher than the outside temperature, and the graphics card (chip/memory) was 55/38 degrees higher than the outside temperature., processor at 39 deg. For comparison, the measurements were made with the lid open. Results: videocard temperature was higher than external by 44/30 degrees, processor. at 26 degrees.
First let’s try to go the traditional way. What’s the first thought that comes to mind when you look at this case? “If there’s a hole for a fan, there’s got to be something there” (quite according to The Golden Calf). Well, let’s do it. What’s the result? The case temperature sensor didn’t respond to our manipulations at all, CPU temperature went down by 1 degree, and video card by 4-5 degrees (by the way, another traditional way gave us approximately the same result). installing Gembird SB-A blocker next to the video card). Actually this is where the “traditional way” ends.
Now let’s reset everything to defaults and go another way. taking out two plugs of expansion slots next to the video card. This kills two birds with one stone: it creates a new hole for case ventilation and eliminates dead space near the video card. In addition let’s break a protective “comb” at the front air intake (thanks it is from below and it is not visible anyway). it will be tripled in area, and the total size of the vents will be 45 sq.m. see.
It didn’t take long to see the result. the temperature in the case dropped two degrees, and the video card pleased even more, dropping at once 9 degrees on the chip and 7 degrees on the memory. Agree, not a bad result, in addition it is absolutely free. This variant can be recommended for cards with passive coolers as an alternative to installing a fan. And if that’s not enough? Adding a front fan on air intake has a paradoxical result. case and video card temperature. increases! Not much, just one degree, but still. The explanation is simple. now more air enters the case through the front hole and less. through the back past the video card.
And if you put it on the blow side? Here it is quite another matter. Both fans (in the PSU and the additional one) are now switched in parallel, their costs are added up, and here is the result. the graphics card “cooled down” by 3-4 degrees, and the total temperature drop compared to the original version was 12 degrees for the video chip, 10 degrees for video memory and 5 degrees in the case (and CPU, respectively). Notice how the graphics card is cooler here than in the open case! The expenses were limited by purchasing one case fan of medium power.
Finally, the last variant, the “extreme” variant. all three fans (PSU, front and blower) are blowing out, additionally one more slot is opened at the back. I installed the blocker in the lower (of the two) 5″ compartment instead of the removed Rack-container. Results. the processor has “cooled down” compared to the previous variant by 4 degrees (and now it’s the same 4 degrees hotter than in the open case), and the video card has dropped a couple of degrees more. Admittedly the case temperature gauge didn’t show any drop. the cold air passes below it, because the additional fans do not take the air from the top, but from the middle of the case. The overall results are summarized in the table below. It shows the absolute temperature of the components, reduced to 23 degrees in the room.
CPU | Mem | GPU | |
Source case | 62 | 61 | 78 |
Vent. intake | 61 | 56 | 74 |
Open. slots | 60 | 54 | 69 |
Open. ventilation slots.blowing | 57 | 49 | 65 |
Open. vent slots.and blover | 53 | 48 | 63 |
Open enclosure | 49 | 52 | 67 |
advertisement
Now that we have understood and tested the general principles of effective ventilation in practice, let’s apply them to the most common case. tauer with an upper BP.
In Fig.6 shows the most efficient way to cool such an enclosure. The additional fan on the back wall actually provides the same blower mode as in my last experiment. As almost half of the heat is released by the processor, it makes sense to supply some cool air directly to the processor’s working area. This is done through a free three-inch or five-inch compartment on the front wall. Both his plugs (plastic and metal) are removed, and how to decorate the formed hole. A matter of skill and imagination. In the simplest case, you can buy a panel with a couple of small fans (take them off, they are useless), thankfully there are many varieties of such “gadgets” for 5-inch bays. from the usual grid to the panels with built-in electronic indicator, USB-ports or fanbase (although they have a smaller area of the grid).
Not bad ventilation provides and installation Rack-container. Keep in mind that all this stuff should be placed in the lowest compartment. The choice of the specific option depends on what you need to “freeze” first. If the CPU or memory gets overheated, you have to make bigger holes, and if the video card. it is possible to do without them at all, but to open more slots at the bottom. Hole area for this option should be a minimum of 70-80 sq.m.s.l. see. depending on the size of the fans. For reference: The area of one slot hole is 13 sq. cm. see., of an open three-inch compartment. 30 sq. ft. see., five-inch. 15-30 sq. cm. with the aforementioned decorative grid and 60 sq. cm for a fully open. Another 10-15 sq. see. removing the plugs from the holes for the ports on the back wall. Oh yes, I almost forgot, there is also a standard air intake at the bottom of the front panel of 5-30 sq.m. see., and some cases have holes in the side panels as well.
If there’s a fan hole on the top panel, it’s a shame not to use it. Put something in there which isn’t too powerful. If you don’t have one, you don’t need to cut it. It is better to buy a special blocker and install it to the topmost 5″ compartment. This will be especially useful for those who for some reason do not have a hole for an extra fan under the PSU or it is used for direct CPU cooling. But in this variant you should make a duct to send fresh air from the lower five or three inch compartment to the processor area. Without it, much of this flow may go straight into the blower, not picking up enough heat along the way.
advertisement
In Fig. 8 shows a rather exotic scheme with a bottom fan blowing out. It is worse than the previous two and can be used only as a last resort, when you first need to cool the graphics card. In fact, this scheme provides two independent flows. The first (bottom, from back to front) cools the graphics card, expansion cards and South Bridge, and the second (from front to back) cools the top half of the chassis. Advantages of this arrangement. Increases total fan output, and removes a large portion of the hot air from the graphics card immediately to the outside, reducing overall case flow resistance.
But there are also considerable disadvantages. The main one is that for the sake of design, the lower holes in the front wall, through which the air is blown out, usually have a much smaller area than the effective area of the front fan. Besides, the airflow has to change its direction twice, and it dislikes it very much. The result is the same “gas mask run”. for example, if the hole in the case is half as big as the fan’s, the fan’s performance will also decrease by about half, without counter-pressure in the case. The noise, on the contrary, will be bigger. Seeping through narrow gaps, tiny holes, intricate “squiggles” and other designer’s contrivances in the front panel, the air flow can make not at all an artistic whistling. Also, the noise from the front fan (unlike in the rear) is not shielded by the case.
Increase the efficiency of the front fan by introducing extra air into the cavity between the front panel and the metal front wall of the enclosure. To do this, let’s go off the beaten path. We’ll take out the plastic one this time!) The plug of the lower three-inch compartment. But we still have to blow cool air into the upper half of the case, also from the front. We have to separate these streams with a baffle under the lower 5″ compartment.
Now let’s have a look at the flow in the case. In the first and second diagrams the main flow moves from bottom to top. The flow resistance is determined by the bottleneck in its path. In this case this section is at the graphics card level: the graphics card takes up about half of the case and on the other side stands the hard drive with the cable sticking out. As you can not move the graphics card to another place, you still have to move the hard drive. It can be lowered down or put in one of the 5″ compartments (preferably the one used as an air intake). In both cases, the winchester will be perfectly ventilated, which is good for its health. However, the bottleneck in the flow path is actually not here, but at the entrance to the enclosure. there its speed is higher by an order of magnitude, and aerodynamic losses are proportional to the square of the speed. So “sticking” and stacking plumes in terms of air exchange does practically nothing.
I hear, I hear snide voices. And what about the scaremongering about the dust, which by installing all the fans to blow out will allegedly be sucked in wild quantities through the CD-ROM and FDD? Replying. Air follows the path of least resistance and with good ventilation will not go into narrow slots when there are large windows nearby. And the standard ventilation system, recall, works on a blow-out, and in branded cases and laptops too (and there are no fools sitting there, as some colleagues like to say, when other arguments run out 🙂
advertisement
a word or two about tauers with a side-by-side PSU. Despite the large number of holes in the most unexpected places, ventilation of these cases is disgusting. If the airflow over the graphics card can still be improved in the traditional way (by opening the adjacent slots), then with the processor we will have to fuss. For good airflow in his “” you need to remove the hot air from there somehow. The most effective. Cut into the top panel of the fan to blow out, but it is very time consuming. So try some alternative ways. InWin cases there are ventilation holes of unknown purpose on the top of the back wall. No warm air will escape from there, t.к. there is a vacuum from the PSU fan in the case, and supplying cold air under the ceiling is ineffective. To keep them from disappearing, put a blower there. In cases that don’t have that either, the blower can be pointed forward and connected by a duct to an empty five-inch compartment (of course, removing both plugs from it, Fig.9).
Another option. installing a PSU with a powerful fan where the air intake is only from the “” side. You can find HPUs on sale that have a 120 mm fan on the side wall. it should be enough for a good ventilation. It is also possible to do the opposite. to feed the fan or a blower through the air duct into this area with the expectation that the jet will “reach” the unblown corners. All in all, the experimenting field with these cases is endless.
There are still a few myths about the choice of fans. but that’s worth a separate article.
Installing New Components
In order to install the parts in the computer, it is worth to get acquainted with several main variations of the location. Here we are going to speak only about standard cases, since everything is different for every individual.
When there are no additional cooling elements in the case
This layout is standard for almost all modern personal computers sold at electronics stores. Hot air always rises up, and the fan in the PSU (power supply) takes it outside.
Important! This arrangement has one tangible disadvantage. all the heat that passes through the PSU only heats it up more. Also the heat transfer is worsened because the cold air is sucked into the case chaotically and from all sides.
But even this way is better than the wrong placement of additional equipment.
Locating the cooler on the back of the case
This method is meaningful only if we have only one place for the additional cooler. The device should be placed directly under the PSU which will help to ensure proper air circulation without severe consequences for the above mentioned PSU.
Important! And here there is one disadvantage. dust will accumulate faster than usual, and the increased vacuum is to blame.
How to install an extra cooler in a system unit in another way? Read more!
Location on the front of the system unit
This also works only for cases with only one mounting location. The fan should be placed on the front of the PC case, but put on the “intake”. Position the part so that it is in front of the hard drive(s), because all the cold air that enters the device will blow around them.
Important! Such a setup is one of the most effective, because with it achieved almost perfect circulation of cool air flow, and the dust inside will not be delayed. overall noise level is very low.
Putting two coolers in one case
Clearly this method will be the most effective of all. Here the installation process is quite simple:
- On the front wall of the case is placed a fan that runs on “intake”.
- On the back of the PC chassis a second cooler is installed, but already on the “blowing”.
Important! There will be a constant air flow through your device which will help to avoid overheating in any part of the PC. Dust will not settle inside the case at all, the overall noise level will decrease, and the pressure inside will stabilize.
Now you know how to install an extra cooler in the system unit, but what to be afraid of when installing? Talk about improper installation.
Important! System overheating also occurs due to increased load in terms of clogging the operating system with junk files.
To reduce the risk of this deleterious phenomenon, be sure to install and use a good computer cleaning utility.

Located on the back wall
The rear-mounted fan should be blow-out, which means that the warm air is blown outward. The warm air no longer blows through the power supply and causes the CPU to overheat. In addition, it improves the processor cooling. This option has a disadvantage. it creates a vacuum in the case, and the influx of air through all kinds of holes in the case brings with it a lot of dust. However, the use of such a scheme still makes a noticeable improvement.
A “dry run” test: testing without fans
To begin with, we decided to do a “dry run” test, which consisted of getting the components inside a closed case heated by natural air circulation. The point of this testing was to find a “reference” temperature, which we will later compare with in order to determine which fan layout will be the most effective.
During testing, the hot air will naturally flow out through the heating holes on top of the case, as well as “ejected” through the peoria in the back wall with a tower cooler GELID Phantom.
advertisement
The following results were obtained, which you can find in the attachment.
How to properly install a tower-type heatsink on the processor
Almost all modern CPU air coolers are tower radiators (pictured). Other models with direct bleed toward the motherboard are only used on very weak CPU models. Any more or less powerful CPU requires a tower-type heatsink.
Let’s start with taking the motherboard out of the case and disconnect all the devices from it, remove all modules (RAM, SSD, etc.), and then disconnect the cooler.д.).
Disconnect the cooler of the existing cooler and then the instructions will be slightly different for Intel and AMD processors.
Remove old heatsink by disconnecting the quick release clip. This can be done by turning, eccentric clamp. Next you need to remove thermal paste and apply new one (technology described above). As a result the thermal paste should only fill micro cracks and not be a layer between two metal surfaces. Note that many heat sinks already have thermal paste on them from the factory, in this case you do not need to apply new.
While the regular cooler is attached to the same clip with an eccentric or hook. Simply snap it into place and secure it with the quick-release mechanism.
Next you need to connect the fan to the motherboard via 4 PIN connector and that’s the end of the tower heatsink installation.
INTEL
Remove the old heatsink by turning counterclockwise the quick-lock fasteners with latches. Then comes cleaning the old thermal paste and applying the new one.
To the new cooler should be screwed mounts with click-foot. Screw them in from below, otherwise the feet will not reach the motherboard.
Once you have equipped the new cooler mounts, you need to put it in place the old, click the plastic feet into the sockets and turn clockwise lock.
Connect the cooler to the motherboard and the job is done, no need to adjust anything.
Correctly install the fan is very important. It is necessary to determine which side is correct to place the fan for effective ventilation of the components of your computer case. If you put the fan on the wrong side, you can completely lose ventilation.
Inside a closed system unit, the air moves from the front to the bottom in an upward and backward direction. Any fan inside the computer must amplify this movement. In this case the cool air enters more intensively inside the unit, and the hot air is blown out of the case faster.
To minimize errors that occur when installing the fan, some manufacturers specify which side to put the fan. This is usually indicated by arrows showing the direction of the airflow generated.
Custom PC Build: How to setup your desktop cooling fans for proper air flow
Which way to put the fan in different parts of the case
Before you mount your fan you should examine all possible mounting locations. The cooling unit can be placed on the back of the case if there is no other place. In this case the purpose of installation is to ventilate the power unit. Consequently the cooler should be installed next to it and the air should be directed to the outside.
If your computer has a suitable mounting location directly on the front panel, it is better to put the fan there. It is necessary to make sure that it provides airflow inside. Fresh air will rush in and cool down the PC hardware.
If the computer has room for both the front and back, a very efficient ventilation system can be created. In addition to great cooling, this option has several other advantages. The draught created will prevent dust from settling and stabilize the pressure inside the case, which will lower the noise level.
If the fan is installed on the wrong side
If the backside of the fan is reversed, it will interfere with the intended airflow. It disrupts the movement of cold air from below into the enclosure. This means that the expected cooling will not happen.
If the fan is on the front, and is blowing air in, it will block the air that was supposed to come in through the front grill. It will also cause components to overheat. Certainly, there will be less pressure inside the case and dust will settle on the internal components. Settled dust will cause additional heating of the elements.
Other mounting errors
If you incorrectly place 2 fans, one at the back to blow in and one at the front to blow out, a closed loop of heated air will appear in the computer case. This will drastically affect the ventilation and cause the components to overheat.
In the wrong case, when both devices are working on “blowing”, there will be increased pressure inside the computer. It will overload the fans and will not provide the necessary cooling to the PC components.
If both fans are on “blow”, the heated indoor air does not circulate properly. The heat exchange will stop and dust can settle inside. At the same time the internal pressure will drop. This will have a negative effect on the temperature of all internal components.
A guide to unlocking the potential and fine-tuning the air cooling of personal computers
Unfortunately there is no simple universal recipe, where and how to screw fans, aerodynamic processes inside the case are pretty complicated, moreover they differ a lot depending on the configuration and it is not so easy to calculate them on the spot. The information below can be useful not only for optimizing the cooling of the finished computer, but also when selecting a new case.
п.1 Let me begin by comparing the two basic blowdown schemes. with a predominance of blowing fans and blower fans. There are no significant differences between them, both are able to pump air confidently through the enclosure. However, the scheme on the blowing fans (so-called negative pressure) will make it a little more efficient, due to a more laminar (calm) movement of air masses. The blowers in turn create eddies, which slows and mixes the airflow and negatively affects the performance. On the other hand these vortices more effectively remove heat from passive radiators and other heating elements, which do not have their own fans. That way the cooling of the chipset, RAM, NVMe drives is improved.
п.2 Minor nuances aside, negative pressure is preferable in my opinion, but that is no reason to do away with blower fans. Operating at RPMs that are up to 20 percent lower than the blowing speed, they will add almost no noise while noticeably helping to pull the air through the case by pushing it from behind. Or scientifically speaking. reduce the aerodynamic drag of the enclosure system.
п.3 Contrary to popular belief, there are no clearly defined air flows in the enclosure, the operation of any fans inside, first of all leads to the formation of areas of low and high pressure. The air movement is determined by its desire to fill the low pressure areas (as well as leaving the high pressure areas) and takes the path of least resistance. Resistance, in turn, is determined by the influence of neighboring high and low pressure areas, as well as the distance to the vents and their area. Let’s take a closer look at these processes using a standard dual-fan graphics card as an example:
advertisement
As you can see, along with the fresh air from outside the case, the rarefaction under the graphics card will willingly be filled by its own heated exhaust. In the absence of other fans, only a slight convection force pulling warm air upward can prevent this. Case fans are designed to improve the situation. either a blower on the front side, which will reduce the draft resistance in that direction, or a blower on top, preventing the exhaust air from being drawn back in:
This leads to another problem. the excessive perforation of the casing causes a parasitic draught (highlighted in pink in the figure), which prevents the fans to do useful work, reducing their efficiency. It can be reduced by balancing the intake and exhaust (which is not easy to do in every building), or eliminated by carefully sealing all unnecessary openings.
advertisement
п.4 Special attention should be paid to the influence of nearby fans on each other, because this influence can often have a negative effect on their performance. As an exaggerated example, imagine two identical fans stacked in a sandwich, pointing in different directions. They will spin and make noise, but they will do zero work to move air. Naturally, such situations do not occur in real-world scenarios, but a partial manifestation is quite common. Here is an example:
Similar phenomena can be observed with intake if one fan is installed on the front panel and the other on the bottom. And also with power supply unit, placed with the fan upwards and a video card in lower slots, with an inevitable rise in temperature of both components. If the fans are oriented perpendicularly the losses are not so critical, but you have to take into consideration that, firstly, the resulting capacity will be lower than the air volume that both can pump separately. Secondly, it is desirable to tune them to the same capacity, otherwise the weaker fan will risk to be a vent for the other one by blowing air in the opposite direction, what will make its use useless.
п.5 The main task which the ventilation of the case comes down to. provide the cooling systems of each computer node with cold air in an amount equal to their flow (this is how much the video card and CPU pump through themselves). Although it often makes sense to make a compromise and let the cooler partially use the air recycled by the graphics card. Further increasing the power of the cooker hood is almost useless. To make it as noisy as possible, it is important to follow two conditions. make each fan about the same level of noise and give them the highest possible efficiency. And all this relying solely on the power of your imagination, simulating in your head the movement of air masses under the influence of the factors listed in the article. Not the easiest task, but I hope many readers will find it fascinating.
Advertisement
п.6 Additions and notes:
1) The greater the resistance of the enclosure, the more important is the sealing of the parasitic flow and the more the pressure generated by the fans (regardless of their orientation) comes to the fore. Factors that increase resistance. a blank front panel and bottom, an array of hard drive garbage cans in the front, and a clutter of cables. Air friction against the enclosure walls also creates drag, so it’s a little easier for air to move around in wide cases.
2) If the dominance of blowing fans, first of all it is necessary to seal the harmful peoria on the roof and the rear wall. The opposite is true with blower cases.
3) Graphics cards of non-referential designs with traditional fans create a vertical airflow, so if you get carried away with the blower fans in the upper half of the case, they can conflict with the graphics card CO.
4) The weaker the graphics card’s CO, the more heat will be dissipated passively from the back side of the PCB. This is also where eddies from blower fans can help, but with the previous point in mind this only works with reference turbines.
5) Pulling through the motherboard pin panel, with negative pressure is not completely eliminated, but modern boards have a shroud in that place, which directs air through the VRM heatsink, helping to cool it.
6) Cases with a single exhaust fan on the back wall. not a sentence for hot systems, because its efficiency can be easily raised to almost 100%. In contrast, the top-mounted bodies. real evil. If you put there a modern unit, which is cooled by a low-speed fan, depending on the speed of the rear, the air flow through the CPU is at risk of approaching zero, which can lead to various unpleasant consequences.
How to Install a Cooler on a CPU
During the assembly of your system there is a need to install the CPU cooler, and if you need to replace the CPU, the cooling must be dismantled. There is nothing complicated about these tasks, you just need to follow the instructions and do everything carefully so as not to damage the components. Let’s take a closer look at installing and removing coolers.
Installing the AMD cooler
Coolers from AMD are equipped with a peculiar attachment, respectively, the mounting process is also slightly different from others. It’s easy, just a few simple steps are required:
-
To begin with you should install the processor. There is nothing difficult, just take into account the location of keys and do everything carefully. In addition, pay attention to other components such as connectors for RAM or graphics cards. It is important that after the installation of cooling, all these parts can be easily installed in the slots. If the cooler will interfere with this, it is better to install the parts beforehand, and then mount the cooling.
Installing an Intel cooler
The boxed version of the Intel processor already comes with proprietary cooling. The mounting method is slightly different from the above, but not fundamentally different. These coolers are mounted on clips in special grooves on the motherboard. Just choose the right location and insert the pins one by one into the connectors until you hear a distinctive click.
It remains to connect the power, as described above. Please note that Intel coolers also come with thermal paste, so be careful when unpacking.
Installing the tower cooler
If the standard cooler is not powerful enough to run your CPU properly, you will need to install a tower cooler. They’re usually more powerful due to larger fans and the presence of multiple heat pipes. The installation of such a part is required only for a powerful and expensive processor. Let’s take a detailed look at the stages of assembling a tower CPU cooler:
- Unpack the cooling box and follow the included instructions to assemble the base if needed. Carefully read the specifications and dimensions of the part before buying it so that it not only fits on the motherboard, but also fits into the case.
- Attach the back panel to the underside of the motherboard by inserting it into the corresponding mounting holes.
This concludes the installation of the tower cooler. Once again we recommend that you study the design of the motherboard and install all the parts in such an order that they do not interfere when trying to mount other components.