Open air case: airflow

[Rain_3]

I'm thinking of getting an open air case I inwin H-Frame 2.0. On the problem is that the case only allows for 4 fans: 1 in the rear and 3 on the top. So now I'm wondering if I should just have 3 intakes, because it is open air eventually all the hot air will dissipate through the front and all. Or should I have intake top (radiator) and exhaust at the rear?

 

[AUnlikelyPotatoe]

I say 2 intakes and the radiator blowing out the back.

 

[Gnuffi]

So now I'm wondering if I should just have 3 intakes, because it is open air eventually all the hot air will dissipate through the front and all.

thats just not how thermals work
and by the looks of it that case would prob be one of the worst cooling solution cases out there

in order to rectify some of the blunders made cooling solution wise you need to think alternatively

A
either you go with a full on negative pressure case, all fans/rads exhaust, which i suppose might give teh best cooling in that case design

B
or you let the rear/+roof/top back fan intake and the roof/top front fan exhaust and leave the middle fan alone (dont have intake and exhaust in close proximity )

C
or you take the the rear/+roof/top back fan exhaust and the roof/top front fan intake and leave the middle fan alone

D
or roof/top middle+front fans intake and rear exhaust, leaving the roof/top back fan alone, again to not have intake and exhaust too close proximity

i think A would work the best in that case
next would be B then D.
Option C would probably result in the worst internal air flow of the 4

 

[indsup]

Front intake, bottom for the power supply intake. Top and Back as exhaust. Hot air rises and cool air sinks. Intake from the bottom and exhaust out the top. There is no side intake fan to worry about. Not sure why everybody is so confused on this. Simple thermal dynamics. Go with the same in as out so you get even exchange of air flow that will give you the best results. Just make sure all the fans are the same flow ratings and you will be happy with what your results.

 

[Gnuffi]

Front intake, bottom for the power supply intake. Top and Back as exhaust. Hot air rises and cool air sinks. Intake from the bottom and exhaust out the top. There is no side intake fan to worry about. Not sure why everybody is so confused on this. Simple thermal dynamics. Go with the same in as out so you get even exchange of air flow that will give you the best results. Just make sure all the fans are the same flow ratings and you will be happy with what your results.

the reason is his case doesnt have any front or bottom fans,, only 1 rear and 3 roof/top fans.. so "conventional" cooling solutions doesnt apply in his case
because that case designers clearly thought "form over function", which gives those weird cooling setups
https://www.inwin-style.com/en/gaming-chassis/h-frame-2

 

[Rain_3]

So now I'm wondering if I should just have 3 intakes, because it is open air eventually all the hot air will dissipate through the front and all.

thats just not how thermals work
and by the looks of it that case would prob be one of the worst cooling solution cases out there

in order to rectify some of the blunders made cooling solution wise you need to think alternatively

A
either you go with a full on negative pressure case, all fans/rads exhaust, which i suppose might give teh best cooling in that case design

B
or you let the rear/+roof/top back fan intake and the roof/top front fan exhaust and leave the middle fan alone (dont have intake and exhaust in close proximity )

C
or you take the the rear/+roof/top back fan exhaust and the roof/top front fan intake and leave the middle fan alone

D
or roof/top middle+front fans intake and rear exhaust, leaving the roof/top back fan alone, again to not have intake and exhaust too close proximity

i think A would work the best in that case
next would be B then D.
Option C would probably result in the worst internal air flow of the 4

I was initially going to go with A, but then my friends told me positive pressure works wonders also. So I thought 3 intakes would create positive pressure. Is negative pressure better than positive in an open air case?

 

[Gnuffi]

So now I'm wondering if I should just have 3 intakes, because it is open air eventually all the hot air will dissipate through the front and all.

thats just not how thermals work
and by the looks of it that case would prob be one of the worst cooling solution cases out there

in order to rectify some of the blunders made cooling solution wise you need to think alternatively

A
either you go with a full on negative pressure case, all fans/rads exhaust, which i suppose might give teh best cooling in that case design

B
or you let the rear/+roof/top back fan intake and the roof/top front fan exhaust and leave the middle fan alone (dont have intake and exhaust in close proximity )

C
or you take the the rear/+roof/top back fan exhaust and the roof/top front fan intake and leave the middle fan alone

D
or roof/top middle+front fans intake and rear exhaust, leaving the roof/top back fan alone, again to not have intake and exhaust too close proximity

i think A would work the best in that case
next would be B then D.
Option C would probably result in the worst internal air flow of the 4

I was initially going to go with A, but then my friends told me positive pressure works wonders also. So I thought 3 intakes would create positive pressure. Is negative pressure better than positive in an open air case?

the reason positive pressure works wonders is its less demanding on cleaning
since negative pressure is gonna require you to clean your PC often due to dust, and a positive pressure can cool quite efficient, but greatly reduces the "demanded" amount of cleaning
in terms of cooling true negative pressure will cool slightly better than positive pressure, but the difference is not huge enough, for non enthusiast to concern about it

only reason negative pressure (option A) is considered for your case, is it has such poor cooling options, it almost suddenly becomes the only "true" viable
since all your case fans are top mounted, even as intake, you will have bad air pockets, stale air, limited non-optimal air flow
had you had atleast 1 bottom fan beneath the mobo, or atleast 1 side vent in a lower GPU position it would instantly be better, but your case doesnt, which means you wont have any "optimal" way of moving air into your case without interfering with the flow and "rising heat"
imagine it like so,
you place your roof/top fans as intake, yes you introduce some "fresh" air into your case, but since heat rises, all you do is push the hot air back down, making it "tumble" round inside the case, it wont be automatically directed to the front where it can freely escape, because it will naturally keep trying to rise up and you have no "forward" airflow momentum

and should you take the rear as intake while still having a top intake in the top front/middle,
the heat will rise up, be pushed in direction of the front, but the top intake will push it back down, and the automatic turbulence form the rear intake will cause it to cycle back down to the left and up again , never "truly" reaching the front and venting

and should we take the rear as intake and the roof as exhaust you do get some air flow, but very limited the entire lower part of your case will only get passive airflow from the turbulence created in eh top,and vice versa if top middle/front is intake and rear exhaust
where as if you mount all fans as exhaust and go for true negative pressure, the negative pressure will suck in air from the "open" front and give some flow, however minor

all in all, while the case looks amazing, it has some extremely poor thought out cooling solutions, since you will lack flow in some parts/get dead air pockets, no matter which of the solutions you chose, and only options is to limit them however little is possible and the negative pressure would be the "best of the worst" in that case scenario..

 

[Gnuffi]

so if you dont want negative pressure i suggest you go for B or D, since those both result in positive pressure and cause some directional flow to be created

 

[indsup]

After looking closely at the case it looks like the best cooling solution you will get is with both fans pushing out. You will be getting air in from the radius of the case. Sides are glass but the rest is essentially open. Good looking case, not really a problem with cooling issues with the design. It will operate on negative pressure with the only fans pushing out and nothing pulling in.