Case Fans on TOP pull air in?

[potatochobit]

what do you think is better?

I have heard that with big graphic cards pulling air into the case through the top fans is best

so it forces air out the back instead of hot air from the graphic card going up to the CPU

what do you think?

I am planning to get a double self-sealed water cooler to go into the two fans openings on the top of the case and pull air in downward.

I also have 2 fans in the front pushing.

and everything would exit the back

[Waco]

I always exhaust out the top. Period, no questions asked.

[Bellona]

Hello potatochobit,..

 

I think top fans should exhaust only, probably not good  to build a system that pulled air through a top mount rad and dumped it into your case. 

Edited March 1, 2016 by Bellona

[SpikeSoprano]

My top fan and back fan are used for exhaust and the front fans and side fan pull air in, I find it works best that way and also keeps the dust down in the case.

[capthowdy575]

my tops fans exhaust out due to a rad being up there. i have two fans on the side panel pulling air in over the graphics card area then one main fan in front for pulling air in. also a fan in the back pushing air out. if you want to keep dust down you can have all the fan pushing out. I think that's correct since you wouldn't want them all pushing in I could be wrong.

[RHKCommander959]

you can do either just fine. I have had to do it on some cases. Blowing the radiator heat into the case isn't as bad as you'd think, as long as you get it out quickly. I have done as you said, when the exhaust temperature is still lower than the vrms on the motherboard for example, where it is easier than adding more fans. And then you get the direct airflow rather than passive.

 

Heat dump is heat dump nonetheless. It would be more efficient for the whole system if the exhaust was pumped straight out right away. It is probably  more efficient to have the heat rise up and out since that is its nature too. But conversely anything you are cooling with the radiators will do best with the coolest intake air possible, running warm system air through will raise the loop temperatures. (ambient room temperatures are going to be lower than ambient case temperatures)

 

Another option is an external radiator mount. I have done that as well, where the plumbing is ran through the case, along with cables for the fans. All intake and exhaust skips the case, so you get the best of both worlds.

 

Any way you go, it will work. Some options are more efficient than others but I think you'd be happy nonetheless. You can always try it and see what you think

[RHKCommander959]

my tops fans exhaust out due to a rad being up there. i have two fans on the side panel pulling air in over the graphics card area then one main fan in front for pulling air in. also a fan in the back pushing air out. if you want to keep dust down you can have all the fan pushing out. I think that's correct since you wouldn't want them all pushing in I could be wrong.

 

dust comes with airflow. All pushing in or out would create pressure/flow issues, unless you have vents. Get filters if you really want to keep dust out, but you will have to clean the filters just as you have to clean the components otherwise.

[RealNeil]

My top fan and back fan are used for exhaust and the front fans and side fan pull air in, I find it works best that way and also keeps the dust down in the case.

 

This has always worked best for me and it's how I set fans up in every build.

 

Heat naturally rises, (convection) so it should go out the top of your case.

[potatochobit]

the reason I dont want to do that is because

with 4 FANS on top on the radiator

it will pull in air from teh rear of the case as most modern cases are vented with no screening out the back around the PCI slots 

and since there are no dust filters on the back, the inside will get very dusty