I usually have the one in front blowing in-- and the rear blowing out... the "idea" is
air flow. Cool air comes in, absorbs heat from heatsinks/video cards/ harddrives-- and flows out again ...taking the heat from those components with it. Heat is a component's enemy.
That's why "neatness" is encouraged when building PC's--
cables neatly wrapped and tucked away.
Components well-spaced when possible.
Rounded cables are better than flat... better-made (stronger) more flexible(easier to control) smaller profile (more air flows through)
Any hardcore-gamer will tell you-- unless he has a water-cooled rig-- that air-flow/cooling is one of his most important criteria when selecting components for his 'build'.
Gamers push their systems to the limit. This stresses
all components to the max. All those expensive parts will last for years-- IF they are kept cool... if not he/she will pay the price...
I have seen this in various forms online:
To demonstrate just how much heat a modern PC
CAN generate. see here:
How to fry an egg on an XP
this is -- of course a deliberate attempt to see just how hot a
CPU can get. Pretty hot-- I'd say.
and note-- this is no gamer-rig. just a server sitting there "at idle" --not being pushed at all.