How important are front vents on a case? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

Just got a P4 ready ATX case for my P3 1GHz and I'm thinking maybe I made a mistake since it doesn't have front vents. Oddly it has a slot at the front for an intake fan and it can also accomodate two extra fans in the back as well.

Anyway, my case temp right now is very high. It can get to 40C. I am waiting to get a Dual Fan Enermax PSU since the one I have now blows out very little air, and a better heat sink/fan for my CPU. But would front vents really make a difference, even if the computer is in a really warm room?

Jeff

 

[Masood Ali]

Yes, front vents would help your situation a lot.

Usually, exhaust fans are located towards the rear of a case near the CPU to expel hot air. The front vents are used mainly to allow cooler air to flow into the case.

You may just have to drill your own holes into the case or cut out a hole using a jigsaw or dremel.

 

[Jay H]

I did exactly what Masood recommends using a dremel tool. Actually, my case (Enlight midtower, common amoung the inexpensive cases apparently) has a front fan, but a cover on top of that, so I used a dremel to cut out an opening, the size of the diameter of the fan and put some screening on top of that to catch dust. Then I added another fan in the back near the top of the case to suck the air out of the case. The enlight already has a fan mount there but doesn't include a fan. Runs a couple degrees celcius cooler than before while remaining fairly quiet.

Jay