[Axelion]

I've just cleaning up the inside of my pc. But now I don't remember which side of case fan to put. Does the air flow go in or out the case?

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Depends on the fan location.
The fans in front would blow in to add air to the system while the fans in the back would blow out.
That way you have air flow.

[123Runner]

Depends on the fan location.
The fans in front would blow in to add air to the system while the fans in the back would blow out.
That way you have air flow.

[Digerati]

The fans in front would blow in to add air to the system while the fans in the back would blow out.

Yup! Generally, you want good front to back air flow. If side fans are present, they too blow cool air in. If using a "blow hole" fan (one mounted on top of the case), it exhausts hot air out.

[Axelion]

The location is next to cpu fan and I only have one case fan. So does the air flow have to go in or out?

Edited by Axelion, 21 November 2009 - 12:46 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Sounds like the rear one under the PSU most likely. If so then it blows out.

[Digerati]

The location is next to cpu fan

Do you mean mounted on the motherboard? If so, that is likely a 40mm chipset fan - and don't normally get removed unless it needs to be replaced.

I only have one case fan. So does the air flow have to go in or out?

You neglected to tell us it's location. Where is this case fan located? Front? Or back? Typically, if only one case fan, it is in the back and should exhaust warm air out.

[123Runner]

The fans in front would blow in to add air to the system while the fans in the back would blow out.

I thought I covered that?

[Digerati]

The fans in front would blow in to add air to the system while the fans in the back would blow out.

I thought I covered that?

You did. So did I and so did rshaffer. But it does not seem Axelion is following. Hopefully now there's an understanding.

[Axelion]

Okay, thanks. My case fan is on the back. I guess I put it on the wrong side =(

[Major Payne]

"Now before we go about installing the fan we need to figure out what we want to do with it. Do we want it to blow air in? Or blow air out? It all depends on your situation, in my case I'll have one fan blowing in cold air but eventually that will get hot and raise the temperature in the case, so I'll want this back case fan to blow that hot air out. Now here comes the hardest part of installing a case fan; figuring out which way the fan is blowing. In most cases the fan will have arrows indicating which way the air is being blown, unfortunately for me this particular fan didn't. The best way to go about finding out which way the fan blows is to plug in the fan into the PSU and find out for yourself."

With Pictures.

[Digerati]

most cases the fan will have arrows indicating which way the air is being blown, unfortunately for me this particular fan didn't.

Most have 2 arrows, one showing the direction of the air flow, and the other showing the direction of the rotation. That said, I recently bought a replacement Antec "Bigboy" 200mm fan and was disappointed to see it did not have any arrows. I expected more from Antec, one of my long time favorite makers. Still a neat fan, moves massive amounts of air, in total silence - just one word of advice, when checking nearby cables, keep you knuckles out the spinning blades, they break off easily!

[Major Payne]

... - just one word of advice, when checking nearby cables, keep you knuckles out the spinning blades, they break off easily!

The knuckles or the blades? I just look at the pitch of the blades. Should give some idea of the airflow direction. A quick connect to a proper voltage source will certainly do it.

[Digerati]

The knuckles or the blades?

lol - I almost wish it were knuckles - those fans are not cheap. And no - on many fans, you can't look at the pitch and tell air flow if you don't know the direction of the rotation. Some fans yes, because the blades are also cupped, but some are not. Otherwise, your only option is to connect up power and see what happens.