How To Re-position Case Fans

If you find your fans are causing noise when performance is at max, it could be because of position of your fans and re-positioning them could improve the airflow which will reduce the noise created by the fans during high system utilization.

You can watch the full installation video here:

Or follow the instructions below for tips on how to remove your front case fans and re-position them from the exterior frame to the interior frame placement.

Step 1

Unplug your computer from the wall outlet and ensure that your computer is off by making sure the PSU is in the off position. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

Step 2

Remove the left side glass panel by unscrewing the two screws at the rear of the case. (Figure 2) After the screw are removed, you will need to remove the glass panel by sliding it towards the rear and up. Be careful not to drop the glass and place it on a flat surface to keep it safe for now.

Figure 2

Step 3

Remove the right side panel by unscrewing the two screws at the rear of the case. (Figure 4) After the screws are removed, you will need to remove the side panel by sliding it towards the rear and then up. Then place it to the side along with the glass panel for later. (Figure 3)

Figure 3

Step 4

Now we'll need to remove the front glass panel. To do this you will want to grip your hand in the space below the the front panel and firmly pull it towards you away from the case frame to remove the front glass panel from the metal frame. After this, you can firmly pull out the top part of the front panel to completely detach it from the case. (Figure 4)

Figure 4

Step 5

Note: Not all computers are built with the fans mounted on the outside of the frame as in (Figure 5). So if they are already mounted on the inside of the case frame, you will not need to do anything as they are already installed optimally. 

Figure 5

Step 6

You will now need to trace the wires for the fans to the right side of the case to disconnect the power connections and RGB light connections. They may be all zip tied for cable management purposes so you may be required to cut the zip tie. (Figure 6)

Important! Be careful when cutting the zip ties to ensure that you are not cutting or damaging the fan wires.

Figure 6

After they are all disconnected, you will need to unscrew the four (4) screws on each fan to detach them from the case frame. That should be a total of three (3) fans and twelve (12) screws. (Figure 7) These long screws are unscrewed from the front side of the case. (Figure 8)

Figure 7

Figure 8

Step 7

Now with all the fans removed, we'll reinstall them on the inside of the frame, directly opposite of where they originally were on the outside of the frame as pictured in (Figure 10)

Figure 10

We will be doing the installation one fat at a time starting with the top one first. First start by passing the cables through the opening so that the cables are on the right side of the case. (Figure 11)

Figure 11

Now align the fan to the top of the case frame and screw them in from the inside of the case to the case frame. (Be sure that you are using the correct fan screw holes for this setup which are the smaller holes starting with the two small ones at the top) (Figure 12)

Figure  12

Also ensure that the fans are facing the correct direction to make sure that the air flow is directed in instead of out. To do this you want to make sure that the fan's plastic frames and wiring are facing the inside of the case.

After you complete screwing in the top fan, continue with the other two fans in the same way until all 3 fans are securely screwed to the inside of the case frame. your system should now look like (Figure 12).

Figure 12

Step 8

Now we will need to reconnect all the power connections and LED lighting connections. First the fans should be using standard 4-Pin Molex connections, so you can daisy chain them together into a stack like pictured in (Figure 13) and then ensure that the stack is connected to the power supply's 4-Pin Molex connection.

Figure 13

Step 9

Now connect LED lighting connections to each other in a similar daisy chain and connect one end of the daisy chain to the LED controller hub on the right side of case where you originally disconnected it. (Figure 14)

Figure 14

Step 10

Before we close up the case with all the side and front panels let's quickly test the system to see if it has been installed correctly. Carefully plug in the power to your system's PSU and power on the computer. You should immediately see lights and all fans should be operating properly with air flowing towards the inside of the case.

If everything is working properly, you can hold down the power button for 3 to 5 seconds to force the system to power down. Then unplug the computer to continue.

If you do not see LED lights or any of the fans are not spinning, double check their connections to make sure they are secure and not lose at any point.

Step 11

Now that everything is working properly, we need to place all the panels back onto the computer. We can begin with the front panel. Simply align the front panel to the holes in the frame and snap them into the case by squeezing the front panel and the case frame with your hands. Continue this on all 6 points until the front panel is full connected.

Now slide all the side panels on and screw them in to secure them to the case frame.

Important! Be sure tuck the cables in so that none of them are outside of the case and obstructing the side panel that would prevent it from sliding back on properly.

This will complete your process of re-positioning the fans.