Used to cram fans wherever they'd fit. Now I actually plan the airflow path.

Back in my early builds I'd just toss in three intake fans and hope for the best. My CPU would hit 85 degrees under load and I thought that was normal. Last year I sat down with a beer and mapped out a clear front-to-back flow with positive pressure. Dropped my temps by 12 degrees. Am I the only one who ignored airflow for years before trying this?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyw127d agoProlific Poster

I read a forum post once where a guy tested his case with all extra fans turned off vs on, and the difference was barely a few degrees because all he did was dump air inside without any path. That experiment made me rethink my whole approach to case flow. Your 12 degree drop matches what I've seen others report once they actually map out intake and exhaust directions.

ellis.charles6d ago

Mapping out the airflow path was the biggest single upgrade I ever made. I run two big intake fans at the front and one exhaust at the back, keeping positive pressure so dust doesn't pile up everywhere. Temps dropped hard and my system runs quieter now.