Fans on the Fractal Design Define R5

[Dravenspur]

I'm thinking of getting the Fractal Design Define R5 as my new case and wanted to know about a second fan in the front of the case. According to the specs, there is room for a second fan in the front, but how would it go in? Would I have to remove the hard drive cage? I was going to anyway to be able to fit a longer video card in, but I thought I would ask. Also, the mobo I have (the ASUS M5A97) only has one port for a chassis fan I believe (regular four pin connector), so I may not have the room on my board for a second fan in the front. I'm assuming the rear fan can plug into the PSU directly, which is what I'm doing on the case I have now (not a Fractal Design case) and the front fan would then plug into the motherboard to be powered, in the chassis fan port. Or are they both plugged in to the PSU?

I saw a review of the R5 on YouTube and it said the fan controller on the front is a SATA cable. I have two unused SATA ports on my board...I guess I could plug it in there. Is that what other people did? Sorry for all the newbie questions. Thanks for any responses.

 

[Kenrou]

Welcome to Overclockers.com

Front: 2 – 120/140 mm fans
Rear: 1 – 120/140 mm fan
Top: 3 - 120/140 mm fans
Bottom: 2 – 120/140 mm fans
Side: 1 – 120/140 mm fan

Depending on the MB model i believe you have 2 chassis and 1 CPU, i remember having to get splitters for my wife's M5A97 EVO R2.0 because i got 2 fans for her Hyper 212 EVO. You can connect 3 top/2 top + 1 back/2 front + 1 top to the splitter on the front panel (you can control speed) which connects directly to a SATA port on the PSU. Without buying extra splitters i would recommend 2 top, 1 back, 2 front.

You do not have to remove the drive cages, the fans are installed by the front and has long screws specifically for it.

Definitely recommend this case, although a bit unwieldy (size), it has space for monster cooling, ridiculously easy to assemble/disassemble yet very sturdy, and has lovely sound-proof material on the walls plus the full cover dust filters. By far one of the best buys i ever did

 

[Dravenspur]

Thanks for the response. I had another question. Are the stock fans relatively good (quiet, move plenty of air) or should I replace the fans out of the box? It looks like, from looking at the case information on Fractal's site, the stock fans are 140 mm, so what are some recommendations for good 140 mm fans I could replace the stock fans with if I needed to? Although from looking at the case specs 120 mm fans can also be used so I guess I should ask about good 120's as well. Once again, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Kenrou]

For me personally they are more then fine, they move a decent amount of air (~70cfm) and are very very quiet (~19db), I have 6 on mine at the moment running 100% 24/7 and I can barely hear them, case is in the floor about 20cm away (did I mention I like quiet ? Got 4 kids, every little bit helps so I don't go insane).

If you want professional fans I would recommend Noctua NF-A15 PWN that according to the website move ~115cfm for roughly the same ~19dbm but much more expensive of course in my opinion for a normal build (air, decent AIO) the default fractal fans are more then enough to keep the case "cool & quiet"

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/casefans/dynamic-series/dynamic-gp-14

http://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a15-pwm.html

- check about 10m he explains what fans/radiators you can fit in

 

[Suppressor1137]

I would like to direct you to this thread on some nice bit of tips to Potentially reduce noise and increase airflow even further. I can't be sure if this case uses sleeve bearing fans,(I would think they are ball bearing, as it is fractal) but maybe your cpu cooler fans might be, and maybe your video card fans.

Less noise for ~ $3, which is good for 6 months, then re-apply. The oil should be good for several applications. That $3 spent will prolong the life of your fans, and make them quieter, while spinning at a higher RPM(and moving more air as a result!)!

 

[Kenrou]

I would like to direct you to this I can't be sure if this case uses sleeve bearing fans,(I would think they are ball bearing, as it is fractal) but maybe your cpu cooler fans might be, and maybe your video card fans.

"Featuring hydraulic bearings; a cost-efficient compromise between a standard sleeve bearing and a true FDB bearing"
"Equipped with a counter-balancing magnet in the hub that reduces the axial tension on the bearing, further protecting the longevity of the bearing"

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/casefans/dynamic-series/dynamic-gp-14

 

[Dravenspur]

It's funny...JayzTwoCents is the first video I looked at for a review of the case. Let me ask you something Kenrou...your specs in your footer (I know it's a footer elsewhere, not sure what it is called in a forum) and what you tell me in your post says you are using six fans. How are they powered? Are all six connected to the PSU or are one or more connected to the motherboard somehow? I actually asked this in the cooling forum but haven't received any response yet. I'm not sure how I would power more than one because I've never had more than one fan in a case. Thanks for your quick replies. You've been very helpful.

 

[Dravenspur]

Thanks for the response Suppressor1137!

 

[Kenrou]

3 on the SATA splitter, 3 on the MB, +2 CPU on the MB, it provides all the power they need.

Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 :

1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 x 4 -pin)

 

[Dravenspur]

3 on the SATA splitter, 3 on the MB, +2 CPU on the MB, it provides all the power they need.

Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 :

1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
1 x CPU OPT Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 x 4 -pin)

I thought the CPU fan connector was just for the CPU. I was looking again at my motherboard installation book and I see that I actually have 3 X Chassis Fan connectors along with 1 X CPU Fan connector. The CPU Fan connector is of course being used by the CPU Fan, so I've got spots on the board for 3 extra fans, assuming the rear fan plugs directly into the PSU via a Molex connector or something. I'm assuming the front fan of the Fractal Design R5 will take one of the Chassis Fan connectors, so I've got space for two extra fans on the case. Does that sound right? Where would a SATA splitter go?

 

[MNMadman]

There are several methods for connecting multiple fans:

1. Fan controller -- expensive, can directly control speed of multiple fans. Examples1 Examples2
2. Multi-Fan Ports -- cheap, can connect many fans, some have indirect fan speed control via reduced voltage. Examples
3. Daisy-chaining them -- cheapest, but can get ugly, might need to purchase adapters.

...or do what Kenrou did and have a mainboard with six fan connectors.

I'll be using a multi-fan port, as I'll have 10+ fans in the new system I'll be building starting this weekend.

 

[Kenrou]

The CPU Fan connector is of course being used by the CPU Fan, so I've got spots on the board for 3 extra fans, assuming the rear fan plugs directly into the PSU via a Molex connector or something. I'm assuming the front fan of the Fractal Design R5 will take one of the Chassis Fan connectors, so I've got space for two extra fans on the case. Does that sound right? Where would a SATA splitter go?

The Fractal fans that come with the case, Dynamic GP-14, are all 3 pin.

The SATA splitter comes with the case (it's a part of it), connects to a 3 speed toggle and uses the top bay (you can still remove the cage and use it). Re-read my 1st post above where I wrote the configurations you can use with the splitter, you might find more depending on wire length.

Push comes to shove i can take pics of my case tomorrow, will help you out with fan and cable placement ?

 

[Brando]

i recently replaced all of my arctic fans with noctuas. they were actually fine in hindsight but i don't feel like reinstalling them and returning the noctuas so now they're just sitting on a shelf without that much use. pm me if you want a good deal.

EDIT: I actually have 4 of the arctic F14's which will take care of all of your positive pressure intakes. I also have the 2 fractal 140mm fans that came with the case. all of them almost new just sitting around. the arctic fans can go down to about 550 rpm and up to around 1300. the fractals go down to about 500ish rpm and to 1000 rpm if i remember correctly. perfectly adequate as exhaust.

 

[ehume]

I did a review on the R5. I liked it enough to make it my regular rig. For front intake I use two NF-A14 ULN's -- because they're the best and because I got them as review copies, so they cost me nothing. However, the Fractal fans are not bad.

I always remove the rear grills from my cases, and I put a pull fan on my heatsinks that will exhaust the case by Bernoulli's principle. Doing that would give you an extra 140mm fan that you can use for your front intake.

Otherwise, use quiet fans for your Front intake -- Enermax T.B.Silence, Thermalright X-Silent 14, etc. The Noctua's cost the most, but they run great -- and quietly.

 

[Brando]

this is what i'm using now. can't hear them at all. they go down to about 750 rpm minimum and feel very high quality.
http://www.amazon.com/Bearing-Cooli...8&qid=1451078074&sr=8-1&keywords=nf-a14+redux