Okay, so I have 3 fans that need a home in my case. 2 80mm fans, and a 92mm fan. My case has a spot in the front and back for 80mm fans. I have a Zalman CNPS7000 AlCu heatsink, which has a 92mm fan on suck. I have been thinking about the following 2 setups.

1. 92mm intake right over the CPU, 80mm fan at the front as an intake, 80mm on the back as exaust.
2. 92mm intake right over the CPU, both 80mm fans in series on the back as an exaust.

Which should I go with?

I would go with option 1. Main reason I would go with that option is because that is similar to what I have, and it works very well.

Welcome to the forums HarrisonHopkins.

Alright, that is also what some people on another forum said to do. They also suggested 80mm intake, 80mm back exaust, and the 92mm as a blowhole, creating negative pressure inside the case so that there are no dead zones.

All my fans are the same size, so I can't comment on what would be better. But I would agree with that. Keeping the exhaust and the intake the same size makes the most sense to me.

Negative pressure is caused when there is more air being pushed out of a case than is being pushed in.

I'd rather go with just one exhaust fan. From my experience there will be enough negative pressure to provide sufficient intake of cool air, and two fans at the back aren't much better than one, thus you're adding extra noise for not much more benefit.

that is the best option! as long as there's sufficient airflow and you enclose your entire casing then you won't have any cooling issues... but always bring in clean cooler air from the outside

I actually just found a switch for a cathode of mine that broke. I could rig the intake and exaust to it, and then turn them off when I feel like.

kewl. well let us know what you end up doing?

Yes, I will let you all know what I end up doing. Hopefully I will be able to get pictures of it as well.

Its better to remove air then add it. That's why computer cases have more
exhaust fans then intake fans. You can blow all the air into your case you want but
it won't do you any good. It must be cool air.If you have more air blowing into your case the air won’t move.
Think of it this way. If your siting in car on a hot day and two windows
open. Whats going to cool you off faster. 2 fans blowing into the car
Or two fans removing air from the car. You want to remove the air from Inside the car.
The fan on your cpu will do just fine as long as you have cool air inside the case.
If you really want to get tricky
I would tape all the holes in your case, and have just one or two Exhaust fans.
That includes the front of the case as well. But keep front lower intake

open , or add a smaller fan.

Hi

I am trying to figure out if i need any fans installed on my new PC. I am a first time builder and still in the phase of collecting hardware

I have

Case ATX Mid-Tower ULT31795

Motherboards IP35-E ATX

CPU (Processor) Intel core duo 2 E6750

Graphic Cards/Video Cards 512 MB

Modem s 56k / V.92 Internal S20-03 Sterling V.92 PCI Softmodem

Memory 2GB (2x1GB) PC26400 crucial - CT2KIT12864AA80E DDR2 800Mhz 240-pin DIMMs

Software (O/S) Vista Home OEM (Pending)

Hard Drives 200 GB ATA Maxtor L01P200 200GB 7200RPM 8MB

Mouse Microsoft

Keyboard Microsoft

CD/DVD-ROM/DVD Writer 16 DVD +/- DL Writer idvd16dd

Power Supply Coolmax V-500 V 500 500 W with 120 mm fan

120 mm fan Pending

80 mm fan Pending

Do I need any 80mm or 120mm fans?

How many? ( case manual says it supports 2 80mm fans but i had read somewhere that it will also support an additional 120mm fan)

3 pin or 4 pin ? (Motherboard instruction says it will support 3 pin or 4 pin CPUFAN, but it also has other connectors like sysfan and 2 auxfans)

any suggestions?

hi premb, welcome

personally I find 2x120mm is more than sufficient enough for any system provided you are not overclocking the hell out of the system.... you need to create a vaccuum to bring in fresh cooler air and another to extract the hot air. anymore and it'll just increase the noise level of your system as well as draw unnecessary power from your power supply.

Personally I would not touch the maxtor hard drives - they generate too much heat and not very stable for my liking!

I have never had a problem with Maxtor drives.

dude I'm talking about heat in this case with the maxtor drives...

it's a KNOWN fact that maxtor drives generate a lot of unnecessary heat to the case!

You say they not stable. I was just stating that I haven't had any problems with mine. How many drives of yours have crashed in the last year?? A few if I recall...