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I say SmartFan 2s are OVERKILL!!!

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Chixofnix

Chixofnix

Member
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Joined
Nov 18, 2003
Location
Kansas City, KS USA
Okay I know that's an invite for flamers... but seriously:

at it's lowest setting (by its rheostat), it's dead quiet, and my CPU temps only rise 5degrees Celsius... again... THEY ONLY RISE FROM 32C TO 37C!!!

and for those 5 degrees cooler? I have to endure the cacophony of a turbo jet w/ afterburner in my case!!! Acoustic insulation ain't helpin me!!!

I'm thinking of replacing my HSF with a vantec stealth or something sissy like that if you guys can't convince me otherwise!!! :D

EDIT: those temps are idle, of course... under CPU stress they rise anywhere between 2 and 6 degrees ;)

EDIT#2: if i do decide to replace the HSF... is a Vantec stealth (80mm) UNDER-KILL? don't wanna get too low on the CFMs...
 
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bchur83 said:
For a lot of people, 6C difference is pretty important. Granted your temps are low to begin with, but for some people that extra drop in temp helps.
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true, but in my case I don't think I've EVER had stability issues over CPU heat w/ my particular Barton... so yeah 37 doesn't seem much worse than 32... is that difference enough to shorten its lifespan (which is who knows how long) by many years do you think?
 
Why would you buy a stealth fan when the SFII does a fine job at lower RPMs. You can also turn it up a bout 1/3 to 1/2 of the way before it starts getting louder then 80mm case fans.
 
Also, the difference isn't linear. Just because you only have 5 C difference when you are around 35C, don't expect someone running around 45C to have the same change. It is very hard to reduce low temperature differences.
 
there is no such thing as overkill. It is all an opinion question, personally my smartfan II drops my bpu temp 4 degrees also you might argue that thats not a lot but some of us dont mind the noise. everyone has their wants and needs. Some people want cooling performance, some people want quiet. So overkill is all opinion anyway. Plus why spend money on more fans when you can get one fan and take care of most of your cooling needs.
 
the difference between my 92mm tornado and my 56cfm 92mm fan was 11C.

Granted, my cpu ran hot, but still 11C.

At any rate, the extra noise was worth it to me.
 
I use Thermaltake TR2-M2 HSF AND Artic silver's Cermaque thermal compound. They use the TMD fans that give about 15% more air straight down.

I'm running P95 torture right now on this NEW system (#2) that I just got the new MB into.
The temps will go down 4 or 5 deg. as the "GOOP" burn-in goes on over the next several days but now the CPU is 39c and the system is 27c at stock speeds...
Before I returned the first defective MB the same setup ran sys 28c and 41.5c CPU with a OC of 190 X12 running P95 Torture all night. NOT BAD for an $11 HSF with an included 3 speed switch.

http://www.bestbyte.net/Category.cfm?CategoryID=6&Keyword=
 
Chixofnix said:
it IS louder than all of my case fans if i turn it up even a little beyond its minimum... :D
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my three smartfan2s are not loud when turned down.... i can hear the panaflow on my heatsink over them even with the sf2 at 7 volts.
 
mccoyn said:
Also, the difference isn't linear. Just because you only have 5 C difference when you are around 35C, don't expect someone running around 45C to have the same change. It is very hard to reduce low temperature differences.
Click to expand...

there is no such thing as overkill. It is all an opinion question, personally my smartfan II drops my bpu temp 4 degrees also you might argue that thats not a lot but some of us dont mind the noise. everyone has their wants and needs. Some people want cooling performance, some people want quiet. So overkill is all opinion anyway.
Click to expand...

my three smartfan2s are not loud when turned down.... i can hear the panaflow on my heatsink over them even with the sf2 at 7 volts.
Click to expand...

Acknowledged, allow me to revise my initial statement:

"Smartfan 2s are OVERKILL in MY current setup, given my level of noise tolerance, and my system's temperatures, which all may or may not differ from your own, so please don't take offense if you are ready to die fighting for your Smartfan 2s!"

:D seriously, sorry if my opinion offends you deeply or anything ;)
 
Chixofnix said:






Acknowledged, allow me to revise my initial statement:

"Smartfan 2s are OVERKILL in MY current setup, given my level of noise tolerance, and my system's temperatures, which all may or may not differ from your own, so please don't take offense if you are ready to die fighting for your Smartfan 2s!"

:D seriously, sorry if my opinion offends you deeply or anything ;)
Click to expand...

LOL, it doesn't offend me, im simply stating my observations... and i have a pretty high ambient noise tolerance so i guess its all good:)
 
SewerBeing said:
I wouldn't waste the money on different fans, just turn your smartfan II down all the way.
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well the working idea here is that I might make a little moola trading w/ someone for a humbler fan and some cash to even things out... :cool:
 
a TRUE 17dba can bearly be heard, and can possibly be unheard inside a case. But i've never trusted thermaltake's dbA rating, and many others would agree to that.
if u plan on getting a quiet fan, get the panaflo L1a 80mm @ 21dba. its very very quiet. running alone just three feet away, you cannot even hear it (and i have good hearing)
 
Korndog said:
a TRUE 17dba can bearly be heard, and can possibly be unheard inside a case. But i've never trusted thermaltake's dbA rating, and many others would agree to that.
if u plan on getting a quiet fan, get the panaflo L1a 80mm @ 21dba. its very very quiet. running alone just three feet away, you cannot even hear it (and i have good hearing)
Click to expand...


I full heartedly agree that panaflo are extremely silent and practically inaudible from 3ft.

I just bought 4 panaflo high speed 80x80x25 fans and all 4 of them combined at half speed doesn't even top the one smartfan II's sound even when it's ran at 3000 rpm. All 5 fans ran off a Nexus 201 controller, 2 panaflo on channel 2 and 2 on 3, with smartfan on channel 1. Thermaltake must be measuring their dBa from 20ft or something.
 
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