Hardware & Technical Setting up case fans?

Jon flint

Jon flint
Let me start by immediately going off on a tangent....

My missus has recently brought a cat, meaning my lovely open case pc build is now a really bad idea, she loves to curl up between the tempered glass and the motherboard after the pc has been on for a while and warmed up (she being the cat, not the missus!) Also she keeps sticking her nose in the radiator fans, not great for the fans of the cats nose!

So I've bitten the bullet and done a case transplant into a closed case (much more cat friendly). But I'm having some trouble setting up the various fans...

As I understand it, it's better to mount my radiator on the front of the case rather than the top, else the rad will draw in the hot air from the GPU and cause greater CPU temps. But this leads to a pressure issue... For intake I have 1 proper 120mm case fan+ the push pull fans on the rad (2*2*120mm). For exhaust, I've got 2*120mm case fans and a 140mm case fan.

My problem is, because the radiator fans aren't designed for high airflow, they aren't really holding up their end as intake fans, meaning I've got more exhaust than intake and so negative pressure. Which will mean I'm going to suck in every bit of dust and cat hair through the unfiltered gaps in the case. Setting the radiator fans higher and slowing the exhaust fans does create positive pressure (which is good) but the lower exhaust speed is giving me increased GPU temps, essentially I need a high airflow case fan that'll have high enough static pressure to work with a 240mm radiator... Any ideas? Or any ideas for alternative solutions/fan arrangements?
 

Caramel Clown

Caramel Clown
Since you already have intake fans negative pressure is literally non factor in anything anymore. You already have all the hair and dust sucked inside.
 

Caramel Clown

Caramel Clown
Jon flint said:
But the intake fans have a dust filter :)
Click to expand...

So make sure other places too :) Dust filters aren't as effective as you might think, although there should be no trouble with something as big as cat hair. Most of the dirt in cases with negative pressure will come in from the most surprising place - bottom. Get a case with filter that covers whole bottom.

Also, this is quite relevant. Worth a watch.

[video=youtube_share;dLX54ounENY]https://youtu.be/dLX54ounENY[/video]
 

Shadowdancer

Shadowdancer
The whole point of pumping coolant all over the place is to transport heat out of enclosures for dissipation. If you stick the radiator inside the case, you're better off with air cooling.
 

Shadowdancer

Shadowdancer
Caramel Clown said:
Dust filters aren't as effective as you might think, although there should be no trouble with something as big as cat hair.
Click to expand...
That IME depends a lot on the filter. Way back I had a Lian Li case with filters that were effectively very coarse wire sponges, and they worked great for pet hair (of course less effective for fine particulate). Most cases these days appear to use fine meshes or grids that very quickly become felt mats.
 

Jon flint

Jon flint
Just for reference (warning, big pics):

Old beautiful but not cat friendly case...
nTZV2tK.jpg
New boring, not fun at all, cat friendly case :(
SJoJFkI.jpg
Front intake fans+dust filter
ZVA7CTL.jpg
 

Caramel Clown

Caramel Clown
You have really picked the wrong case if you are concerned about dust. It's got so many holes for dust to get in, with or without negative air pressure inside.
I would say - don't stress yourself too much. Blow the dust out from time to time, and you should be fine.
 

Jon flint

Jon flint
Caramel Clown said:
You have really picked the wrong case if you are concerned about dust. It's got so many holes for dust to get in, with or without negative air pressure inside.
I would say - don't stress yourself too much. Blow the dust out from time to time, and you should be fine.
Click to expand...

You're probably right, as long as the cat can't get inside I should be fine, i got quite used to using a can of compressed air to clean the open system anyways.
 
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