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When does one need a front intake fan?

I

Infohawk

Lifer
My Antec Sonata with a socket 939 motherboard and AMD 63 3000 chip. I don't notice any heat problems. Out of curiosity, when is it wise to add a front fan (didn't come with sonata). Also, anyone know if it would help with dust (which seems to get in the case).
 
To make sure the airflow goes over the hard drives is the main reason.

If you want to reduce dust then make/buy some filters and slap them infront of the intakes, put some low speed fans in to counteract the constriction effect caused by the filters and then seal off all intakes that are not filtered with duct tape. Using intake fans won't help reduce dust buildup in any noticable manner.
 
The sonata's "intake fan" is a very weird concept. It is installed at a position where in it only aids in circulating the air in the case itself since it sits so far away from the front intake (after the HD rack to be precise). So was the case in my Sonata II.
 
Front intake fan (120mm) positioned in front of harddrives is a practical implement for case cooling.

Which means, cooling the hdds is smart. Couple that with a side intake 120mm, rear and top exhaust 120mm's and you got really cool.
Maybe another case?

You can always use porous paper for filtering. Someone mentioned coffee filters, eh?
 
I have seen some Antec case with the fan mounted on the back of the HD cage, it was unusual. Most are mounted in front of the HD cage. As for filtering, the 3700 series of cases do include a screen type filter. I use some AC filter material (I just cut up one I bought from Home Depot) that I cut to fit. I have also used some 'Scotchbrite' pads which work surpisingly well.

As for your question about if you 'need' a front intake fan or not... Why not? A decent 120mm fan can be had for about $10, will run very quiet and will increase the airflow in the case.
 
Yeah, with the Sonata, you have to create a tunnel with closed-cell weather stripping foam to make sure air comes in thru the front panel. Very dumb on the part of Antec, but it does add to the quietude - which is the raison d'etre for the Sonata.

.bh.
 
front fans on cases generally don't help much with overall case cooling, unless if you got like a 4000RPM fan. they are more for cooling the HDD
 
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