Adding a second fan to help cool down pc.

[Monster212]

hello i have a quick question... i have a dell Optiplex gx620 tower... my question is i wanna add a 2nd fan, but not sure what way the air flow should go... with this pc there is a fan on the cpu and it blows air out the front of the case... if i add a fan to the back of the case what way should i have air going in the case or out of the case??? i put a picture in this post to show you the case of this PC>..

 

[pparks1]

Is this box actually overheating and having a problem?

 

[Monster212]

my temp on the cpu and gpu seem to stay around 68-70c even with the one fan going all the time...

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The normal setup is to have a fan on the back, pulling air out--exhaust. And possibly a fan on the front, sucking air in---intake.

I'd use more than one piece of software to check temps. 68 is quite high for CPU, but is it accurate? That isn't particularly high for GPU.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Monster212,
Many Dells are set up with one exhaust fan which creates a natural cool air intake from the front they also like to place plastic housings which will also direct and channel the cool air to the CPU fan and it's fins. First off open your case and blow out all dust and clean the fan blades and fins on all fans. Then you will need to take some clear pictures of the front of the case so we can see what kind of space you have for an optional fan if any. Take lots of pictures so we can get a good idea of what is going on with this system. The manufacturers do pay close attention to air flow and I suspect what you have is dirt/dust build up or just a bad temp reading as 68-70c is crazy hot. Also take a picture of the mobo and the power connectors that are loose and don't have anything attached to them. Adding a high quality fan will for sure increase air flow and aid in cooling.

 

[smarteyeball]

The normal setup is to have a fan on the back, pulling air out--exhaust. And possibly a fan on the front, sucking air in---intake.

This

Monster212,
First off open your case and blow out all dust and clean the fan blades and fins on all fans. *
The manufacturers do pay close attention to air flow and I suspect what you have is dirt/dust build up or just a bad temp reading as 68-70c is crazy hot.

And this.


A second fan for the Intake>Exhaust will aid in cooling, but if you've got dust accumulated, particularly on the CPU heastsink fan - cleaning this will have an immediate effect on temps.

*NB Don't remove the heatsink unless you have some replacement thermal paste.

It's generally not a good idea to remove and re-attach CPU coolers without replacing the TIM paste because of the chance of introducing containments, or 'air bubbles' etc upon re-attachment which will limit the HSF effectiveness.

 

[Monster212]

ok every thanks for the tips and ideas i will take pictures today and post them ... also i did open it up and blow all the dust out made no difference ,.... will update my first post with pictures once i take them today..

 

[Duzzy]

The normal setup is to have a fan on the back, pulling air out--exhaust.

Just my 2 cents.
This is normal because all cases I've seen have their power supplys blowing hot air out the back so you don't want to be sucking that hot air back into the case.

 

[CB]

Hi Ken
Another two cents

If you decide to add more fan, make sure to do it evenly.
If you add one out, then you have to also add one in.
Because if you just add one out on the back, then the PSU will suffer from diminished air flow which is needed to cool down few heat sink inside the PSU.

Kevin