[SOLVED] Front Panel Causing Airflow Issues?

ContraMaster

Commendable
Jun 3, 2020
6
1
1,525
All hardware specs and pics are at the bottom.

I recently made some upgrades with my hardware in my PC and had my temps rise, which is a given. The biggest upgrade being installing a new Nvida RTX 3060-Ti. However the installation of this new hardware came with some increases to temps. Primarily the CPU.
My CPU Idle temps had raised from, ~35-40°C with previous hardware to ~40-55°C, the average being 50°C. While this isn't a major concern I dislike having that level of temps at idle. So I did a little Non Scientific test.

Control:All fan's set to 50% (Except for GPU that remained 0%) and idled for 20 min. The room temperature stayed the same being 69°F - 20.55°C, 40% R.H.
Test #1: I left the Front Panel on. AVG TEMP: 50°C
Test #2: I took the Front Panel off. AVG TEMP: 43°C

I noticed after taking off the glass side panel and messing with the front panel I felt a difference in airflow. With the front panel on, the air seemed to come through the open areas that the fan does not obstruct but felt weak including the pressure coming from the fan. With the front panel off, the air became strong and most of the airflow actually came from the blades/exuast of the fan and not completely through the open areas.
Also During Stress testing and benchmarking, temps were ~6°C lower than with the front panel.

From these results I'm wondering what I should do, leading me to have a couple questions.
  • If I leave the current Front Panel on, should I find Higher Static Pressure Fans?
  • Should I modify it to have a mesh front panel with an air filter?
  • Should I use the modifications mentioned in the previous question and buy some high static pressure fans or opt for high airflow?
I will also be replacing the thermal compound on the CPU and Cooler in hopes this drops the temps further.

3x 120mm (56.5 CFM) - Front Case
1x 120mm - Rear Exhaust
Nothing on Top
AMD Wraith Prism (High Setting) - CPU COOLER

Case: DEEPCOOL MATREXX 50 TEMPERED GLASS PANEL
CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X (OC'd)
GPU: RTX 3060-Ti(OC'd)
RAM: T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 -32GB (4x8GB, 3200MHz )
MBD: Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming
PSU: EVGA 600 Bronze

Please do not mind the smudges, I've been messing around with the panels all day.


 
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Solution
With that glass front panel, it was never not going to get poor airflow. I'd personally prefer to leave it off, but the aesthetics are up to you. Generally speaking solid front panels with "vents" that are on the ornamental side tend to be very poor thermal performers. The cases that work out with front glass panels tend to need to have an airflow pattern that compensates with planned ventilation on a side or ventilation on the bottom that isn't an afterthought.

Static pressure fans aren't going to make up the difference; anything you put in there is going to be starved for air. And, in any case, if you're willing to buy new fans, I'd instead put that money towards a PSU that's not a frightening combination with a 30-series GPU...

DSzymborski

Curmudgeon Pursuivant
Moderator
With that glass front panel, it was never not going to get poor airflow. I'd personally prefer to leave it off, but the aesthetics are up to you. Generally speaking solid front panels with "vents" that are on the ornamental side tend to be very poor thermal performers. The cases that work out with front glass panels tend to need to have an airflow pattern that compensates with planned ventilation on a side or ventilation on the bottom that isn't an afterthought.

Static pressure fans aren't going to make up the difference; anything you put in there is going to be starved for air. And, in any case, if you're willing to buy new fans, I'd instead put that money towards a PSU that's not a frightening combination with a 30-series GPU and modern hardware; all the EVGA Bronze-rated PSUs at precisely 600W are cheaply made cost cutters based on ancient designs that are only appropriate for very basic hardware.
 
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