What fans for radiator?

[hetoaster]

I have a 360mm ek radiator and im deciding what fans i want. What is this pwm stuff i hear about how do i set it up? I really would just like some normal fans becuase this will be placed on top of my computer and in plain sight. Im also going to have a fan controller but is there a way i can have a controller monitor the temp and i can set a software curve for the fans? I did that with my gtx 660ti and it works very good now. Or do i not need this and should have single speed fans..

Also is there like a grill i can attache to the top of the fans like this?

<- lol

That would be nice for the top of the unit so i dont accidnetally place something on it and screw my fans up

 

[hetoaster]

http://s1189.photobucket.com/user/Matt_Tewell/media/ddd_zps13cae5c8.png.html

 

[Conumdrum]

WHAT exact 360 EK rad? Thickness and FPI matter.

PWM is a way of fan control. You need to learn about it firsdt. I can't spend typing for 30 minutes when you can Wiki it or Google it.

Fan controllers, best you just read the last 20 posts using search where fan controller is mentioned and you read ALL of it.

Your asking very very basic questions and teaching it is gonna be hard. You might not get a lot of responses till you up your knowledge game a bit.

Yes you can buy grills. You just have to buy them. It's a fan grill. Not too difficult to understand. Look at Performance PCs. They sell many types. Frozen CPU too.

 

[dtrunk]

+1 to everything Conumdrum said.

pwm = pulse width modulation; short explanation = way to control fan speed based on some settings you set (usually in the bios). knowing what motherboard you have would greatly help answer your needs.

fan controllers use some sort of potentiometer to reduce the volts and make the fan run slower, usually you set it and leave it. a PWM fan controller interfaces with your motherboard to pickup the PWM signal and then adjust the fans according to the signal. you MUST read up on this and make sure you're using right combo of fans with a controller; IE: if you buy PWM fans and hook them to a standard controller = fail (though it will work).

as for 120mm fans I'd suggest gentle typhoon 120s at 1500 or 1800 rpm or swiftech helix 120s at 1800rpm. you'll be turning them down so normally you want to aim for high(er) rpm so that you can turn them up to increase cooling when you're gaming or what not. PWM is a great feature to control the fans, just read up on it. knowing the FPI of your radiator is essential to knowing what fans you need?

 

[Conumdrum]

Fail meaning you can't control the fans. They will be at full speed.

 

[MattMan657]

+1 to everything Conumdrum said.

as for 120mm fans I'd suggest gentle typhoon 120s at 1500 or 1800 rpm or swiftech helix 120s at 1800rpm. you'll be turning them down so normally you want to aim for high(er) rpm so that you can turn them up to increase cooling when you're gaming or what not. PWM is a great feature to control the fans, just read up on it. knowing the FPI of your radiator is essential to knowing what fans you need?

+1 here. Another possible option are the Akasa Vipers. 1800rpm at 2.98 static pressure. Not overly loud either. For the money you can't beat the Helix though. They're like $11 bucks off of Swiftech's website.

 

[NiHaoMike]

PWM (also sometimes called "smart fan" or "variable speed") means that the fan accepts a speed control signal. It's actually a misnomer since pretty much all good fans (even the "fixed speed" ones) nowadays are based around PWM sine wave inverters, since square wave drive is really bad at making "motor buzz" and once you have the parts for variable speed, sine wave drive is next to no extra cost. The very best use Cindy Wu sensorless field oriented control, which basically uses a DSP to read the voltages and currents coming back from the motor ("back EMF") in order to optimize the drive waveform so that the stator flux is always 90 degrees ahead of the rotor flux.

I'd recommend a good quality brand like Delta, though you probably won't need high end stuff for your application unless you're planning on getting that last MHz. (Beware that fans with fluid dynamic bearings can wear out early if run too slow, although the PWM ones will not let you run them that slow.) PWM is a good bet if your motherboard supports it and lets you change the setpoint to more sane values. (If your motherboard doesn't support it, you'll need to use a microcontroller or 555 to generate the signal.)

 

[Conumdrum]

Ohh, that went over all of our heads. Thanks. I knew Cindy Wu, what a girl.........

 

[NiHaoMike]

Computer fans aren't actually DC motors, they're 3 phase synchronous AC motors with built in inverters. The devil is in the details and the inverter ranges from really cheap, crummy square wave drives to Cindy Wu sensorless field oriented control DSP drives. Square waves change suddenly, so as it does so many times a second, the coils vibrate and make that rather distinctive and annoying "motor buzz". Sine waves change gradually and therefore avoid creating those vibrations. (The "cogging effect" is another source of that buzz, but it's possible to design a motor to avoid that.)

Basically, if you want quiet, you definitely don't want a square wave drive, which means you don't want cheap fans. (And mind you, "motor buzz" is a lot more annoying than the white noise-like sound of rushing air.)

BTW, the Cindy Wu in question is a Taiwanese engineer who developed one of the best control algorithms for small 3 phase synchronous AC motors. IIRC, the higher end Delta fans use that algorithm and Nidecs and NMBs use something similar.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yep, thanks. We are all engrinners with PHds. And I misspelled for your benefit.

Your smart. Mensa might be a fun place.

Bring it down to reality levels please.

The OP wants fans for rads. Help the OP. What we do here.

 

[NiHaoMike]

In summary, your best bet is to get some Deltas with PWM. (You probably don't need the really high end ones.) Pretty much all PWM fans nowadays are going to be sine wave drive, but it's best to buy from a place with a good return policy if "motor buzz" annoys you. (Don't worry about the PWM itself making noise since it's ultrasonic.)

 

[MattMan657]

Aren't those Delta fans really expensive?

Best bang for your buck are the Swiftech Helix 120 PWMs. They are like $11 bucks and are great great fans. Not overly loud at all and move a ton of air, high static pressure.

Next in price up I'd go for the Akasa Viper. I am running those on my rad right now. They are like $13 per fan. Great fan. I think they move more than my Helixes but are definitely louder, but not horribly loud.

The Gentle Typhoon everyone loves, I've never used them personally but I've yet to hear a single bad review or comment on them. They are a little pricier, around $17 per fan.

Noctura makes pretty good rad fans too but are more pricey. However I'd go for any of the three above over a Noctura for a rad fan.