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Computer Fan Direction

Computer Fan Direction

My power supply's fan has been acting up, and of recent has started to make such an irritating noise that I just had to take it out. I tried to replace it with another fan, but the design of my current power supply is so compact that I could not get it to happen.

So my resolve was to cut the chords of the old fan and run a new fan on the outside of the power supply. Now everything seems to be working well, but there might be a degree or more of heat in the system because the fan is further away from the power source. My question here is... why not place the fan to blow inward rather than outward to extract the heat? I am sure the response would be that the hot air would blow in the machine, but I have several fans cooling it down inside (3) so I doubt that would do anything. The other factor might be dust. What do you think?

Direction Fan Computer

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't even attempt to repair a power supply. With a dodgy power supply you can end up causing damage to the board and possibly even the chip as well.

I would say the reason for the heatgain is improper air flow, it usually is.

Computer Fan Direction Gaming Video & Issues Computer

True, and I should really replace it, but the power source is no problem and I hate to get rid of a working 350w power supply for no reason. It was just the fan that was giving trouble, but you still did not answer my question? Blow in or out?

Direction Fan Computer

Tough call

I would say in, but I don't know whether you have any exhaust fans or location in the case either.

If I were you and really wanted to make the most out of the current situation, I would be inclined to put an exhaust fan as close to the PSU as I could get it, with at least another 2 blowing cold air near it.

Direction Fan Computer

I would be worried about the amount of dust that starts to build up since the fan is blowing inward now.

It's been since October, so how is your rig doing?

Computer Fan Direction

That setup lasted me awhile and was doing good. Pointing outward seemed good enough to get the heat out. At present I have a new 650W power supply to ensure I am getting enough juice to all of my equipment, and not because of the fan issue, in fact I kept that still as it may be able to work in another machine.

Computer Fan Direction

The concern of dust and other materials on your computer's circuitry is the reason that the fan blows out of instead of into the computer. If enough dust builds up on your boards, they can easily short out and blow the board. If the fan blows inside the cabinet, the dust that is blown into the cabinet will have a very difficult time leaving the cabinet. If you point the fan towards the outside, the idea is that the dust is swept out by the air flow before it has a chance to settle on the components.

Computer Fan Direction Computer Issues & Video Gaming

I understand the dust concern, but my initial deliberation was the aspect of temperature control. This can go into:

Is more heat taken away from the system when it blows out and then when fresh air is brought in?