# How unrestrictive is a mesh front panel? Let's find out...



## dirtyferret (Oct 23, 2019)

So needing a new case for the wife's PC I went with the Phanteks P400A black (she's going from a larger Corsair Obsidian 400R) which allowed me to swap out the front panel on my P400S and do some temp testing.  I posted my results from the Phanteks P400S test already.  So using the exact same hardware and just switching out the front panels I ran the following tests;

Stress test used - 20 minutes of Intel XTU and took the "Avg" temp at the 15 minute mark in each stress test.  PC was then shut off for 15 minutes to cool off before the next test.  I used both Intel XTU and HWmonitor (for max temps only) to confirm CPU temps.  Ran each test twice to confirm temps.  

Case - Phanteks P400 with "S" (silence) front panel and "A" (metal mesh) front panel
CPU - Intel i7-9700k @ 4.9ghz all cores
Cooler - Noctua U12A with both fans set to normal setting in the BIOS (about 1600rpm tops)
Front Fans - two TB silence 140mm @ 750rpm roughly 66m3/h set to full speed setting via BIOS
Top fan rear - Noctua NF-P14r redux set to 950 rpm roughly 90m3/h via BIOS
Rear fan - Noctua NF-S12A @ 1200rpm roughly 105m3/h set to full speed setting via BIOS 
GPU - Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Factory OC 6G

My basement office temp was 69F (2F cooler then the original P400S tests), all other temps below are in Celsius 

P400S Panel test

CPU High Temp after 20 minutes of the stress test - 73c
CPU Avg Temp at the 15 minute mark of the stress test - 66c

P400A Panel Test

CPU High Temp after 20 minutes of the stress test - 70c 
CPU Avg Temp at the 15 minute mark of the stress test - 63c

On to gaming;

Played the DLC of the Witcher 3 the past week and while I didn't run any specific test set ups I did keep an eye on the temps and noticed the following after several play sessions with each panel.  With the P400S panel my high for both CPU and GPU temps would be around 72-73c with temps generally staying at the 45-55c range on the CPU.  GPU temps would hang closer to the high temps. 

With the P400A panel my high for both CPU and GPU temps would be around 67-68c with temps generally staying at the 40-50c range on the CPU.  GPU temps would hang closer to the high temps. 

My personal thoughts on the P400S panel; it's as unrestricted of a front panel as I have ever seen.  The holes and their spacing are almost dust filter like and you can clearly see into the case once the case LED lights are on.  My fansrun silent (I'm a noise freak) but deliver plenty of outside air to both the CPU and GPU.  That said the panel is easy to push in with your finger (will easily bounce back by itself) but I would not recommend it for a LAN PC as I can see the panel getting dented in travel.


----------



## DeathtoGnomes (Oct 23, 2019)

Not surprised the mesh panel performs better, unrestricted airflow is always ideal.


----------



## Vario (Oct 24, 2019)

Try removing the panel altogether and see what temperatures you get, probably will be another degree or two below the mesh.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 24, 2019)

Seen a few videos on YT about that that case and the original front panel/facia.

I rebuilt the front of my dust filter using some 'foam mesh' that can be used for air conditioners and other stuff... they are fairly cheap and sold in sheets and you cut them to size for your own use.

Akasa uses the same mesh on some of their filters you can buy from them.







So i layer this over the top of the existing filter and i swap out the stock AF fans for ML140 pros for more static pressure and i ran my setup like this for a year.

I could feel the air still being pulled in when i made this mod but i didnt realise how much it reduced my airflow despite having swapped out the fans to MLs and watching all these airflow videos on YT got me thinking and i decided to take the dust sheet off.... What a huge difference it made in temps!!!! I reduced the airflow from 100% to 30-40%. I could feel the air still coming in with the extra dust filter on but removing it was like a typhoon rolling through my PC case. My temperatures have never been better! small dust particles still get past the stock filter though sadly.


Highly educational.


----------



## DeathtoGnomes (Oct 24, 2019)

there are some materials that are decent to use as air(dust) filters but tend to be more expensive. The ones like the a/c filter are the worst. 

in the end it means you have to clean more often.


----------



## dirtyferret (Oct 24, 2019)

Vario said:


> Try removing the panel altogether and see what temperatures you get, probably will be another degree or two below the mesh.



I did this test on the P400S (see link in OP) and hit 71c with a room temp of 71F.  With the P400A panel I hit 70c with a room temp of 69F.  I give props to Phantek as this mesh really does not impede airflow.  That said it does not have a dust filter although the holes are so small it basically doubles as a dust filter and it won't win any sturdiness awards when you think of the metal mesh fronts of Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master cases.  It's somewhat similar to the Meshify-C front panel in sturdiness but with slightly larger holes.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 24, 2019)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> there are some materials that are decent to use as air(dust) filters but tend to be more expensive. The ones like the a/c filter are the worst.
> 
> in the end it means you have to clean more often.



I hoover once every two weeks anyway so its no problem.


----------



## dirtyferret (Oct 24, 2019)

FreedomEclipse said:


> I hoover once every two weeks anyway so its no problem.



Believe it or not but screen repair kits (for windows and sliding doors) can be used to create a dust filter behind a mesh panel


----------



## Vario (Oct 24, 2019)

FreedomEclipse said:


> I hoover once every two weeks anyway so its no problem.



I don't run any filter just the standard circular steel wire grille for the intake fan and I blast the whole thing out with an ED500 every 2 months, with no pets, dust in my household is minimal so it doesn't really build up.  The Datavac ED500 is a great device, system runs cooler with less air restrictions, and it looks cleaner because it removes any dust in the case in seconds.









						Effects of Grill Patterns on Fan Performance/Noise
					

Fan grills are a component in a computer that is often underestimated in terms of their contribution to both system noise and airflow. Most often, grills are chosen based on aesthetics with only a small thought towards performance. In this article, we will be examining nine different grills to...




					www.pugetsystems.com


----------

