Spend sufficient time round PC builders and PC constructing boards, and also you’ll study fairly rapidly that the course of a case or CPU cooler fan issues. When a fan’s positioned for consumption, the intent is to drag in cool air. But when a fan is ready as an exhaust fan, the thought is to expel heat air away from the case or cooler. Both choices are helpful relying on the place the fan resides within the construct.
So how do you inform at a look which manner the fan is blowing, particularly when even seasoned PC builders typically take a second to consider it? It’s fairly easy, even when your fan’s producer doesn’t make it explicitly clear.
Look for the arrow
Some followers have a small arrow on the casing that point out the course of airflow. Whichever manner the arrow factors, that’s the facet that air will blow towards.
(Yep, it’s that simple.)
Look on the fan blades
Not all followers have an arrow—or maybe you’re making an attempt to judge a fan that’s put in in a case or on a CPU cooler and also you don’t need to unmount it to search for an arrow. Fortunately, you don’t want the arrow to inform you the course of airflow. Instead, merely take a look at the fan blades.
Blades curving away from you? That’s the consumption facet.
If the fan blades look rounded—that’s, they’re curving away from you—that’s the consumption facet. (For the extra technical on the market: The convex facet of the fan blades is the consumption facet.)
Fan blades curving towards you? That’s the exhaust facet.
If the fan blades appear like the within of a dish or bowl—that’s, they’re curving towards you—that’s the exhaust facet. (In different phrases, the concave facet is the place air exhausts.) Oftentimes, the exhaust facet additionally has the crosshatch helps for the fan’s body, with a round sticker within the middle that lists model and mannequin data.
If potential, memorizing the fan blade shapes is the most effective methodology to find out fan course—you’ll be able to inform instantly which manner the fan is blowing.
Why this issues
As touched on above, the course of a fan issues for airflow. Knowing the best way it factors will decide the most effective locations to mount it, particularly for a case. It additionally ensures you arrange the right airflow configuration to your functions.
Most PCs use constructive stress to get sufficient cool air passing by means of the system, which implies you want extra followers set as consumption than as exhaust. In choose conditions, a builder would possibly as an alternative select a destructive stress setup, the place you’ll want extra followers capturing air out of the case than pulling in. Both be sure that your machine isn’t cooking within the sizzling air generated by its elements. But if you happen to aren’t being attentive to the followers as you put in them (or how the case got here preconfigured), you can find yourself with a distinct configuration than meant. Read our guides on how to install fans and how to configure fans for positive or negative pressure setups to get the complete particulars on optimizing your PC’s cooling.
What fan must you use?
An affordable fan will transfer air. So will an costly one. The distinction between them is how loud they get and the way effectively they transfer air. Also, how fairly they give the impression of being.
That’s to not say you shouldn’t ever spend cash on followers. You can higher optimize the cooling in your case with the kind of fan you select (airflow vs. static stress). Quieter followers (both extra environment friendly or bigger, or each) are simpler to hearken to when their velocity kicks up. And if you happen to’re placing collectively a fancier PC, the fan’s supplies (and lighting choices) can improve your mission’s look.
If you’d like to switch your inventory followers, or add some to your construct, you’ll be able to strive one of many suggestions under. They’re all well-regarded within the PC constructing group, and the PCWorld employees has constructed with all of them greater than as soon as. Of course, our checklist isn’t exhaustive—different improbable choices exist as effectively. But these solutions are an excellent start line.
Arctic P12 PWM 120mm fan (5 pack)
These perennial favorites transfer air effectively, are comparatively quiet, and are available a pack of 5 for about $30 to $35. You’ll pay solely $6 to $7 per fan, making them a superb purchase given their stable efficiency. (Plus, if you happen to want an even bigger measurement, they come in 140mm, too!) Their solely draw back is a lighter, much less premium body—however if you happen to’re constructing a costlier PC the place supplies and appears matter, you in all probability aren’t making an attempt to buy in bulk anyway.
be quiet! Pure Wings 2 120mm PWM (BL039) Cooling Fan
Price When Reviewed:
$22.84
Can’t afford Noctua, however need a stable performer with a quieter, extra pleasing sound profile? These followers from be quiet! strike an ideal steadiness between greater efficiency, stable construct high quality, and affordability. And they’re less expensive than Noctua’s black followers, which price greater than the corporate’s traditional brown ones. (A 140mm variant can also be out there.)
Noctua NF-A12x25 120mm fan
At $35 every, these followers price a fairly penny, however they’re nonetheless wildly common because of excessive efficiency and relative quiet. If you’re not into the corporate’s signature tan-and-brown colours, you’ll be able to look into their Chromax line, which provides a extra normal black. If you need a completely different measurement of fan, or one higher geared towards static stress, Noctua makes these, too—in actual fact, its array of choices may be downright dizzying—however these are beneficial as the best all-purpose option.
Lian Li UNI Fan V2 SL120
Other RGB followers could have bolder lighting, however few can beat the sheer ease of constructing with these Lian Li followers. Normally, utilizing greater than a few RGB followers creates an unholy tangle of cables. These followers daisy-chain collectively within the cleanest manner potential—you bodily hyperlink them collectively, then join simply one of many followers to a controller or your motherboard. We’re followers of the extra refined, elegant mild results of those followers, however for the reason that first iteration launched in 2020, different variants have grow to be out there too. Static pressure optimized, airflow optimized, RGB optimized: You need it, you bought it.
Editor’s word: This article was up to date on 6/28/2023 to incorporate fan suggestions.