Marking this as "modding" because I think it is the most… appropriate? So I've added this ltitle cheap piece of plastic to optimize the airflow coming from the top intake fan (was an exhaust before, I've flipped it upside-down) to see if there really is a difference.
The case is an economic brand Kolink Observatory Lite Mesh which I decided to buy for a fair price because it was the most affordable with real tempered glass and the 4 ARGB fans with controller… so well, why not. I like it in the end.
But the whole point is I wanted to try this out as I'm currently watching these airflow experiment videos where it is told that generally the first fan at the top steals the air quite considerably before it reaches the CPU cooler.
So I've made this. The CPU is overclocked BTW. I want to push the little but well aged (imo) 1600 as best and safe as I can.
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Additional info: 4 Intake fans, 3 on the front clearly the one at the top which what this test is about. The other 2 are exhaust. C-States OFF p-states (cool n quiet) OFF. Maximum Performance power plan. vCore is in override mode, so constant voltage all the time for stability. AMD claims these chips can be taken up to 1.45v with the sufficient cooling but staying just below 1.35v is likely alright for daily use. Due the CPU cooler fan spins against the air intake from the top fan, its RPM are slightly lower.
That is basically the lite version of this:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cehXZftIYok](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cehXZftIYok)
And yes, Airflowguides are incredibly powerful
The theory is sound, so at worst you should see no difference, and at best you might see a benefit.
I used a similar fan arrangement in a Define R6 and did see a benefit, even without any sort of air guide or ducting.
My front upper fan and rear upper fan were spaced further apart than yours though!
It’s also worth being aware that you may have problems with air recirculation with this setup; the hot air exhausted by the rear upper fan will be sucked back into the case by the front upper fan. This is why spacing them further apart is preferable.
So yeah, just do some thorough testing, keep notes, and then compare to see if it is helping 🙂
Use fixed fans speeds + full CPU load and run some tests.
Your best results will likely come from removing the top exhaust entirely, mounting 2 fans on the CPU heatsink, and ducting directly into the rear exhaust fan.