I have been looking for ways to shave off noise that my system makes and I was wondering if using 3 fans in this config: 1 intake at the back, 1 exhaust on the top and one intake at the bottom. (the cpu cooler will be "passive")
What do you guys think should I do this or just stick with a normal layout with 4-6 fans?
Use case shown in one of Linus' videos: https://youtu.be/RXZrWqCT7R0?t=5m25s
Well, what are you trying to cool? a 35W 4130T or a 220W 9590?
a i5 2310 with a Be Quiet Shadow Rock 2
Yeah, it'll be fine. Airflow is adequate.
Leave the original fan on the ShadowRock 2 (it's near-silent whilst providing plenty of cooling) and get a couple more BeQuiet Silent Wings 2 fans (or wait for the Silent Wings 3).
More fans at lower RPM will make less noise than fewer at higher RPM for the same air displacement. I have 8 fans idling away 3ft from me, and I can't hear them. The only fans I hear are the Twin Frozrs of my graphics cards.
You could just get a massive heatsink like an HR-22 and run it passively
The layout matters very little for the noise...
The important thing is the fan's speed... I have a total of 10 fans in my case, including the triple fan gpu and the PSU fan, and playing a bit with the fan curves and setting all case fans at 7V and the white noise from my surround system is lowder than my system. And my system is in open airflow case, not silent optimized one. I run Fractal Design Arc Midi R2... 10 fans and a step away from the case it's silent...
Placement matters more for the internal airflow...