At 11:12 04/07/02, Tom Landon wrote:
>I have a new case in which I can add one 9cm case fan behind
>the lower front panel.
>Question: This fan is reversible. Do I want to have it exhaust
>out the front, or, draw in? Not sure which is better.


Hi Tom

The typical fan setup is to have the bottom front fan pulling
cool air in and a top rear fan blowing hot air out. The top
rear fan is usually the exhaust fan because warm air rises.

You should check your power supply to see if its fan is
blowing air out. Early ATX cases had the power supply pull
air in so that it could be blown onto the processor. This was
supposed to save money by allowing manufacturers to do without
adding a CPU cooler (heat sink + fan). This does not work
with today's hotter running processors...so there is no need
to have the power supply suck air in. (If it does suck air in,
you may be able to reverse the fan blades...just be careful
of the innards of the power supply because there are potentially
lethal voltages stored in the capacitors which can discharge
even if the power is cut off.)

If there is no fan at the upper rear of your case, you may be
able to add one. See if there is an area above (or next to)
the power supply that has vent holes. You can often screw a
fan to the inside of this vent area to aid in blowing air out.
(The power supply fan might not be the best way to vent air out.)

I'm a firm believer that the cooler the inside of your case,
the better your computer will run.

Regards,
Bill

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