Does using two fans make computers cooler?

[Proqrammer]

Hi there,

We have created a box of Iron in which we keep our computers. When all 6 computers are turned on the temperature goes extremely high. We have also installed a fan for the box, in order to make it cooler.

Now will installing two or one other fan make the whole box cooler or not?

Have a look at my website,

http://www.yahoo.com

 

[wahnula]

Typically PCs have intake fans at the front bottom and exhaust fans at the top rear. Without knowing what's in the Iron Box, I would guess (3)120 mm intakes (front bottom ) and (3) 120 mm exhausts (top rear) would be the bare minimum. They can be powered by just about any 12V wall wart power supply.

Proper cooling not only increases PC efficiency and speed, it also is a key factor in longevity.

Tony

 

[edfair]

Anything that forces cooler outside air into the box or warmer inside air out of the box is going to improve the temperature problem.
Six systems in one box probably would call for something like the equipment cabinets use, up to 8 exhaust at the top and the same number at the bottom forcing intake.
You can get 5" muffin fans that run from 120vac.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

Multiple fans will help but only if they are working together. if you have 4 fans all blowing air in, or all bowing air out, they will not be as effective as having them on opposite sides, with 2 pulling air in, and 2 pushing air out.

JohnThePhoneGuy

"If I can't fix it, it's not broke!

 

[Proqrammer]

The Iron box is a box made of iron, we keep 6 pcs in that box and we lock it, that one barbaric way of not letting programmers steal the code that they are hired to write for you.

Our manager says adding another fan will destroy the air current that is being created by our single fan and not only it will not help but it will also increase the temperature, for some magical reason related to physics, it doesn't make sense now does it?

Have a look at my website,

http://www.yahoo.com

 

[kmcferrin]

Two fans are always better than one, as long as they are arranged properly. If you have 6 PCs locked in an iron box with one fan they're going to get hot. Think about it this way, if you have 6 PCs in a box with no fan on the box, i.e., the box is completely sealed, it will get hot. If you add one fan to the box blowing into the box, you'll be putting cooler air into the box but there's no place for the hot air to be exhausted. If your one fan is blowing out of the box (exhaust) then it will run cooler, but there's no place for it to draw air in (unless there are air holes.

The best system is a pair of fans (matched in the amount of air flow that they can provide), with one blowing into the box and the other blowing out. If they are arranged properly then the intake fan will draw in cool air and force it across the air intakes on hot PCs and the exhaust fan will draw hot air from behind the PCs and blow it out the back.

 

[wahnula]

One thing we all agree on is that an even number of fans is better than an odd number, provided they are arranged in an intake/exhaust fashion. Since hot air rises, it only makes sense to have your exhausts towards the top, but there's no reasoning with an irrational manager.

Get a temp probe, place it in the box to observe ambient air temperature inside the box. For something that is valuable enough to lock up in a box it makes no sense to have a cooling strategy based on guesswork.

 

[Proqrammer]

There is no exhaust fan installed in the box, the only fan is an intake fan, but there are many holes in the box.

Thanks for your help everyone.

Have a look at my website,

http://www.yahoo.com

 

[tf1]

Vents at the bottom and fans extracting at the top should work. In this arrangement, it should not be necesary to force air in at the bottom.

Hot air rises, so pulling it out of the top of the box will cause cold air to rise from below.

However, I suggest finding a new job as this doesn't sound like a company that I'd like to working for. <g>


Regards: tf1

 

[Proqrammer]

We installed a 75 watt fan on top of the box, and there are air holes on the bottom of the box, there is also a thermostat that will turn the fan on if the temperature goes higher than around 30 Celsius degrees, so usually the fan will be turned on automatically when two or more computers in the box are turned in.

The box is much cooler than before, the previous fan we had was 15 watt, it works perfectly well except the noise that the new fan makes, which is not a big deal because we have put the box into the balcony.

tf1, why would you recommend that? lol because of our semi-irrational boss or because of the way we keep our info physically almost unreachable? How do large companies keep their source code safe? How do they not allow their programmers to copy the source code into their USB flash memory cards?

 

[kmcferrin]

You may be preventing them from copying the source code to removable media, but the computers that they are working on undoubtedly are connected to networks. It shouldn't be too hard for them to copy the code out to a network or Internet resource, and then shuffle it out to an external site from there.

I've actually never worked anywhere that was so concerned about protecting their source code that they locked it up in a box. Most companies just keep it stored in their VCS and let it go at that.

 

[tf1]

Well joking aside, I wondered what sort of working atmosphere there is if the boss doesn't trust his programmers. On the other hand, data can be extremely valuable so I guess it is necessary to be prepared for the possibility that one day there may be an acrimonious departure! (And of course, Programmers can sometimes be a little lax with their security)


Regards: tf1

 

[felixc]

This will not happen with your iron box since you only have one exhaust hole, but in a PC case, adding fans where you usually find one or two spots for it on the back may have a perverse effect. If these fans pull the air out and that the intake holes are too small, they may steal the air from the power supply fan, thus reducing the air flowing through it and elevating the temperature inside of the power supply box.

Not to say that your boss was right, but adding fans in a box does not automatically solve heat issues.

 

[ceh4702]

You could have just probably gotten rack mountable PC's and put them in a lockable Rack Cabinet that was build to hold multiple Rack Mounted units.

If the programmer are good it is easy enough to use Telnet or whatever over a network. All it takes is an FTP Protocol. Nothing wrong with a Thin-Client atmosphere where nothing can be copied. Might want to look at Citrix or just a lockable cabinet.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[Proqrammer]

ceh, they have no connection to the outside world. They can't send anything to anywhere else, we have not even used USB keyboards or mice so that they can't cut the USB Cable and somehow connect a memory flash card.