I'm considering buying a new PC case, specifically the Antec C5, but I'm unsure whether the fish-tank design affects cooling. Since the front intake fans are positioned along the side rather than directly behind a mesh front panel, will airflow and temperatures be noticeably worse?
3 Answers
Compared with an equally well-designed case that has large front intake fans and a more direct path out the back, a fish-tank case will usually lose a bit on temperatures. That said, a good model with enough fans still performs perfectly well, and many people choose these cases for the appearance rather than absolute thermal performance.
It depends on what you compare it against. With the same number of fans, a fish-tank case may run roughly a few degrees warmer than a strong front-mesh case because the airflow path is less direct. A vertically mounted graphics card can make that difference more noticeable, so traditional airflow-focused cases still have the edge for temperatures.
They’re generally fine. As long as the case can draw in enough fresh air and has a sensible fan layout, cooling shouldn’t be a major problem. The side-mounted intakes are mainly an issue if the case is pushed against a wall or another obstruction.
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