Because of the size of my case, I had to place my radiator in my lower 5.25" drive bays. I left the covers on the two bays but I have some curious questions: (1) Are the bay covers preventing air from flowing into the fan? and (2) If I remove the covers, will I see a noticeable change in temperature? I'd like to leave the covers on if possible for aesthetics which is why I haven't performed any tests yet. Thank y'all for your suggestions!
I wouldn't suggest opening the drive bays, since it allows a lot of dust to come in, which can reduce the effectiveness of fans.
Well, it might offer marginal improvement, but, I think the higher exposure to dust isn't worth doing so. Unless you have a fan there, it's just an open area. A fan could help, but that would depend on if the CPU is in direct line with the fan. Since you're watercooling the CPU, this wouldn't make a difference.
Thanks for the suggestions. I think y'all misunderstood me, though. I have a radiator/core with an 80MM fan attached in the drive bays and I left the bay covers on.
