What direction should my CPU fan be facing?

[throwawayaccount83]

Hi everyone,

Currently my CPU fan is facing my back case 140mm fan and I was just wondering whether I should put my CPU Fan on the opposite direction or keep it as it is. My main concern with how it is right now, is that there is very little room from the CPU fan to the back case fan, I'm not sure if this is going to be an issue. Besides my back case fan and my CPU fan, I also have two 140mm fans in the front of my case.

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Fan: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Photos:

Thanks!

 

[USAFRet]

As it is, that is backwards.
The fan needs to be blowing from right to left in your top image.

Currently, it is blowing from left to right. Unless you've unmounted the fan from te clips, and flipped it over.
The default config for that fan+cooler is the other way around.

 

[atljsf]

i would put the fan on the other side of the cooler

do you have good airflow in the front, at least one fan pushing cold air inside the case?

 

[throwawayaccount83]

As it is, that is backwards.
The fan needs to be blowing from right to left in your top image.

Currently, it is blowing from left to right. Unless you've unmounted the fan from te clips, and flipped it over.
The default config for that fan+cooler is the other way around.

Thanks for the response,

Is the heatsink placed improperly? I can move the fan if needed to the other side to allow for proper airflow, I'm just wondering if I messed up on the CPU Cooler.

 

[throwawayaccount83]

i would put the fan on the other side of the cooler

do you have good airflow in the front, at least one fan pushing cold air inside the case?

Thanks for the response,

I'm still currently building this PC, it's my first build so I don't know how the airflow is so far. Would it be fine if I flipped the fan and kept the heat sink in it's current position?

 

[atljsf]

in your case it can go like the way you installed it or also sideways

if you put it sideways the fan should be on the bottom of the cooler, and on the top another fan like the one you have on the back, i have my tx3 evo that way but i have amd and have tall ram, so is my only option

i would leave it as you have it now, but put the fan on the other side, not in the lft, in the right, pushing air from the right of the case to the left, from the front of the case to the back

you need to know how good is the airflow, how many fans do you have in the case, from the pictures i only see 1 in the back

 

[USAFRet]

As it is, that is backwards.
The fan needs to be blowing from right to left in your top image.

Currently, it is blowing from left to right. Unless you've unmounted the fan from te clips, and flipped it over.
The default config for that fan+cooler is the other way around.

Thanks for the response,

Is the heatsink placed improperly? I can move the fan if needed to the other side to allow for proper airflow, I'm just wondering if I messed up on the CPU Cooler.

The default config for that fan and the mount is blowing into the fans.
Unless you changed it, that is what it is doing.

So...it is currently blowing from right to left.
Which is backwards. It needs to be blowing through the fins, towards the back of the case and the rear exhaust fan.

You can either:
Take the fan assy off the cooler and mount it to the other side (the right side in your pic)
or
Take the whole cooler off and flip it around. This involves a lot more disassembly, and clean/reapply of the thermal paste.

 

[throwawayaccount83]

in your case it can go like the way you installed it or also sideways

if you put it sideways the fan should be on the bottom of the cooler, and on the top another fan like the one you have on the back, i have my tx3 evo that way but i have amd and have tall ram, so is my only option

i would leave it as you have it now, but put the fan on the other side, not in the lft, in the right, pushing air from the right of the case to the left, from the front of the case to the back

you need to know how good is the airflow, how many fans do you have in the case, from the pictures i only see 1 in the back

I'm gonna switch the fan over to the right. Thanks for the advice, again. I currently have 2 x 140mm fans in the front and 1 x 140mm fan in the back. I have room on the top for 3 x 140mms or 2 x 140mms on the bottom too.

 

[throwawayaccount83]

As it is, that is backwards.
The fan needs to be blowing from right to left in your top image.

Currently, it is blowing from left to right. Unless you've unmounted the fan from te clips, and flipped it over.
The default config for that fan+cooler is the other way around.

Thanks for the response,

Is the heatsink placed improperly? I can move the fan if needed to the other side to allow for proper airflow, I'm just wondering if I messed up on the CPU Cooler.

The default config for that fan and the mount is blowing into the fans.
Unless you changed it, that is what it is doing.

So...it is currently blowing from right to left.
Which is backwards. It needs to be blowing through the fins, towards the back of the case and the rear exhaust fan.

You can either:
Take the fan assy off the cooler and mount it to the other side (the right side in your pic)
or
Take the whole cooler off and flip it around. This involves a lot more disassembly, and clean/reapply of the thermal paste.

Thanks for the response, again. If I was to move the fan from the left to the right, would that be the same if I was to take off the CPU Cooler entirely and flip it in the other direction? I'm just wondering because of the suggestive choices that you provided. I'm going to put the fan on the right side, but I'm just wondering.

Thanks again!

 

[atljsf]

the fan that comes preinstalled, can be detached and installed on the other side, especially if you haven't removed it form the brackets that are holding it in place to change the direction it is blowing air

if you put it in the right side of the heatsink, following the picture, it will work very well, especially if the air is flowing from the cooler fan front the right of the case, the front of the case to the back of the case, to the left, talking based on the first picture

the fan comes ready to be installed on any side pushing air trough the cooler, that is what is needed, you can invert the fan on the bracket, but that is not desirable because it moves less air

so, remove the fan and the brackets form the let side and install it oon the right side

did you applied thermal paste over the cpu before installing the 212 evo?

 

[throwawayaccount83]

the fan that comes preinstalled, can be detached and installed on the other side, especially if you haven't removed it form the brackets that are holding it in place to change the direction it is blowing air

if you put it in the right side of the heatsink, following the picture, it will work very well, especially if the air is flowing from the cooler fan front the right of the case, the front of the case to the back of the case, to the left, talking based on the first picture

the fan comes ready to be installed on any side pushing air trough the cooler, that is what is needed, you can invert the fan on the bracket, but that is not desirable because it moves less air

so, remove the fan and the brackets form the let side and install it oon the right side

did you applied thermal paste over the cpu before installing the 212 evo?

Yeah I did, I also moved the fan to the right now. Thanks for the help man.

 

[Karadjgne]

Depends on fan orientation. If the fan was set as 'pull' where it was pulling air through the radiator, and still pushing air towards the rear exhaust fan, that's fine (won't work quite as well at high rpm, works slightly better at low fan rpm). If the fan is set as push, you are fighting a loosing battle as the 140mm rear exhaust fan has a far more powerful draw, meaning you won't be putting much of any air through the cpu heatsink. It would be a lop-sided tug of war.

Airflow in the entire case, no matter what fans are set, needs to move from low/front to high/rear. With all air moving in the same direction, you get better temps, less noise etc.