SPCR

Is it a good idea to cut the semi-restrictive fan grill on the back of the p183 and replace it with a 120mm wire grill? In theory this would help with airflow...

I wouldn t bother cutting out the existing fan grills just to replace them with wire grills...

frenchie wrote:I wouldn t bother cutting out the existing fan grills just to replace them with wire grills...

Even though the wire grills are way less restrictive?

Ozkar wrote:

frenchie wrote:I wouldn t bother cutting out the existing fan grills just to replace them with wire grills...

Even though the wire grills are way less restrictive?

I'm not sure how much less restrictive they are. 2 or 3 CFM maybe ?
The way I see it is that if you don't need the fan grills for a reason (kids, pets...), get rid of them completly.

frenchie wrote:I wouldn t bother cutting out the existing fan grills just to replace them with wire grills...

wire fan grills are dust filters, so they serve a good purpose.

i cut out the front grills on my p182/p183, but i can't seem to force myself to cut the back grill out, even tho it makes sense.

danimal wrote:wire fan grills are dust filters, so they serve a good purpose.

I think there is a misunderstanding here. Those are wire grills and they really don't filter much (unless you count filtering fingers out of fans ) :

You may appreciate these 3 small improvements:

1. increased air flow
2. lower noise
3. less annoying noise character

Have fun. We do.

Ozkar wrote:

frenchie wrote:I wouldn't bother cutting out the existing fan grills just to replace them with wire grills...

Even though the wire grills are way less restrictive?

It's only way less restrictive if you also modify the wire grill. Take the one in Frenchie's post from end PC noise and cut 2 or 3 of the 8 rings out (every other one from the outside going in. The innermost don't matter because the fan hub is there) and it'll be way less restrictive.

The difference between that hex pattern and a wire grill is noticeable but not insanely so. It's just one more improvement you can make but it will be minor compared to choice of fans, and other components.

I did some cutting on a case that had square holes that are much more restrictive but I didn't bother to put a wire grill on. I just removed part of the existing grill. It isn't pretty, in fact there are jagged points. It takes a lot of work to make a grill mod look smooth and not look like a hack.

frenchie wrote:

danimal wrote:wire fan grills are dust filters, so they serve a good purpose.

I think there is a misunderstanding here. Those are wire grills and they really don't filter much (unless you count filtering fingers out of fans ) :

lol... he asked about the p183, which doesn't have any grills like that, but you might add something like this

The honeycomb version of those grills is much less constrictive, http://www.mnpctech.com/120mm_Custom_FanGrill.html