Making a Blowhole
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The blowhole....Now that just SOUNDS cool doesn't it? Well if ya ain't heard of it (Have ya been under a ROCK!!??), its the art of making swiss cheese outta your case, then throwing a fan in there for good measure. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? Well, it is, sorta, if ya do it right, and that's what we are gonna try to tell ya how to do here.
PROJECT BLOWHOLE
The blowhole....Now that just SOUNDS cool doesn't it? Well if ya ain't heard of it (Have ya been under a ROCK!!??), its the art of making swiss cheese outta your case, then throwing a fan in there for good measure. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? Well, it is, sorta, if ya do it right, and that's what we are gonna try to tell ya how to do here.
Before we get into the "how", lets take a look at the "why". If you're reading this you are more than likely an overclocker, and if you're not, you SHOULD be! As an overclocker you already know that airflow is king in an overclocked case, so lets look at that first. In a normal case you have one, JUST ONE, intake fan, and if your real lucky there's an exhaust fan behind your CPU to help that power supply fan out. While that may be great for a stock OEM box, it just doesn't quite cut it when you have an OC'd CPU or video card pumping out the heat in there. Let's face it, even a few degree's make a huge difference in obtaining that next higher front side bus with your CPU, and if done correctly, a blowhole (or two) will help dramatically lower that case temperature.
This project will indeed help keep the temperature inside your case in check, but there is one more reason to embark on this adventure, it looks SCHWEET!! We can justify the benefits of the mods we all do to our case with sound reasoning, but when its all said in done, we threw away that Saturday on whatever project because it looks cool. Have no doubt, besides a cool neon lit window in the side of your box (which we will touch on in our next article), there is no project that looks cooler, pun intended, than a blowhole.
Is the theory behind a blowhole something new? Hell no, peeps have been putting holes in the side of their case to increase airflow since before the days of the 486 I'm sure, but its all in the name. Kyle Bennett of the HardOCP came up with the word "blowhole" about two years ago, and the rest is history. Now before you go off thinking that Kyle must be a flamer or something, think of his options, he could have called it a suckhole! Now THAT would have been something to worry about!
Now that we've knocked out the necessary (maybe not NECESSARY, but you get the point) intro, lets get down to it.
Before ya start ripping into your case, put together all the stuff you're gonna need. (For the purpose of this article we are going to assume your are installing one 80mm blowhole. If you're planning more than one or a bigger one, use common sense and insert the appropriate size and amount of stuff.)
Material List:
80mm Fan
80mm Fan Grill
3" Hole Saw
CORDED Drill
Baby Oil
Six Pack
Pencil
Measuring tape
Straight Edge
4ea Self Tapping Fan Screws
80mm Filter (optional)
Assorted Drill Bits
File or Dremel Tool
Now that you have all your shiat together, lets get started!
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