getllamasfast

Sorry if this sounds dumb, but I always hear about people strongly recommending that you use a shroud, but I have no idea what they do... I know they go on a rad, but that's it...

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Oscuro

A shroud spaces the fan away from the radiator. This helps in cooling the rad, because the air flow hit it more evenly.

Normally, when you have a fan right against the rad, the hub of the fan itself blocks airflow behind it to quite a degree, creating a "dead spot" where there is minimal cooling taking place. Lifting the fan above the rad surface allows the air from the fan to fill in this void, and diminish the dead spot.

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tt_shark

by seperating the fan from the rad, it basically allows airflow coverage on the area in the centre of fan. Usually if the fan is just mounted, the area where the fan motor is does not get cooled.

It also allows easier flow and stops any kickback of air. If the fan is too close its trying to force alot of air in at once, that is why you can feel air getting pushed back out the edges of the fan.

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getllamasfast

OH! I always thought they were for concentrating the airflow...lol, my bad. Thanks for the reponses

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marcus000

See the deadspot in the middle...

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bmaverick

A shroud can act as a duct as well. Many of the Dell desktop PC's use a 90 degree shroud duct to direct the air in another direction. This is really handy getting the air flow to the radiator too.

The better the shroud is for sealing between the fan and radiator, the better the pressure air flow through the radiator. Thus, seal off all air leaks for best performance.

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ira-k

That pretty well shows it Marcus......A fans air flow looks kind of like a do-nut, when you put the fan on a shroud it helps to close the hole in the center....

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