Side panel fans

Hardware Cooling
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Could you replace the side panel with a frame of fans and or radiators?
Say 4 x 3 fans/radiators blowing in onto the motherboard with the back fan and any top or front fans pulling air out.
The CPU cooler would still have its fans and you could get something like 16+“x16+” of cooling with fans blowing directly onto the video cards and other mother board components.
Just a thought…

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You mean like cases were before glass became standard?
Yeah, you can do that …

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You can do any damned thing you want. BY THE DREMEL BE COMPELLED! Seriously though this is why I like “cheap” cases without the idiotic glass panel crap. Metal sides > glass = you can dremel, angle grind and drill the dog chit out of them.

On top of adding fans, radiators or screens you can just cut holes to route cables if you say keep your drives outside the chassis like my crazy ass.

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Its gonna be ugly and rough AF if you dont have the proper skills and equiptment but it is your machine and you can do anything you want.

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F looks, this is about SPEED HOLES!

As a side note/idea back in the day it wasn’t uncommon to just leave the side panel off and if you had various shapes on the top you could zip tie or duct tape fans and other BS pretty much exactly where you’d want them. No drilling or grinding required.

Oh and if you’re worried about dust bunnies some window screen (nylon not alum), hot glue, scissors and bobs the creepy uncle no one will leave you alone with.

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https://web.archive.org/web/20130203150520/http://www.peteredge.orconhosting.net.nz/casefan.html

So to answer your question:

Yes

There are also some seriously large 9x120mm | 4x200mm radiators floating around if you want cover the side of a case big

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Subtlety is lost somewhere along the case…

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DustMaster™ 9000. Love it!

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If he had used these

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Then it’d be called “Darude: Sandstorm” as the silicon disintegrates.

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If as-in applying some custom dremel work - Some cases do offer steel side panel variant
Do assess clearance(s) within and find a creative way, to wrangle up that hydra of wires

… Could always build a custom frame of fans and just position it close to side panel

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Yes. I have an old Cooler Master Cosmos, it’s currently in my dad’s garage, that was a pressure cooker back with my old 3960X and dual GTX 580 build. I used a dremel to add four 120mm fan holes to the brushed aluminium side panel right at the PCIe slots and its thermals are brilliant now.

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I plan to extensively mod my NZXT H440 at some stage, part of that will be including side panel intakes. Just need to work out the best way, whether I want to visible or hidden.

It has a plastic side planel window so easy to modify and steel around that likena regular flat side panel so plenty of room for modifying and adding/hiding parts.

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I would say to be aware the air has to go somewhere.
If there is no exit, air can get stuffy.

So even less fans, but a better flow path can effect more cooling.

But….

Why not Both

Remove Both side panels, and have one be air in fans, and the other Air out fans……

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Thanks for the replies.
These cases covered in fans is inspiring.
As an architect with extensive knowledge of wood and metal shops, my question was more of “Is it a good or better idea?”. I assumed, as # psycho_666 and #log point out, that it would be possible.
I just wasn’t sure why it wasn’t more prevalent?
Thanks again… 50~55 fans on one case… Priceless.

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One is more prevalent because marketing idiots :wink:

It’s hard to say if a particular case will be better with or without because there is so much more that factors into things. However most the glass side cases these days kinda suck because they are meant to be show pieces rather than “go” pieces.

You can always just leave your side off, or get nuts with a box fan and some foamcore board :wink:

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I don’t agree. I’ve heard this criticism of positive pressure setups for years, but I’ve never found it to be true. Cases are not die cast, air tight hotboxes. All cases have holes for air to escape, whether it be vents at the back by the motherboard IO, or by the PCIe slots, or various other holes around the case. In my experience nothing has ever been quite as effective as blasting cold air straight at the graphics cards and CPU via the side panel fans.

Possibly because it becomes a minor annoyance to take the side panel off when it has fans attached to it which are wired to the motherboard or a fan hub.

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