Fan mod - seeking help

[Anelysium]

Hello, well, I'm considering my first ever case mod... The case is an Antec Sonata

The case is great, but is small and runs fairly warm... So I would like to put a fan or two into the side-door, over the video cards. The door is steel, but I have a friend who says he can help me with whatever cutting I need to do.

I have two 80mm blue led case fans that are fairly quiet.

Pictures of my case and door (don't mind the messy interior, it's much better now)

I was thinking the fans would go into the left side of the door to blow air onto and/or away from the video cards. But I'm not sure exactly how to do it... Should I put one blowing in and the other out? What do I need to think about as far as dust is concerned? Do I need metal grates? Is there a trick to installing them? Also, I plan on installing either an 8800 or the next gen card that will eventually come after (for size issues).

I would really appreciate it if anyone just sent me in the right direction. Thanks!

 

[Big B]

Well, for best airflow, the front and side should be the intake, while the top and rear should be reserved for exhaust. You can do it the other way around, but you'll be fighting physics: hot air rises, cool air settles.

For dust control, foam filters are a good way, and are pretty cheap. I've also heard that panty hose works well. But, you'll definitely want to bust out a can of compressed air.

 

[geek9pm]

Nice job!