Optimal 120mm fan setup in case for HDD cooling etc?

[DevTech]

3 hours ago, ThaCrip said:

@goretsky

 

so your saying, even though i can't see any obvious issues with it holding the fan by the two top holes on the 120mm fan, it still will have issues down the road?

 

when i touch the fan i can't feel any obvious issues with vibration etc as when i push on the bottom of the fan it seems to be fairly securely resting on the PC case. plus, the fan touches the case has rubber pieces between the fans main plastic shell and where it touches the steel case(these are on the fan itself by default) which i imagine would dampen any vibration, right?

 

side note... after i removed the side of the door a moment ago to feel that exhaust fan for any noticeable vibrations i noticed that the air flow, from that exhaust fan, seems to increase out the back a noticeable amount and it's a more even flow out the back. given this info there must be some sorta resistance with the case being more sealed after i blocked those two openings on the side of the case with tape. makes me wonder if i should remove that or try removing that purple plastic clip and connecting the front case fan directly to the steel on the case (with the rubber pieces) as maybe that plastic clip interferes with intake airflow a bit and maybe chokes off that exhaust fan a little. or maybe i could consider removing some of the tape from the lower holes on the case etc. also, i even noticed it increases the fan output on exhaust when i have the door on but have the front of the case removed as it makes it easier for the exhaust fan to draw air in from some of the front side of the case that's more open.

 

right now i am leaning towards attempting to remove that purple clip and connecting fan directly to the case with those rubber pieces first and see what happens and then go from there.

 

any suggestions or is it one of those things i am just going to have to play with?

 

thanks for your time.

How many Angels can dance on the head of a pin?

 

1. Take a few minutes and fasten the fan properly. Less time than it takes to type up long descriptions of uncertainties over obvious answers.

 

2. STOP. You are observing a whole bunch of nothingness in a computer that needs no attention whatsoever.

 

3. If you can't bring yourself to STOP, then study Science. The Scientific Method. You are employing the mental tools of a craftsman from the Middle Ages where they mostly got things wrong but over many years of trial and error, created ingenious devices. For you, air molecules can't exist or Atoms or Quarks because your fingers can't feel them.

 

If you really truly want to optimize air flow and cooling in a computer that plainly does not require it, purchase a infrared heat sensor gun and take careful measurements. With a large cardboard box or packing crate and rolls of plastic you can also construct a smoke chamber. That would be using actual diagnostic tools available in this modern era for a scientific engineering approach.

 

4. IMO you should take stock of your approach and objectives since the hardware you plan to purchase is also so incredibly weak that it will also never need any cooling considerations. You are very welcome to keep posting your various observations of flora and fauna here because everyone loves a good story, but you should keep in mind that you pretty much mostly ignore the expert advice that many people here in the support forums are providing so this thread is going to tend to diverge into a Reality Distortion Field. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=reality distortion field

 

 

[ThaCrip]

@goretsky

 

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Frankly, though, you're talking about a part that costs maybe $10-20?  If you don't want to go through the hassle of installing the fan correctly, you can just replace it when it dies.  These are not expensive parts, and replacements are readily available.

 

Yeah, that's a great point as worst case scenario ill lose $12 a little early but the main thing is as long as i can get at least 10+ years out of it i can't complain. i mainly just don't want to be replacing fans all that often as i prefer to install them and forget them for the most part. i try to blow out the computer case about twice a year though with the CPU/GPU etc as that helps get rid of the heavier dust build up and lowers temps of those a bit.

 

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As far as for temperatures inside, my suggestion would be log the temperature over time before you make any changes, then make once change at a time, spending some time between each change so you can review the logged data.

 

going by how things look at the moment... with about a 79f room temp, the hottest hard drive (i.e. 5TB HGST) is still only 35c. so it appears my current setup is working decent enough and touching the case seems basically cool so i have no issues there as i can't seem to notice any obvious heat building up.

 

but i guess the main thing i am a bit concerned with at the moment is that the exhaust fan is noticeably slowed down which i wonder if that puts any strain on the fan or not, like might wear it out faster vs if it can draw air more freely(?).

 

but outside of this my guess is i am best off leaving things as they are for now or maybe finish properly installing the fan with the two remaining rubber pieces as it might not be that difficult to put them on and could save me a little $ down the road.

 

with that said... i might play with things a little or just keep a eye on things throughout this summer.

 

@DevTech

 

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but you should keep in mind that you pretty much mostly ignore the expert advice that many people here in the support forums are providing

 

I like these Neowin forums as they have helped me over the years with general computer stuff. so i definitely thank the users here for that.

 

but what i am ignoring? (outside of the heat gun stuff which would be a bit overkill for me as i am not THAT concerned with things as like you said my computer is nothing fancy)  ; i know you seem to feel what i am concerned about is a non-issue but at this point i am mostly wondering if the drag the case is apparently creating on the exhaust fan (like after i taped up the holes on that side door) is bad for it since it must be doing that on some level due to the noticeably slower exhaust air coming out the back vs when the case door is off or if the front panel is off.

 

any advice on that? ; i am mostly wondering if that's bad for the fan or not. if it's not, then i am probably good as is, especially once i properly get the fan secured to the case which ill probably do at the advice of goretsky as it should not take that much time to do.

Edited June 9, 2017 by ThaCrip

[ThaCrip]

Well i just bit the bullet and put in the effort and properly installed both 120mm fans with those rubber pieces. so each has all four corners secured now which means i removed the plastic clip on the intake.

 

as far as the exhaust fan stuff... ill probably play around with removing some of the tape on the case til it improves just to play it a bit safer etc.

 

i imagine i should be good for now. if anything else comes up ill make a reply here. thanks for everyones time once again.