Fan behind motherboard

an idea fellas....How about a squirrel cage fan out of a furnace, now those boys can move some air now!

I've seen some cases with room for a 80mm x 15mm fan mount behind the mobo. I can't imagine there being enough surface area on the back of a socket, especially with a mounting plate, for it to be effective. I guess if you use a super low profile heatsink that fit just right and a thick enough thermal pad to make up for the non-flat surface (usually tons of tiny component's back there) then it could work. Although, I think in the OP's situation, using better overall case airflow would be beneficial. I am sure if you got one of those ram fan shrouds (like that corsair one) then the airflow would to pass over the socket and cool it a little.

Just an idea.....I use them to cool my motor shop here in Indiana as opposed to pedestal fans...of course you do have to have 220 lol And with it being a 3 stage blower, you could easily control when it speeds up or slows down...just an idea for those go getters that do the out-of-the-ordinary on here.

Thete is a very good reason to have a fan here, but people commonly have an intake which is pointless unless you want to pull more dust into your case. Turn the fan so its exhausting out. The reason is that hot air can get trapped behind the motherboard, and an 80mm slim fan helps pull that hot air out of your case. An exhaust fan also keeps dust from going in behind your mobo.

Can you live without it? Of course. But fans are so cheap and quiet nowadays that this is one more step to help keep your system healthy (again, only if its pointed in the right direction). I invested in a nice motherboard and want to do all I can to protect that investment. If your case has a mounting bracket and perforations there then not having a fan is leaving an open hole. If you decide not to put a fan there then i recommend attaching a thin layer of filter screen inside the case door to keep grime from trickling in.

Besides, if you're on this forum you probably understand that every 2'C temp drop you can manage can only help, it all adds up to greater stability which means higher overclocks.