Is a fan even needed?

[Herr Rogers]

I was reading reviews of the heatsink I want, and saw that with the case that I also want, I might not need fans.

Look how close the fans are to the actual heatsink. Will there even be a difference between one fan connected to the heatsink, and the two already on the case?

 

[four4875]

are you referring to a heatsink that saysi t can run passive? if its a tower type and you arent going to be putting too much heat to it, it can run passive / fanless. but it has to have a case fan makin up for the lack of a fan, and if you do run passive i would reccomend getting a 120 in the case so you get better flow per noise (and i think noise is the reasoning behinf passive cooling, so 120s woudl be desirable anyways right?)

 

[Herr Rogers]

No. I'm asking if I will see a difference in temperature.
The scythe ninja allows you to attach a 120mm fan to it.
That picture shows two case fans next to the heatsink without a fan connected to the actual heatsink (situation 1).
I can also have the two case fans and put an extra fan on the actual heatsink (situation 2).
How different will the temps be between these two situations?
Sorry for not being clear.

 

[p|astic]

if the rear fan close to the sink is intake, i wouldn't imagine you'd need another (if you're into that whole... silence... thing).

IOW. needed? no. desired? preference.

 

[four4875]

im sorry, but im kinda lost when you refer to 'that picture' and i dont see in the first post exactly which heatskin you were referring to. buuut.... a fan directly on the heatsink will improve temps, im not sure how much tho, but it will improve airflow. search around the forum for passive cooling, im sure you'll find comparisons to with and without fans.

 

[bapski]

i would still put a fan if i were you.

 

[Acidburn]

your asking for trouble not putting a fan on your cpu in my opinion

 

[dfrost]

Here's the photo from the SPCR article reviewing the Scythe Ninja: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page5.html. That article notes that the two fans located at the top rear of the Antec P180 case are well-located to allow the Ninja to be used without a direct-mounted fan, assuming you're OK with the resulting temperature. I wouldn't extend that concept to apply to any case with any airflow.

However, the Ninja works well enough with low airflow to apparently work nicely even with a low speed quiet fan like the Nexus 120 in most situations.

 

[Deadbot1_1973]

If you get airflow through the Heatsink then you will be fine. But A direct mount fan will help to increase the flow through the sink. Will it lower your temps? depends on a few factors. First is the fan getting good COOL air or RECIRCULATED air from itself. there are a few good articles on this in the main page at OC.COM check them out and really look at what being shown. that'll help you to understand what's going on in your system.