Question Should I Remove Mesh Filter From TOP Panel? (To improve airflow)

[My PC Hates Me]

Should I Remove Mesh Filter From TOP Panel of my Antec NX410 ATX Mid-Tower Case to improve airflow / cooling of the CPU, RAM, and VRMs?

I am using a thermalright peerless assasin to cool my i5-13600K on a z690 motherboard.

I am using the pre-installed case fans. No radiator. Just two 140mm intake fans in front, and one 120mm exhaust fan in back.

The case has a top panel with hundreds of small-ish holes, and a magnetic mesh filter over it.

Should I remove that magnetic mesh filter to allow air to more easily escape out the top?

Or will that divert cool air coming in from the front intake fans away from RAM modules, CPU cooler, and VRMs? (I fear that the cool air coming in from the front of the case will escape too easily out the top before reaching those components).

Maybe it is better to somehow COVER the top ventilation holes so that the cold air from the front intake fans will flow directly toward the back exhaust fans?

P.S. I really DO NOT RECOMMEND this case.

 

[GarrettL]

Would likely make very little difference.

Are you have temp issues to cause poor pc performance?

 

[sonofjesse]

Unless your having an issue with temps I would say nothing is needed (are you having a problem??).

****

If you want overkill or just add fans for fun that is ok

I would just install 2 fans in the top of the case to suck hot air out.

Fans are cheap and I think its nice to have 2 top exhaust fans personally

https://www.antec.com/product/case/nx410

Pick your FAV 140's (artic's, schthye, noctua etc)

 

[My PC Hates Me]

Would likely make very little difference.

Are you have temp issues to cause poor pc performance?

Thanks for the input.

No real temperature issues so far. I ran Cinebench R23 for 10 minutes multicore test and it peaked at 70-degrees C.

It was kind of strange actually, because it peaked at EXACTLY 70-degrees. Not 72, not 71, but 70 Even.

15-13600K

 

[logainofhades]

Removing the mesh can improve airflow. Often I see the big name tech tubers say to just remove it. It is kinda useless, when the top is used as an exhaust, as it should be.

 

[USAFRet]

"magnetic mesh filter"

Takes all of 5 seconds to take it off.

Take it off and see what happens with the temps.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I removed the mesh filter on my 4000x as a test and it helped by 3 degrees. So it can possibly help.

 

[mmtoller]

I removed the mesh filter on my 4000x as a test and it helped by 3 degrees. So it can possibly help.

Both idle and full load?
Anyway, I think it is a tiny and short term gain compared to the increase of potential dust and higher temps in mid to long term.

 

[Karadjgne]

Your question is not simple by any means, actually it's highly complicated. More so because there's so many variables that generally never get thought of, ppl concern themselves with just 1 or 2, such as cpu and/or gpu temps. There's no consideration put to other factors.

A fan works when the blade moves through air. The pitch of the blades motion creates a low pressure area behind it, the faster/heavier pitch, the stronger the low pressure created. The byproduct being high pressure air forced out the rear of the fan.

Nature abhors a vacuum, so air will physically move to fill the void of the lower pressure area created by the exhaust. The intakes basically resupply and add to the moving air, and that constant low-fill-refresh cycle is airflow. The more low pressure at exhaust area, the more the air moves in that direction.

So take the exhaust fan. It's got 2 major sources of air. The air in the case under higher pressure from the intakes, and the air directly adjacent to the fan, outside the case. The filter creates resistance to airflow. So in affect, more air is pulled from the case supply than from outside. You'd get the most case air pulled if the top was solid. That's a whole system airflow.

The cpu also has a fan. It's major source of air is from the intakes, and the case. There's very little if any low pressure pull from outside as it's balanced or overpowered by the intakes pressure forcing case air mix at the cpu. Take off the filter and that removes resistance. It allows for more air to be pulled directly from outside, without a high degree of mixed case air.

With the filter, you'll have better, more effective airflow in the case. That reduces overall temps, drive temps, gpu temps, motherboard temps etc.

Without the filter, your airflow is less effective so those temps go up.

Only the cpu will be in reverse since it's fan is respondent to air temp as well as case temp.

In a general theory manner of speaking. The only way to be less general, and more specific for your case, coolers, fans etc is to run a series of stress tests of different varieties to stress all the components, preferably simultaneously as that's how games run. Notate all the temps. Then remove the filter, repeat the exact tests, Notate those temps. Decide what's more important, a few °C on the cpu or on the gpu or your drives or ram etc.

Personally speaking, I'd leave the filter on, even restrict it more at the back half of the case by sealing it up. With it off, the top of the case is wide open and while cpu temps will improve, airflow will go down, even to the point where the rear exhaust fan is pointless, all its doing is sucking air in from right above it. Gpu boosts according to temp, with little to no real airflow, gpu performance will likely go down, even if the temp doesn't move.