How should I orient the fans in my case

[AlexSaff]

I am looking into the Define r5 as a case for my new workstation for animation. I'm kind of new to PC building and was wondering how I should orient the fans in the case. The case has:


2 140mm/120mm front mounts (with dust filter)

1 140mm/120mm rear mount (without dust filter)

3 140mm/120mm top mounts (without dust filter)

and 2 140mm/120mm bottom mounts (with dust filter)

I will be having an H90 (or another if you think I should get another) and was wondering how many fans I should get and where I should put them to get the best cooling possible. Cheers.

 

[i7Baby]

Intake - front, bottom and sides.
Exhaust - Rear and top.

Have more inlet than exhaust - create slight positive pressure in the case to help keep dust out.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Intake - front, bottom and sides.
Exhaust - Rear and top.

Have more inlet than exhaust - create slight positive pressure in the case to help keep dust out.

this if you want dust out, i find slight negative works better to keep temps down, but not as good dust filtering, and depends on your exact case. I only have 2 front and 3 rear/upper, so it must be negative pressure unless the front front fans are run at higher speed than the rear. Air flow direction is also important, you want to create a flow direction, so front cold air in, upper/rear hot air out. IMO side fans can interrupt the airflow and only be used if they are needed to fix a particular hot spot that they are pointed at.

 

[AlexSaff]

Dust isn't really the issue where my PC is going I just want to be able to cool this thing because with rendering the PC will be under extreme load for 5-10 hrs at a time.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Dust isn't really the issue where my PC is going I just want to be able to cool this thing because with rendering the PC will be under extreme load for 5-10 hrs at a time.

for your case, i would to the bottom and front intake, the rear and top exhaust.

 

[i7Baby]

Your case -
Front: 2 – 120/140 mm fans (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed) - Put 2 x 140mm here - you could use the 2 provided fans
Rear: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed) - put your H90 here
Top: 3 - 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Bottom: 2 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Side: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Fan controller: 3 step fan controller for up to 3 fans
Dust filters: Bottom and front intakes

 

[AlexSaff]

Dust isn't really the issue where my PC is going I just want to be able to cool this thing because with rendering the PC will be under extreme load for 5-10 hrs at a time.

for your case, i would to the bottom and front intake, the rear and top exhaust.

Your case -
Front: 2 – 120/140 mm fans (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed) - Put 2 x 140mm here - you could use the 2 provided fans
Rear: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (included is 1 Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 fan, 1000 RPM speed) - put your H90 here
Top: 3 - 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Bottom: 2 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Side: 1 – 120/140 mm fan (not included)
Fan controller: 3 step fan controller for up to 3 fans
Dust filters: Bottom and front intakes

So in the end I will have 2 intakes and 1 exhaust in the form of my H90. What if I were to up to an H100i, would I have 2 140mm intake and 2 120mm exhaust or should I add some more intake?

 

[i7Baby]

Ideally, you'd fit the 240mm rad to the front. But quite often, because of too short hoses, you have to fit them to the top. To use them then is problematic. If exhaust, then you're feeding it warm air.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

Ideally, you'd fit the 240mm rad to the front. But quite often, because of too short hoses, you have to fit them to the top. To use them then is problematic. If exhaust, then you're feeding it warm air.

if you have it blowing into the case from the top, you get massive heat build up in your case. Ive tried it in my case, rad as intake from the top, and my gpu gets all the hot air from the cpu, which is an issue. Getting slightly warmer air over the rad from inside the case isnt really an issue, especially if you have quite a few fans. but it's easy enough to try both ways see which works best. If it can reach the front and intake its not really an issue as it doesnt upset the airflow.

 

[AlexSaff]

Ideally, you'd fit the 240mm rad to the front. But quite often, because of too short hoses, you have to fit them to the top. To use them then is problematic. If exhaust, then you're feeding it warm air.

if you have it blowing into the case from the top, you get massive heat build up in your case. Ive tried it in my case, rad as intake from the top, and my gpu gets all the hot air from the cpu, which is an issue. Getting slightly warmer air over the rad from inside the case isnt really an issue, especially if you have quite a few fans. but it's easy enough to try both ways see which works best. If it can reach the front and intake its not really an issue as it doesnt upset the airflow.

Would it be too much to put two 140mm intakes in the front and 2 140mm intakes on the bottom with the H100i as a 120mm exhaust in the top?