Replacement for Hyper 212 EVO fan

[riversend]

The fan on my 212 EVO is beginning to vibrate, so I think it needs to be replaced relatively quickly as I believe it is starting to fail. First noticed it a few days ago on startup, and then it went away after a couple of minutes (fan was still spinning). Now it takes a few minutes longer on each startup for the vibration to subside.

I replaced my PSU today (replaced a still functioning 8+ year old PSU... thought it was time) so had the case open and made sure everything was cleaned out and not off center. I can see the fan spinning just a touch out of balance, so I figure that is only going to get worse....

....so, need a recommendation for another fan to replace it - do not want to remove the entire cooling apparatus as that has been working fine over the last 2+ years, just the fan.

I would like to have quiet (does not need to be silent)... price is somewhat flexible but certainly less than the unit itself!

Thanks much.

 

[riversend]

Forgot to mention, CPU is an Intel 3570k, and I have done mild overclocks in the past just to play with it, but it is not currently overclocked - so I do not have any significant heat dissipation issues.

 

[Charlie98]

Nothing super-duper about the 212 fan... you can get another 120mm CM fan for it, or something better if you'd like.

It's better to dismount the fan before removing the heat sink anyway... just pop the 4 clips off the side and unplug the fan header. Make sure you mount the new fan with the correct airflow orientation.

Something else to consider... pull the old fan off and wipe the fan blades down. If too much kruft builds up on the blades, it can cause vibration. That would be a good time to blow out the fins on the heat exchanger as well.

 

[Essence_of_War]

....so, need a recommendation for another fan to replace it - do not want to remove the entire cooling apparatus as that has been working fine over the last 2+ years, just the fan.

As Charlie98 suggested, I'd clean it first to make sure it isn't caked on dust or something like that.

I swapped my stock Evo fan with an NF-A15. My temps are lower under full load, and the fan is virtually inaudible even at full speed. Especially not over the sound of my GPU when I'm gaming (YMMV based on your local noise environment, case type, distance from case, etc). It's very easy to do without re-mounting the heatsink.

 

[riversend]

When I replaced the PSU I wiped down the fan, so that should not be the problem. I just flipped it 180 degrees (top to bottom) and that seemed to stop the vibration. I will probably still order another fan. The NF-A15 looks like it should do the trick, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Ketchup]

I am pretty sure this is the fan that comes with it:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103069

Essence_of_War, thank you for that post. That fan looks very interesting, especially since it mounts on a 120. Were there any tricks to installing it? Did you take any notes of temperature differences?

Thanks.

 

[schmuckley]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NMB-Mat-Pan...182?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b8f7cfde

 

[Essence_of_War]

Hey ketchup, I scribbled down some notes for posterity here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2398802

Some temps, some voltages, some qualitative acoustics.

No tricks to install it. My evo came with an extra mounting bracket, and all it takes to remove the stock fan from the heatsink is to pinch the mount to get it off of the little notch. Since the nfa15t has 120mm mount holes, it really is as simple as lining up the bracket, screwing it in, and then pinching it to lock it into the notch

 

[Valantar]

Does the NF-A15 have any advantages over the NF-S12, F12 or P12 pwm given that the Hyper 212 is the same size as these? Won't the extra air flow just go to waste around the sides of the heatsink?

 

[Essence_of_War]

Does the NF-A15 have any advantages over the NF-S12, F12 or P12 pwm given that the Hyper 212 is the same size as these? Won't the extra air flow just go to waste around the sides of the heatsink?

I wouldn't use the NF-S12 on a heatsink or radiator, but the NF-F12 and P12 should be great choices also. The extra airflow is pretty small, but I suppose it's possible that the NF-F12 or P12 might perform even better, because they would be a nearly perfect fit to the heatsink.

I picked up the NF-A15 for a confluence of factors. It is a PWM fan with 120mm mounting holes, excellent performance and acoustics, and it was under 20 USD. The NF-F12, was at the time, a bit more expensive than that.

 

[Ketchup]

Hey ketchup, I scribbled down some notes for posterity here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2398802

Some temps, some voltages, some qualitative acoustics.

No tricks to install it. My evo came with an extra mounting bracket, and all it takes to remove the stock fan from the heatsink is to pinch the mount to get it off of the little notch. Since the nfa15t has 120mm mount holes, it really is as simple as lining up the bracket, screwing it in, and then pinching it to lock it into the notch

Thank you. So it was more a noise improvement more than a temperature one. That's cool. I set Asus to ramp the fan up on mine (what I consider to be) fairly quickly, and I actually don't hear it all that often.

Of course OCCT drives it crazy, but I have never run a game, video editor, etc. that gets the temps that high.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Thank you. So it was more a noise improvement more than a temperature one. That's cool. I set Asus to ramp the fan up on mine (what I consider to be) fairly quickly, and I actually don't hear it all that often.

Yeah that was more or less my assessment. If you don't notice the fan noise very often already, it might be a pretty marginal upgrade for you then.

Set to the least aggressive PWM ramp-up AsRock's BIOS would let me use, I still found the Evo stock fan quite annoying in many games and during video encoding jobs. I do some DC at night, and even with only 4 cores loaded with SETI/Einstein jobs, I even found that to be pretty obnoxious. Now I don't notice any of it. I'm pleased with how it worked out for me.

 

[Ketchup]

Yeah that was more or less my assessment. If you don't notice the fan noise very often already, it might be a pretty marginal upgrade for you then.

Set to the least aggressive PWM ramp-up AsRock's BIOS would let me use, I still found the Evo stock fan quite annoying in many games and during video encoding jobs. I do some DC at night, and even with only 4 cores loaded with SETI/Einstein jobs, I even found that to be pretty obnoxious. Now I don't notice any of it. I'm pleased with how it worked out for me.

This is about what I was expecting with that cooler. My thought is that, while a "good" cooler, I don't think it gets heat off the base unit fast enough to be a "great" cooler, which is probably why a much better fan doesn't make a big difference here.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

This is about what I was expecting with that cooler. My thought is that, while a "good" cooler, I don't think it gets heat off the base unit fast enough to be a "great" cooler, which is probably why a much better fan doesn't make a big difference here.

I'll interject here. I"ve never been all that pleased with the fans bundled with any of my coolers. Take for instance the otherwise well-made and noiseless Noctua fans bundled variously with their coolers over the years. I always thought they were too limp for the airflow.

Other fans, like the LED "bling" model bundled with my ACX/"SuperClock" EVGA cooler, were too noisy for the airflow I got from them. So I replaced the latter with a Noctua iPPC fan.

I've ALWAYS replaced bundled heatpipe cooler fans, even with a belated replacement of the D14 Noctua fans. And I'd always sought the "holy grail" of "most effective cooler at any noise level" before addressing that problem second.

And if a "better" fan doesn't improve cooler performance, then you've reached the maximum possible with such a cooler.

 

[JoJoman88]

This is about what I was expecting with that cooler. My thought is that, while a "good" cooler, I don't think it gets heat off the base unit fast enough to be a "great" cooler, which is probably why a much better fan doesn't make a big difference here.

This is the cooler i got at the time i built this system. I was keeping the price as low as possible to not get as much flac from the wife about how much i was spending. My 3930k has never been OC'ed and this cooler is doing fine at stock, as i thought when buying it.

Didn't it come with an extra clip to do push/pull configuation?

Will have to replace this cooler if real OC'ing will be required in the future. Like you said, this cooler is pretty much max'ed out and will have trouble removing extra heat from overclocking.

Now, thanks to you guys i know of good replacement fans for this cooler if i even need one.

 

[WilliamM2]

The fan on my 212 Evo started making noise on startup (especially if it was cold in the room) last November, about 2.5 years old.

It's easy to fix, just peel off the Coolermaster sticker that covers the bearing on the hub. Pull off the rubber plug, and put in 1 drop of oil (I used MMO, since it's what I had on hand). Put the rubber plug back in, and cover with a piece of electrical tape. I've fixed dozens of fans over the years this way, they usually run silently for years after.

 

[HalfCrazy]

I replaced the fans on my hyper 212 with some SP120's.

 

[Ranulf]

I vote NF-F12. I've been very happy with the two I have. One came with the u12 heatsink that is on my 8350 and another I put on a xigamatek darknight heatsink as its included fan was too loud even at its lowest speed of 1400rpm. The system I have an evo 212 in hasn't been too bad but sound wise for me under 1200 rpm but its no contest for noise level, the noctua wins.

Well, except for an a14 140mm case fan. That one had a weird hum that bothered me worse than the cheap rosewill fan it replaced.

 

[aigomorla]

I would grab 2 yate loons and put them in a push/pull config on your heat sink.

you can probably get good thermals at low rpms with push / pull config, which translates to low noise overall.

And yates wont run you more then 5-6 dollars per fan.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/yalo12d1cafa1.html

i would suggest either the medium or low speed versions if u want a quiet system.

I do not recommend the noctuna as the fan will most definitely cost as much as your entire heat sink.
And i also do not recommend a scythe GT as that will also cost you as much as your entire heat sink.

 

[tweakboy]

I need a quiete 120mm 1300rpm.


adjustable from 600 to 1300rpm ,,, Right now theres soo much static noise and bzzzzz . the fan spins 2000rpm if I dont touch it. I dont know how to make it go slower so Im gonna buy a all new fan. 1300rpm quiete , also gives me ability to adjust fan ?

 

[riversend]

Thanks for all the replies. I wound up going with the NF-A15. Easy to install, and my ear test says it is a touch quieter in general use, but at higher loads it is significantly quieter than the Cooler Master fan that came with the 212. All in all I am happy with the purchase.

 

[Puffnstuff]

That's good to know especially if we want to replace the stockers in the future.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Timely thread. I need a replacement also. The fans coolermaster puts on these are garbage. I've had to replace every coolermaster fan bundled w/ a heatsink within a year.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I had a new sickleflow go out after a week when it started squealing and the cost to ship it back would be more than to just go buy another fan. I was looking at a pair of corsair fans as a replacement but since I just put the stock fan back on I've not done anything else about it. I miss the glowing led's of the sickleflow but function outweighs bling.

 

[MongGrel]

I would grab 2 yate loons and put them in a push/pull config on your heat sink.

you can probably get good thermals at low rpms with push / pull config, which translates to low noise overall.

And yates wont run you more then 5-6 dollars per fan.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/yalo12d1cafa1.html

i would suggest either the medium or low speed versions if u want a quiet system.

I do not recommend the noctuna as the fan will most definitely cost as much as your entire heat sink.
And i also do not recommend a scythe GT as that will also cost you as much as your entire heat sink.

This more or less.

I'm a Noctua user myself, but yeah for a 212 you'd be better off that route price wise.

If you were going there for a couple just buy a NH-D14 or 15 and get the fans with it, but not what you're after.