[TomSpit]

Hey there. I was doing some casual reading when all of a sudden I stumbled upon a thread which was a discussion about which way the HS should have been facing. I read on and discovered that the HSF (if you have one) is supposed to be blowing into the HS (towards it) - Is this right?

If this is correct then my HSF has been blowing the wrong way, here is a diagram I drew up to show you what I mean;

So tell me if this is correct and then if it is, then I'll change it and stop worrying

 

[Evermind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomSpit Hey there. I was doing some casual reading when all of a sudden I stumbled upon a thread which was a discussion about which way the HS should have been facing. I read on and discovered that the HSF (if you have one) is supposed to be blowing into the HS (towards it) - Is this right? If this is correct then my HSF has been blowing the wrong way, here is a diagram I drew up to show you what I mean;

The "Correct Setup(?)" diagram is technically correct. However....

Ideally, your fan should be blowing towards a vent. Either the back of the case or the top of the case (if you have a case with a vent on top) is fine.

Fan should be blowing through the heatsink, and out a vent.

Note: That you can also have a second fan, pulling air through the heatsink and blowing towards a vent also. But if you only have one fan, you should be pushing air through the heatsink out towards a vent.

 

[DesertRat]

Yup. Generally it's supposed to be blowing into the cooler and the opposite end of the cooler should be pointed towards a rear exhaust fan or the PSU(top mounted).

 

[TomSpit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evermind Ideally, your fan should be blowing towards a vent. Either the back of the case or the top of the case (if you have a case with a vent on top) is fine. Fan should be blowing through the heatsink, and out a vent.

So through the heatsink, I'd better be changing that then.

Also, at the moment I have no top exhaust as I'm using a cheapo eBuyer case; When I upgrade to the Coolermaster Storm Sniper, do some more cable management and also invest in better fans I hope my CPU and overall system will be cooler and run with a more efficient airflow setup.

Thanks for your help.

Edit: It will be blowing towards the PSU. That should be fine for now. I haven't and won't be doing any more overclocking until I get my new case, etc, so no worries.

 

[Boyboyd]

hehe, i lol'ed at your title

Back on topic: Yep, it's supposed to blow air into the heatsink (or 'Push'). For best results add a 2nd fan on the other side 'Pulling' air out and idealy into a case fan. This is where the term "Push - Pull Configuration" comes from.

 

[Evermind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomSpit So through the heatsink, I'd better be changing that then. Also, at the moment I have no top exhaust as I'm using a cheapo eBuyer case; When I upgrade to the Coolermaster Storm Sniper, do some more cable management and also invest in better fans I hope my CPU and overall system will be cooler and run with a more efficient airflow setup. Thanks for your help.

Added this to my post:

You can also have a second fan, pulling air through the heatsink and blowing towards a vent also. But if you only have one fan, you should be pushing air through the heatsink out towards a vent.

Also, I don't think I would recommend feeding hot air from the CPU into your PSU - The PSU has it's cooling needs too.

Sounds like out the rear of the case is best for your situation.

 

[TomSpit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evermind Added this to my post: You can also have a second fan, pulling air through the heatsink and blowing towards a vent also. But if you only have one fan, you should be pushing air through the heatsink out towards a vent. Also, I don't think I would recommend feeding hot air from the CPU into your PSU - The PSU has it's cooling needs too. Sounds like out the rear of the case is best for your situation.

It's either going to have to be blowing towards the PSU or onto the back of the graphics card? The OCZ Vendetta II (my HS) can only be mounted to face the top or bottom of the case (I think) as I am using an AMD and also there are grooves beneath the heatsink which means that the AMD system can only face top or bottom.

 

[Evermind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomSpit It's either going to have to be blowing towards the PSU or onto the back of the graphics card? The OCZ Vendetta II (my HS) can only be mounted to face the top or bottom of the case (I think) as I am using an AMD and also there are grooves beneath the heatsink which means that the AMD system can only face top or bottom.

Personally, I'd go with PSU then. Like DesertRat also suggested up above.

 

[skkhai]

I couldn't help but laugh a little either, we all have to start somewhere right?

But yeah, AMD users don't have the luxury of having most of these tower heatsinks blowing out the back

. Blow it upwards, PSU will exhaust out of the case rather than recirculating some of the hot air inside.

 

[TomSpit]

Excellent. Thanks for all of your help. I have added +REP to all who have helped. The thread is now (unofficially) closed.

 

[MIGhunter]

Post jumping. I have a question about the push pull config. If you add a 2nd fan to pull air through, where do you plug it in? The main fan is plugged into your MB and is variable speed. The 2nd fan would plug into your PSU? If so, it won't be variable anymore and that will tax the variable fan. Which can potentially burn out your push fan. Am I missing something?

 

[Boyboyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIGhunter Post jumping. I have a question about the push pull config. If you add a 2nd fan to pull air through, where do you plug it in? The main fan is plugged into your MB and is variable speed. The 2nd fan would plug into your PSU? If so, it won't be variable anymore and that will tax the variable fan. Which can potentially burn out your push fan. Am I missing something?

Yes.

Most motherboards have at least 3 or 4 connectors now. Just plug it into one of those. Also a lot of fans are the 4 pin molex type now.

 

[MIGhunter]

hmm. I bought a cheaper MB, it's only got 1 fan controller. The rest are through the PSU. Well, mine are through a fan controller.