How to position fans on the motherboard?

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

Hi Guys!!

I am in the process of upgrading my PC. I can't upgrade the entire system in one go.. So I went with Samsung Evo 850 500GB SSD and 2TB WD Caviar Green. I already had a 2TB WD Caviar Green and 1 TB WD Black.
Since I had only 2 HDDs the heat generated was not a big deal, but now I am going to have 4. So I thought of buying 2-3 fans to cool the cabinet.
I need advice on the best possible position of these fans.

My current cabinet setup :

PSU is at the top(Corsair CX500). Its fan is downwards facing my Asus GTX750 TI GPU. GPU has 2 fans which is facing down to the end of the cabinet.
Processor is in the middle.
I can place 1 fan at the end of the cabinet and 1 at the front. Where can I place the third fan?

Thank you.

eidairaman1 · Sep 17, 2016

Whats the case brand and model?

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

Hi eidairaman1,
Case is Umax. Similar to this one here http://umaxindia.in/umax-l1001-casing.php

It has 4 bays for optional DVD-drive encasing (front facing) which I can remove to fit a fan in..

Thanks..

eidairaman1 · Sep 17, 2016

Ok front panel fan should be blowing into case, side panel fan should be blowing into case, rear fan should be exhaust.

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

Thanks a lot...

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

One more request.. How to find the correct fan size. The exhaust fan slot measures only 85 mm, while the front slot can accommodate one 140 mm and side slot can have one 120 mm and one 80 mm fans..
Will it be fine to have more air in than going out?
Can u also recommend some low noise fans?

Mussels · Sep 17, 2016

more air in than out is recommended, its called positive air pressure.
helps to prevent dust build up.

I prefer fractal or noctua fans, i have a silent PC and don't tolerate noisy components.

PLAfiller · Sep 17, 2016

Hello @razor2890 , it's pretty much straight forward on your case. You don't really have any options on it. Just use every spot for fans there.
As @Mussels said more air in than out is called positive pressure. If you have time/ desire to read, you can check out these two articles : Fan Positions and Vertical vs Horizontal cooling . They have some very useful conclusions in general. If you don't have any other choice - put only the side fan- it is really important.

Recon-UK · Sep 17, 2016

I like to use fans on things that require cooling.

So in my case, one standard fan out rear, one huge fan out top, this moves heat from my VRM's and the circuitry around my CPU.
I then have a direct fan blowing at my Northbridge which is a 92mm Noctua.
I have a in take on teh bottom of the case feeding fresh air into the video card.
The front of the case has a panel opening to improve airflow, as much as vents are good they do block intake.

PSU is facing down as it should.

My system is a heavily overclocked system so my priorities are to keep it as cold as i can, and that i achieve well.

You won't see many Xeon's hitting max temps of 55c on a ITX cooler at 4.4ghz.

Also learn to adapt things for your own PC, not a single PC is the same and airflow requirements will be different.

The PC.

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

Thanks Mussels.. I just opened the cabinet and found that i can't direct airflow to the HDDs.. So any other way to keep the disks cool. Presently I have 2 which heats upto 42-45 Celcius.. So having 4 will definitely increase the temperature.
Any idea on how to cool them?

Mussels · Sep 17, 2016

razor2890 said:
Thanks Mussels.. I just opened the cabinet and found that i can't direct airflow to the HDDs.. So any other way to keep the disks cool. Presently I have 2 which heats upto 42-45 Celcius.. So having 4 will definitely increase the temperature.
Any idea on how to cool them?

take same nicely lit pics of the case, or link to your exact one? Not all cases have good cooling options.
generally front + side in, rear + top out.

If your case has no fans at all for cooling the hard drives, there are bays you can get that fit in the DVD bays, and let you put hard drives + a 120mm fan there.

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

The system is close to 10 years old.. It still runs like butter.. I am in the process of upgrading the system as I am not able to play games released from 2016 onwards due to low RAM(4GB) and processor.
So I am first upgrading Hdd and then the cabinet. I am also searching for a good cabinet. http://www.primeabgb.com/online-price-reviews-india/corsair-carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-cabinet/
or http://www.primeabgb.com/online-pri...hite-series-760t-full-tower-windowed-cabinet/

I have removed the DVD encasing.

P4-630 · Sep 17, 2016

razor2890 said:
The system is close to 10 years old.. It still runs like butter.. I am in the process of upgrading the system as I am not able to play games released from 2016 onwards due to low RAM(4GB) and processor.
So I am first upgrading Hdd and then the cabinet. I am also searching for a good cabinet. http://www.primeabgb.com/online-price-reviews-india/corsair-carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-cabinet/
or http://www.primeabgb.com/online-pri...hite-series-760t-full-tower-windowed-cabinet/

I have removed the DVD encasing.

It's time to clean the dust out on the inside of your case...

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

P4-630 said:
It's time to clean the dust out on the inside of your case...

Haha

.. It has served me very well... It can still play AC Black Flag/FIFA @1080p. I can also play Fallout 4 at lower settings.. It can run several instances of eclipse & VMs.. Its only 2016 games I am not able to play.. I have been postponing the upgrade as I can't buy all at once.. This month I am buying a Hdd/ssd.. Next month a cabinet & so on...

Mussels · Sep 17, 2016

clean that dust out, especially on your CPU heatsink. That will probably give you a big performance boost, since it will be thermal throttling.

This is just an example image, but its a good idea of what i spoke of before: You lose 3x DVD bays, but gain space for a 120mm intake fan + 3-4x HDD bays directly cooled by that fan.

You could also just look into a new case.

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

@Mussels Thanks.. Can u suggest some cases as well.. I have been looking into these.. . http://www.primeabgb.com/online-price-reviews-india/corsair-carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-cabinet/
or http://www.primeabgb.com/online-pri...hite-series-760t-full-tower-windowed-cabinet/

Mussels · Sep 17, 2016

both those cases are worlds above what you have, when you're dealing with the high end cases from premium brands its all personal preference.

I love fractal cases because i'm heavily into silent PC's

You can see what my system looks like in this thread:
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/fractal-r5-slilly-uprade-case-sli-upgrade.225249/

razor2890 · Sep 17, 2016

Nice!! Great system you got there.. I was not able to find that model here in India. I'll just ask my dealer..

peche · Sep 17, 2016

@razor2890 cable managemente could be done on generic cases, but may be harder to accomplish compared to a pro case,

For example,

Also please fill this!

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	PLAHI
Processor	I5-10400
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Cooling	120 AIO IWONGOU
Memory	1x32GB Kingston BEAST DDR4 @ 3200Mhz
Video Card(s)	PNY QUADRO RTX A2000
Storage	Intel 670P 512GB
Display(s)	Philips 288E2A 28" 4K + 22" LG 1080p
Case	Silverstone Raven 03 (RV03)
Audio Device(s)	Creative Soundblaster Z
Power Supply	Fractal Design IntegraM 650W
Mouse	Logitech Triathlon
Keyboard	REDRAGON MITRA
Software	Windows 11 Home x 64

System Name	AM4 / 775
Processor	2600x / C2D E7600
Motherboard	B450 Aorus / ASUS P5G41C-M LX
Cooling	TT Esports Duo / Chinesium cooler
Memory	16GB DDR4 3ghz / 4GB DDR2 800mhz
Video Card(s)	2060 Super / 5700-XT / GTX 650Ti
Storage	120GB + 1TB SSD / 160GB SSD
Display(s)	Samsung CRG5 144hz QD
Case	CiT shit chassis modded / Coolermaster Elite 430
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster FX / Audigy 2 ZX
Power Supply	Superflower Leadex III GOLD / BeQuiet 450w bronze.
Mouse	Razer Basilisk
Keyboard	Read Dragon Kumara
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores	1 Billion

How to position fans on the motherboard?

razor2890

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

razor2890

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

razor2890

razor2890

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

PLAfiller

Recon-UK

razor2890

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

razor2890

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P4-630

razor2890

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

razor2890

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

razor2890

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

System Name	AlderLake
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	Athenna
Processor	intel i7 3770 Dellided
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling	Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory	16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s)	GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage	Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s)	22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case	Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s)	On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply	Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse	Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard	Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software	windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores	well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?