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Radiator fans .. pull air from outside, or push it from inside?

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PerlAddict

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2004
Location
Murfreesboro, TN
I'm mounting this BIX3 inside my case. I've cut out a section of the side so that the entire rad is inside the case and screwed to the door. However, I wasn't sure if it was better to mount the fans on the outside of the door, blowing air through the rad and into the case, or if I should put the fans on the inside and have them blowing out of the case, which is what I'd prefer aesthetically, but realize that means I'll probably be blowing warming air through the rad and not getting as low of water temps, right?

Would it work to put the fans on the inside and have them SUCKING air through the rad from outside the case? Going back to years of physics I've long since repressed, that seems like it wouldn't work as well, but I don't know.

Hell, I need to just buy a U2 from Mountain Mods and quit trying to make this dinosaur of a case I have from back in the 90's work. :D
 
Actually, radiators usually perform better with fans sucking rather than blowing. That can be a bit lower noise in my experience, too. Having the fans as intake will have the added benefit of positive case pressure, which is good for your PSU, keeping dust out of your case, etc.

I say go for sucking in.
 
I hear ya man I'm in the same boat right now with this bix2 and 35mm wide panaflos... :shrug:
 
I have my single BIX in a pull config with a 35mm Panaflo 120CFM and I'd say it works pretty damn good. Although, I was too lazy to cut out the cheesy grill which was cut into the metal on my case (how the case comes). I'd probably get better temps. as it's pretty restrictive; the holes are few and far between. I also opted out of a shourd becuase I just plain didn't have the room.

I'd say it really depends on how many intakes/exhausts you already have. If you overload your case with intakes, the hot air will have a hard time finding a way out. The opposite applies if you have too many exhausts (obviously).
 
I also would vote for pull in from the outside, especially since this is what you would rather do for aesthetics.
 
voigts said:
I also would vote for pull in from the outside, especially since this is what you would rather do for aesthetics.

What do aesthetics have to do with the direction of the air?

I plan on having them exhaust at the top of the case and I plan to have a housing for the fans so they look good. :)

JT
 
I personally have it pull air into the front of the case so I have the coolest air moving accross the rad.
 
What do aesthetics have to do with the direction of the air?

Because you can either place the fans outside the case and PUSH air into it through the rad, or you can put them inside the case and have them PULL air into it through the rad.

And of course, vice versa if you're moving air from inside the case through the rad to outside the case.

Very interesting, guys. That makes me feel a lot better ... get better aesthetics AND cooler air. =D Not sure how much the positive pressure will help the rest of the case, though, as the rad is actually placed lengthwise above the PSU along the side of the case. It's a big 2-foot tall monstrosity, so all of the actual computer stuff is in the lower half of the cage, aside from the PSU and a couple of optical drives. My old Antec TruePower had a bottom intake fan and then a rear exhaust fan, and it got REALLY dusty. This new PowerStream 520 only has a rear exhaust, so I'm hoping dust won't be near as big of a problem.
 
You could always put a filter over the rad intake...that's a lot of radiator, and it probably wouldn't hurt your temps too much.
 
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