PC Airflow Simulator
PC Airflow Simulator lets you arrange fans, vents, coolers, heat sources, and solid parts, then compare how each layout may guide air through a desktop computer.
Interactive airflow model
Load the model when you are ready to build a case layout.
What you can learn before moving a fan
See the path: Follow estimated air speed and direction past the graphics card, CPU cooler, and case openings.
Compare layouts: Save one result, change a fan or part, then compare the two arrangements.
Use the right level: Treat the result as a relative two-dimensional estimate, not a measurement or an exact component temperature.
Only need to compare intake and exhaust totals? Use the fan airflow calculator instead.
Build a Layout and Render the Airflow
- Load a preset, or drag fans and parts into the case.
- Set each fan's direction, size, speed, and estimated restriction.
- Select Render airflow and wait for the result.
- Save Configuration A before changing a part when you want a direct comparison.
Filters, grilles, and heatsinks resist airflow, so the number printed on a fan box is not the flow it will always deliver inside a case. The Noctua airflow fundamentals guide explains how pressure and resistance change a fan's operating point.
Read the Airflow View
- Colored lines
- Brighter lines show faster estimated air, not hotter air.
- Yellow arrows
- These show the direction set for each fan.
- Violet areas
- These mark open regions where the estimated air is barely moving.
- Calculated results
- Use the speed, pressure, low-flow area, and sample values to compare one layout with another.
Use the Result as a Comparison
A real computer case has three-dimensional gaps, cables, surface shapes, and changing fan behavior that a browser model cannot copy exactly. The air-temperature result estimates case air only. It does not predict CPU or graphics card core temperature.
Make one change at a time, then test the real computer under the same load and room conditions. The PC airflow optimization guide explains fan direction, common layouts, and repeatable testing.