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Fan setup is three decisions: which way each one faces, where they go, and how fast they run. Most machines get the first two right by accident and the third wrong on purpose. How much of this arrangement is even possible depends on the case, which is covered in our guide to the best cases for airflow.
Direction
The side of a fan with the support struts and the motor hub is the exhaust side. The smooth open side is the intake. Nearly every fan also has two small arrows moulded into the frame edge showing airflow and rotation.
Check each one before you screw it in. A reversed front fan is invisible and undoes the whole arrangement.
Placement
Front: intake. Two fans if the case takes them, drawing outside air across the drive area and towards the graphics card.
Rear: exhaust. One fan, directly behind the processor cooler, in the natural path of the air crossing the board.
Top: exhaust if the case supports it. Heat collects there regardless, so giving it an exit helps.
That is a complete arrangement. Additional fans mostly add noise. If you need fans to fill these positions, see our picks for the best case fans.
The curve
Connect fans to motherboard headers so they can respond to actual temperatures, and set a curve that stays low until the machine is genuinely working.
The mistake people make is a curve that ramps early and steeply, which produces a machine that changes pitch constantly as load fluctuates. A fan that steps up and down every few seconds is far more distracting than one running slightly faster all the time. Set a flat, low speed for ordinary use and let it climb only when a sustained load justifies it.
Confirming it works
Run something demanding for twenty minutes and check that clock speeds hold rather than drifting downward. Stable clocks mean the arrangement is adequate, whatever the temperature readings look like. Then sit next to the machine doing ordinary things and decide whether you can hear it, which is the other half of the job.
Free tool PC Build Compatibility Checker — Will your GPU, PSU, cooler and case actually fit together?Questions people ask
Which way does a fan blow?
Air moves in the direction the frame struts and the motor hub are on, so the side with the visible support arms is the exhaust side and the open side is the intake. Almost every fan is also moulded with two small arrows on the frame edge, one showing airflow direction and one showing blade rotation. Check before mounting rather than after, because a fan installed backwards in a front intake position quietly undoes the entire airflow arrangement you were trying to build.
Where should the exhaust go?
The rear position always, because it is directly behind the processor cooler and in the natural path of the air crossing the board. Add a top exhaust if the case supports one, since hot air collects at the top of the case whether you help it or not. What you should not do is turn a front position into an exhaust: it fights the intake and produces a machine that circulates its own hot air rather than replacing it.
Should I use the motherboard headers or a controller?
Motherboard headers, for nearly every build. They read the temperature sensors directly, so the fan curve can respond to what is actually happening rather than to a fixed setting, and the board software gives you per-header control. A separate controller earns its place when you have more fans than headers, or when you want fans to respond to a temperature the board cannot see, such as the graphics card. Splitters and daisy-chain connectors solve the header-count problem more cheaply.