Discussion No front intake fan? Both side and rear fan exhaust is best, if tower is on its side.

[bobalazs]

I have this pc case:
https://www.akyga.com/products/393-midi-tower-atx-case-ak995bk.html


Even the manufacturer recommends the side fan to be intake according to its pdf.:

https://imgur.com/qN6sGvm

Wherever i read and tests i see, i guess it presumes a tower in every case (and also not blower style fan) and that it is not laying on it's side.
Almost every test i see it presumes a front in and rear out fan. Even if it does not have a front intake fan, the side fan almost always recommended to be intake fan to blow air onto the gpu.
I think everything worse differently in my case, because there is no intake fan,
When i had the side fan to be intake i had 5°C higher temperatures and louder higher RPM running gpu fans.
TLDR: So having no air intake fan shouldn't be a problem, as with both being exhaust fans, the hot air is pulled out of the fan. Also it will find the little crevices where it will draw in, as almost no pc cases are being fully airtight.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Ralston18]

Regarding:

"So having no air intake fan shouldn't be a problem, as with both being exhaust fans, the hot air is pulled out of the fan. Also it will find the little crevices where it will draw in, as almost no pc cases are being fully airtight."

No. The case needs open and easy routes for air to flow through freely and fast enough to carry away heat.

Basically if the fans are pushing air out faster than air can get in then a vacuum is being created. Nature, as the saying goes, "abhors a vacuum".

Air will get in but the paths it finds may be counter to the intended designed air flow paths. Hot air may end up just circulating around inside getting hotter and hotter.

Nosier, less efficient, hard on the fans.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for all cooling fan requirements and placements.

Would not put a tower on its side either.

 

[digitalgriffin]

I have this pc case:
https://www.akyga.com/products/393-midi-tower-atx-case-ak995bk.html


Even the manufacturer recommends the side fan to be intake according to its pdf.:

https://imgur.com/qN6sGvm

Wherever i read and tests i see, i guess it presumes a tower in every case (and also not blower style fan) and that it is not laying on it's side.
Almost every test i see it presumes a front in and rear out fan. Even if it does not have a front intake fan, the side fan almost always recommended to be intake fan to blow air onto the gpu.
I think everything worse differently in my case, because there is no intake fan,
When i had the side fan to be intake i had 5°C higher temperatures and louder higher RPM running gpu fans.
TLDR: So having no air intake fan shouldn't be a problem, as with both being exhaust fans, the hot air is pulled out of the fan. Also it will find the little crevices where it will draw in, as almost no pc cases are being fully airtight.

What are your thoughts?

Balanced Pressure > Positive air pressure > Negative air pressure

You have negative air pressure. Negative air pressure typically means less air (lower density) / sq m of static air.

It's always better where you establish a clean air in path and exit path. It helps you establish where your air is coming and going.

 

[bobalazs]

I knew noone will agree with me, it is what it is. Hot air was circulating with sidefan intake, now it's not, even if less air is moved. There was no hotbox effect observed for after prolonged gaming session.
It will stay like this because temps are better. I also noticed the gpu blows air towards the side panel. Probably why exhaust positioning works better.

 

[boju]

Makes sense having no side fan, temps may be cooler. Heat isn't dispersed to other areas of the case, so hot air isn't accumulating as much, not slowly becoming an oven. Air is more or less focused in a smaller area around the motherboard and close to the exhaust fans.

Sorry to say this, it may have read at first i agree with your setup but this isn't ideal at all, because;

One potential problem. The psu is sucking warm air and even though cpu/gpu temps are lower, the psu is running hotter. Hotter psu = less efficient.Top psu mount cases aren't very popular for this reason, despite your case being on it's side, the point of it being is your psu is used to suck and exhaust warm air. There's no cooler air forced around it.

How to position your power supply

seasonic.com

The idea behind linear (one direction) air path with intakes positioned low is cold air is denser and pushes hot air up as cold air sinks. Cycle repeats. More air coming in = more hot air moved and quicker. You'll find, if you did have front intake fans, you'll have even better temps.

 

[bobalazs]

The idea behind linear (one direction) air path with intakes positioned low is cold air is denser and pushes hot air up as cold air sinks. Cycle repeats. More air coming in = more hot air moved and quicker. You'll find, if you did have front intake fans, you'll have even better temps.

There is no panel or slot to equip a front panel fan on this case. it will never be a one way direction here. Especially if air is blown in at the side the back panel fan can not cope to pull out the hot air, quick enough, so hot air stays longer in the pc case, even if psu helps (or not, as you said it may even cause heat issues) So there is a hotbox effect. I think it's preferable not to overanalyze this, as this issue can not be generalized. Case is not upside down, but on it's side.

 

[boju]

I understand, if there were mounts for front intakes, you'd probably take advantage of it. Just thought i'd put a prospective on this, It's not about over analyzing, it's about letting you know the potential issues that may arrive in future with your psu if you keep this up. Whether you'll take this advice on board or not it's entirely up to you.

According to Seasonic, air flow as is, but you don't have any forced air coming in, or very little. It's not good. Advice would be to change case really. Hard truth but is what i would recommend instead of saying what you want to hear.

 

[Ralston18]

@bobalazs

"I knew noone will agree with me, it is what it is."

Not a manner of agreeing or disagreeing.

The case, the PSU, the CPU, the GPU are all designed to be cooled in one manner or another.

To do that the installation instructions are the guiding documents. Failing to follow the installation instructions can void warranties and/or reduce product EOL (End of Life). Or hold back performance.

It may seem that all is well but without proper airflows and cooling it is likely that something somewhere will be hotter than it should be for longer than it should be.

And that, we can probably agree, is not likely to end well.

 

[bobalazs]

well okay then, i made the side fan to be intake then, but it's not helping the temps. I guess a pc case buying is in order.

 

[boju]

Would be for the best.

Suggestion

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Y6...hify-c-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-ca-mesh-c-bko-tg