Online PC Case Temperature Airflow Calculator

PC Case Temperature Airflow Calculator

 Simple calculator that allow to estimate the minimum airflow intake and exhaust to achieve a given case DeltaT. The scope of this model it to give a lower bound for what fan number/size/rpm to use in a PC build as fan airflow is constricted depending on the impedence seen by each individual fan E.g. open air vs dust filters/fins stack.

 

Illustration 1: Airflow Temperature Model

PCPartPicker can be used to estimate system power

 

Online Case Temperature Airflow Calculator by FOM

Case input parameters

System Power [W]System total power at the plug. All power used is dissipated into heat inside the case that must be removed by airflow.

Maximum DeltaT [°C]DeltaT desired between ambient temperature and case temperature.

Ambient Temperature [°C]Ambient temperature outside the case.

Air Density [Kg/m3]Air Density. Unit of mass per unit of volume of the thermal fluid. It changes with pressure and temperature, but for the scope of this calculator it's fixed.

Air Thermal Capacity [J/Kg/°K]Air thermal capacity at constant pressure. How much thermal energy a unit of mass of the fluid can hold at a given unit of temperature.

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Case output parametersMotor parameters are extrapolated from No Load and Stall data at nominal voltage and allow characterization of the motor at any given voltage.

Case Temperature [°C]Temperature of the case. Ambient +DeltaT. The case temperature is the floor upon which the GPU and CPU temperatures climb. E.g. Ambient 25[°C] Case 40[°C] CPU 80[°C]. With better airflow Ambient 25[°C] Case 35[°C] CPU 75[°C]

Required Case Airflow [m3/h]Minimum airflow required to achieve the given DeltaT at the given System Power. The case requires both intake fans and exhaust fans. Intake fans are slowed down by dust filters and may require more overspeccing.

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Airflow of Noctua fans
Noctua 90mm: 78.9[m3/h] @22.8[dBa]
Noctua 120mm: 93.4[m3/h] @22.4[dBa]
Noctua 140mm: 140.2[m3/h] @24.6[dBa]
Noctua 200mm: 146.9[m3/h] @18.1[dBa]