Comparative review: 67 casefans

67 products related to this article

Why casefans?

Of course, all those fans on the processor, videocard and chipset are wonderful in their own right but their use is severely limited by a lack of an active air current. The longer the pc is running, and the more heat is generated, the higher the case temperature will get. The fans will therefore keep blowing hotter air into the cooling bodies, making it less effective and potentially ending in a crashed system.

The fan that's part of the power supply already creates a reasonable current by ejecting the pc's hot air through the PSU, creating a draught of cool air through the openings of the case. This prevents the system temperature from rising all too much. These days, the current generated by this single fan no longer suffices. A dedicated fan at the front of the case to blow in cold air and one at the back to eject hot air is the desirable solution. More and more cases are being made with the necessary preparations for another fan on the side panel across from the CPU, where it can blow cold air directly onto the processor's cooler.

Air current

The ATX design that's predominant among pcs is designed to create a specific air current. Viewed from the left side, it can be said that the current flows from the bottom right to the top left. ATX power supply units must be made according to the specifications that they blow warm air out of the back of the system. This means that PSUs that suck cold air into the system are non-existant. One or two extra case fans down the front of the system and one extra fan at the back at the height of the processor create a healthy current of air through the system. The size of the current is not just dependent on the components in place in the system, but also the surrounding temperature. For a normal system at room temperature, almost any 12 cm intake and outtake fan should suffice, but in overclocked systems, or those operating in environments with higher temperatures, it can be necessary to look for fans that can shift a lot of air.

In ATX cases the current of air flows from the front of the system to the back.