Views about side air ducts?

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Just wondering how people feel about side air ducts over the video card area. I really like the Silverstone SST-TJ05-B, but I'm a bit concerned over it's lack of an air duct on the side. I was also looking at the Lian Li PC-60APlusII, which is nice as well. And the fewer internal 3.5" bays is countered by the removeable tray...

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Side vents? With high negative pressure they work very well but the case may need cleaning more often.


...Galvanized

 

[Zepper]

I shoot for pos. pressure, so if my cases have one they get blocked off or I put an intake fan there with a filter..

.bh.

 

[Pens1566]

Not enough benefit for the noise I'm afraid.

 

[VinDSL]

Indifferent.

Next topic?

 

[lxskllr]

I like a side air duct, but it's not a deal breaker if not there. I'm not as concerned with the gfx card as I am the cpu. I like the air to blow on my processor.

 

[potato28]

Its the greatest invention to hit a case since the wire fan guard, IMO.

 

[GarfieldtheCat]

Like them, the Lian Li with the 120mm side duct is great. Run the fan at ~1000rpm (I run mine blowing into the case, with the rear fan exhausting air), nice and quiet, but still gives good airflow over the VC and the MB chipset. That lets me run a passive NB heatsink, cutting out one possible sourse of noise.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I don't care honestly, my cooler can't use the air duct because of its orientation. For a stock cooler though it seems like a good idea.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO
I don't care honestly, my cooler can't use the air duct because of its orientation. For a stock cooler though it seems like a good idea.

What cooler do you have?

 

[ebeattie]

I have a Rosewill Tu-155 case and already have an 80mm fan blowing right on the CPU fan mounted on my case window. If I mounted another fan in my window right next to the video card, would my cooling for my video card increase or decrease? Never been an expert in case pressures or airflow, so some clarification would be awesome. thanks

 

[Agent11]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811165008
I have one of these, side air duct at its finest.

 

[acegazda]

The air ducts themselves get very dusty, but they trap the dust that would otherwise get into the heatsink, so I guess that's good. You can't use them with a tower hsf, or anything over a 92mm fan. That means no HP sinks.

 

[Baked]

I have the Antec SLK3000B. When I had a traditional down blowing HSF, I used the duct attached to the side panel. But now that I switched to side blowing HSF, I seal up the two holes on the side panel w/ swiffer sheet, so only the intake fan draws air, and only the exhaust and PSU fan expels air. The intake has built-in filter, so I'm cutting down a lot of unwanted dust build up. Works great.

 

[VinDSL]

You know, life is funny!

Why do we use cases at all? All they are is self-limiting hindrances!

My computer, et al, hasn't moved 25 feet in the last 5 years -- how about yours?

Why don't we just 'Free Willy', come up with an open-air design, and forget all this artificial enclosure nonsense?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: VinDSL
You know, life is funny!

Why do we use cases at all? All they are is self-limiting hindrances!

My computer, et al, hasn't moved 25 feet in the last 5 years -- how about yours?

Why don't we just 'Free Willy', come up with an open-air design, and forget all this artificial enclosure nonsense?

I've done that before, for my crack rack. They didn't need but the essentials, and cases really aren't essential. Unfortunately, I've had to move my current computer case across Texas, and that is one of the reasons I'm searching for a new one. Having a machine that is a two person lift just plain sucks.

 

[Bluefront]

Side air vents? Noisy, noisy, noisy. There are alternatives that can be employed. Plus if you use a tower heatsink, such a vent does little good.

I cut a hole in the bottom front of the case, add a filter, and blow air in from there. Makes for a much quieter setup.....only a little harder to construct. Only a few cases come with this configuration however, so it's a DIY project.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
I've done that before, for my crack rack. They didn't need but the essentials, and cases really aren't essential. Unfortunately, I've had to move my current computer case across Texas, and that is one of the reasons I'm searching for a new one. Having a machine that is a two person lift just plain sucks.

LoL! That's hilarious! Looks like something I would do...

Actually, I had something more like this or this in mind.

I've been seriously thinking about buying one of those $80 'Top Deck' Tech Stations. Sure would make bench building a computer a lot easier (and safer) than doing it on the kitchen table, you know?