Question Is a case fan on the side a viable proposition ?

[anonsky]

to preface this i have a garbage pre-built which i bought during covid, the front is completely sealed off, the case does not provide any fans. when i first got the pc my gpu would regularly hit 80+ celcius however i've found a solution of sorts by using an external fan blowing into the side of my pc which has grills(?) and as a result it would go to 70 ish c on some games and 80 on some harder to run titles, if i were to say buy actual case fans and use one as exhaust on the back and one as intake at the front, would it make any difference at all?

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Sure, as long as there is nothing blocking the airflow in front of your intake and exhaust fans. If you install this setup I would recommend the side fan be used as an exhaust if possible, instead of blowing disruptive air into the case.

 

[anonsky]

Sure, as long as there is nothing blocking the airflow in front of your intake and exhaust fans. If you install this setup I would recommend the side fan be used as an exhaust if possible, instead of blowing disruptive air into the case.

any reason why? the fan on the side directly blows on the GPU, wouldn't making it exhaust make it hotter?

 

[Zerk2012]

any reason why? the fan on the side directly blows on the GPU, wouldn't making it exhaust make it hotter?

Basic fan setup. Depending on the case if you can use all options.
Front, bottom, and side blowing in.
Top and back, blowing out.

 

[SkyNetRising]

if i were to say buy actual case fans and use one as exhaust on the back and one as intake at the front, would it make any difference at all?

Can you show a photo of your system with side panel removed?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

How many fans installed?

 

[anonsky]

Can you show a photo of your system with side panel removed?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

How many fans installed?

https://imgur.com/a/YB5sBEI

i just bought the exhaust fan you see in this picture and installed it (great temps), i also have an external fan, though not a case fan that i use as an intake fan
View: https://imgur.com/a/YB5sBEI

 

[anonsky]

Basic fan setup. Depending on the case if you can use all options.
Front, bottom, and side blowing in.
Top and back, blowing out.

that's what i am doing though? one fan on the side as the intake, one at the back as the exhaust

 

[SkyNetRising]

Can you list specs of your hardware?
Doesn't seem like anything extra power hungry.
But your cpu cooler is ultra low end - just a block of aluminum with fan slapped onto it.

I'd suggest to upgrade it to a standard tower/heat pipe type cooler.
Deepcool Gammax 400, Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo or similar.

 

[anonsky]

Can you list specs of your hardware?
Doesn't seem like anything extra power hungry.
But your cpu cooler is ultra low end - just a block of aluminum with fan slapped onto it.

I'd suggest to upgrade it to a standard tower/heat pipe type cooler.
Deepcool Gammax 400, Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo or similar.

1650 with an i3 10105f. 300 watt psu. it's not power hungry at all thus it shouldn't exert that much heat, which is why I'm concerned about the 1650 hitting 80c under load. my cpu rarely ever hits 70c though, even under load, which is a why I don't think a better CPU cooler is necessary

 

[SkyNetRising]

Those are high temperatures for such low power components.
What is ambient room temperature there?

Can you show a full view of your pc case and all possible fan mounting points?

I think best option would be getting a new pc case - designed for high airflow gaming pc.
Together with cpu cooler upgrade.

 

[anonsky]

Those are high temperatures for such low power components.
What is ambient room temperature there?

Can you show a full view of your pc case and all possible fan mounting points?

I think best option would be getting a new pc case - designed for high airflow gaming pc.
Together with cpu cooler upgrade.

i live in a tropical country and the average temperature here is around 30~32 Celsius on averge, the pc only has one fan mount, as well only one 4 pin socket

edit: I would want to buy a new case in the future too, but with the motherboard being proprietary I'm sceptical as to whether a normal case would be viable or not

 

[Zerk2012]

that's what i am doing though? one fan on the side as the intake, one at the back as the exhaust

That should work not everybody can just go spend money or extra parts, 80C for a video card is not really bad.

 

[anonsky]

That should work not everybody can just go spend money or extra parts, 80C for a video card is not really bad.

I'm not that well off financially. I want to able to use this PC as long as possible.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

any reason why? the fan on the side directly blows on the GPU, wouldn't making it exhaust make it hotter?

If you have a front and rear setup blowing air in from the side could disrupt the air flow from front to rear. It could cause the air to just swirl around inside your case instead of ejecting the warm/hot air.

 

[Zerk2012]

If you have a front and rear setup blowing air in from the side could disrupt the air flow from front to rear. It could cause the air to just swirl around inside your case instead of ejecting the warm/hot air.

From his/her first post no front fan.
the front is completely sealed off,

 

[anonsky]

If you have a front and rear setup blowing air in from the side could disrupt the air flow from front to rear. It could cause the air to just swirl around inside your case instead of ejecting the warm/hot air.

the reason why i am asking about the side is specifically because the front is completely sealed off, quoting my initial post "the front is completely sealed off"

 

[Bearmann]

Fully agree with what Zerk2012 said. Actually turbulent air can often cool better as laminar flow patterns around objects can shield them from temperature changes. Turbulent air helps break up the laminar flow patterns. Side fans can be quite helpful. This is an old article, but a good one:

The Big Air Cooling Investigation | bit-tech.net

Ever wanted definitive answers on how best to air cool your PC, then look no further

www.bit-tech.net