What fans to use?

Hey all, this is my first wC setup that I am building. I am going to use a Black Ice Xtreme III RAD and was wondering what fans to use?

I was thinking about using these Cooler Master 120mm LED "Silent Fans". http://www.frozencpu.com/fan-129.html

I was wanting to use LED fans so they would sorta make the RAD "glow" lol. But do those fans move enough air? What fans would you recomend?

Thanks

The BIX series really need some powerful fans to live up to it's potential... I would go with at least Panaflo L1A's, stick with 38mm thick fans.

How loud are those going to be?

http://www.jab-tech.com/Panaflo-120mm-L1A-FBA12G12L1A-pr-2686.html
I think that's what he meant. Maybe not tho, those are only 70CFM. Are you using push, pull or both?

most people wont buy anything under then panaflo 114 cfm but personally i think medium panaflos are the minium you can go if any less then the hole point of having that radiator is dumb youd be better of with a pro or a swiftec

I used to run a BIXIII with 6 Delta WFB1212M 72cfm fans in push/pull at about 5 volts ea and it was very quiet and cooled well. I went with those fans because they are cheap and undervolt well. At 12 volts, there was only about a 2c difference from 5 volts. I probably would have used a BIPIII instead, but at the time I got a good deal on a BIXIII in the classifieds.

Running a XSPC 120x3 "crossover" rad here (similar I guess). Used to run LED fans but they started to annoy me with the light so replaced those with 3x Papst 4412 F/2GL fans which are not particularly high CFM (about middle-of-the-road for the amount of air they push at 12 volts). They're rated as able to operate reliably from 7-12 volts, though I run them at 5 volts as a rule, even if gaming, and have a toggle to switch them over to 12 volts if I want.

At least for desktop semi-idle operation of the PC I've seen no need to run the fans at anything over 5 volts. The difference in temps I see equates to nothing worth worrying about (a degree or 2). I certaintly don't any want to run them at 12 volts for general usage of the machine, and these are no super-air blowers.

I guess if you're looking to over-volt/clock CPUs/GPUs and want the maximum cooling possible then by all means grab the highest CFM fans you can find and run them at full voltage, but, if like me you value a peaceful system, too, then you might want to consider something less over-the-top, or maybe buy strong fans but undervolt them if you want to suit your needs.

I have a BIXIII with three Panaflo M1A fans on them. I believe they're rated for 86.5 CFM at 35.5 dB. They seem to be doing well; however, they may be borderline for this type of radiator.

-GearShift3r

thorilan said:

http://www.hiroshima-cdas.or.jp/home/jbc-brd/taka_fan.jpg

Click to expand...

I'd like to mount that in my case panel! Looks like a 42cm fan, probably around 800cfm?

Alright, Im gonna run whatever fans I get at 7v for regular stuff, and then if I need to while gaming Ill have them on a switch for 12v. I dont really have the room for push/ pull. So what ones should I go with? still those Panaflos? Should I set it up for pull or push, which is better or does it matter?

Thanks

Panaflos. Also Sanyo Denkis Ace are good ones if you can find them. They are bit hard to find now.

EL_BaRTO said:

Panaflos. Also Sanyo Denkis Ace are good ones if you can find them. They are bit hard to find now.

Click to expand...

Which Panaflo's? The L1's? or the M1's and undervolt them on a switch to turn them up 12v when needed?

With M and L volted to same rpm/cfm, noise level is not significantly different (or if it was, i couldn't detect it). The only important difference, then, is that the L will give you more room to go lower (and H more room to go higher) for whatever voltages you have handily available.