[SOLVED] If I move the PC case fan outside the metal grill, will it affect Air-Flow/CFM?

[aranorde]

IMAGE :-

https://imgur.com/a/1j6Plz8

View: https://imgur.com/a/1j6Plz8


I have cooler master N200 and the front fan is noisy, so I moved it outside according to this. [the reason was this]

I'm worried if this could affect the air flow or not, it is pretty close to the front panel now.
There is this small gap marked as "A" to facilitate the easy removal of the front panel, that gap could have been a possible help for air-take as well before switching it outside.
Now it wont be much useful, so I'm guessing the air flow might get reduced a bit? or reduced due to the fan directly releasing air into a honeycomb designed metal grill instead of open space like earlier?

Please any help on this is appreciated, I'm new to this.

Thanks.

 

[clutchc]

It probably would be hard to tell short of using an air flow meter. But with dual front fans, I doubt you have anything to worry about.

 

[tennis2]

It's either pushing or pulling air through the honeycomb. Doesn't matter

 

[AllanGH]

From personal experience, as long as the fan airflow direction isn't switched-around, go for it.

You will lower the noise level and have better airflow, though, if you just cut the honeycombed portion of the case exterior out completely.

I have a "mumble-mumble-can't-quite-remember-what-make-and-model-it-is" tower cabinet that has two intake fans at the front of the case; on hinged doors for HDD sled access, that were a tad-bit noisy because I run my fans at top speed all the time; so I just got the chassis nibbler out and cut out the punched sheet metal that serves as a fan guard.

It is a bit quieter, and I do have to clean the front panel filter a bit more often, but I do keep that front panel on the machine to keep the cats tails out of the fan blades.

Well, I do now, anyways. Meow.

 

[Karadjgne]

The honeycomb grill in front of that fan does absolutely nothing but impede airflow a tiny amount with fans behind it, and create a solid object sound can bounce on from fans mounted in front of it.

No, you aren't getting a whine noise from 'air leakage' due to the indentations. Most decent fans come with rubber anti-vibration grommets that'll actually raise the fan shroud off the surface 1 mm or so anyways. You'd have to block most of the surface intake vacuum area in order to get enough air through that small gap to make any difference.

9/10 fan created noise is from this from the fan blades themselves displacing air, 1/10 fan created noise is from the motor whine at high speeds.

Have you considered that fan cfm through the dust shield is what's really creating the whine?

 

[AllanGH]

You may want to consider reading write-ups of actual testing on fan grille types, because fan grilles definitely do increase fan noise:

Effects of Grill Patterns on Fan Performance/Noise