Does a fans orientation affect performance?

trawetSluaP

Member
Hi,

I recently bought a Swiftech H220-X. I had the fans in a pull configuration pushing cool air through the radiator from the top of the case with an exhaust fan on the rear of the case pulling the hot air out.

I've recently gone SLI with 980s and they generate considerably more hot air in my case so I decided to reverse the cooler's fans so they are now pulling air from inside the case and exhausting it out the top. This has had the obvious out come as my GPUs are running cooler and my CPU is running a few degrees hotter.

Now my question is does a fans static pressure rating change depending on if it's pushing or pulling? I ask as I plan to change the H220-X's fans for something with a little more oomph and was wondering if there are fan available that are geared specifically toward a pull layout as this is what I'm aiming for?

Thanks,
Paul
 
The difference between a given fan in push or pull should be negligible. Similarly a better optimized fan should perform better at both roles as fans aren't generally optimized for one or the other. Typically I think push is slightly more efficient but pull is easier to clean, I would just assemble it however it fits and looks best. Probably avoid open frame fans that might pull some air around the radiator instead of through it.

Remember to compare fans static pressure ratings at the same RPM or noise level and I would definitely say try and look at some independent data as manufacturers tend to vary greatly in their optimism.

JR
 
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