Using the Rear Slot as Intake? (Fractal Core 500)

[AlexTheTechFreak]

I may be doing a build for someone in the Fractal Core 500 in the near future so I decided to do some research on the case's layout. The Core 500 has nowhere to put an intake fan. There's 2 slots on the top and one at the back, all of which can house 120mm fans. The only thing is generally both the top and rear of the case is used for exhaust fans.

What I'm wondering is if I only use one fan and I want it to be an intake, can I use the rear slot? I didn't wanna use the top since heat naturally rises so it seemed like it might be a little counter productive to have air blowing downward into the case? (Unsure if it would even matter with everything so tightly packed) Preferably I'd like to have at least one intake and have the case exhaust passively through the vents. Or would it be okay to have top intakes in a case this size?

 

[Sedivy]

Back intake would not be a terrible idea if your exhaust and your intake weren't so closely positioned. The trouble is, for good cooling you want air to come in, move over the various components and then get exhausted. Front to back, bottom to top or some combination of the two. But with intake in the back, it's all going to get sucked right back out the top, cause it's right next to it, without ever properly flowing over all your components and cooling them down.
So ...not sure what to tell you. I don't know how efficient cooling is with the negative pressure flow that it is currently designed for, but I would try it on default first, before trying to reverse the flow in the back.

 

[Major_Trouble]

The design is such that the rear fan draws airflow through from the case side and bottom vents and exhaust out of the rear fan toward the top of a very short case. From a cooling perspective you could add top fans to draw even more air through but I wouldn't try to pull air in from the back as it would be better to draw in the cooler air from below up and across all components.

 

[AlexTheTechFreak]

But with intake in the back, it's all going to get sucked right back out the top, cause it's right next to it, without ever properly flowing over all your components and cooling them down.

I wouldn't have a fan at both the rear and the top, just at the rear. Then have the air exit on it's own through the case's ventilation holes. The same thing would happen if I just had a fan at the front. There's just nowhere to put a front fan so I was wondering if it would make a huge difference if the fan was instead at the back and pushing air to the front.

I showed them the Coolermaster Elite 130 as a possible alternative and they're alright with that case as well, which does have an intake slot. The only problem is that case is cheaper and thus features no dust filters.

 

[Major_Trouble]

But with intake in the back, it's all going to get sucked right back out the top, cause it's right next to it, without ever properly flowing over all your components and cooling them down.

I wouldn't have a fan at both the rear and the top, just at the rear. Then have the air exit on it's own through the case's ventilation holes. The same thing would happen if I just had a fan at the front. There's just nowhere to put a front fan so I was wondering if it would make a huge difference if the fan was instead at the back and pushing air to the front.

I showed them the Coolermaster Elite 130 as a possible alternative and they're alright with that case as well, which does have an intake slot. The only problem is that case is cheaper and thus features no dust filters.

You can add filters to a fan but they are generally more fiddly to use/clean.
https://www.quietpc.com/fan-filter12

 

[Sedivy]

Yeah i'd probably go with that second case too if it's a choice. And while it makes sense to just have one intake fan, I've seen comparisons, and for some reason, when only having one case fan, the most efficient in terms of cooling is having one exhaust fan right behind the cpu. I don't think 1 fan total is enough for any pc though.
If I was going for small form factor, I'd probably go
https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/prodigy#specs (black one with front mesh panel)
or
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/graphite-series-380t-portable-mini-itx-case

 

[AlexTheTechFreak]

You can add filters to a fan but they are generally more fiddly to use/clean.
https://www.quietpc.com/fan-filter12

That could be handy, thanks.

 

[AlexTheTechFreak]

Just wanted to update my plan. I'm actually going to take the crazy route and try the top front fan slot as an intake and the rear as an exhaust. (Or possibly the vice versa, haven't quite decided yet) The air will be forced down into the case and then quickly pulled over the components and out the rear. The ambient temperature of the room won't be too much of a problem. In case you were thinking of the fact that the temperature of the air being pulled in would naturally be slightly warmer since its being pulled downward.

I'll be testing this using static pressure fans. I want the air to go in and out as quickly as possible. I'll be sure to update this if sh*t hits the fan (ba dum tss?) but if I don't then that means all went well.

 

[Sedivy]

The reason you typically don't go top intake is because exhaust is usually on the side or back of the case. That air then rises and if you have fans on top as intake, they'll just suck that already warmed air into the case and in essence recycle it. However, if you already have the case, you don't lose much by trying it out. Measure temps with each configuration so you can compare.
Static pressure fans are only advantage if the top has a filter or some kind of a tight mesh/radiator. if it's fairly open, with large holes, you don't have any advantage over regular air flow fans, though it won't hurt it to be static pressure.

 

[AlexTheTechFreak]

Yeah, that's a downside and why I'm going to try both ways to see just how much of a difference there is. The top is filtered, I'm pretty sure. I could take it off but that wouldn't be too great since the person I'm building for says their room is already naturally a dust magnet. Still haven't disregarded the Elite 130 though. It'll just be the last resort since I'll have to come up with some DIY dust filters for the sides....I heard pantyhose work? Though I'm unsure how to configure that...Anyway, I'll test it in the name of science and see what happens. The good thing is the components don't run too hot anyway.

 

[Sedivy]

Get some of those flexible thin magnets from a dollar store or an arts and crafts store. You need also some sort of rectangular frame you're going to glue the magnets to and also stretch the pantyhose over. Solid cardboard would be good for this, or even some sort of plastic. Anything you can adjust to size you need. Fixing the pantyhose to it is going to be the toughest part but a mix of glue and stapling/pins should help. Shouldn't be too hard to do. You could even paint/spray it all black, and get black hose and make it look pretty nice.