Do most people add fans to the cabinet back?

[syph007]

Just finishing off the back of mine and currently it's all sealed off.  Would adding vents be enough or do i really need active ventilation with a big fan?

[Turnarcades]

Just finishing off the back of mine and currently it's all sealed off.  Would adding vents be enough or do i really need active ventilation with a big fan?

Depends how paranoid you are, what the construction material is, how cramped the interior is etc etc.

We've never found the need, but add them if requested.

[Beretta]

im planing on adding 2 120mm intakes on teh back door and another 120 exhaust on the top.

it wont hurt to have the extra ventilation.

[javeryh]

Can't hurt.  I don't have any in my DK and I've left it on for 8+ hours and it is still pretty cool in there.

[Ginsu Victim]

My Track and Field cabinet has a vent at the top, so I attached a fan to it. I have recently stopped using the fan to make the cab quiet, and have not had any problems. Even if you don't add a fan, you do need to at least vent it.

[Haterot]

I have 2 passive vents in the top of my cab and a 120mm fan at the base (in back), I have no fear of heat. also my mobo and HD are not in a case. so airflow is large.

[mj147]

Ive added  both intake and exhaust fans on my cabs. One has been on close to 4 years with out a problem.

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 




mj147

[ammitz]

Ive added  both intake and exhaust fans on my cabs. One has been on close to 4 years with out a problem.

So why did you put in a fan then 

If I may ask 

[Ginsu Victim]

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 

Are you married? I am. "It's too loud" is way too easy to achieve.

[mj147]

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 

Are you married? I am. "It's too loud" is way too easy to achieve.

Yeah im married but she dont mind the sounds...... infact she thinks my "gameroom' looks empty and thinks we need more.....

Ive added  both intake and exhaust fans on my cabs. One has been on close to 4 years with out a problem.

So why did you put in a fan then 

If I may ask 

I have 2 sucking in air  at bottom and 2 blowing out at the top , just in case...plus I had lots  of case fans I needed to do something with.



mj147

[Ginsu Victim]

My MAME cab is too close to the living room, so it's distracting when she's watching TV or reading. When she's gone, I crank that ---smurfette---! Marvel vs Capcom MUST be loud!

[Beretta]

most motherboards these days can handle automatic fan adjustment.. IE: control fan speed based on temperature..

if you have it set up like this then the fans will be fairly quiet unless the cpu is getting hot, in which case would you rather have 1. the cpu be throttled back, possibly causing the game to become choppy?, 2. the fans are louder then usual (running at 100%) but at least you can still play the game and you processor is'nt cooking.

if your motherboard does'nt have this feature then you can buy standalone fan controllers..

you can also hook up a thermistor inline with the fan, or install a pot so you can manual adjust the fans for the right balance of cooling and noise.


when selecting cooling fans get the largest you can, larger fans put out more air and create less noise because they spin at a lower RPM for the same amount of cooling.

also smaller fans running at high speed have a higher pitch which can be more annoying then a larger fan that has a lower pitch it's not as noticeable.

ball baring fans last a long time, sleeve baring fans are cheaper, quieter, but usually dont put out as much air and dont last as long..

when noise is a concern go with sleeve fans.

[Derrick Renaud]

A nice 120mm fan at the back helps keep the CPU cool.  I also used one at the top of the cabinet to keep the CRT monitor cool.  That helps to stop deflection jitter problems from a hot chassis.

This is the one I used.  Can't even hear it.
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3180427&CatId=802

No air intake fans are needed.  Just make sure air can get in the cabinet somewhere.

[richyrich888]

Have added one to mine, here is a pic of a test rig i set up before fitting it to the cab..



...p4 prescot processor is also known as "preshot" so didn't take any chances , and besides, neon blue led fan was too hard for the kid in me to resist ! lol !

[Dr Zero]

Heat is a killer on PC's I  have worked on many that the dust and the heat have almost did them in.
A quiet fan you would probably never hear over a game.

On my build I am getting a PSU with a large fan along these lines



and add one a the top back where the vents are to help with exhaust. They drilled holes then put a board a few inches away so you cant see in but it kind of traps heat so the need for some exhaust.

When you go looking for fans also notice the CFM (Cubic feet per minute) they are not all the same even though they are the same size and notice the noise level.

120mm Air Flow: 37 CFM Noise Level: 20.2 dBA

120mm Air Flow: 58.3 CFM Noise Level: 16 dBA

200mm Air Flow: 142 CFM Noise Level: 23 dBA

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090573&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&SrchInDesc=silent&Page=1

[Beretta]

if you buy online be weary of the shipping charges..
newegg rarely has FS on any of their fans and although they have some cheap fans the shipping charges is quite high on them even though they weigh very little.

if you have a fry's or micro center near you those are good places, you'll pay taxes but it should still be cheaper then ordering from newegg.

micro center has 120mm fans putting out 54 cfm, for 2.99, come in black or clear with blue led.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?sortby=pricelow&web_group=byopc_cooling&category=HJ1&subcategory=HJ1D

they also have a 140mm for the same price but it's hard finding 140mm fan guards.

[dekar24k]

Unless you have put several harddrives, dual graphics cards or other major heat generating stuff in your cab, vents will do just fine. Also, the more space you have in your cab, the more fresh air will circulate and the less you will need exhaust fans.

[syph007]

Ya i decided to just try vents first. I  got some from home depot today and will be painting them black and installing tonight.   I was just starting to wonder after I sealed in the back if fans were needed.

[dekar24k]

Ya i decided to just try vents first. I  got some from home depot today and will be painting them black and installing tonight.   I was just starting to wonder after I sealed in the back if fans were needed.

Oh sorry, when I said "vents" I meant that you only needed to make sure there are ventilation holes in the cabinet. No need for tubes or similar IMO.

[Zebidee]

Unless you live in a perfect climate, fans are highly desirable. A fan costs a few bucks and is dead easy to install.  Alternatively, you can leave the back door off your cabinet, which is what I usually do until I install a fan.

Heat causes problems, but humidity can also cause even bigger problems in either hot or cold conditions. I'm pretty lucky to live in Canberra as the humidity is quite low here, and rarely have problems. Even so, a lot of the cabs I make end up in Sydney, which is hotter and more humid than Canberra, so I make sure that I to install exhaust fans (just one 120mm) before selling them. I should also echo Beretta's earlier comments about a big fan being better.

I have restored many cabs and the worst ones are from Wollongong, which is hot & humid & coastal (& often smoky). In these cabs I tend to find a lot of surface rust on metal surfaces, and have had to replace many metal panels / parts in my restorations. Their old monitors really seem to have wilted in the heat & humidity too.

[Ummon]

I don't see a need to put intake and exhaust fans, as the latter will naturally create convection...unless you have some need for it to be blustery inside?.....

With a PC, I would lean towards putting a fan(s) in. A high-end gaming rig, you betchur ass. I'm doubting game boards up through the early 90s perhaps were running enough current to get hot enough to need them, so they didn't put 'em in.

[BamBam]

I have my computer mounted in a PC case with the sides taken off inside my cabinet.  I have left the back of my MAME cabinet open and over the past three years I have never had a heat issue.  Extra cooling, however, never hurts.

[Beretta]

one of the reasons for putting intake and exhaust fans in is so you can direct the air where you want it.

you dont NEED both, but then the air is gonna enter or exit either though cracks (which from what i've seen there are'nt many openings on a cabinet that are'nt intended.. they are pretty sealed up.

or they though the passive vents.

that can be a problem.. you dont want a short circuit in your air flow.. IE putting intake and exhaust fans right next to each other.


putting intakes at the bottom will pull in cool air, cool air descends so it's coolest on the floor

put a exhaust fan at the top, hot air rises on it's own, the fan however helps it make the journey to the top of the cab because it creates negative pressure and then exit from a higher elevation then where you're intaking at which creates positive pressure.. you would'nt want your exhaust air to renter though your intake.

passive vents in this situation can actually hurt you.. the DC fans you'ed be using for this generally are'nt very powerful in compared to the amount of space they're operating in.
they're made to be used in a small space such as a computer case.

so it's sometimes a good idea to actually seal the passive vents if you go with fans.

personally i plan to have 2 120mm intakes very near the computer.
i'll mount the powersupply exhaust fan UP, this will also help push the air towards the top of the cab.

then put a 120mm exhaust fan at the top of the cab above the monitor..

the idea is to pull cool air in to help cool the computer & powersupply.. (this creates positive pressure in the cabinet)

then the air will be moved upward by the negative pressure created by the exhaust fan at the top, and then exit the cab.

this could be done with either just exhaust or just intake fans but would'nt move as much and you still have to make sure your exhaust vent is the path of least resistance.

[protokatie]

Beretta brings up a good point, but there is an added (hidden) benefit to having two fans: If one of the fans die, you still have some level of forced airflow.

[DeLuSioNal29]

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 

Are you married? I am. "It's too loud" is way too easy to achieve.

Word.

[Zebidee]

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 

Are you married? I am. "It's too loud" is way too easy to achieve.

Word.

This is why you should always install headphone jacks.

Then they start complaining that you are slapping the buttons too loudly 

[Ond]

putting intakes at the bottom will pull in cool air, cool air descends so it's coolest on the floor
put a exhaust fan at the top, hot air rises on it's own, the fan however helps it make the journey to the top of the cab because it creates negative pressure and then exit from a higher elevation then where you're intaking at which creates positive pressure.. you would'nt want your exhaust air to renter though your intake.

like this? - In at the bottom, out at the top.

[Ummon]

If you can hear the fans,  then you dont have the cab cranked up loud enough 

Are you married? I am. "It's too loud" is way too easy to achieve.

Word.

I bet their TV is too loud for me.

This is why you should always install headphone jacks.

Then they start complaining that you are slapping the buttons too loudly 

Duplexes are too few, alas.