[solved] Airflow direction

[TheWhiteFlame]

*edit note note: the arrow is wrong

If this has been asked already i'm sorry.
But i am a bit confused about the directional placement of the cpu cooler. i realize this has been introduced in some recent patch. BUT what i'm wondering, what actually IS the correct direction - or what does the circle with the small arrow even mean??? does it indicate the airflow direction?
then it seems that the default direction is always the WRONG one, for me its always pointing to the front, when the flow should go to the back?!

am i missing something here, or does it actually mean, that all air-coolers just should be rotated 180° ... always and forever ... ? (even making the "coolermaster" tag standing on its head upside down, for most cases.)

or does it even matter, gameplay wise?

[FurBall]

It does matter. I've had builds that throttle with the cooler one way, but as soon as I flip it, it does fine. As for the correct direction, the default one is usually correct.

[Cool Cat]

The fan should be on the right side of the cooler, it will be blowing through it and out the back of the case. The default configuration is correct.

[Metallos]

As far as I remember the arrow points to the wrong direchtion (to right). Maybe it has been already fixed, I don't look at the arrow anymore because the fan is on the right side and pushes the air to the left (rear fan) if the game is coded correctly.

[TheWhiteFlame]

thanks very much guys!!! very much appreciated.
the arrow really confused me!
seems just logical that the default direction would be the correct one (why should they code it diffrently?)
i always believed the arrow, but it felt wrong and looked even wronger, thats why i asked, so my gut feeling seemed right :)
maybe i will conduct some testing on this to confirm this, but im glad you answered.

so at this point of writing the arrow seems not fixed yet.

...
i mean "maybe" the arrow is supposed to indicate where the "front" side of the fan is, instead of the airflow direction - so this is kinda unclear to the player. ;-)
...

[PsxMicha]

how can I actually turn the CPU cooler? clicking the arrows just installs it

[spanki2]

point your cooler, click and hold LMB then rotate your mouse

[RandomSanity]

This was also confusing to me. I assumed the arrow indicated the direction of airflow from the fan. Pointing this towards the front (intake) fans makes absolutely no sense.

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

This is a very old thread but since it's been resurrected: Today in 2021 airflow does *NOT* matter in this game. It doesn't matter which direction or orientation you put a heatsink or fan in the game. It will all cool correctly as long as the fan is in there. Don't even concern yourself with airflow in this game. Just install the fan/heatsink how ever the game lets you and go on with the game and everything will always work.

[Rikki]

I came here wondering about the arrow also. thanks for the info.

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Originally posted by Ashton:

Yes, it still does. That would be dumb for them to remove an original feature that made the game more realistic.

If you want proof here is with the CPU cooler in the right direction[prnt.sc] vs not the right direction[prnt.sc].

Pay attention to the CPU score.

Edit: Just for extra clarification. The arrow is just pointing which way the fan is. The airflow will go the opposite direction of which way the arrow is pointing, or you can look at which way the heatsink is to see which way the air is outputting from.

Double Edit: Another edit for extra extra clarification. Here is a picture of what good airflow looks like https://prnt.sc/10tzed4. The heatsink is facing towards the back of the case pushing air back out. When it was turned 180 degrees it caused the CPU to get horrible scores and run way worse as seen in the image I posted in the beginning of this comment.

There has to be some other variable other than just the heatsink orientation there that you aren't telling us about. I have personally tested heatsinks in every possible orientation and always it is exactly the same CPU score regardless of how the heatsink is orientated. I assure you it has no effect at all on cooling. CPU Heatsink orientation in this game is purely cosmetic and nothing more. I'm going to guess here that perhaps you forgot to re-apply the thermal paste when you changed how the heatsink was installed. You do have to do that every time you remove the heatsink by the way.

[Caliburn]

Originally posted by Ashton:

If you want proof here is with the CPU cooler in the right direction[prnt.sc] vs not the right direction[prnt.sc].

This looks more like forgotten paste than cooler direction.

For clarity though, the arrow indicates the front of the cooler and the default orientation typically aims for air going from front to back of the case which is correct in most but not all cases.

[spelljammer]

Originally posted by Caliburn:

This looks more like forgotten paste than cooler direction.

That was also my first thought comparing both CPU scores.

[Coochie Crusader]

So which direction is the air cooler meant to face in terms of its arrow? The pinned answer said the default configuration (facing right) is correct yet also said that you have to flip it (to the left) to make it work? It obviously can't be both by becoming Schrodinger's cooling unit, so which is it? Default facing right or flipped to face left?

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Originally posted by Coochie Crusader:

So which direction is the air cooler meant to face in terms of its arrow? The pinned answer said the default configuration (facing right) is correct yet also said that you have to flip it (to the left) to make it work? It obviously can't be both by becoming Schrodinger's cooling unit, so which is it? Default facing right or flipped to face left?

Neither matters in this game. I think you (and others) may be confused about what you are writing. This is referring to PC Building Simulator the game and NOT about real life heatsink orientation since this is the PCBS forums. In this game the direction the heatsink faces does not impact the cooling performance of said heatsink. It doesn't matter which direction it faces. It will always cool correctly no matter how it's oriented.

[Coochie Crusader]

Originally posted by Aquafawks:

Originally posted by Coochie Crusader:

So which direction is the air cooler meant to face in terms of its arrow? The pinned answer said the default configuration (facing right) is correct yet also said that you have to flip it (to the left) to make it work? It obviously can't be both by becoming Schrodinger's cooling unit, so which is it? Default facing right or flipped to face left?

Neither matters in this game. I think you (and others) may be confused about what you are writing. This is referring to PC Building Simulator the game and NOT about real life heatsink orientation since this is the PCBS forums. In this game the direction the heatsink faces does not impact the cooling performance of said heatsink. It doesn't matter which direction it faces. It will always cool correctly no matter how it's oriented.

So then they just added in an re-orienting feature to cooling units for the hell of it?