[SOLVED] Front of case has hard plastic blocking intake fan, will it still work?

[amazingsully]

Hello all,

I have a stock case from an old ASUS M11BB prebuilt that I purchased almost a decade ago now (this: here). This case came with no intake or exhaust fans, and over time I've upgraded almost every component. The problem is they run quite hot as I have a GTX780 in the case (which causes the hdd and ssd to get to around 55C).

I was thinking about adding some cheap 92mm fans as I don't have a lot of money to throw around, but the front of the case is made of a hard plastic that blocks where I would connect the intake fan to the chassis. I'm wondering if adding an intake fan to the front of the chassis in spite of the hard plastic blocking it will still provide some benefit, or if I'd be better with just a single exhaust fan (though I've read everywhere that negative pressure is bad).

Alternatively, I could always try a side intake, but for this case the intake would be above the gpu which I think might defeat the purpose? Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[tennis2]

$20-$50 cases would be MUCH better than what you could turn that case into. Just get a new [better] case.

 

[jacob68]

Hello all,

I have a stock case from an old ASUS M11BB prebuilt that I purchased almost a decade ago now (this: here). This case came with no intake or exhaust fans, and over time I've upgraded almost every component. The problem is they run quite hot as I have a GTX780 in the case (which causes the hdd and ssd to get to around 55C).

I was thinking about adding some cheap 92mm fans as I don't have a lot of money to throw around, but the front of the case is made of a hard plastic that blocks where I would connect the intake fan to the chassis. I'm wondering if adding an intake fan to the front of the chassis in spite of the hard plastic blocking it will still provide some benefit, or if I'd be better with just a single exhaust fan (though I've read everywhere that negative pressure is bad).

Alternatively, I could always try a side intake, but for this case the intake would be above the gpu which I think might defeat the purpose? Any help is greatly appreciated

Well, if you cant afford a new case I would mount a side fan for intake and backfan for exhaust. Not optimal , but better than nothing. From what Google showed me of pictures it looks like there is perforations in the sidepanel for a fan, or am I wrong?

 

[amazingsully]

Hello all,

I have a stock case from an old ASUS M11BB prebuilt that I purchased almost a decade ago now (this: here). This case came with no intake or exhaust fans, and over time I've upgraded almost every component. The problem is they run quite hot as I have a GTX780 in the case (which causes the hdd and ssd to get to around 55C).

I was thinking about adding some cheap 92mm fans as I don't have a lot of money to throw around, but the front of the case is made of a hard plastic that blocks where I would connect the intake fan to the chassis. I'm wondering if adding an intake fan to the front of the chassis in spite of the hard plastic blocking it will still provide some benefit, or if I'd be better with just a single exhaust fan (though I've read everywhere that negative pressure is bad).

Alternatively, I could always try a side intake, but for this case the intake would be above the gpu which I think might defeat the purpose? Any help is greatly appreciated

Well, if you cant afford a new case I would mount a side fan for intake and backfan for exhaust. Not optimal , but better than nothing. From what Google showed me of pictures it looks like there is perforations in the sidepanel for a fan, or am I wrong?

It does yes. I think I may elect to just take the front panel off however. It'll look ugly as sin, but it'll be more efficient.

 

[jacob68]

Hello all,

I have a stock case from an old ASUS M11BB prebuilt that I purchased almost a decade ago now (this: here). This case came with no intake or exhaust fans, and over time I've upgraded almost every component. The problem is they run quite hot as I have a GTX780 in the case (which causes the hdd and ssd to get to around 55C).

I was thinking about adding some cheap 92mm fans as I don't have a lot of money to throw around, but the front of the case is made of a hard plastic that blocks where I would connect the intake fan to the chassis. I'm wondering if adding an intake fan to the front of the chassis in spite of the hard plastic blocking it will still provide some benefit, or if I'd be better with just a single exhaust fan (though I've read everywhere that negative pressure is bad).

Alternatively, I could always try a side intake, but for this case the intake would be above the gpu which I think might defeat the purpose? Any help is greatly appreciated

Well, if you cant afford a new case I would mount a side fan for intake and backfan for exhaust. Not optimal , but better than nothing. From what Google showed me of pictures it looks like there is perforations in the sidepanel for a fan, or am I wrong?

It does yes. I think I may elect to just take the front panel off however. It'll look ugly as sin, but it'll be more efficient.

Not really, unless you have a lof of constant airflow in the room fans are better. Plus, with front off you invite any pc´s worst enemy to come enter: Dust.

 

[Solandri]

I was thinking about adding some cheap 92mm fans as I don't have a lot of money to throw around, but the front of the case is made of a hard plastic that blocks where I would connect the intake fan to the chassis. I'm wondering if adding an intake fan to the front of the chassis in spite of the hard plastic blocking it will still provide some benefit,

Usually the cases with a solid plastic front face will have an air gap between the plastic front and the metal where you mount the fan. This air gap will have vent holes on the sides or bottom. It's less ideal than giving the fan direct access to the outside air. But if the fan's flowrate (CFM) and especially air velocity (proportional to CFM / diameter^2) are low, then it should be fine.

Since you've currently got no fans, the only fan you're running is the PSU fan, which is usually an exhaust fan. That means there should be dust built up around the edges of your case where the air is being drawn in. Look for that dust for clues as to where the air will come in through the front face.

or if I'd be better with just a single exhaust fan (though I've read everywhere that negative pressure is bad).

Negative pressure is bad because it means air flows into the case from every little gap and hole. That results in there being dust everywhere, making it hard to clean (although it makes it easier to find the gaps, as I suggested above). With positive pressure, you can just put a dust filter in front of the intake fan(s). The dust will collect there. The positive pressure will blow air out all the little gaps and holes, keeping them dust-free. Makes cleaning dust take all of 5 seconds with a vacuum cleaner.

Alternatively, I could always try a side intake, but for this case the intake would be above the gpu which I think might defeat the purpose? Any help is greatly appreciated

Correct. The ideal airflow is over the cooler components first, then the hottest components just before being forced out the case. So ideally, the intake fans (or intake vents for negative pressure) should direct air over the motherboard and hard drives first. Then over the CPU and GPU before being vented out of the system. Some prebuilt systems reinforce this by using a duct to vent air from the CPU cooler directly out of the case (so it's not recirculated inside the case), essentially turning the CPU cooler fan into an exhaust fan.

Depending on how thick the front plastic is, and how much you care about aesthetics, you could heat an old butter knife over the kitchen stove, and shove that through the front plastic to melt out your own ventilation grille. I'd suggest turning the stove ventilation fan on first so the melting plastic smell doesn't fill the house.

 

[scout_03]

check the video if you have the tool you could do case mod https://www.google.ca/search?q=front+panel+fans+mod&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjV0NjNtq_gAhXB1FkKHcqICnkQ_AUICSgA&biw=1920&bih=966&dpr=1