[SOLVED] side fans for Cooler Master N400 intake/outtake

andrepartthree

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Hi guys and apologies I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere before but my google search and tom's hardware forum search skills are failing me can't seem to find an answer to this particular question...

I am eyeballing a PC case I haven't purchased yet so I can't provide pic's of it "Cooler Master N400 NSE-400-KKN2 N-Series Mid Tower" .. but these links have pics if you click on them

https://www.newegg.com/midnight-bla...&ranSiteID=8BacdVP0GFs-fBpaGemF8NFhhTmgG_3xFw

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wNrG3C/cooler-master-case-nse400kkn2

$60 is about the most my friend can manage for a PC case (building the PC for her) ... might donate this older video card

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079NW5Y1C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

not sure how much heat the video card generates but to be on the paranoid side :) I will assume it generates enough heat to be a concern.

Also since I'm paranoid :) I plan on maxing out the installed fans as per the newegg description all 120 mm fans (no radiator .. could be wrong but I'm assuming I can still mount two 120 mm fans on the right side even without the radiator?)

Front: 2 x 120mm fan (1 x 120mm Black Xtraflo fan included)

Top: 2 x 120mm fan

Left Side: 1 x 120

Right Side: 2 x 120mm fan

Rear:1 x 120mm Black Xtraflo fan (included)

My online research indicates the left side fan should be intake (blow air into PC towards the video card thereby cooling it).

Assuming this is correct, would I want the two fans on the right side of the case to be outtake (blowing air out of the PC ) since the left side fan is pulling air into the PC? In other words pulling air "through" the PC horizontally?

I know I know, 8 case fans is a lot :) ... but I have to admit I'm also curious about the end result since I've never had a case before with fan mounts on the left or right side and I'd like to indulge that curiosity.

But, from a cooling standpoint is this bad? Would the left/right side case fans do more harm than good? (given that I would have two case fans in front pulling air into the PC, rear case fan pulling air out of the PC, and two case fans on top pulling air out of the PC)... would it interfere with the air flow of the front/back/top case fans?

I plan on using a AMD Ryzen 3200g processor with the stock cooler that comes with it. PC would house four older sata drives I have lying around and an old school CD/DVD burner :) ... ASRock 450M Pro would be the motherboard (hopefully I can cram the 120 mm case fans into the top of the PC case, I know from previous experience the heatsink on that motherboard doesn't leave a lot of room for that)

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and replies :)
 
Solution
Redundancy... diminishing returns... airFLOW > airBLOW...
Set it up however you or she wants, as long as nothings running really hot, who cares, right?

Side intake fan isn't needed at all. The gpu's fans will pull air through there on their own.

If the system in question has a tower air cooler, have the following at the minimum:
2x front intake

If the cooler is a top-down model:
2x front intake
1x rear exhaust
2x top exhaust

Or just ignore all that and do it your or her way - as long as thermals are fine.

I know I know, 8 case fans is a lot :) ... but I have to admit I'm also curious about the end result...
I've already been there - but with a different chassis.
It's just for looks, and contributes next to nothing for...

Phaaze88

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Redundancy... diminishing returns... airFLOW > airBLOW...
Set it up however you or she wants, as long as nothings running really hot, who cares, right?

Side intake fan isn't needed at all. The gpu's fans will pull air through there on their own.

If the system in question has a tower air cooler, have the following at the minimum:
2x front intake

If the cooler is a top-down model:
2x front intake
1x rear exhaust
2x top exhaust

Or just ignore all that and do it your or her way - as long as thermals are fine.

I know I know, 8 case fans is a lot :) ... but I have to admit I'm also curious about the end result...
I've already been there - but with a different chassis.
It's just for looks, and contributes next to nothing for actual cooling - back to the very first line in my post: Redundancy... diminishing returns... airFLOW > airBLOW...
 
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andrepartthree

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Thank you both so much for your quick replies :) ... but.. and I'm sorry I know this makes me sound really dumb :( ... but regarding

" If the system in question has a tower air cooler, have the following at the minimum:
2x front intake

If the cooler is a top-down model:
2x front intake
1x rear exhaust
2x top exhaust "

What is a tower air cooler and what is a top down model ? Absolutely though, I will be doing 2 x front intake, 1 x rear exhaust, 2 x top exhaust, that much at least I figured out from my google research over the years :)

It sounds like if I do the side panel fans - just for fun :) ... it won't help that much but it also won't hurt anything? And if I did install the side panels am I correct in that left side should be intake (pull air into PC) and right side fans should be outtake (pull air out of PC)?
 

andrepartthree

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Did some more research :) ... would this describe tower vs top down cooler?


if I understand correctly tower is a tower shaped cooler (big rectangle or square heatsink type thing) with fans attached to it that sticks up vertically over the CPU whereupon top down is a horizontal fan cooler type thing that just sits flat on top of the CPU ? If my understanding of this is correct the amd ryzen 3200g has a stock top down cooler.
 

Phaaze88

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Did some more research :) ... would this describe tower vs top down cooler?


if I understand correctly tower is a tower shaped cooler (big rectangle or square heatsink type thing) with fans attached to it that sticks up vertically over the CPU whereupon top down is a horizontal fan cooler type thing that just sits flat on top of the CPU ? If my understanding of this is correct the amd ryzen 3200g has a stock top down cooler.
You are correct!
 
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