Question Which type of fans to use in my PC, "airflow fans" or "static pressure fans"?

[treptile]

Basically, I'm looking to improve my cooling situation and buy 4 new fans with higher rpm but I'm having trouble deciding what type of fans I should buy for this NZXT case setup, (NZXT S340)

The PC case doesn't really have the best space as I can only fit 4 x 120mm fans (1 back / 2 at the front /1 above) (refer to image)

The problem is that im also looking to add a CPU Air cooler with copper heatpipes like a cooler master hyper H412R or something along the lines (Im not a big fan of AIOs)

So if I add a CPU air cooler, would that mean I would need a "static pressure" fans since it would be quite tight and not much room for air flow?
(btw, I don't know what a cramp/tight pc setup would look like so Im just assuming that if I add a CPU copper heatpipe cooler that it would become cramp. Or do you think it still quite spacious?)

My PC setup:

https://imgur.com/a/P9H6YmT

View: https://imgur.com/a/P9H6YmT

 

[kerberos_20]

exhaust at back you can use pure airflow fan, no presure needed as there is almost nothing that blocks air movement

exhaust at top and front intake...with dust filters you will need some pressure, use balanced fans (all performers), dont use high pressure fans, they have airflow at very high rpm compared to balanced, which you can run at low rpm and you still get quiet airflow

 

[hotaru.hino]

If the fan needs to move air through a radiator, heat sink, or filter, you want static pressure. Air flow otherwise.

In practice it doesn't matter a whole lot that if you get one of the "wrong" type it won't cause a practical loss in cooling performance.

 

[kerberos_20]

there are some fans with very high pressure and very low airflow designed for radiators, just be carefull for those

 

[Paperdoc]

Even dust folters on the intake fo case fans do not represent a significant air flow restriction (unless, of course, they are clogged and needing cleaning!). So Air Flow Fans, rather than Pressure Fans, are advised here.

By the way, what you want for max cooling capacity is max AIR FLOW. Do not confuse that with max fan SPEED. Look at the max fair flow specs of fans you are evaluating.