How much clearance should you have around a PC?

[Emile Fadel]

I am buying a new pc and placing it in a pc holder under my desk and i am wondering how much clearance i should have ontop, behind, and on each side of the pc for good airflow. I dont want to risk damaging my pc due to a lack of airflow.

 

[Deus Gladiorum]

I am buying a new pc and placing it in a pc holder under my desk and i am wondering how much clearance i should have ontop, behind, and on each side of the pc for good airflow. I dont want to risk damaging my pc due to a lack of airflow.

It's really dependent upon where the fans are on your tower. Most people have exhaust fans on the back of their case, though this can be modified. It also matters where your intake fans are, and most cases these are usually on the front, but again this may be changed. You just want to make sure there's room where the fans are, so that cool air can be pulled into the case without interference, and hot air can be pushed out.

Other than that, it doesn't really matter where anything is to the proximity of your case. I have plenty of stuff lying on top and around my case and the temps are just fine and the case is good to go. Obviously I don't put anything too heavy on top of my case so as to weaken it, nor do I put anything super hot around it.

 

[Deus Gladiorum]

I am buying a new pc and placing it in a pc holder under my desk and i am wondering how much clearance i should have ontop, behind, and on each side of the pc for good airflow. I dont want to risk damaging my pc due to a lack of airflow.

It's really dependent upon where the fans are on your tower. Most people have exhaust fans on the back of their case, though this can be modified. It also matters where your intake fans are, and most cases these are usually on the front, but again this may be changed. You just want to make sure there's room where the fans are, so that cool air can be pulled into the case without interference, and hot air can be pushed out.

Other than that, it doesn't really matter where anything is to the proximity of your case. I have plenty of stuff lying on top and around my case and the temps are just fine and the case is good to go. Obviously I don't put anything too heavy on top of my case so as to weaken it, nor do I put anything super hot around it.

 

[TheBigTroll]

as much as you want as long as the front and back are relatively clear. dont put the pc on carpet though

 

[Emile Fadel]

I am buying a new pc and placing it in a pc holder under my desk and i am wondering how much clearance i should have ontop, behind, and on each side of the pc for good airflow. I dont want to risk damaging my pc due to a lack of airflow.

It's really dependent upon where the fans are on your tower. Most people have exhaust fans on the back of their case, though this can be modified. It also matters where your intake fans are, and most cases these are usually on the front, but again this may be changed. You just want to make sure there's room where the fans are, so that cool air can be pulled into the case without interference, and hot air can be pushed out.

Other than that, it doesn't really matter where anything is to the proximity of your case. I have plenty of stuff lying on top and around my case and the temps are just fine and the case is good to go. Obviously I don't put anything too heavy on top of my case so as to weaken it, nor do I put anything super hot around it.

I have a NZXT Phantom 410. My fans consist of;

2x120mm fans in the front
1x120mm in the rear
1x140mm in the side
2x140mm in the top
The power supply also is at the bottom with its fan facing downwards

Could i perhaps have a measurement in centimetres of how much room i should have infront of a fan for good airflow

 

[TheBigTroll]

if you dont surround your system, its fine

 

[Emile Fadel]

if you dont surround your system, its fine

So far the dimensions of my holder leaves approx 54mm above the case, 2.5mm on the left side, 2.5mm on the right side and 63mm behind the case but its cutout at the back so it practically has unlimited air flow from the back and front... I am only worried about the very limited room on the left and right sides of the case... Should i make my holder wider to accommodate for this?

 

[TheBigTroll]

doesnt matter. side fans are pretty much useless anyways nowadays

heres how id do it. remove the 140 on the side and replace the 120mm in the back with that fan. extra 120mm can be put on the bottom as intake. remove 1 of the 120mm from the front and 1 from the top. too many fans are just mean more noise and the same cooling

 

[Emile Fadel]

doesnt matter. side fans are pretty much useless anyways nowadays

heres how id do it. remove the 140 on the side and replace the 120mm in the back with that fan. extra 120mm can be put on the bottom as intake. remove 1 of the 120mm from the front and 1 from the top. too many fans are just mean more noise and the same cooling

The case i am getting only allows 120mm at the back. It also doesnt allow for any fans placed at the bottom. So basically you recommend taking one fan out from the front, taking one fan out from the top, and getting rid of the side fan. This basically means stick to the stock fans that NZXT include with the case and dont buy any extra fans. Although i could place a 140mm on the front rather then 2x120mm?

 

[TheBigTroll]

yes. dont buy extra fans. its pointless

 

[Emile Fadel]

yes. dont buy extra fans. its pointless

Thank you is it worth replacing the front fan with a 140mm instead of a 120mm.. And also now in this case because i wont be using any side fans and my front and back have a lot of room does this mean i can use my holder comfortably because the sides of the computer will almost be touching the walls of my holder

 

[TheBigTroll]

as long as you dont buy extra fans, its fine. dont really need to mix up the fans that much

 

[Emile Fadel]

as long as you dont buy extra fans, its fine. dont really need to mix up the fans that much

Thanks so basically it only matters if you have good airflow in the front and back of the case but the sides can be pushed up against a surface and it wont have any bad effects on the pc?

 

[TheBigTroll]

yes. airflow goes from front to back

 

[Emile Fadel]

yes. airflow goes from front to back

Thank you!