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Placing air suction next to the air flow ventilation of a PC. Good or bad idea?

Discussion in 'Computers & Modding' started by Hypr, Mar 12, 2011.

  1. Hypr

    Hypr Well-Known Member

    This is something that came up at work, as there are four computers running with their air vents placed four to six inches away from the air suction (so that it would suck up the air which was blown out from the air vent fan of a PC.) While this may seem like a good idea on paper (as the suction would supposedly aid the air flow), I just can't help but wonder if there are any potential dangers about this.

    I'm already leaning towards that this is a bad idea, but I just can't come up with the solid reason why. Nor could I find anything that would support this idea either. I just want to know if there is anything that my company should be aware of, or if this is actually safe at all.
     
    Hypr, Mar 12, 2011
    #1
  2. Loonylion

    Loonylion Administrator Staff Member

    it would depend on the direction of airflow through the case, how strong the suction is and how close the device creating the suction is (because the device will more than likely contain a motor, and they need to be kept some distance from a PC because of the EMI)

    Basically, if the suction is not strong, if the airflow from the PC is heading in the direction of the suction vents without suction, and the actual suction device is some distance from the PC, it should not do any harm, however you need to consider whether the PCs (ignoring the suction) are using negative pressure (more air coming out than going in) or positive pressure (more air in than out) cooling, because once the suction is applied it will almost definitely be negative pressure. It would also be advisable to ensure that the PC air inakes have dust filters on them, because the suction will otherwise be sucking dust through the PC, which isnt a good thing. The filters will need regular cleaning as well.

    This is certainly one of the more unusual ideas I've heard for cooling PCs.
     
    Loonylion, Mar 13, 2011
    #2
  3. 2DamCerius

    2DamCerius My eyes for your brain...fair trade.

    It would only be dangerous if the suction was inherently stronger than the computers own cooling systems. Generally you would want to restrict airflow within a PC that conducts ventilation coming from the front of the chassis out towards the back in order to prevent it from overheating. It would depend entirely on the chassis as well as the cooling system, for its circuits require sufficing amounts of cooling, the extra suction would not even be necessary.

    Aside from the idea of trying to significantly cool it down, in my opinion it is simply too much
    for any ordinary contemporary terminal to use extra cooling unless the environment is somewhat
    clogged with debris which exhausts its circuits altogether.

    It may be more of a hazard to the work load, so a venture is not worth taking.
     
    2DamCerius, Mar 15, 2011
    #3
  4. bikeboy99

    bikeboy99 Well-Known Member

    Test it on Powder toy with pressure view :p
     
    bikeboy99, Mar 18, 2011
    #4