Can certain cases effect airflow?
 

I have a case, that is something like $30 and its not very good. the tabs that hold the front on broke easily, it only came with a fan in the window it has in it. I don't particularly like it, but I got it as a gift... so my question is, can certain cases not generate enough airflow? I know antec cases have HUGE fans in them and i've heard they generate good airflow to keep things cool. I'm running a p4 prescott core so they run a little hot, so I'm tryin get things straightened around so it runs cooler. I have the fan on the heatsink, I have two case fans and it doesn't seem to do the trick.

best type of airflow i find is 2 fans in the front sucking air in, 2 in the back blowing out, so its a constant thru put taking all the air off the components.. also a side fan doesnt hurt.. or a top blow hole fan, just to get the hot ait that will rise in the case

Yeah. I went from a Raidmax case to a Lian-Li PC-60, and my CPU temperature dropped 10 degrees Celcius. I would try adding some more fans, or maybe purchasing a new case. Especially if all your hardware is running hot.

One more thing, you definitely want to make sure your airflow is just that: Airflow. If you have 4 fans pointing inward, sucking air into the case, you've got a problem. Make sure you have an equal amount of fans blowing out and you have blowing in. At least attempt to make it even.

A case can have a huge impact on airflow, along with other factors such as cables inside the case, and where your PCI cards are plugged in.

Try to imagine your case as being filled with water, and all of your fans properly pushing water around. If you just have one fan on the side, it will push the air in, but it will just kind of pool around near the bottom of your case, not really moving much.

Typically, you will want one of two combinations:
1. A fan (or two) in the front, near the lower end of the computer. All fans that are on the lower 3/4 of the computer will intake air. Fans on the top quarter will exhaust air. This will allow the air to be pushed in on the bottom, and pulled out at the top. Convection will also work to your advantage here, because hot air rises.
2. (I'm not particularly a fan, no pun intended, of this method) All fans intake air, and since your case is not air tight, it will exhaust any place it can. Supposidly this method works well, but I'm not so sure. I do know that it causes extra stress on your case fans, because they have to work more to push air into your case.

Simple answer: The case design can have a very large impact on the airflow of your case.

Well, currently I have an 80mm fan on the lower front sucking air in. I have an 80mm fan just below the ps pushing air out, and a fan in the acrylic window. I may buy a new case just becuase I want one, but I was hoping the answer would be certain cases move air better.

Yes, certain cases move air better than others. Stick with brand names and you'll most likely purchase one that moves air well. Lian-Li, Coolermaster, Antec, etc etc.

In other words, you have to blow and suck at the same time.

Anywho... intakes up front and exhausts in the back work better than anything. It'd be a good idea to get a new case before your parts are damaged from excessive heat.

Lunchbox in the mean time if your worried about heat in your case. Just take the panels off so you dont have a sealed enviroment for heat to get trapped. Sure you will have to dust it a little more often but its better than having it overheat.

thanks for the advice everyone. I bought a nice antec solution series and bought a spare 120mm fan to put in the front. one is sucking air in the other is blowing out so i shouldn't have problems. since switching the case and the fans i've lowered my temps about 12 degrees.
hooray!

alluminum cases also remove more heat then steel if I remember