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Are stock case fans junk?

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-ninja-

Registered
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Hey guys, please read and give me your opinions.

I recently built a new PC in a Raidmax Aztec case, and it seems like these fans don't blow much air. I cant find any info on them as far as CFM goes.

I am overclocking my AMD 940. I have it from 3.0 to 3.6 right now with a voltage of 1.4v. My CPU temp at full load is about 48C-49C, and those temps are with a newly purchased XIGMATEK HDT-S1284EE. I am not impressed so far. I think the fan on that is weak. It is a 120mm 56 CFM fan, but I can hardly feel air coming out of the other side of the heatsink. My temps were at about 51C-52C. I had to remove my side case fan to install the XIGMATEK. I don't know how much that hurt my cooling.

I am going to Micro Center tomorrow to look at some new fans. I have been looking on line and it looks like about $30 per fan if I want a 120mm 120 CFM or higher.

I am thinking about replacing my stock intake, exhaust and the stock XIGMATEK fan with at least a 120 CFM fans. I am planning to mod my case a little so I can throw a 80mm fan on the front in the 3.5" drive bays. That will blow cool air from outside the case right under my XIGMATEK.

I am probably looking at about $150 in fans, 3- 120mm and 1- 80mm, all high CFM.

Is it worth it, or should I be looking at something else?


Thanks for reading, any ideas?
 
$30 a fan?! That is a complete ripoff. I can get really high quality/performance ones for $20 shipped.

If you are looking to save a few, check out Yate Loons. Less than $4 a fan ;)

Jab-tech
Petras Tech Shop
etc
 
Will you be able to handle the noise? I'd be the fans you have now are fairly quiet, but 120CFM fans might be a little too much to deal with after a while.

EDIT: Check out sidewinder computers too. They carry many deltas, some that are even higher than 120 CFM. ;)
 
Thanks guys,

I can handle the noise. My PC is in my living room hooked up to my 52" Samsung LCD. It is not on all the time. I mostly game with it, so usually when its on I have my surround sound pumping as well. If they do start to bother me, I can look into some controllers for just surfing the web, then crank em up for game time.

My question is, will swapping out my crappy Raidmax 120mm fans (front and rear) with those Deltas make a difference as far as my processor temp goes? And also changing that stock XIGMATEK fan to the Delta.

I just don't know if its worth it. I'll be ticked if I buy 3 of those and a 80mm for my mod job and my processor temp is still up there. I know if I want CPU temps down I should liquid cool, but I want to hold off I think for now with that.

If I am going to spend $120 or so would I be better off with a different case, something like this beast.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811215006
 
Quick test: Take off the side panel to your case, and point the biggest household fan at it. If your temps improve, yes the new fans may help. If the temps do NOT improve, nope.
 
Are you serious? I will, I was a little afraid of dust and stuff flying all over the place. Maybe I will give it a shot.
 
If you buy those deltas, you'd better get a fan controller to go with them. There are only a few on the market that can handle them, as most are rated at 7W/channel. The Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme can handle 30W/channel; it's the one I use and it works great. Definitely do not hook one of those up to a motherboard header!
 
I wasn't going to hook them up to the board. They are all going to the PS 4 pin molex connectors.

I just checked out that controller. Pretty cool, never really looked at them before. So that mounts right in a 5 1/4" drive bay and lets you control 4 fans independently? How do you power the unit, what type of plug?
 
What are you average temps in your living room? If they are pretty low, the higher cfm fans will help as they will bring in more cool air, but if you have a fairly warm living room, all they will do is circulate warm air.
 
What kind of idle temps do you get with your current setup? On [good] air, it should be about 2-3*C warmer than the surrounding room temp air.
 
I wasn't going to hook them up to the board. They are all going to the PS 4 pin molex connectors.

I just checked out that controller. Pretty cool, never really looked at them before. So that mounts right in a 5 1/4" drive bay and lets you control 4 fans independently? How do you power the unit, what type of plug?

The one with 4 channels can only handle 20w per channel. The extreme version has 6 channels with 30w per channel and they run of a molex plug. you can hook multiple fans to each channel as long as you keep within the power limits.
 
What kind of idle temps do you get with your current setup? On [good] air, it should be about 2-3*C warmer than the surrounding room temp air.


Idle is about 35C = 95F


The one with 4 channels can only handle 20w per channel. The extreme version has 6 channels with 30w per channel and they run of a molex plug. you can hook multiple fans to each channel as long as you keep within the power limits.


Yup I see that now thanks. So the Extreme will handle 3 of those Delta fans?
 
Quick test: Take off the side panel to your case, and point the biggest household fan at it. If your temps improve, yes the new fans may help. If the temps do NOT improve, nope.


I just tried that...

I don't know why but my control test with the side on and a 4 min load test got my CPU to 46.5C. That is better then it has ever gotten. I might have had the front door closed on previous tests, which restricts a lot of air intake.

Anyway..

Control test- 46.5C
Side panel off and BMF fan 4" away from PC- 48C
Side panel on, removed all front drive bay covers with BMF fan in front of PC blowing air through to the back- 45.5C

:confused:
 
Good case ventilation makes a big difference in heat-related stability issues, even more than what the cpu/core temps alone may indicate. Remember, there are other components on the mobo that need to be kept cool.
 
So the Extreme will handle 3 of those Delta fans?
Rheobus Extreme. There used to be a black one, but looks like Newegg doesn't carry it any more. Jab-Tech has plenty of them though.

Unless my eyesight is failing, the pics of that fan say it takes 1.74A, which = 20.88W. You could run one per channel, for six total if you felt like going deaf.

FWIW, I use two of these on my radiator and IMO they're a good trade-off between CFM and noise. Plus they're Panaflo, so they'll last. Delta makes some great fans, but at $20-$30/ea, I'd rather lose a few CFM and still get excellent quality for only $14/ea. Oh, and they're only rated at .65A, or 7.8W, so I'm able to run my two off of one channel. Heck, I could run three if I were so inclined. That means you could run 18 in your case if you really wanted to! :beer:

EDIT - Thought I'd point out that fan you're referring to is $12 cheaper from sidewinder. :)
 
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