One big fan or 4x smaller fans

[brentwhisnant]

pretty simple question, which would make my computer cooler:

230 x 30 mm standard fan x 1, 700 RPM, 110 CFM, 19 dBA (support 120 x 25 fan x 4)

The Coolermaster haf 932 says it supports 4x 120 x 25 mm fans on the side panel. will that make it run cooler than the one big 230 x 30 mm fan? Thanks for your help.

 

[Scout]

One big fan gives you low static pressure 4 120mm fans give you greater static pressure. I use a 230mm fan on the side of my haf 932 and it does the job just fine.

 

[Cojac92]

Get 4 of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185060

You will have a serious positive pressure then, and it will smoke your 230.

Edit: Unless you have an issue with sound. Those fans aren't really loud, but they are quite noticeable.

 

[brentwhisnant]

Can you explain static pressure to me? I dont know anything about that lol =|

 

[BigTerminator]

Static pressure relates to heat sinks not free flowing fans. A heat sink causes obstruction to the airflow from a fan. Better static pressure means the fans can blow air through the fins better making temps cooler. That scythe fan is terrible for heat sinks but is good for intake and/or exhaust.

You are better off getting the 230mm as it is cheaper and temps will not really change at all for your graphics card(s). 4 fans is much more expensive, louder, and use more power.

 

[MattNo5ss]

It's the amount of force per unit area that the fan puts on a surface in front of it. The higher static pressure is, the easier it is for the air to go through things like radiators or heatsinks. If there's nothing obstructing airflow in front of the fan, then static pressure is meaningless compared to CFM.

 

[Cojac92]

Static pressure relates to heat sinks not free flowing fans. A heat sink causes obstruction to the airflow from a fan. Better static pressure means the fans can blow air through the fins better making temps cooler. That scythe fan is terrible for heat sinks but is good for intake and/or exhaust.

You are better off getting the 230mm as it is cheaper and temps will not really change at all for your graphics card(s). 4 fans is much more expensive, louder, and use more power.

He was just talking about getting an intake fan.

His temps might would change some... Depending on his ambient temp, and internal temps of his case.

 

[brentwhisnant]

Price and noise arent really an issue, just trying anything to lower the temperature of my gpu.

 

[Scout]

What GPU ? If price isn't an issue you might be better off getting an aftermarket GPU cooler like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186048

 

[brentwhisnant]

Already put in two of those, one on each radeon 6970

 

[BigTerminator]

You have two!!! So why are you complaining about better temps? If noise isn't an issue than crank those onto 100% and temps will never go above 60c. You might be better having no fan on the side. One guy had SLI GTX 480's with the Arctic Accelero Extreme and said temps were better without the side panel fan. Side panel fans are best with cards that blow hot air out the case. This cooler blow hot air in the case and a side panel fan "might" disrupt the hot air from going upwards. I have no problem with it on on my HAF X.

 

[brentwhisnant]

well under load it still almost gets to 90C because the two cards are literally right next to each other with no space in between. Im trying anything to get them to be a little cooler than that. And Id rather not have the fans going at 100% all the time. From what I understand that would make them die faster than normal, or am I mistaken about this? All of your input and help is appreciated.

 

[Scout]

how are your ambient temps ? There are many good and powerful fans out there you can see alot of the 38mm thick fans in this thread http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=667113 I prefer the Gentle typhoons 1850rpm.

 

[brentwhisnant]

Im assuming ambient temps you mean when idle? The gpu #1 is about 32C and gpu #2 is about 40C. I have no idea how to check the cpu temp.

 

[johan851]

And Id rather not have the fans going at 100% all the time. From what I understand that would make them die faster than normal, or am I mistaken about this? All of your input and help is appreciated.

Fans are designed to run at their maximum rated speed, so they won't burn out from running them at 100%. Fans cost a couple bucks and typically last for years anyway.

 

[Scout]

By ambient I mean your room temp but your idle looks fine. A good basic utility for checking your cpus tempature is Coretemp.

 

[brentwhisnant]

So random thought...If I have the two arctic gpu fans, a fan on the front of the case, a fan on the sidepanel, a fan on the back of the case, one on top, and one on the bottom, what is the optimum direction all of them should be blowing?

 

[mjw21a]

The primary reason to use larger fans is typically low noise. A larger fan will produce less noise while pushing a decent amount of air. 4x 120mm fans on the other hand will push more air than a single large fan. Depends on what you're going for. Airflow of low noise.

 

[BigTerminator]

There is no way a 6970 can run at 90c with an Arctic Accelero Extreme. Try remounting the cards. They might be next to each other but temps shouldn't suddenly go from 60c to 90c. Plus it is quiet at 100% fan speed when compared to having 4 fans blowing insane amounts of air. Can we see a picture of your system and a MSI Afterburner screenshot?

 

[brentwhisnant]

Ill post a video of my pc on youtube as soon as im out of class