Case airflow & fan curves

Positive vs negative pressure, intake/exhaust placement, and BIOS fan curves that keep the machine quiet at idle and cool under load.

1. 1

   Understand the basic path

   Cool air in the front/bottom, hot air out the rear/top. Heat rises; the rear-top corner near the CPU is prime exhaust real estate.

2. 2

   Aim for slight positive pressure

   Slightly more intake than exhaust (e.g., 3 in / 2 out) means air leaks out of gaps instead of dust getting sucked in through them. Your dust filters only work on intake fans.

3. 3

   Placement priorities

   1) Rear exhaust. 2) Front intakes feeding the GPU. 3) Top-rear exhaust. Skip top-front exhaust — it steals fresh intake air before it reaches components.

4. 4

   Set fan curves in BIOS

   Tie case fans to CPU or motherboard temperature: ~30-40% speed below 50°C, ramping to 100% at 80°C+. Set a gentle ramp time so short spikes don't cause audible surging.

   Tip: GPU fans handle themselves. Your case fans mainly need to feed the GPU fresh air.

5. 5

   Verify with data

   Run a 15-minute game or stress test with HWiNFO logging. GPU under ~80°C and CPU under ~85-90°C sustained is healthy for modern parts. If the GPU is hot but the CPU is cool, add front intake.