Adding a fan

My friend bought a case with a fan on the top blowing out and this made sense since heat rises. I'm thinking of cutting a hole in the top of my case and putting one in. Is this a good idea? Any fan recommendations?

 

go for it! make sure that you have some blowing in and sucking out too!
also, be creative with it, you can make your case look great by doing it!

 

I'd recommend using a hole saw as opposed to a dremel to cut the hole ... as it will be a perfect circle and cutting with a dremel is a bit tricky ... I would also get a scrap piece of aluminum to practice on ... you can find hole saw bits at most any hardware store .. you also need a drill and a connector piece to fit the hole saw bit onto the drill ... the hole saw bit will cost you about 30$ or so ... and just get the bit the same size as whatever fan you decide to use(80mm, 92mm, 120mm)

 

Like ~Pyrate~ said, practice, man, practice first. Case will probably be metal, not aluminium, so practice on all type of case metals. Bazza

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yea...i messed upmy case top ...i used like a drill at first then found these things there like--/\-- and pretty small so i make lotsa holes like that but its all messy lookin...and there was lotsa dust and stuff so i wiped it off with my hand and it sliced it open...theres like a gash on my hand now from 2 days ago when i did it...so be careful

 

I am a carpenter and mainly use bi-metal hole saws for drilling holes for door knobs in steel doors and they are the right tool for the job. Yes like the others say practice on a scrap peice first as they tend to grab and wander when they start. I used a 3 in hole saw for a 80mm fan on the side of my case, mind you I had it in a drill press, but for the top blowhole you would have to do it freehand..One more thing. If I were you I would remove everything in the case before you do this as it does'n take a very big piece of metal shaving to short out your motherboard. Just a suggestion.

 

Here is a good guide http://www.directron.com/blowhole.html

Rick

 

One other thing, the key to using a holesaw is to mount a piece off wood to the back of the case, do this by drilling the four holes you mount the grill with in the case first then using wood screws mount the wood to the back side of the case, it will make the holesaw run true.

Also use a varibale speed drill and start slow.

Rick

 

It could be Good Idea?
I'd say if your rig is running cool and you have good air flow already, Why?
It will add more noise.
If you cut hole in your case, I'd reccomend removing your MOBO first.
Cutting hole in case tend's to be messy, Metal cuttings will not be good for your hardware so make sure you clean up good, dont want any shorts!

I have cut many holes in PC cases, your best bet is a hole saw, then file edges.
Good luck!

 

If you're lucky, it might be possible to remove the top panel from the case. If so, it'll save you a complete disassembly of your system, as well as making it easier to drill the blowhole.

(But if you have drill out some rivets to remove the top panel, you've still got the metal crumbs to worry about -- so just hope that your case is assembled with machine screws instead of pop-rivets!)

 

AMD suggests you should have at least as many exhaust fans (including the PSU fan) as you do intake fans. You could have a look at one of AMD's white papers on the topic here. It will help you set up your fans to improve air flow within the case. And don't forget that the prime objective is to get the heat out of the case. Getting air in is only one step in reaching that objective.

 

Wow, thanks for all the greats tips and info. I'm an electrician and we use whats called a knock-out set which hydralically pulls a die into a metel matching cup on the other side which make a perfect hole. You do have to drill a smaller hole (3/4" or so ) but it makes a very clean hole. Give one a try if you know an electrician, the hole size goes up to 5" but as someone said the 3" would work great for an 80mm. Thanks again guys.

 

That is a perfect tool to use, the only reason they are not talked about much in case modding is the cost of the tool for only a few holes. But if you know a electican that the tool to use.

Rick