Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer
sherlock wrote:I've been pleased with PWM-controlled models from Scythe and Noctua.Any recommendation for 120mm case fans, I have heard about those sell in cheap 4 packs for about 12-15 but couldn't find those deal s anywhere.
JustAnEngineer wrote:sherlock wrote:I've been pleased with PWM-controlled models from Scythe and Noctua.Any recommendation for 120mm case fans, I have heard about those sell in cheap 4 packs for about 12-15 but couldn't find those deal s anywhere.
Airmantharp wrote:I set mine up (R3) to handle a pair of HD6950's, which are hotter than the GTX6x0's out right now, as well as an overclocked 2500k. 4.8GHz was absolutely easy with only an H60, but I did move the 120mm rear fan to the front and I added 140mm fans as intakes on the other four positions with filters.
All of these fans are set to low either by using the included fan controller or through the BIOS, and the system is nearly silent, with just a faint 'whoosh' of moving air heard. The GPUs are audible at load but not loud, as the fans keep them fed with cool air.
Most likely, if you were to just put that rear fan on the front and use an integrated water-cooler and one blower-style GPU such as the FTW, you'd be able to hit ~4.6GHz quietly. If you need more fans, that four pack you linked earlier should do the trick, just run them as slow as you can.
JohnC wrote:...just as a general suggestion - have you considered something like Antec's P183 case? I have one, and I personally consider it the best engineered case I've ever used - it's extremely quiet, it has a "symmetrical" amount of fans (2 120mm intake fan slots (fans not included), 2 120mm exhaust fan slots (fans already included)), fully filtered air intake (there's a removable filters even for 5.25" and 3.5" bays!) without retarded filters on the bottom portion of the case (I don't remove filters on my case - I simply open the front door and vacuum them once a month), very large interior which is easy to work with, no gay color LEDs or shiney/transparent plastic The only thing I really miss is that I have old revision of this case, which only had USB 2.0 front ports (the new version has USB 3.0). It may be out of your price range, though...
Airmantharp wrote:JohnC wrote:...just as a general suggestion - have you considered something like Antec's P183 case? I have one, and I personally consider it the best engineered case I've ever used - it's extremely quiet, it has a "symmetrical" amount of fans (2 120mm intake fan slots (fans not included), 2 120mm exhaust fan slots (fans already included)), fully filtered air intake (there's a removable filters even for 5.25" and 3.5" bays!) without retarded filters on the bottom portion of the case (I don't remove filters on my case - I simply open the front door and vacuum them once a month), very large interior which is easy to work with, no gay color LEDs or shiney/transparent plastic The only thing I really miss is that I have old revision of this case, which only had USB 2.0 front ports (the new version has USB 3.0). It may be out of your price range, though...
The P183 was 'replaced' by the P280, which looks like a solid competitor to the R4 in features and price.
JohnC wrote:Airmantharp wrote:JohnC wrote:...just as a general suggestion - have you considered something like Antec's P183 case? I have one, and I personally consider it the best engineered case I've ever used - it's extremely quiet, it has a "symmetrical" amount of fans (2 120mm intake fan slots (fans not included), 2 120mm exhaust fan slots (fans already included)), fully filtered air intake (there's a removable filters even for 5.25" and 3.5" bays!) without retarded filters on the bottom portion of the case (I don't remove filters on my case - I simply open the front door and vacuum them once a month), very large interior which is easy to work with, no gay color LEDs or shiney/transparent plastic The only thing I really miss is that I have old revision of this case, which only had USB 2.0 front ports (the new version has USB 3.0). It may be out of your price range, though...
The P183 was 'replaced' by the P280, which looks like a solid competitor to the R4 in features and price.
P280 is a "regression" compared to P183 (which, b.t.w, is still available for sale, for example on Amazon) - it has major engineering flaw: bottom removable air filter beneath the PSU. Not only you MUST remove it in order to clean it, you must do it from the left side of the case, which means you can't put the case against the wall on its left side (which is my current setup). On my current P183, I simply open the front door and vaccum all the filters without even removing them
Airmantharp wrote:The bottom filter is a progression in case design. It's based around the idea that the PSU will intake air from the outside rather than from within the case, which could hurt its efficiency and lifespan. I much prefer the new way over what my P180 had; don't have to worry about piping cooler air to the PSU.
JohnC wrote:Airmantharp wrote:The bottom filter is a progression in case design. It's based around the idea that the PSU will intake air from the outside rather than from within the case, which could hurt its efficiency and lifespan. I much prefer the new way over what my P180 had; don't have to worry about piping cooler air to the PSU.
There's no scientific proof of whether the bottom intake right underneath the PSU actually helps the PSU in any meaningful way Also, P183 had a "partition" between PSU and general case area, which, although not airtight, was providing enough cold air to PSU (from the lower front air intake).
Airmantharp wrote:Either you feed hotter air into the PSU from the case (everything except the P18x) or you lose the intake value of that bottom intake to the rest of the system to feed the PSU cool air.
sherlock wrote:Fan model recommendations?
Airmantharp wrote:The bottom filter is a progression in case design. It's based around the idea that the PSU will intake air from the outside rather than from within the case
DPete27 wrote:Airmantharp wrote:The bottom filter is a progression in case design. It's based around the idea that the PSU will intake air from the outside rather than from within the case
You should look at JohnC's case. It is separated into "compartments" where the bottom-mounted PSU is fed air from a dedicated front fan; which is essentially the same as having a hole directly below the PSU. Not sure how that differs from your P180...I just don't see what the argument is about.
DPete27 wrote:Airmantharp wrote:The bottom filter is a progression in case design. It's based around the idea that the PSU will intake air from the outside rather than from within the case
You should look at JohnC's case. It is separated into "compartments" where the bottom-mounted PSU is fed air from a dedicated front fan; which is essentially the same as having a hole directly below the PSU. Not sure how that differs from your P180...I just don't see what the argument is about.
@Sherlock: Have you checked out Silverstone Air Penetrator fans? They would work well as front intake fans since they produce a concentrated channel of air. (watch video on website) Exhaust fans are more forgiving because you just need to get the air out of the case, so you don't need anything special, concentrate on low noise there. I'm a big fan of Enermax fans, their TB Silence series fans offer good airflow/noise ratios and may be a good fit for an exhaust fan.
sherlock wrote:Those are good recommendations but their single price/low bulk discount still makes it hard for me to take over Coolermaster's 4X120mm for $14
Airmantharp wrote:With just one GPU, at most you can use a fan in that bottom spot blowing straight up into the GPU intake, assuming a FTW or similar blower. I used the side-panel spot as an additional intake due to a CF setup which worked extremely well; hell, the bottom card was 10c lower than the top one, but that's not needed with one GPU, and leaving the noise dampening in place will keep the system quieter. Further, I used the top two fan positions as intakes with the H60 exhausting right below them, and I believe this was overkill- leave those alone, and use an H80 instead, which on Low is still overkill for an overclocked Intel quad, and it's the quietest integrated water-cooler at that setting.
Airmantharp wrote:That's actually (mostly) what I was suggesting. I only added a side panel fan to help cool a second GPU, otherwise it's not needed. Also, the integrated water-coolers don't need maintenance- they just work. Bolt an H60 or H80 to the back and call it done; you have a positive pressure setup with three 140mm intakes pushing to one 120mm exhaust and one GPU blower.
For the setup I'm mentioning, you might even consider grabbing just the Air Penetrator fan mentioned above, as the bottom fan mount is the perfect application for one. It'd be pushing a column of air straight to the GPUs intake.
Here's what it would all look like in an R4:
-move rear 140mm to front position
-install IWC in rear position
-install AP fan in bottom position
So, you have:
-2x140mm on the front panel
-1x140mm on the bottom between the drive tower and the PSU
-no fans on the side panel or the top mounts
-120mm H60/H80 exhausting on the back mount
-GTX670 FTW in the second slot, exhausting out the back
The combination of three intake fans will create a positive-pressure setup where air is being 'forced' into the GPU HSF and the IWC, which then exhaust out of the back of the case.
Airmantharp wrote:It has a negative pressure design with more intake potential than exhaust and almost zero focus on GPU cooling.
JohnC wrote:Airmantharp wrote:It has a negative pressure design with more intake potential than exhaust and almost zero focus on GPU cooling.
Again, what exactly is wrong with that, Mr. "armchair theorist"? I didn't have any issues because of these things in my P183 case, did you?
JohnC wrote:Airmantharp wrote:It has a negative pressure design with more intake potential than exhaust and almost zero focus on GPU cooling.
Again, what exactly is wrong with that, Mr. "armchair theorist"? I didn't have any issues because of these things in my P183 case, did you?
Airmantharp wrote:Intake > Exhaust --> pristine interior.