Which side do i place my computer fans?

[Mansa]

Hey fellas.

My Fractal R5 Case just arrived.
I also bought an extra 140mm fan.

Where do i place it? The case comes with 2 fans, one at the front, one at the top back. Should i move those?
I want my pc to be as cool as possible.

Thanks.



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[DaveLembke]

As long as you have positive and negative pressure airflow you have one fan that sucks in from say the front of the computer cool air and warm air is blown out the rear of it you should be fine. One thing I like to do with gaming setups is add a side panel fan that adds to the positive airflow inside the case drawing cool air through the side panel to have 2 fans drawing in cool air and the power supply has a fan and the rear of the case has a fan that are acting as the exhaust of the warm air.

Only drawback to more fans and more airflow is that you will have to clean it more often!!! Mainly just keep an eye on dust bunny build up and remove it from parts when it starts to accumulate. The quality and how fast it builds up depends on the environment that the computer is run in. If very clean it will take longer to get dirty inside at outside at the fans air entry points. But if you have cats, dogs, and forced hot air or central air system that is always floating dust around in the home then it will get dirtier quicker.

[Geek-9pm]

Yes. So keep your room clean.
And maybe buy an air purifier for the room. Really.
Reference:
http://lifehacker.com/5175243/make-your-home-dust-proof
Life hacker takes tips from Reader's Digest.

[Mansa]

As long as you have positive and negative pressure airflow you have one fan that sucks in from say the front of the computer cool air and warm air is blown out the rear of it you should be fine. One thing I like to do with gaming setups is add a side panel fan that adds to the positive airflow inside the case drawing cool air through the side panel to have 2 fans drawing in cool air and the power supply has a fan and the rear of the case has a fan that are acting as the exhaust of the warm air.

New to pc building. I already have one at the front and one at the back. So you recommend placing my 140mm fan on the side? Also, how does the exhaust system work. Don't both fans blow air into the pc. Or should I flip one of the fans around in order for them to blow in the opposite direction?

[camerongray]

Why not just try it in different positions and see how it affects the temperatures under load? - It's not an exact science.

[Calum]

I would advise installing it in the front - 2 intake fans in the front and one exhaust in the rear is pretty much optimal for most builds.  As camerongray says though, experimentation may help you find exactly what's best.

[Mansa]

Why not just try it in different positions and see how it affects the temperatures under load? - It's not an exact science.

Hey Cameron. I decided to go with 2 intakes in the front and one exhaust at the back.
So i connected my 3 fans to the motherboard. My R5 case comes with a fan controller. There's an extra 3 "2 pinned" cables and one that looks like a molex cable. I have no idea what these are for and where to attach them. I've read online that these are used to power the fan controller and that i should attach the 2 pinned cables to the fans. I'm really confused, shed me some light if you know anything about this.

Thank you.