case fans

ronboronbo Connecticut
edited December 2004 in Hardware
Just want to find out what most of you are useing for case fans. Do I want something that moves a lot of cmf and is loud or something like a vantec that does not move a lot of air but is very quite? I do not plan on doing any extreme overclocking. My antec case came with 2 thermaltake fans in the back. I want to add a case fan for the front and another for the HD bay where 2 drives will live. Any thoughts? The case fans will be 80mm.

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    I use xoxide quad LED fans that move about 30 CFM. To be honest, it'll cost you a bit, but if I could do it all over, I'd buy 4 Thermaltake SmartFan II fans for my case -- adjustable from 13-78 CFM, to get the best balance of noise/airflow possible.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2004
    Firstly, you really need to have a fan blowing air across your hard drives.

    Secondly, unless you're trying to build a truly silent system, or you want an insane amount of airflow, don't mind noise, and have a case that can take 38mm thick fans, these are the fans you should be using:

    80mm:
    http://www.svc.com/thersmarcasf.html
    http://www.svc.com/80smartcasefanblueled.html (may not fit in cases such as the Antec/Chieftec/Alienware clones due to the way the LEDs are mounted)
    http://www.svc.com/thersmarcasf1.html

    92mm:
    http://www.svc.com/92smartcasefanblueled.html

    120mm:
    http://www.svc.com/120smartcasefanblueled.html

    There are no other fans on the market that I recommend for the average user, people that want relatively quiet (but not silent) PCs, and all but the absolute most extreme overclockers. Period.

    Set them up for thermal control, stick the diode(s) on the rear fan(s) on the cpu so it's touching (but not on top of) the heatspreader or core, and maybe the back of the video card right above the GPU, depending on the number of fans and their location relative to the GPU. Set up the thermistor(s) on the front fan(s) so they're touching the hottest part of the bottom of the hard drive (on a drive with exposed chips, like maxtors, it'll be the big controller chip; on WDs and stuff you'll have to feel the bottom of the drive with the computer on) or the back of the video card, above the gpu (depending again on the number of fans and their location relative to the GPU)

    These are also the only fans I recommend for use on CPU heatsinks (and you should have at least an 80mm fan on your heatsink anyhow). Set the CPU fan up with thermal control, with the diode touching (but not on top of) the heatspreader or cpu core (the same as the exhaust fan).

    What you'll get is a system that's quiet most of the time, but which has the extra cooling capacity to deal with say, a hot summer day, or a heatsink that's clogged with dust, as well as just the extra heat that's generated when playing games and stuff.

    Alternatively, you could use manual control, but I would only use it on the CPU fan, and I wouldn't run it at its minimum speed (or anything too close to it). The temperature vs fan speed curve thermaltake uses on these fans is much better than the ones used on many other thermally controlled fans. In fact, the only one I've seen that comes close is the Vantec Thermoflow, but that fan's thermistor is integrated into the motor assembly, so it's useless as a CPU fan, an intake fan, and (to a lesser extent) as an exhaust fan.
  • ronboronbo Connecticut
    edited December 2004
    Well that definitely answered my case fan questions. Thank you Thrax and Geeky1.....
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited December 2004
    The SmartFan2 fans are great fans but I think they are overkill for case fans. I like to use Panaflo 80 mm M1A and H1A fans, which move from 30-40 cfm air pretty quietly. They are a sleeve type fan, which are quieter than a ball bearing fan and the sleeve bearing they use is very long lasting.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited December 2004
    What's wrong with overkill? I mean since you can set them up to be thermally controlled, and they function very well that way (my cpu temps when I had my NF7-S system in the SX1240 were only like 3*F higher with thermal control than with everything on manual control), I think they're ideal... They're a little noisy at their lowest speed and highest speed, but at the speeds they normally operate at they're fairly quiet, and the fact that they CAN push 75cfm gives you extra capacity to deal with stuff like, as I mentioned, a warm summer day...

    I mean the Panaflos are nice fans- the hydro bearings they use are great. Papst makes great fans too. But neither one is anywhere near as flexible as the SF2. And after having gone through like 40 different 80mm fans (8 sets of 5) with various airflow ratings and such, I've determined that IMO, the SF2 and its 92 and 120mm counterparts are the ideal fans for most people.

    But yeah, I guess my point is that you said they're overkill... but I don't understand why that's an issue. Not trying to attack you or anything, just trying to understand why that's somehow a problem... :confused:
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited December 2004
    They are overkill for case fan use when you can get the Panaflo fans for $3-4 per fan, like I did. :D;D

    Not bitching about the fans themselves because they are great fans, just the extra cost. ;)
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