Antec 300 Cooling

[SFC_Mac]

Hello everyone,

I have a few questions regarding keeping my Antec 300 and it's components cool inside, as I am about to order new hardware. I'd rather keep my 300, as it has always been a very reliable case, plus the savings can go towards other hardware. I will be modding the case for better cable management once everything arrives.

1. I'm having difficulty with picking out quality fans for the front two 120mm slots. I know some people who swear by the Silverstone FM121 that produce large amounts of air. They are a little loud, but loudness is not a big issue. I'm trying not to spend more than $17/each on the front fans. Suggestions?

2. I'm purchasing a Corsair H60 water cooling unit. I do not want something expensive, yet durable. I've looked at the Hyper 212 Evo heatsink and fan, and I think it will block one of my memory slots in my ASROCK Z77 Extreme4. At the time being I do not plan to overclock, but perhaps later on. Should I add a second fan to the H60 for a push/pull affect? If so, would you recommend I replace the stock fan and add two of the same kind? If so, suggestions?

3. Placement of fans within this case has me confused. My idea would be the front two 120mm as intake, then the H60 as a push/pull blowing out the back of the case, with a top 140mm exhaust fan (though I've heard to keep the 140mm out of the case, as it will disturb the airflow to the H60). Suggestions?

Thanks for any suggestions any of you may provide. I'm basically looking for a cost effective way to keep this rig nice and cool for gaming (primarily BF3 at the moment) and minor video editing. I could care less about looks, such as with LEDs.

Respectfully,

SFC_Mac

System Specs:

Intel i7 3770K
ASROCK Z77 Extreme4
16GB DDR3 1600 (4x4GB) G.SKILL Sniper Series
EVGA GeForce 570 (will upgrade at a later date)
128GB SSD (Still researching for what I want)
WD 1TB HDD 7200RPM
Corsair TX 650W
Corsair H60

 

[Eureka]

1. See if you can't ebay/find new/used Scythe fans, such as the SY1225SL12SH for under $10 a piece. I have one, it moves a ton of air for a 120mm, and even at full blast it sounds alright. It's noisy but it sounds smooth like a blower and not whiny like a lot of 120mm fans. Yate Loons are good too but not as good as the Scythes. There's no reason to pay more than $10/fan, especially with scythes and yate loons around.

2. Push/pull will give you another 1-3°C drop on your CPU. Don't know about running 2x of the same fan, though.

3. I found that with my setup, I saw a 2-3°C drop by having the H70 in the rear as an intake, as opposed to an exhaust. It might be beacuse my 200mm top fan is an exhaust as well. You could use your top fan as an intake to feed into your radiator if it's set up as an exhaust.

 

[SFC_Mac]

Disregard almost everything I said. I've decided to up my budget and get a fractal midi arc case (on sale for $70), and to get the Noctua NH-D14.

 

[Eureka]

My recommendation for Scythes and Yate Loons still stand.

 

[SFC_Mac]

It seems like the Yates have much lower cfm per others at the same price if not a little more. Wouldn't higher cfm be better? Are you basing this off the overall quality of the fan itself?

 

[Eureka]

Yate Loons (which are around $6-8 a piece shipped from Amazon, and similarly everywhere else), offer you a CFM rating and at a stable noise level that they generally achieve. Other fans, especially Cooler Master, tend to exaggerate their CFM rating, as well as their noise level. On top of that, their noise is generally more palatable than the noise of a cheaper fan, mainly because it provides you with a steady whoosh/hum, as opposed to a higher pitched whine.

Also make sure you're looking at the right Yate Loon for your needs. They have three fans, the L,M and H models, which have different RPMs/CFMs/Noise profiles. The $8 high speed spins at 2200rpm and blows 88 cfm, which is pretty respectable for a fan under $10: http://www.amazon.com/Yate-Loon-120m...ate+loon+120mm

They also have a decent static pressure rating, which means they also work as a radiator fan if you ever need one. The one odd thing about Yate Loons, which you can find if you google for a review, is that over on overclock.net, they found that the same model bought at different stores all performed differently.

Which other fans are you looking at?

 

[SFC_Mac]

I apprently didn't see all of the Yate Loon fans before. Definitely going to pick some up. Thanks for the advise!

 

[Eureka]

If you have a fan controller and can afford the extra difference, these are better:
http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Kaze-Jy...=scythe+110cfm

Scythe Slipstreams at 110CFM. I believe their static pressure is lower than Yate Loons, which makes them good for case fans but not for radiator fans. The Yate Loons are cheaper, have less CFM, but more versatile with their higher static pressure. I have both, and they both run well and don't have annoying fan whines. Don't think they aren't loud at full load though.