Zero pressure best, over positive pressure?

Been going through some of the old threads, and the general consensus is positive pressure in the case is better than negative pressure...

Also that equal pressure is also good (i.e. match number of intake fans with exhaust fans), but that more intake is ok...

Now... people get the BEST case temp readings when the side panel is totally OFF... This is also zero pressure. (Yes, I realize taking off entire panel also means 0 restriction to ambient air)

I was thinking of drilling some 80mm holes on the side panels of my case, (even one on the mobo tray side), plus 1-2 blow holes with nothing more than a grille (i.e. no fan.)

How would this affect cooling, case temps? I definately have to rummage at my local grocery store for big cardboard boxes to make some makeshift side panels

sounds interesting, try it & give us your results.....

With my experiences I believe zero pressure is definatly better. I think it also helps with dust build up.

when there is no pressure in the case most ppl generaly get lower temps, however when there is no pressure inside a case you will get alot of dust build up which can upset your temps very much, Plus the build up of dust can cause unusual system performance.

amdperson said:

however when there is no pressure inside a case you will get alot of dust build up which can upset your temps very much, Plus the build up of dust can cause unusual system performance.

Click to expand...

You will get alot of dust buildup anyway, unless you have filters on your intake fans.

I have a 120mm hole in the side of my case, it was from an intake fan that is now turned off...i can't say my temps are better or worse, but I am getting 36c idle temps and 38c temps with folding running at 100% thats as much torture as i've put this puppy through.

I keep my side pannel off, of course.. Its not like I could put it on if I wanted to, with the Ziptied fans and all along the edge..

I have one case that does pretty well using just 1 7 volted fan for exhaust. (Not counting the psu fan- also 7 volted.)
I have a 92mm fan grill in the bottom of the front bezel with no restriction (ie: case material) obstructing the passive intake.

Heatsink is an SLK-800 with a 39cfm Sunon at 7 volts.

Cpu temp rarely goes over 40c and is usually at 38c (all cpu temps are at 100% load.)

Using passive airflow can work pretty well, but it does make controlling airflow even harder: hot spots in the case are more likely to remain hot, I think, because the air is moving slower and counting even more on natural currents.

I think the idea works best one one "side" of the airflow system is active and the other is completely passive, but I have not experimented too much......

Sounds like you plan on it though

From what little I have done, my suggestion would be to start with active exhaust and passive intake, then switch and then mix'n'match. See what gets the best results and then let the rest of us know!

hrm i'd like to cut out some holes so that i can put a fan in my side panel, i've never done this and i don't know what tools i would need to accomplish this, anybody have a link to a guide for me??

thanks

Why not.... Cover the entire side of the case in fans. Cut like 9 120mm fan holes. That would be COOL.

I was thinking about filling my case side with 8 80mm fans, Hehe.

But I thought it was overkill, maybe I'll do it anyways..

Zipties are my friends, afterall.

yes zip ties...so much fun i ran out of room to put zip ties on my cables...
yeh you could add like 9 120mm fans but you might need another powersupply

login211 said:

hrm i'd like to cut out some holes so that i can put a fan in my side panel, i've never done this and i don't know what tools i would need to accomplish this, anybody have a link to a guide for me??

thanks

Click to expand...

anyone?

do a search in the other sections of the forums there's tons of info

You actually want some pressure in the case. Because without it you don't seem to get as good of air flow throughout the case. So if you put those holes in with nothing in them the air from you intake fans may be routed there instead of over your componants. So I would put something in those 80mm holes. Maybe even just really low CFM/DBA fans.

Thank You,
Daniel