While configuring the fan layout of your case, you might be faced with the dilemma of whether you should opt for a negative pressure build or a positive pressure build. Both of these layouts have their own sets of pros and cons, and this makes the decision even harder. In this article, we list some possible use case scenarios in which either of the configurations can be a better choice. This will help you narrow down your line of thought and come to a conclusive choice.
What is a Negative Pressure Build and When To Use It?
A negative pressure build is pretty much what the name suggests. When the resulting air pressure inside the case is lesser than the surroundings’ air pressure, it is called a negative pressure build. This configuration causes air to rush in from all vents of the case. Since all vents and openings of a case do not have dust filters or meshes, negative pressure builds end up accumulating a lot of dust over time.
But, the extra flow of air pushing into the case has a lot of positives. It helps to efficiently cool passively cooled components like RAM sticks, Solid State Drives, etc.
Thus, if you live in a low to a moderately dusty environment, and have a lot of passively cooled components in your system, a negative pressure build will be the best for your system.
Also, in cases which do not have a lot of fan mounts, a negative pressure is ideal to maximize airflow. Most office-use and old cases have a single fan mount in the rear. In these cases, negative pressure builds makes the most sense.
How to Configure a Negative Pressure Build
The principle for configuring a negative pressure build is simple. You need to have more air leaving the system than what is entering it. Thus, if you have fans with a similar airflow rate, a simple configuration tip can be to put more fans in the exhaust than in the intake to get a negative pressure build.
But, most builds mix and match fans from separate manufacturers. Some even have different fan sizes. In these cases, you can use the CFM ratings to determine overall airflow. Although not an accurate measure, CFM ratings will give you an overall idea of how you should configure your fans.
What is a Positive Pressure Build and When To Use It?
A positive pressure build, unlike a negative press build, is established when the air pressure inside the computer case is higher than the surroundings’ air pressure. This is caused when the amount of air rushing into the case is higher than the amount of air leaving it.
But, positive pressure builds are not good for passively cooled components. Passively cooled components get heaters up because of a lack of heat dissipation in these builds.
Also, since positive pressure builds involve more air flowing into them than the amount leaving them, they accumulate much lesser dust as compared to negative pressure builds. Thus, if you live in extremely dusty regions, positive pressure builds are the way to go.
How to Configure a Negative Pressure Build
Just like a negative pressure build, if you put more similarly rated fans as intake as compared to exhaust, you can achieve a positive pressure build. The idea is to have more air moving into the case than the amount leaving it.
We hope this article helped you figure out how you should configure your build. Both positive and negative pressure builds have their own sets of pros and cons, and none of them is notably better than the other. You need to make an informed decision depending on your needs.
