120mm Fan for a case

[SniperGuy]

So I really know nothing about fans, except that cool air should go inside the PC, and hot air should leave. On the front of my case there's a slot for a 120mm fan. What should I go for, and what should I be looking for in specs? I see CFM a bunch on newegg, is higher better? What decible level should I be looking at for a reasonable sound? Quiet doesn't really bother me or anything, but I don't want a leaf blower.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Link to case & basic system spec, like what kind of HS and graphics card.

Why do you want a fan is it running hot.? I like positive case pressure.

What's ehausting the case.

I'm going to bed but you do need to post more info. No one wants to shoot in the dark and
others can/will help you but you have to help them. MMmmKay


...Galvanized

 

[SniperMerc]

Thermaltake 120 mm fan with speed controller

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999122

Just turn the speed up or down depending on your tolerance for noise vs your tolerance for heat

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: SniperMerc
Thermaltake 120 mm fan with speed controller

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999122

Just turn the speed up or down depending on your tolerance for noise vs your tolerance for heat

Thermaltake fans are loud and are accurately rated!!

There alot of better quieter fans on the market!!

I personally use CoolerMaster fans!!
I also have a fan speed controler that lets me control up to 6 fans.
But there are other good fans..

 

[Luckyboy1]

Again, Panaflo fans for the mostest of CFPM for the DB traded in the bargain.

 

[SniperGuy]

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703 is the current case i'm using. There is alot of hot air in it usually, and i'd really like to increase the air flow. It mostly stagnates in the case as well, not much is pushing it out.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

You shouldn't need more than 70cfm on the front. So shop for a 120x25 that offers that.


...Galvanized

 

[dunkster]

Dual push/pull fans don't really add much in forced ventilation.

It's much easier and more effective to replace the rear case fan with a serious air-mover.

Consider replacing your existing rear case vent fan with a Panaflo M1A (rated 86.5 CFM @35.5 dba @12V). If you find the noise bothersome, under-volting it to 7V should provide about 50CFM relatively quietly (what I use).

If the case has side vents, consider blocking them off to reduce case noise and force front-to-back air flow and keep your hard drives in the air-flow stream.

Hope this helps!

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: SniperGuy
http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=93703 is the current case i'm using. There is alot of hot air in it usually, and i'd really like to increase the air flow. It mostly stagnates in the case as well, not much is pushing it out.

Perhaps you should increase the exhaust flow instead.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

dunkster, considering that the 350 watt PSU in this case does not have the best reputation and uses an 80mm fan, I would not go for a negative pressure air flow.

Others have reported by using a high output 120 exhaust fan under a PSU that uses a 120, PSU air flow can be reduced to a stall.

I'm a fan of slight positive air flow.


...Galvanized

 

[crownjules]

Scythe S-FLEX fans. Awesome CFM movement and basically zero noise. I can attest since I use them exclusively. My machine is almost silent and cool even under load. The 1600RPM (fastest) moves 63CFM at around 21dB. You don't hear it.

 

[Maxspeed996]

I'd have to agree with Galvanized on this , I've noticed myself that Positive airflow seems to work very well for me...I've got dual intakes on the lower side(2 x 50 mm.) and an intake in the front of my case (120 mm) the rear of the power supply has an exhaust fan , and I've got another 50mm. exhaust on the back of my case.
Both sides of my case have holes all along the top edge , and the back is pretty much covered with vent holes. Even at the top of the case the little holes , you can put your hand near it and feel the cool air just oozing out.... and the back side , you can just feel the air pushing out.....this is because of all of the intake air coming in faster than it can go out , which in fact PUSHES , the case air out. At least that's the way I see it.
A few good intake fans and a nice exhaust in the back will work wonders at dropping your case temps...

 

[Luckyboy1]

And everyone seems to forget that the power supply is also pulling air out of the case, so take that into your calculations when the time comes.

 

[starwars7]

Originally posted by: dunkster
Dual push/pull fans don't really add much in forced ventilation.

It's much easier and more effective to replace the rear case fan with a serious air-mover.

Consider replacing your existing rear case vent fan with a Panaflo M1A (rated 86.5 CFM @35.5 dba @12V). If you find the noise bothersome, under-volting it to 7V should provide about 50CFM relatively quietly (what I use).

If the case has side vents, consider blocking them off to reduce case noise and force front-to-back air flow and keep your hard drives in the air-flow stream.

Hope this helps!

So would it be ideal to have a 120mm intake and 120mm exhaust with the same CFM if your PSU has a 120mm fan?

Or would you need the exhaust fan to have less CFM than the intake since your PSU will also be moving air?

Thanks!

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: Luckyboy1
And everyone seems to forget that the power supply is also pulling air out of the case, so take that into your calculations when the time comes.

Only if you're not running a passive PSU like me

 

[Maxspeed996]

So would it be ideal to have a 120mm intake and 120mm exhaust with the same CFM if your PSU has a 120mm fan?

Or would you need the exhaust fan to have less CFM than the intake since your PSU will also be moving air?
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If your power supply has an "exhaust" fan on it. Then I'd personally have at least 2 intake fans of close to the same size and flow in the case. That way you have "Positive" pressure in the case. Dual 120's using one as an intake , and one as an exhaust should still work well together....
My personal opinion is that if you have "Positive" pressure in the case , your exhaust fans do not have to work very hard to remove air from the case. Which is what you want.......right?

 

[ricster2000]

By "Positive" pressure, do you mean more air entering the case than is being exhausted?
And i'm assuming negative pressure is more exhaust, less intake?

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: ricster2000
By "Positive" pressure, do you mean more air entering the case than is being exhausted?
And i'm assuming negative pressure is more exhaust, less intake?

After the system runs for a few seconds it goes into equlibrium and the amount of air entering becomes equal to the amount of air leaving. Otherwise, the pressure keeps increasing or decreasing.

But, when you just turn on the PC, more air goes in than goes out for a positive pressure one and more air leaves the PC than enters it for a negative pressure one. Only for a few moments before the system stabilizes.


To OP:
Higher CFM is better (more air flow).
Lower dBa is better (quieter).
Never listen to someone who talks about CFM/dBa ratio since this is BS. CFM is linear while dBa is logarithmic. The ratio is meaningless for that reason.


You will hear from those who swear by positive air pressure and you will hear those who swear by negative pressure systems. They both want to give you proof. I personally believe a negative pressure system is better for my needs.

You should try both and prove it to yourself which one works better for you. Each one has pros and cons (noise, cooling, dust accumulation, hard drive cooling, .....).

 

[aboothman]

Posative pressure = more airflow coming in then leaving....which means excess air is 'pushed' out of the case

Negative pressure= more airflow leaving then entering...which means air is being 'sucked' into your case through holes and other places

As Navid said, it is a matter of preference. Some say that negative pressure will cause dust to be sucked into drives, ect.
What it comes down to is your case design, fan config, and how air-tight your case is.

 

[Madwand1]

First thing to try is the TriCool fan's setting. Is it on low? Can you tolerate the noise at medium? Etc.

Still, I'd probably take the TriCool that's in the back, put it in the front, and add an Arctic Cooling exhaust-only fan to the back with something to downvolt it. A full-blown fan controller could be used for full front & back tuning, but one or two Zalman Fanmates could work.

I suggest this because I think the AC fan gives a good flow / noise ratio (just pushing a button, don't take this literally; I agree..)

However, this goes against Galvanized's caution about ensuring airflow through the PSU, which is not really my intention. I'm simply assuming that there will be enough airflow through the PSU. If there isn't; if it starts getting hotter, then you should change things around.

The only thing that will actually cool the internals better is more airflow (whether overall or in detail), and you can judge the overall informally by sensing the exhaust fans output and more formally, via results, by measuring the internal temperatures.