Air flow balance...

[acemcmac]

Is there any truth to the theory that if you have greater intake pressure than exaust pressure (more fans or higher CFM intake usually) that your system will be less susceptible to dust accumulation?

As I've been looking at higher end cases, I've been wondering this since it seems that the Chenming class cases are the only real lines to use dual 80mm exaust while lanli and coolermaster take one exaust and twin intake...

Any thoughts?

 

[Baronz]

How would that make sense?

 

[acemcmac]

Simply put, why do premium cases have only one exaust and two intakes? Is there any real advantage to that?

 

[Tates]

Simply put, why do premium cases have only one exaust and two intakes? Is there any real advantage to that?

one exhaust and two intakes = one exhaust plus the power supply exhaust = two exhaust and two intake

 

[Gravity]

Hmm...haven't taken this to the nth degree yet, but if I did I would calculate the cfm of the incoming fans at their most common speed. Then, compare that to the cfm of the outgoing fans, including the three fans on the psu. That would be the only way to calculate the pressure as it relates to negative or positive. I'm not sure that negative or pos are the factors you should consider for cooling, it seems like flow is the key factor.

Others?

 

[mariner]

Don't know about cases but that same philosophy is considered with houses. Some HVAC (Heating Ventilation C/A) folks will draw a portion of the "return air" for the system from outside the air conditioned space (i.e. attic) so that there is a positive pressure inside the house. This prevents un-air conditioned air from leaking into the house. It makes sense that this same situation would also reduce the dust intake in a case. Or not

mariner

 

[McArra]

Originally posted by: mariner
Don't know about cases but that same philosophy is considered with houses. Some HVAC (Heating Ventilation C/A) folks will draw a portion of the "return air" for the system from outside the air conditioned space (i.e. attic) so that there is a positive pressure inside the house. This prevents un-air conditioned air from leaking into the house. It makes sense that this same situation would also reduce the dust intake in a case. Or not

mariner

Good point

 

[sodcha0s]

acemcmac,

To answer your question, yes as long as all the intake fans have filters, obviously. This will also help keep dust from accumulating in all the cracks around your case panels and drives, as well as keeping dust out of the drives. However, case temps are usually higher with this type of setup.

 

[slashDevSlashNull]

Probably you should aim to balance the total intake with the total exhaust, because if the intake and exhause are not balanced, the fans will to some degree work against each other. And good airflow is the only reason for using case fans in the first place.
When it comes to dust accumulation, I guess the important factors are total airflow and outside case environment; more dust and more dusty air simply means more dust in your case.