Hi! I currently have this build using the GT502 case.
I just recently got 3 more case fans. Previously it was set up like this:
I think that for some reason the temps got worse and the PC much louder. It might just be buyer's remorse but I got more fans so that they could use less RPM and be quieter, but I feel like the complete opposite has happened.
Can I change anything about this layout to optimise airflow? I was thinking of maybe switching the side panel fans to exhaust? That might starve the CPU cooler, though...
Maybe I'm just imagining things and I just need to perform exact tests to figure it out. What do you use for testing airflow effectiveness?
UPDATE:
The issue was weirder than I would've thought. The bottom 3 fans are controlled by one motherboard channel using a PWM splitter cable. The rear and side panel fans are the same - one channel for all 3. Previously I had just the rear exhaust plugged in to a single channel but now it's plugged into the splitter.
Apparently the order of the fans in the splitter is VERY important. I changed it so that the rear fan is the first in the splitter and that instantly fixed the issue. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'd make the back and bottoms intake and exhaust on the side with that config.
Or intake on the side and exhaust in the back and bottoms.
Or mouth the side ones on top as exhaust if possible.
Back intake means your are fighting the airflow from the CPU cooler unless you switch that one around, too, and pretty much reverse the whole airflow in the case.
Don't think that makes too much sense. Cases these days seem to follow a "front in, back/top out" airflow philosophy anyway.
Wouldn't a back intake make the CPU cooler useless? I would need to switch the CPU fan to the other side which I'm not sure there is enough space for.
Exhaust in the bottom seems like it would do the same thing - starve the GPU fans of fresh air.
Top exhaust, though, might be better. 🤔