variety of cooling questions: fan connections and cooling for o/c

[raley]

I have several questions about fans and how they connect first of all. How does this work? Some have 3 wires, some have 3 pin, some are 4 pin. Do they go into the motherboard? Or the power supply? Can someone please explain this to me because there are different options when ordering fans and I am pretty lost in this department.

Another question is about cooling an overclocked XP 1600+. The case is going to be an Enlight 7237. Would it be possible to do the overclocking with the stock Enlight 300 watt power supply?

Next, how much is enough for cooling this thing? I was thinking Thermalright AX-7 with a 45 cfm Delta fan. I know this is good but should I get a Swiftech MCX370 instead for 15 dollars less? Now, for the case fans, what should I get for the 1 lower front intake and the rear exhaust? Do I even need a rear exhaust? There are a few Sunon's that I was looking at but how much cfm am I going to need (there are several different fan speeds that satisfy different needs).

Finally, I was thinking of a 120mm fan on the side of the case to blow on the cpu. Would this be needed or would this be overkill? How could I go about doing this.

Sorry for so many questions but I am kind of new at this stuff... Thanks a lot!

raley

 

[plague]

here we go...

3 pin connectors plug into your motherboard. this isnt really recommended for powerful fans, such as that delta you would get for the AX-7. 4 pin fans plug into the power supply. For that delta, you should get a 3 to 4 pin adapter if it comes as a 3 pin.

That powersupply should be ok if you dont try to attach a million HDDs and CD drives to it.

The AX-7 is ranked no. 1 on overclockers.com front page heatsink recommendations here and will do a very good job on your XP.

For the case, the bigger the fans you can fit the better. if you can fit 120s for intake and exhaust, i say go for it. they move lots of air and are very quiet. put everything together, and if you arent happy with your temps, then maybe put a 120 on the side. It will definitely help, but may not be needed.

edit: sorry, I always forget this...... Welcome to the Forums!!!

 

[-=A][A=-cazman]

Well I just got the AX-7 heatsink and it works really well. I had the MCX370 and it did an ok job but the temps were too high for my taste. So I got the MCXC370 which has a copper base and that one worked alot better than the one without the copper base. The MCXC370 worked fine for me but i'm kinda crazy about getting my CPU as low as possible so I got the AX-7.

 

[adamtekh]

i have the same case

the Power suply is ok , very quiet actually ( like 5 cfm though )

i manged to fit a 120mm x38 in the lower front, but i had to hack part of the HDD cage

i have 2x 80mm x 25mm blowing on the cards fomr the left side side panel , i put the fans where the little slots r on the side panel

and i put a 92mm on the back for exuast

120=90 cfm
92=50 cfm
80s= 30cfm

i know i need more exuast but im to lazzy

note : all my fans are @ 7v