Do I want my fan to blow on my heatsink or blow away from my heatsink to pull heat off?
also there are two arrows on the side of the fan. One pointing up and one pointing away from the fan in the direction of air flow. Does the Arrow indicate which way the air blows?
Should the side that the Heat sensor is on be up against the heatsink or on the side of the fan facing outwards?
Thanks for any help.
Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
Re: Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
It would help if we knew what the Heatsink was, to get a better idea of how it is going to be oriented, and if you have a case vent/fan at the back of your case.
Generally it is accepted to have the fan furthest inside your case pushing air through the heatsink towards the back of the case (preferably an exhaust). You can tell which direction the air goes with a fan, as they always move air towards the part of the fan with the X struts going towards the motor. So find the X, air comes out that side
If your heat sensor is a 'free standing' case thermometer type thing, then have it in front of the fan (so you can tell what the temperature of the air being used to cool the CPU is).
A bad ascii representation of the setup would be:
_______________________________
|........PSU......... |
|______________|
|
[Exhaust ] << ( Heat )[ CPU ] << Thermal
[ __Fan_] << ( Sink ) [ Fan ] << Probe
|
With "<<" being the direction of air
Dan
Generally it is accepted to have the fan furthest inside your case pushing air through the heatsink towards the back of the case (preferably an exhaust). You can tell which direction the air goes with a fan, as they always move air towards the part of the fan with the X struts going towards the motor. So find the X, air comes out that side

If your heat sensor is a 'free standing' case thermometer type thing, then have it in front of the fan (so you can tell what the temperature of the air being used to cool the CPU is).
A bad ascii representation of the setup would be:
_______________________________
|........PSU......... |
|______________|
|
[Exhaust ] << ( Heat )[ CPU ] << Thermal
[ __Fan_] << ( Sink ) [ Fan ] << Probe
|
With "<<" being the direction of air

Dan
- whitey12785
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Re: Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
haha well its a little trickier then that. This is my heatsink: http://deadeyedata.com/index.php?main_p ... rrency=USD
The "top view" picture listed here is what I want to focus on for a moment.
Looking at this picture exactly is a good representation of how it will look installed. The left of the picture is where the back cpu fans would be. (in fact I will most likely have to remove one of my two 120mm back fans to fit this heatsink) and to the right would be my cd/dvd drives and the front of the computer.
in the "3/4 view" of my heatsink you can see the holes that the screws go through to mount my two 60mm fans.
The fans are either going to blow down at the bottom of my case or up (through the heatsink) at the PSU.
other than the two rear fans I have a third fan in the middle of the side panel. Here is a link to my case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156135
I hope this was enough information
Thanks for your help bro.

The "top view" picture listed here is what I want to focus on for a moment.
Looking at this picture exactly is a good representation of how it will look installed. The left of the picture is where the back cpu fans would be. (in fact I will most likely have to remove one of my two 120mm back fans to fit this heatsink) and to the right would be my cd/dvd drives and the front of the computer.
in the "3/4 view" of my heatsink you can see the holes that the screws go through to mount my two 60mm fans.
The fans are either going to blow down at the bottom of my case or up (through the heatsink) at the PSU.
other than the two rear fans I have a third fan in the middle of the side panel. Here is a link to my case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156135
I hope this was enough information


- stev
- Legit Extremist
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Re: Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
You have two choices for direction of the fan.
Match the fans to blow in the same direction as the PSU fan above it.
1. If the PSU fan is drawing air in to itself, then have your CPU heat-sink fans blowing up to the PSU.
2. If the PSU fans are blowing air into the case, then have the fans blow down. If the fans are blowing down, you will need a side panel fan to release the hot air from the case.
In my computer case, the PSU is drawing air out of the case to the back of the case and out. This follows both the Intel and AMD ATX thermal footprint.
Match the fans to blow in the same direction as the PSU fan above it.
1. If the PSU fan is drawing air in to itself, then have your CPU heat-sink fans blowing up to the PSU.
2. If the PSU fans are blowing air into the case, then have the fans blow down. If the fans are blowing down, you will need a side panel fan to release the hot air from the case.
In my computer case, the PSU is drawing air out of the case to the back of the case and out. This follows both the Intel and AMD ATX thermal footprint.
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- whitey12785
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Re: Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
well that isn't a direct picture just an example, my PSU has no fan. But you guys have definately educated me enough to decide for myself what is the best set up.
Thanks for your insight and time.
Thanks for your insight and time.
Re: Ataching Fan to CPU Heatsink
is that PSU a coolmax AP450? looks verry familiar, and the 120mm fan does blow it out of the case, just not directly
-Austin

Screamin' BCLK:
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Screamin' BCLK:

775 System (Overclocking Platform): Q8400/Q8300/E8400/E7400/E7500 - GA-EP45-UD3R v1.1 - 4GB (2x2) OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 CL5 2.1v Corsair TX-750w
Gamer: Asrock Z77 Extreme4, i7 3770K @4.6GHz, ThermalTake Armor A90 modded, 2x4GB GSKILL RipjawsX DDR3 2133 CL9, Corsair HX-750w, MSI GTX660 Twin Frozr
Server2012: Q9300 - 8GB DDR2 - Asus P5QL Pro - Corsair CX430 - Mirrored 2TB Seagate's with 2TB WD cav for fileshare backups, 1TB WD for OS backups