Question I think my processor cooling fan is facing backwards

[Osama Nawaz]

I think they placed my cooling fan backwards, the fan is facing towards the outside of the case.

Is this safe or useful or should i have it placed properly?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Upload a pic with imgur:

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Imgur

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

imgur.com

 

[Osama Nawaz]

Upload a pic with imgur:

will do, imgur was taking too long so i used some other website

the heat thingie is facing inside
is it safe or do i get it switched asap?

 

[Osama Nawaz]

here is the imgur link too in case the other image isnt showing

 

[theycallmechris]

By the picture, it looks like the fan is on the back side of the tower.

If that's the case, then you could say that the fan is "backwards". You usually want a single fan on the front side of the tower so it's pushing air to the back of the case through the cooling fins, especially if you have a rear exhaust fan. If you have a rear exhaust fan installed it could hurt performance as the rear exhaust fan and the CPU cooler fan will be fighting each other for the same air.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

By the picture, it looks like the fan is on the back side of the tower.

If that's the case, then you could say that the fan is "backwards". You usually want a single fan on the front side of the tower so it's pushing air to the back of the case through the cooling fins, especially if you have a rear exhaust fan. If you have a rear exhaust fan installed it could hurt performance as the rear exhaust fan and the CPU cooler fan will be fighting each other for the same air.

yes its on the backside

the case does have a fan on the front, and no rear exhaust fan. is it safe for me to keep it this way or should i turn it around

 

[maziech]

Maybe they couldn't install it on the front side, so they turned it backwards and installed on the back, so it "sucks" the air towards the back. Maybe it just didn't fit for some reason. Whatever, this looks stupid and i have a feeling that it's ineffective. Try to install it at the front of radiator, so it blows the air towards the back of the case. Maybe You'll find out "why?" then

the case does have a fan on the front, and no rear exhaust fan

I'd buy one.

 

[Karadjgne]

With a slow rpm fan, it's ok to have the fan on the rear, the vacuum created by the fans being sufficient to draw air through the heatsink. Higher rpm fans should be on the front to take advantage of the higher cfm and SP. Either way is usually fine, as long as the airflow goes towards the back of the case.

From the looks of that picture, whomever mounted the cooler did so backwards, using fresh air supply through the rear exhaust grill. That dumps all the cpu heat back into the case, the front intake is just adding to the mix creating a circulatory airflow with no exhaust.

Cpu temps will look great, for a minute, but then start climbing as the heatsink looses efficiency. Gpu just gonna get toasty warm.

Get that fan on the front of the heatsink, air direction through the heatsink and get a rear exhaust fan put back in right.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

i was just checking speccy and something scary showed up, its saying my motherboard is at 120 degree Celsius!!

i hope this is a bug or something, i even shut down the pc and touched it and it doesnt seem even slightly hot

 

[Osama Nawaz]

Maybe they couldn't install it on the front side, so they turned it backwards and installed on the back, so it "sucks" the air towards the back. Maybe it just didn't fit for some reason. Whatever, this looks stupid and i have a feeling that it's ineffective. Try to install it at the front of radiator, so it blows the air towards the back of the case. Maybe You'll find out "why?" then


I'd buy one.

i think that was prob the case, the thing is a bit crowded so maybe they put it backwards so the fan could fit
i wish they asked me before doing it

With a slow rpm fan, it's ok to have the fan on the rear, the vacuum created by the fans being sufficient to draw air through the heatsink. Higher rpm fans should be on the front to take advantage of the higher cfm and SP. Either way is usually fine, as long as the airflow goes towards the back of the case.

From the looks of that picture, whomever mounted the cooler did so backwards, using fresh air supply through the rear exhaust grill. That dumps all the cpu heat back into the case, the front intake is just adding to the mix creating a circulatory airflow with no exhaust.

Cpu temps will look great, for a minute, but then start climbing as the heatsink looses efficiency. Gpu just gonna get toasty warm.

Get that fan on the front of the heatsink, air direction through the heatsink and get a rear exhaust fan put back in right.

i dont think the cooling fan cant be placed so that the heatsink is going outside cause the fan wont fit if its facing the otherway

should i just remove the thing and is it dangerous to keep my pc running this way too long?

 

[Karadjgne]

Your cpu needs a heatsink and fan. No ifs or buts about it. The motherboard won't allow you to even get to bios screen without something plugged into the cpu_fan header.

The fan should be in front, right up next to the ram. It maybe even be that the heatsink itself is installed backwards, I can't tell from that picture.

But it's not really going to hurt as much as it's just going to make the case very hot inside since there's no air flow. Which is why there should be a rear exhaust fan as a minimum.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

Your cpu needs a heatsink and fan. No ifs or buts about it. The motherboard won't allow you to even get to bios screen without something plugged into the cpu_fan header.

The fan should be in front, right up next to the ram. It maybe even be that the heatsink itself is installed backwards, I can't tell from that picture.

But it's not really going to hurt as much as it's just going to make the case very hot inside since there's no air flow. Which is why there should be a rear exhaust fan as a minimum.

the heat sink is facing the ram yes

so if i get a rear fan the airflow would be be better?

 

[maziech]

the heat sink is facing the ram yes

so if i get a rear fan the airflow would be be better?

What You have to do first is to make sure, that You really have a problem with heat. Get some monitoring software, run some stress test for CPU/GPU for a few hours and check, what's going on with the temps inside.

If temps are unacceptable:

1) check if the front fan sucks air INTO the rig. If not, we may have a problem here Houston.

2) Buy a rear fan, that will suck out the hot air from rig to outside.

3) Check if it is possible, to install the CPU heatsink fan higher on the front side, so it's above the ram and don't cover entire heatsink. (1-3 cm higher, comparing to standard mount)

4) If You still have a problem and are not able to install the CPU heatsink fan on front, then i'd think of:
* some second, smaller fan that fits over the ram from the front side
OR
* exchanging the cooling

But first things first, try it out. I don't really believe that it's a must.

Also... am I missing the specs from Your computer, or You haven't posted them yet? Do You overclock Your cpu? If yes, then how much? what's the case and cooling model?

 

[maziech]

Oh... and check the dust filters and the CPU radiator for dust.
You got to clean them regularly. If they are not cleaned from time to time, any cooling won't help You with this.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

What You have to do first is to make sure, that You really have a problem with heat. Get some monitoring software, run some stress test for CPU/GPU for a few hours and check, what's going on with the temps inside.

If temps are unacceptable:

1) check if the front fan sucks air INTO the rig. If not, we may have a problem here Houston.

2) Buy a rear fan, that will suck out the hot air from rig to outside.

3) Check if it is possible, to install the CPU heatsink fan higher on the front side, so it's above the ram and don't cover entire heatsink. (1-3 cm higher, comparing to standard mount)

4) If You still have a problem and are not able to install the CPU heatsink fan on front, then i'd think of:
* some second, smaller fan that fits over the ram from the front side
OR
* exchanging the cooling

But first things first, try it out. I don't really believe that it's a must.

Also... am I missing the specs from Your computer, or You haven't posted them yet? Do You overclock Your cpu? If yes, then how much? what's the case and cooling model?

when not running any games or anything speccy says cpu is at 40 c and gpu at 35 c . the ssd seems quite hot at 50 c
i havent done any super testing but it went upto 50 c i think after a few mins of playing a game. are these temps?

im not sure but i think the front fan is sucking air, i dont feel any air coming out from it

ok i think i am just gonna have this fan replaced with a smaller one if they cant get it installed correctly and get a exhaust fan


specs are core i7 4770, gpu is gtx 970 gigabyte g1, motherboard is C.H81A-BTC from colorful. case is corsair spec 1 and cooler is thermaltake riing silent 12
i have never overclocked

 

[Osama Nawaz]

Oh... and check the dust filters and the CPU radiator for dust.
You got to clean them regularly. If they are not cleaned from time to time, any cooling won't help You with this.

i clean them once a month with an air blower

dust over here is a big problem, u get dust covering stuff even if u left stuff uncleaned for a day

 

[Karadjgne]

I'd not get a smaller cooler, or there's no way your cpu temps will go down. With the direction the cooler is facing its making your case into an oven, it's no wonder your drives are so hot. Just halve to turn the cooler or fan to pull air from the front side and actually put a rear exhaust fan in back. No reason why it shouldn't fit its not that big to begin with.



Should look pretty much exactly like this.

 

[mortemas]

Let's try to determine the actual direction of the airflow of that fan. You should feel hot air coming out the back if it is exhausting air. You could try holding a tissue in front of it (on the back of the pc case) to see if it pulls in or gets pushed away. Alternatively, if you are able to see it, there should be arrows on the fan's frame that show the direction of rotation and the direction of air flow. Lastly, while the computer is off look at the fan and note the shape of the blade, then power up so you can determine the direction of spin. If you know how a fan blade cuts through and moves air, you will know which direction it is blowing.

Can you determine if there is a second fan behind that one? It looks like that IS the exhaust fan as it appears to be mounted on the exhaust port. Seems like they did this to eliminate the need for another fan on the cpu cooler itself. I've done this with my rig that is like 12 years old now and still running. Although my tower cooler wasn't that close to the back of the case. I used plastic sheets from a hobby store and made a duct that linked the tower cooler to the exhaust fan. Again, running for 12 years now (not 24/7) without a problem.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

I'd not get a smaller cooler, or there's no way your cpu temps will go down. With the direction the cooler is facing its making your case into an oven, it's no wonder your drives are so hot. Just halve to turn the cooler or fan to pull air from the front side and actually put a rear exhaust fan in back. No reason why it shouldn't fit its not that big to begin with.



Should look pretty much exactly like this.

what do i do if a big cooler doesnt fit though? this motherboard i got is a little small and it dont seem like the cooler i got could fit in the proper direction
yeah i am gonna get this thing turned around or at least replaced tomorrow before anything inside my pc is ruined

mine is the reverse of that

Let's try to determine the actual direction of the airflow of that fan. You should feel hot air coming out the back if it is exhausting air. You could try holding a tissue in front of it (on the back of the pc case) to see if it pulls in or gets pushed away. Alternatively, if you are able to see it, there should be arrows on the fan's frame that show the direction of rotation and the direction of air flow. Lastly, while the computer is off look at the fan and note the shape of the blade, then power up so you can determine the direction of spin. If you know how a fan blade cuts through and moves air, you will know which direction it is blowing.

Can you determine if there is a second fan behind that one? It looks like that IS the exhaust fan as it appears to be mounted on the exhaust port. Seems like they did this to eliminate the need for another fan on the cpu cooler itself. I've done this with my rig that is like 12 years old now and still running. Although my tower cooler wasn't that close to the back of the case. I used plastic sheets from a hobby store and made a duct that linked the tower cooler to the exhaust fan. Again, running for 12 years now (not 24/7) without a problem.

i will check the fans with the tissue and tell u. i at least know the front fan is blowing air on the inside as i fell air coming from it when i put my hand against it inside

its just one fan no exhaust, it is facing the exhaust port though

 

[Osama Nawaz]

from the tissue i found out the front fan is blowing air in and the cooler fan is also blowing air in from the exhaust

the cooler fan is also very slowly spinning, it didnt really push or pull the tissue much

 

[Karadjgne]

The area around the cpu socket is the same on any motherboard, doesn't matter if it's mITX or E-ATX. So motherboard fit will be all the same minimums. From the picture angle I can't tell if just the fan is on the wrong side or if the heatsink is 180° backwards. Either way, whomever installed it did not know what they were doing.

 

[Osama Nawaz]

The area around the cpu socket is the same on any motherboard, doesn't matter if it's mITX or E-ATX. So motherboard fit will be all the same minimums. From the picture angle I can't tell if just the fan is on the wrong side or if the heatsink is 180° backwards. Either way, whomever installed it did not know what they were doing.

alrighty, so instead of going to the place where i got this installed i attempted to switch the fan myself. i think i got it installed correctly and hopefully havent messed anything up

heres what it looks like now, sorry about the bad angle before. this one is a bit better

can you tell if the heat sink is on properly? i matched the pic of the pc you gave me and it seems like its on right
also idk if its cause the fan is facing me or not but i am noticing some noise from the fan now.

 

[maziech]

just check which way it blows the air to make sure ;-)

Also, buy and install rear fan.

Good job m8 ;-)

 

[maziech]

BTW - your video card - shouldn't it be connected with additional 8-pin cable?