Is my CPU fan facing the right way?

[Michael_42]

Hey all,

This has been bugging the hell out of me. Ever since I got this new CPU cooler I feel its blowing air the wrong way. It feels as if its blowing it towards my intake fans. The fan spins counter-clockwise


What can you guys tell via these pictures?

 

[kanewolf]

There should be an arrow molded into the side of the fan which identifies which way it pushes air. Sometimes it is molded into the plastic in one of the corners.

 

[Susquehannock]

Counterclockwise would be backwards. Most fans blow towards the support frame like below:

 

[dudio]

I disagree. Counter-clockwise is CORRECT if you look at his fan blades as well as the photo above. Counter-clockwise would be grabbing air from the front and pushing it thru the cooling fins. I think you're fine michael.
(It's easier to understand if you imagine the fan blades turning clockwise..it would definitely be pushing air away, not in/thru)

 

[Solandri]

Generally, you want the airflow to go:

Intake -> hard drives -> motherboard components -> CPU -> Outlet (or less preferably the PSU).

The reason is that the CPU is usually the hottest item on the computer. So if you blow CPU-heated air over the motherboard components, the motherboard components either won't cool or will actually heat up more if the CPU has heated the air to hotter than the motherboard components. You want the cool outside air to flow over the coolest components first (hard drives), then the slightly warmer air flows over the motherboard components to cool them off, then the moderately warm air can flow through the CPU heatsink to cool it off, and finally that hot air is pumped out.

So wherever your CPU fan is blowing its air, you want to direct that air out of the case ASAP. If it's blowing air at what is normally your inlet fan, I'd consider flipping your inlet fan around to turn it into an outlet fan. On some pre-built systems, they even put a duct over the CPU fan so its exhaust air goes directly out of the case without the need for an outlet fan.