Side intake fan

[LAB]

Hi, I have a Coolermaster Mystique case for my mesh pc. I was thinking of getting or making a perspex side panel for the pc, cos I now have lots of fancy leds inside and they're kind of wasted just barely shining through the side intake holes!

I have seen perspex side panels people have bought or made, but also read that sometimes the temperature can rise a small amount in the case. I don't really want things heating up, so wondered whether it would be worth adding a fan (intake?) to the side panel, where the screw holes for an optional one are?

How badly do perspex panels insulate the case, and are side fans a good idea if so?

Thanks.

[lgrenter]

i got the perspex windowed side panel from coolermaster for the mystique a cpl of weeks ago. looks really cool but the temp did go up slightly. i think this is down to the combination of perspex insulating, there only being one ventilation hole in the perspex panel ( compared to 2 in the metal one), and the air funnel that was fitted to the inside of the metal panel above the cpu cooler fan no longer fitting to the perspex panel, so air is not drawn directly from outside.
temp didnt go up a crazy amount, when fitted as is from the box i was getting an average case temp of about 47c, with the highest quad core temp reaching about 56 idle. the perspex case side venttakes a 120mm side fan (compared to the 80mm in the metal), i got one from ebay with 3 coloured leds in it, fitted it to the inside blowing onto the cpu fan inside, temps for the case now average 41c, with the highest core being 50c idle. dont want to put u off getting it at all, it looks and works great, but i feel u need to fit a side fan to make it worthwhile.

[LAB]

Thanks a lot, will look in to that. Do you have any recommendations as to what a good, high performing 120 mm fan to get would be?

[lgrenter]

not sure about high performance fans, i just looked on ebay for a 120mm led fan and found a tricolour one for 1.99. its very quiet and seems to get the job done. no doubt if i went to a fan site and paid more i would have got a better fan, but this one seems ok for my needs. temp goes up when i check speedfan temp settings after i have played crysis or mass effect for a few hours, but i can expect that with all the cores working flat out. temps go up to a max of 58c, but quickly drop again after i finish playing.

[LAB]

Thanks, will take a look on ebay then!

[DrATty]

Originally Posted by lgrenter

...temp goes up when i check speedfan temp settings after i have played crysis or mass effect for a few hours, but i can expect that with all the cores working flat out. temps go up to a max of 58c, but quickly drop again after i finish playing.

Have you tried measuring your CPU temperatures with CoreTemp? My CPU is probably an older, 'hotter' version than yours but I see temperatures into the low 80s on a hot day. The version of SpeedFan I have requires an adjustment to give a 'true' reading of the core temperatures. 80C is within the specified range, but cooler is better.
I have a side fan on my Mystique case. Sometimes, fixing it so that it sucks air from the case gives lower temperatures than when it's blowing air onto the CPU. It depends on the environment; removing air from the case is best on hot days.