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New Builder Needs Help - Specific Build Questions

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Wait. You're getting a MicroATX board in a full tower case. That doesn't make sense, at all.
IMO, there's no need to go with a MicroATX board if you have the money/case not too. Just get a normal one, like the Gigabyte X58 UD3R or the ASUS P6X58D-E, or this EVGA board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188068

Alright I like the EVGA board and the full ATX board does make more sense than a micro ATX in the full tower case... I was just going off another member's suggestion.

From the picture it still looks like I'd be lacking fan connections with the EVGA board... what would I do?
 
You can run them off the PSU. They sell adapters for that (some fans even come with them).

But then you won't get speed control. They will all run at constant speed.
 
CPU fan you'll definitely want on the motherboard. There's even a dedicated header for it.

Your motherboard will warn you if the CPU fan fails. That's the most important fan.
 
CPU fan you'll definitely want on the motherboard. There's even a dedicated header for it.

Your motherboard will warn you if the CPU fan fails. That's the most important fan.

Darrrr... good point lol. Which two fans should I throw on the PSU then?

Oh and since there is only one hookup for the CPU fan on the MOBO, how would I hook up two (for the push-pull system)?
 
PSU one will be running at full speed. Mobo one will be running at same speed or slower.

So it makes sense to PSU the pushing one. The pushing one does most of the work.

In fact, I actually tried this once with my cheap heatsink. Adding the pulling fan didn't help at all.

Of course, it depends on a few hundred other things, but I doubt it will actually help much, if at all.
 
Interesting but it's logical that a pulling fan is really just passing the air through it... unless it's spinning at a higher RPM isn't not going to pulling air in through the sides of the heatsink...

In a stationary car, the rad fan is a pulling fan... but better to have a pushing fan on the CPU sink?

So IF I got rid of the pulling fan, which of the 4 case fans would you recommend to be on full time/top speed? Front intake, Side intake, Rear exhaust, Top exhaust?
 
The problem with pulling fan is, it will draw air mostly from the side, and close to the fan. So the air won't actually go through most of the heatsink.

With a pushing fan, air is forced into the heatsink. That's a lot more effective.

For car it doesn't matter, because car is like a big tube. All the air has to go through the car, whether pushed or pulled.

If you tape the sides of the heatsink, you can probably get the same effect.

Out of the case fans, the rear exhaust is the most important, because that's where all the heat accumulates.
 
Again, makes sense... idk who would want to tape their heatsink though! :eek:

Sooo... the fan config would be as follows:
- Front fan on mobo (intake)
- Side fan on mobo (intake)
- Top fan on mobo (exhuast)
- Rear fan on PSU (exhaust)
- Pushing CPU fan on PSU?
- Pulling CPU fan on mobo?

Or should i reverse the power options for the CPU fans?
I think you missed my earlier questions about fan direction... to flip an exhaust fan to an intake fan do you just physically flip it over?
 
I think you missed my earlier questions about fan direction... to flip an exhaust fan to an intake fan do you just physically flip it over?
Yeap. They have screw holes on both sides.

Sooo... the fan config would be as follows:
- Front fan on mobo (intake)
- Side fan on mobo (intake)
- Top fan on mobo (exhuast)
- Rear fan on PSU (exhaust)
- Pushing CPU fan on PSU?
- Pulling CPU fan on mobo?
Sounds good. The most important fans are CPU pushing and rear exhaust. Front intake and CPU pulling are a lot less useful if not useless. Side fan can help. Top fan I imagine is just like rear exhaust, except further away from where all the heat is, so less effective.

In an OEM system, the only 2 fans would be CPU pushing and rear exhaust. That should say something about their importance (and the unimportance of other fans).
 
Sorry I'm a noob lol... I really appreciate you answering all my questions so quickly.

So being that the mobo monitors the cpu fan, should i throw the pushing fan on the mobo and the pulling fan on the PSU?

Also, the power fan? I'm assuming this is the fan that powers up when you start the computer for a few seconds and then shuts down?
 
The mobo monitoring is really just a fail safe thing. Either fan running should be enough to keep your CPU alive. But yes, I would connect the pushing fan to the mobo, since the pulling fan won't really be doing much anyways :).

I haven't heard of a power fan. Where are you seeing that?
 
Also, the power fan? I'm assuming this is the fan that powers up when you start the computer for a few seconds and then shuts down?
No some power supplies include a cable that goes to a fan header to monitor it's fan speed. In reality it's just another fan header you can plug whatever fan you want to into.
 
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