Hey guys, I'm finally getting to the end of my new case plan, and I would appreciate your thoughts on it. The only dilemma I have run into is the direction of the airflow. Should it go from front to back, or back to front? If it were back to front I would be able to have a pipe bringing in cold air from outside in the winter, which is a good 7 to 8 months of the year for me.
Don't bother with outside air; there may be condensation issues. Also, using that kind of cooling means one of two things. Perhaps you're overclocking the computer and then using a horribly unreliable source of cold air (temperature outside fluctuates, as does moisture content), and you'll have to lower the overclock when the weather warms up. If that's not the case, and you're running at speeds which are perfectly stable at room temperature, then the extra cooling is a waste of time and effort. Front to back is less dusty because it's not drawing in dust from behind the computer. It's also quieter; because air on the exhaust side of the fan is more disturbed and thus noisier, you want the intake side of the fan close to you. Always do front to back unless the specific application makes it impossible.
... And front to back doesn't blow hot air over your hand/feet constantly, or makes you feel like you are riding a bike due to the wind in your hair.
Cold air has a lower humidity maximum then warm air .I would make a large inlet with a 200mm fan at the rear of your house and then place a filter over it to stop external dirt/bugs and absorb some moisture. Then channel the air flow into the rear of the computer :naughty.Mount 1 fan in the front and 1 on each side with the overall cfm from the outside being slightly lower then the exhaust's at the front and sides of the case. Make sure the inlet from the outside is thoroughly filtered possibly one filter placed on the outside of the house and then one where the air enters the casing. The problem with filters is they need washing every so often but it should be worth it Air on the inside of the house is generally more humid aswell as humans are constantly using/leaving water lying around unless you have a pond or pool next to the itake the air should be drier unless of course its raining. But the dual filters should limit the amount of water vapour in the air
you also have the dust factor, if you ever so slightly pressurise the case and properly filter the fans you will get no dust inside your machine. also front to back, cables and random unseen obstructions can reduce airflow and the front is usually facing the vast majority of cooler air in the room (assuming you don't grab the air from outside that is).
True, but the humidity isn't the issue, the condensation is. Even if your house has almost 100% humidity (70% is more likely), it's not going to condense on the parts because the parts are actually warmer than most surfaces in the house. When you start blowing cold air over them, even with its much lower humidity content, you might start getting condensation. If not during normal operation, then certainly when the computer is shut down or stepped down from an intense task to idle. And my other complaint with the system still exists - outside cooling either means you're overclocked higher than you ought to be (you shouldn't need sub-zero air to keep your system stable; if you want that kind of overclock you should be running watercooling or phasechange), or that you're wasting effort cooling your parts far too much (the difference between running a processor at 5C and 40C may be a few years of life, but even at 40C you'll have relegated it to the scrap heap well before it dies).
alright, I'm NOT going to do the outside air cooling, i see the problem with it now, but any other ideas?
Doesn't condensation work by warmer air condensing on cold surfaces and not the other way around? That's why there's condensation in the fridge's cold plates but nothing on the hot stove.
yeah the solid state has to be colder then the water vapour landing on it otherwise it just evaporates again before the water vapour has a chance to settle
