The correct alignment of all the PC fans is crucial to cool down your overall system temperature. And some components may even start thermal throttling, giving you a lower performance than expected.
Besides this, your PC will also collect more dust if you set the fans direction incorrectly. Therefore, knowing which way the air flows from your fans is a significant piece of information that you may use to make your system perform better and last longer.
But first, let us see why the PC fan direction matters.
Does the PC Fan Direction Matter?
The PC fan direction is one factor that most beginner PC builders overlook when building a PC. However, if you make the CPU fans face the right way, you may see a drop inmotherboard temperatureand an increase in its efficiency.
The overall internal component’s temperature not only depends on their usage, but also on factors like airflow, internal air pressure and dust settlement. Dust settlement and airflow is a fairly common and easy concepts to grasp. So, let us talk about air pressure here.
When you insert the CPU fans, there are three possible cases of air pressure.
Talking about positive air pressure, the number of intake fans exceeds the number of exhaust fans. This will result in the air to pass into the system mostly through a dust filter. And thus, the insides of your system will be fairly clean.
However, as the system does not throw out the air efficiently due to fewer exhaust fans, this may cause the system to trap heat, making the setup slightly warmer.
On negative air pressure, the number of intake fans is less than the number of the exhaust fan. This will create a vacuum inside the CPU case. Once this happens, air starts to flow inside the system through all openings inside the case, which means that the dust will enter through every opening and not only the dust filter.
Therefore, yoursystem becomes dustyif you have negative air pressure.
In neutral air pressure, the number of intake and exhaust fans is the same. This is an ideal scenario as the air will mostly enter the CPU from the dust filter, and the cooling is also efficient.
How to Tell CPU Fan Direction?
you may check the direction ofairflow in a CPUfan in multiple ways. The stock CPU case fan comes with a plastic screw attached to it. When you attach it to a heat sink, the air will flow towards the heat sink, pulling in the air from the opposite direction.
However, determining the fan direction in most CPU coolers and case fans can be daunting. Here are a few ways you may check the CPU fan direction.
