Top Mounted Case Fan, Yey or Nay?

[Mad_Heckler]

Recently I seen on a site that sells custom cases with fans cut into the sides. The site mentioned that top mounted fans disrupt airflow in the case and actually raise case temp and this have been proven through testing. I know alot of people have top fans and say thay is has dropped case temp. It this a case of a blatant lie, ignorance, person opinion?

MH

[UnseenMenace]

Considering that heat rises and the fact that most peoples PC's are up against a wall / desk / cuboard.. the logical place to put a fan is on the top of the case.

I personally have five 120 mm fans in my full tower running of a seperate PSU and have a top mounted fan.. I dont believe that a top mounted fan will drastically disturb cooling, as long as the case has positive pressure the air will flow though it anyway.. its just my opinion

If the information you mention has been proved, the company must have must have data sheets for them.. ask for evidence, but I would also consider where the case is going to be situated as the fans may just bounce heat of a nearby wall

[Mord-Sith]

Did you get that information from 3dcool. I remember them mentioning it. I'm pretty sure they just put that in there because they didnt put any top mounted fans on their cases.

[Mad_Heckler]

Yeah here it is. well I'm slightly wrong they alluded to having tested it.

Q.) Why don't you install a top fan?
A.) Anyone selling a case with a top fan never tested for airflow. Top fans disrupt airflow and increase temperatures. You never want a top fan under any scenario!

[Despotes]

If top-mounted fans do reduce temps, what motivation would 3dcool have to deceive potential buyers. Couldn't they simply install a top mounted fan on their Tornado series cases? Here's an additional quote,

"We tried fans on the top, bottom, front, back, and both sides in every combination possible. This design was the one that proved to be the most effective. We didn't sacrafice quality for cost on the Tornado series cases, and it shows."

They do claim that the top mounted configuration did not prove to be very effective.
We NEED proof!! :)

[Despotes]

I dropped a line to sales@3dcool.com asking for verification of their top mounted fan theory. They didn't have a tech. support page. I hope to find out soon!! :)
CAio

[schmidty]

I'm totally against the top mounted fan. My case works as a disk, beer, and food holder, etc and the last thing I want is a spilt beer getting even easier access to my parts...

Just a thought

cheers!

[rugby]

I just added a top blowhole with an 80mm SUnon fan (and finger grill) it brought my temps down 3oC. I really need to get a drill saw in various sizes because my dremel/nibbler/drill operation here cut the hell out of my hand.

[Despotes]

rugby (Jul 01, 2001 04:38 p.m.):
I just added a top blowhole with an 80mm SUnon fan (and finger grill) it brought my temps down 3oC. I really need to get a drill saw in various sizes because my dremel/nibbler/drill operation here cut the hell out of my hand.

That's pretty good. Your CPU temps or case temps?

[Super]

Just also a question, well more like a poll. I'm about to put a fan on top, and I was just wandering, how are your fans set up in the case. (ex, one intake in the front, one out take on the side, and one out take on top, or whatever.)

Thanks.

[Despotes]

IN the front. OUT the back. IN the side.(if your CPU fan is blowing not sucking) and Out the top. :)
This is the basic guideline. Actual cooling results will vary depending on your set up.

[Da Whip]

I also have a collection of fans in my full tower.
120mm front sucking in
120mm side sucking in
120mm top sucking out
I-Storm HDD cooler top front sucking in
92mm lower back of case sucking out
2- 80mm upper back of case sucking out
This is all controlled by a new Digidoc 5. It really is fairly quite.

[Plat]

hmmm.

i don't think top mounted fans are good idea for most cases cause of the power supply right above most of your heat components (cpu, video card and sometimes northbridge). it seems like if you have top mounted fan in mid of case it would take airflow away from components that need it most. that's why the front to back makes sense to me.

i did have a case however, that had powersupply stand up down instead of accross like in most cases, this worked well, cause i could put my top mounted fan right above where the cpu was. gave me best temps. i no longer have that case and i haven't been able to get the same performance since.

here's a picture of the case that i had, (may buy again cause its soo cheap). Link to Case (http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=GN200)

anyway, can you see how the power supply stands up towards the open side of the case. the cpu actually would be right on the other side of that powersupply. this leaves very good space above the cpu (on top of the case) for a blow hole.

let me know what you guys think of this.

[Colin]

On a full tower case a top mounted blowhole or an exit fan over the PSU can cause a dead spot in the motherboard area. They seem to work better on mid size cases. You are better off trying to move the hot air off your motherboard with a rear mounted exit fan under the PSU and of course a PSU that has a fan on the bottom to help suck out the heat.

[Bad Maniac]

Even if you have the most excellent airflow ever known to exist in a PC case. Air isn´t all that good in conducting heat remember? So atleast to me, it makes sense to suck the air/heat out from where the heat actually is, in the very top of the case. But I might be way off here, since it may disturb the air circulation around your mobo and other bits and pieces. But if you from the start design your case fan setup to circulate the air WITH a top fan, I think it is a good idea.

[rugby]

Despotes (Jul 01, 2001 05:01 p.m.):
rugby (Jul 01, 2001 04:38 p.m.):
I just added a top blowhole with an 80mm SUnon fan (and finger grill) it brought my temps down 3oC. I really need to get a drill saw in various sizes because my dremel/nibbler/drill operation here cut the hell out of my hand.

That's pretty good. Your CPU temps or case temps?


CPU temp.

[Sohryu Asuka Langley]

I have a sorta big midi case, 80mm front lower, 60mm rear below PSU, 80/92mm in PSU all sucking out and the 120mm on the side of my case still finds plenty of airflow to the open fron top drive bay. should i grab the nibblers and make a blow hole?

[samuknow]

I have a 92 mm in the top of my case. There is no spot in the back to add a fan. My temps are only a couple of degrees above room temp.

I would do this with any case. The only reason I would see this not work is if ther wasn't enough inlet air flow. If the case has a positive internal air pressure this works great......

[Sohryu Asuka Langley]

cool i can blow out a candle from about 30cm away from the top slot with the air this 120mm is making (an di still have air goiing out in other places of this case too) inside case temp is room temp.

[Despotes]

Despotes (Jul 01, 2001 03:32 p.m.):
I dropped a line to sales@3dcool.com asking for verification of their top mounted fan theory. They didn't have a tech. support page. I hope to find out soon!! :)
CAio
Here is 3Dcool's response:
"For business reasons I cannot let that information out, it would compromise our operation."

Jon

I'm a little disappointed with that. Sounds like something Bill Clinton would say. :)

[Colin]

More food for thought. With a full tower case, the motherboard temps go up when the exhaust fan above the PSU is plugged in. Why?

[Cowtown]

I was thinking of doing this myself, but I may wait. One of the reasons is that I would have to disassemble my PC entirely and given the fact that I can't be without my system for any length of time I can't do it until I have a day or two where I don't have to write. (Ok so I have a laptop but it's a PITA unless you have to use it) ;)

I have been thinking about putting a 80mm inlet fan on the left hand side of the case (the open side) to blow air onto the heatsink and fan and this seems to be popular. Anything I should know about this and what has your typical benefit been with that mod? Any downsides? And should I use a filter?

[Colin]

Don't have it blow on your CPU HSF unless you duct it ala Hoot's Cohesive cooling article. A blowhole over the CPU HSF can cause turbulence and interfere with CPU cooling. A better location would probably be over the expansion card slots, cooling them and supplying fresh air for the CPU HSF. Try a cardboard side panel and various blowhole locations before cutting your case. It’s worth the time to plan your cases airflow carefully. Filters are a good idea too.