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How do you add a fan on the side panel of the case?

A

acegazda

Platinum Member
I've never done anything to cut up a case before, so I'd like so instruction on how to simply add another 120mm exhaust to the side panel. The coolermaster 534 I'm getting has a perforated side panel to allow for gpu hot air to get out, I was thinking of putting it there. Any and all suggestions are welcomed and encouraged!😀 Thanks in advance.
 
You can get hole saws.

You know that the reason they don't just put holes in the sides of cases like that in general is that the fans and air flowing through the case causes noise. If you cut a hole with a direct path to the inside of your case where all the noise is being generated, you will remove the shield you had for the noise, making your case much louder and more of a piece of crap.

That is why front panels often have air intakes that are blocked by plastic pieces. It's not to restrict airflow, it's to prevent the noise from escaping.

These new cases with huge holes on the side for big fans, are just plain stupid in my opinion. If anything, I would cut a hole in the BOTTOM of the case, and then make sure there is a half inch or so of space down there so air can come in. It will feed cold air to your GPU and help pull more cold air in the bottom, and help the hot air RISE, which is what it does.

Hot air does not flow sideways.
 
Well it kinda depends on your case material. Dremels work OK for some, if they're thin enough. I snapped a whole pack of blades trying that on my Antec 1/8" steel case though. Wear goggles!! LOL! Be warned, I've never used a saw like the one I'm describing below. Only seen the saws and results.

Hole saws are the best for this kind of job, but probably most expensive option. Check out your home depot or local hardware store. I think 4.75 Inches would be 120.65mm. Close, or you could go smaller with a 4.5" saw that should put you at 114mm. Those attachments aren't cheap, but you could charge $5 to do it to your friends cases and maybe make it back after not too long. Probly run you between $25 and $40 from what I can see. Assuming you already have a drill.

Most hole saws should do aluminum and steel. I believe they are attachments to typical powerdrills. Not sure on the speed or power required to run the saw though. Ask a Home Depot guy or whatever.

A regular drill would give you the screw holes, and you would probably want to slap a fan grill on there for protection.
 
I do case mods for side intake and top exhaust fans.
I've used a hole saw for 120mm fan cutouts.
Now that I can get 250mm fans for side intakes.
I can finally use my RotoZip circular cutout device.
 
Originally posted by: Noubourne
Well it kinda depends on your case material. Dremels work OK for some, if they're thin enough. I snapped a whole pack of blades trying that on my Antec 1/8" steel case though. Wear goggles!! LOL! Be warned, I've never used a saw like the one I'm describing below. Only seen the saws and results.

Hole saws are the best for this kind of job, but probably most expensive option. Check out your home depot or local hardware store. I think 4.75 Inches would be 120.65mm. Close, or you could go smaller with a 4.5" saw that should put you at 114mm. Those attachments aren't cheap, but you could charge $5 to do it to your friends cases and maybe make it back after not too long. Probly run you between $25 and $40 from what I can see. Assuming you already have a drill.

Most hole saws should do aluminum and steel. I believe they are attachments to typical powerdrills. Not sure on the speed or power required to run the saw though. Ask a Home Depot guy or whatever.

A regular drill would give you the screw holes, and you would probably want to slap a fan grill on there for protection.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened when I put the window and 3 fan holes in my Chenming 901B (also 1/8" steel). I went through about 40 of those little cutoff wheels, and about half of them would have ended up in my eyes, if I wasnt wearing goggles, when they snapped.
 
Also, if you use a Hole saw get a 4 5/8" one which is approximately 116mm. You don't want a 120mm one as if you look closely and measure you fan you'll find the actual diameter of the inner circle is 116mm for most fans. You can get away with the 4.5"(114mm) if you don't want to special order one as Home Depot and Lowes carry upto 4.5" hole saws.
 
Thanks, I think I have a dremmel somewhere, or my dad does. I think i'll try the top blowhole idea. No one knows of a step by step guide, do you?
 
I also do not think side fans are effective at cooling and they do create more noise.

Top blow holes are effective and I find the new Antec designs with top blowholes and PSU on the bottom to have a lot of upside.

I have been building custom cases for years and highly recommend using a bi-metal hole saw if you want a clean job and I would stick with 4.5 inch for 120mm. If you use a pencil and draw a circle on the inside wall of the fan then that is all you need for the fan hole. You can use the fan to also locate the mounting holes. I also recommend putting masking tape down first to both draw your template and protect your case finish while you work.

If you use a chrome fan guard I highly recommend using rubber grommets between the fan and the case and the case and guard as that's where a lot of vibration comes from.

IMHO a dremel does the poorest least clean job.
 
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