Case Fans - How Many?

[iEye Captain]

How many case fans do I really need?

My computer specs are here.

I have a stock 80mm fan on the side of my case. I doubt it's very good.

And that's it.

I have an empty slot at the back for a 120mm fan.

Recommendations?

I was looking at adding a 120mm Silenx fan..

Cheers!

 

[CCCPofAmerica]

Liquid cooling is good, here is one on sale at Comp USA
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5267687&Sku=C13-2528

Here's a much cheeper but efficient fan. Not liquid cooling
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4675264&CatId=802

I prefer fans made by Corsair or Cooler Master, but everyone has their own opinions.

Also that Silenx looks pretty decent, your computer specs look like it doesn't get as hot as some peoples crazy creations here haha

 

[Blue Stealth]

the best way to do it in terms of balancing temperatures with noise levels, is to fit as many case fans as your case is made for, and run the fans at about 900 rpm. Perhaps more importantly though, buy a new case, something with decent airflow (i.e. full tower thermaltake or lian li).

I would certainly fill that fan slot in the back, it would help with air circulation a lot. but that no-name brand case most likely has poor air flow due to lack of build quality and the fact that its a mid tower. So putting in more fans won't do you much good in terms of lowering temps.

also to cccp, liquid cooling is a bad idea for a 400$ system. I doubt captain is doing any real overclocking or benchmarking, so theres no need for liquid.

EDIT: looking at the silentx you listed. if you plan on spending that much for a fan, check into noctua case fans, top quality.

-Blue

 

[reflex99]

I am not a case fan.

 

[a pet rock]

I am not a case fan.

I see what you did there.

Anyways, just getting a good case with stock fans would be a big difference. I'm currently running four fans and that isn't really a lot. If you're looking into 120mm case fans, TY-140 has 120mm fan mounts and will more efficiently use the square opening than a round 120mm fan. It's also basically the best fan on the market. Just ugly. Kaze Maru 2's are also excellent 140mm fans with 120mm mounts.

 

[iEye Captain]

CCCP:

I just bought the Cooler Master one, it was loud as holy hell. Very strong fan, yes. But very loud. . I went ahead and refunded it.

Blue:

Can't afford a new case as this time. No overclocking/benchmarking. I also don't game for more than 2 hours at a time. I heard about Noctua's. Their 120mm one is $35. A bit out of my price range for a single, unfortunately.

reflex: I see what you did there.

apr: Yeah.. I'll look into buying a better case maybe at Boxing Day.

For now, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on two SilenX fans: 80mm replacement and 120mm. They take about 50 CFM more than the single 80mm I had before. Which I think should be good enough.

Thanks for the opinions!

 

[reflex99]

but really, any 120mm fan will be fine as a case fan. You don't really need good static pressure, so really anything will work.

 

[pillar]

What I would like to know is can your case actually use the 120mm fans or can it only use 80mm fans? I pulled up some info on your case & it looks like it can only use 1x80mm fan. Am I correct on that configuration? If so, let me know, as I have plenty of 80mm fans that are just collecting dust. In fact, ive been looking to get 2x120mm fans for my system. If you're interested in just 1 or all 5 of em, let me know (yes, the original case I had em in had 6, but I took out 1 for an older case, so still got plenty to use).

 

[iEye Captain]

What I would like to know is can your case actually use the 120mm fans or can it only use 80mm fans? I pulled up some info on your case & it looks like it can only use 1x80mm fan. Am I correct on that configuration? If so, let me know, as I have plenty of 80mm fans that are just collecting dust. In fact, ive been looking to get 2x120mm fans for my system. If you're interested in just 1 or all 5 of em, let me know (yes, the original case I had em in had 6, but I took out 1 for an older case, so still got plenty to use).

I don't have the specific model number for my case, so you might be looking at the wrong one.

My one does come with a 120mm slot at the back.

Here are two pictures of my case:

Picture 1

Picture 2

They are both SilenX fans.

Oh - to cable management proponents: get off my back. It took me hours to stuff those unused cables in an empty HDD dock to make it look reasonably tidy.

 

[a pet rock]

If your case doesn't have any cable management options and you're using a non-modular PSU, that's pretty damn good.

I'm more upset about the stock cooling . Idling at 45C on stock in winter is ludicrous. Course, if you're not OCing there really isn't a good reason to upgrade.

 

[iEye Captain]

I'm more upset about the stock cooling . Idling at 45C on stock in winter is ludicrous. Course, if you're not OCing there really isn't a good reason to upgrade.

Oh, they're not stock anymore.

Bought 2 SilenX fans. One 120mm (as seen in picture 2) and one 80mm (red one as seen in picture 1).

I bought them for their extremely low noise levels as well as cooling. Not doing any overclocking, but sometimes after 3 hours of gaming, my cursor would stutter when I surf the web. I arbitrarily attributed this to overheating.

 

[pillar]

Ya well what sux is that AMD's cpus still have that overheating issue (not as much as they used to tho). Also, is the hsf that ur using for ur cpu stock or r u using an aftermarket heatsink? Since ur not doin any oc'in, then sounds like ur just usin the stock hsf.

The only way I can think of for you to upgrade your case would be to modify it heavily (e.g. cutting holes into the side of the case for more fans). Other than that, you wont get much more benefit outta the case fans u have already.

 

[iEye Captain]

After market.. but not a very high quality one. Cooler Master..

 

[iEye Captain]

Oh.. and here's my temperature specs after 4 hours of on-time (including 3 hours of gaming)..

Click here.

 

[reflex99]

looks fine to me.....