[SOLVED] Newbie needs help with air flow build

[Bubbynova]

Hello! I’m new to the forums and pc building. My case came with 3 unknown front 120mm intake fans, one rear top exhaust. I have a cool master 212 hyper black edition cpu cooler that’s on the rear side exhaust blowing into the rear case fan exhaust. I have room to put another fan on the cpu cooler front, and room to put two more fans in the front top of the case, near my glass panel. My case is the asus tuf mid tower 301. It’s pretty compact. Anyways I also don’t know anything about fans speeds, which ones would need to do what, or how to control them. It also came with dust filters. I read I need to clean my of once a week, do I just spray out the filters. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks y’all!!

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

check the case specs on ASUS product page.
it should list which fans are included.
how they should be setup and how much control you may have over them depends on the make & model of the fans.

what CPU you currently have would determine if this CM Hyper 212 can handle keeping it cool enough.

for cleaning dust filters;
i just use my sink sprayer to wash them out, let them drip dry for a bit, and then gently rub with a towel before replacing.

 

[Bubbynova]

Well the thing is I bought a barebones unit from micro center, it came with power supply, motherboard, GPU, and case with fans. I have contacted asus support, micro center, and Newegg and no one can give me an answer on what kind of fans are in there. It’s frustrating cause I want to use the same ones. I have an Intel Core i7-10700K Comet Lake 3.8GHz. I only have one intake fan that points to my GPU, so I thought top intakes might help keep it cooler, but again I’m a newb lol. Thanks for the help with cleaning the dust filters. Maybe I should look into changing all the fans if I can’t get answers, I’m not sure. I plan on playing some light 2k gaming so I would want to keep this thing cool

 

[Lafong]

My case came with 3 unknown front 120mm intake fans, one rear top exhaust...............I have room to put another fan on the cpu cooler front, and room to put two more fans in the front top of the case, near my glass panel.

I wouldn't assume more is better.

3 front intakes is more than you usually see.

Are you indifferent to noise?

How concerned are you about temperatures? If highly concerned, you may have to live with more noise than you'd like.

Try the stock configuration and evaluate noise and temps.

Then experiment from that point.

You may find that the 3rd front intake doesn't reduce temps at all. Or that additional fans in the empty mounts don't help.

If you don't like the noise, you may have some luck by reducing fan speeds in the BIOS.......or you may have to replace the included fans with quieter models.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

most of the TUF GT series cases come with rather lower quality ASUS "Aura Sync" fans.
whether these are actually manufactured by ASUS i couldn't say, have never seen them available for retail purchase.

i would definitely replace them with something that offers more airflow and probably lower noise.
my first choice for case fans is always the be quiet! Silent Wings 3 series.

 

[Bubbynova]

Ok thanks for the reply. I just got it. I only tried gta 5 1080max settings and I literally don’t hear anything from it. Even just turned on with the panel open I don’t hear anything. I wouldn’t want anything too noisy just because I don’t want it to be noisy to my wife. But other than that I don’t mind. I just got 3D mark from steam but I’m out of town and I will benchmark. But I did use some when I googled and read they were good free benchmarks and my cpu was running 67 to 69, hit 70 or 71 once. I don’t remember about my GPU but the hotspot might of hit 70. Thanks for the reply!!

 

[Bubbynova]

Oh ok John I just saw your other post about the wing series 3. I will look into them right now thank you

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

cpu was running 67 to 69, hit 70 or 71 once. I don’t remember about my GPU but the hotspot might of hit 70...
just saw your other post about the wing series 3. I will look into them right now thank you

definitely nothing dangerous temperature-wise.
i always aim for lower just to keep the ambient temperature in the room down some.
but if temps and noise are okay for you just stick with what you got until something changes.

just got 3D mark from steam

3DMark is good for comparing similar systems and showing if you're near what you should expect performance-wise.

 

[Bubbynova]

Thanks John I will try 3D mark out asap. Are the be quite fans not RGB?

 

[geofelt]

I would do nothing.
If your temperatures are ok, the fans are doing the job.
3 120mm front intakes will draw in plenty of fresh air.
In time, all that will exit SOMEWHERE, taking component heat with it.
The purpose of a 120mm rear fan is to direct the airflow past the cooler, graphics card and motherboard.
How are the fans connected?
If connected to motherboard headers, the motherboard can ramp up the speed if the cpu gets hot. That is controlled by a fan curve in the motherboard bios.
A fan connected directly to the psu will run at full speed always.


RUN hwmonitor. If you never see 100c as a max temperature, you are ok.
Try the CPU-Z stress test.

If you think the noise the fans make it too much, then you could spend some money on higher quality fans. 900rpm is quiet. Over 1200 rpm, you start to notice the sound.

Bottom line, spend your budget elsewhere.

 

[Bubbynova]

Thank you!