Hey again duders...

So I bought another fan for my PC.. It had one slot left.. However, when I tried to put my fan in the right spot, the ram cards get in the way and it wont fit... So i slid it over a little to the left and screwed it in fine.. However, all the cold air is blowing up, out of the case... Is that right? I dunno if it's supposed to be an exhaust fan or if it should be blowing the cool air down into the case...

Downloading my webcam software now so I can take some pics for extra clarification. Will add them ASAP.

Um, a fan is both intake and exhaust, you just have to turn it over basically. Have it facing one way and it's intake, the other way exhaust. Now it depends where you're putting the fan on which you want.

E: Although I guess if the memory gets in the way it's on the top, and should be an exhaust.

@MethodMan008: Hot air rises, so it would make sense for air to be blown up, not down! :) Just think of it as the cold air pushing the heat up and out of the system.

It all depends on where it is in your case and how your airflow is already set up. Fans should be set up so all the cold air enters the case in the same area and the hot air is vented in the same area. Creating a flow of air through your case. It's generally a case of cool air is pulled in from the front and bottom of the case. And the hot air is vented at the back and top. So just set it up so it works with the rest of you fans instead of against them.

you want air intakes in the front and side,

and exhuast in the back and top.

Alright, so chassis fan 2 is the new one. At the picture on top, the fan labeled 3 is my new fan. The pink circles are where it should of screwed in, but around the blue lines is where my RAM is that blocks the fan. If you look at the next picture, fans 1 and 2 both blow cold air into the case. and right accross from that stupid apple logo is my CPU with a fan on it that blows air in. So yeah, fan 3 is the only one blowing cold air out. Just want to make sure I'm doing this all right. Thanks again duders! @Laticsfan: @JCTango: @AlexW00d:

1 and 3 should be hot exhaust, 2 should be cold intake. And you should have a fan or two in the front of your case for more cold intake. You should flip fan 1 over.

Warm air rises, it's flushing it out as it should.

@MrKlorox said:

1 and 3 should be hot exhaust, 2 should be cold intake. And you should have a fan or two in the front of your case for more cold intake.

I didn't even notice it but I just opened up my case and there is another fan in the front of the case blowing cold air in.

So that is 1, 2, and 4 blowing air in, and 3 blowing air out... So just flip fan 1 around and I'll be good?

That one cools your HDD's. 2 in, 2 out

Yep. Just turn around fan 1 to make it an outtake.

Here a my pc in a new HAF case that I just got (the $50 one). This is how it's set up.

1. 120mm intake
2. 120mm exhaust
3. passive exhaust (I could put 2x 120mm fans or 1x 200mm fan but I don't need all those fans so passive is good enough
4. the case door fan is also passive because I have really good access from 1 to 2 that I don't need any extra fans.

So try some cable management in your case. That can help airflow just as much as adding fans in every corner.

@Jams: Your case is so clean! I bought this from where I work for 50 bucks, and pretty much know next to nothing about PC management/building.. I need to find a way to make mine as clean as yours though! :D

So I turned around fan 1 and apparently it was an outtake in the first place.. It's just a lot weaker than my other fans so I thought it was blowing air in. :'(

Yeah try and clean up the cables with some zip ties or twist ties and that will help your airflow substantially. Also covering up holes that don't have fans can help create a vortex, which will make the cooling system much more efficient.

@MethodMan008 said:

@Jams: Your case is so clean! I bought this from where I work for 50 bucks, and pretty much know next to nothing about PC management/building.. I need to find a way to make mine as clean as yours though! :D

So I turned around fan 1 and apparently it was an outtake in the first place.. It's just a lot weaker than my other fans so I thought it was blowing air in. :'(

It would have helped if I had a modular psu. I think It's a little different now since I took out the mechanical hdd and left in the ssd. It helps to have a case with some extra space behind the mobo side. Mine didn't really, but I guess enough to hide the extra unused power cables.

@Jams: I think I have the exact same case :D HAF 932? Cable management and air flow is so awesome in that one.

@JCTango said:

@Jams: I think I have the exact same case :D HAF 932? Cable management and air flow is so awesome in that one.

I had to look it up. It's the 912. The super cheap edition. I wanted to go all out like @snide did with that bad ass Comsos 2 (that case is a masterpiece), but at the last second I chickened out and bought the $50 HAF 912. But it's still pretty damn good for the price.

Nice little thread. And hey MethodMan008 don't ever feel bad asking PC hardware questions like this, it's always better to ask than not and risk damaging something or just waste time.

Case fans usually (or always--I've never seen one that didn't) have an arrow inscribed somewhere on the side that shows the direction of airflow.