Question Airflow question

Sep 17, 2023
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I have a 360x120 radiator at the front of the case sucking air in and x3 140mm fans at the bottom also sucking air inside the case. I plan to put x1 140mm fan st the back to take the air out. Will this be enough to balance things out?
 
hot air rises so the 140mm in the back should be fine..

i usually like my cases with mesh on the top with either a rad pushing the and sucking the hot air out or fans blowing the hot air out the top but looking at the fractal case you mentioned thats not an option
BUT
you should be good blowing air in through the rad at the front and from the bottom and sucking it out though the back with the 140mm
 
As noted, the only way to figure out this out is to run various configurations and see what works best for you with regards to temperature and noise. The only configuration I know is not a good idea is having a top exhaust fan anywhere in front of the CPU cooler, because all that's doing is sucking up air before it has a chance to reach the CPU.

Though given what's described here, if it were me and if there are fans on the bottom of the case, then I would set this up as a bottom to top flow configuration to encourage air to move through the case in as few dimensions as possible. i.e., making a 1D airflow path.
 
Test different configurations using your personal fan curves, compare the ups and downs, and tell us what you get.
No one's going to know what works better than your own testing with the fan curves you will use.
I will try different configurations when I get the fan. Down to top is not really possible because top of case is solid. I also have 2 180mm fans that came with the case. Would the x2 180 be better then the x3 140 at the bottom? I know that I'll get the answers when I test it but just wondering if there's a general rule to determine size of fans vs quantity
 
I will try different configurations when I get the fan. Down to top is not really possible because top of case is solid. I also have 2 180mm fans that came with the case. Would the x2 180 be better then the x3 140 at the bottom? I know that I'll get the answers when I test it but just wondering if there's a general rule to determine size of fans vs quantity
There is a general rule, actually.
Larger fans move more air than smaller ones, but they tend to have lower static pressure. Ideal if you use them where the 'obstacles' are light.

The 140mm are going to do better than the 180mm at the bottom, unless you elevate the case feet on 2x4s or similar.
Cases that do offer fan options at the bottom, ehh, the feet aren't long enough on many of them, IMO. They bring in some air, sure, but it isn't much compared to what other sections of cases are capable of. Then you have to clean that area more frequently too.
 
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