I've been noticing a lot of dust building up inside my PC case, and while my temperatures are okay, I'm wondering if having more exhaust fans than intake fans is causing negative pressure. I clean my setup every 2 to 3 months, but I'd love to know how to rearrange my fan configuration. Right now, I have two large fans in the front (intake), two 120mm fans at the back (exhaust), and one 120mm fan at the bottom (intake). Can anyone suggest ways to improve this situation?
5 Answers
In my experience, running with a negative pressure setup meant cleaning dust much more often. When I switched to positive pressure, I noticed I only had to do it every six months! It really does make a difference. Just keep in mind to balance the fan speeds accordingly.
No need to rearrange everything. You can just tweak fan speeds to get more air coming in than going out. Just make sure you factor in your dust filters and AIO radiator, as they can block some airflow too! If it's a hassle, removing one of the rear exhaust fans might just do the trick.
If the labels are correct, it sounds like you might have the exhaust and intake fans mixed up. To switch to positive pressure, you could move one of your rear fans to the bottom and make sure your front ones are setup for intake. You can also try increasing the speeds of your intake fans to pull more air in. It's a bit of trial and error, but you'll get it right!
Got it, I’ll try that! Should I also move one rear fan to the bottom?
Honestly, I've seen mixed results about negative vs positive pressure setups. Just make sure you've got good intake filters for the fans facing inward. If you want to switch things up, try adjusting your fan curves instead. You can find some good guides on YouTube for that!
Yeah, I've got filters on my intake fans. How do I adjust those fan curves? Is it hard to do?
It sounds like you might have the airflow a bit mixed up! Ideally, you should have air coming in from the front and bottom, and then exhausting out the top and back. This way, you can help reduce dust buildup. Also, make sure all your intake fans have filters to catch dust befor it sneaks in. If you haven’t used filters yet, that might be a game-changer!
I just edited my fan layout, and that makes sense! Should I add more fans at the bottom to help with dust?
That sounds simple enough! Should I just add some more bottom fans instead of worrying about fan curves?