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klrcommute
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Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 5:01 pm

I have an old SilverStone Fortress Series FT01-B that runs a couple 180mm fans. They've lasted long enough that I see they're prettymuch non-existent as a common case fan size now.

Any suggestions for a decent replacement solution? I think the OEM SilverStone ones are like $30 each. I was thinking of buying/making some kind of adapter plate to go from 180mm down to 140mm or 120mm and just throwing bequiet! or Noctua ones in there instead? Does anyone even make a cheap 180mm adapter? Cheapest I've found was on ebay for like $20.

Thanks, everyone!
 
Topinio
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 5:35 pm

? You want decent replacement fans because there's something wrong with the 2 which come with the (10 year old) case, but don't want to pay $30 each? Here, the 180 mm Silverstone SST-AP181 is available for £15 which I think maps to the $15 which a quick search shows is about the cheapest you can get Noctua NF-P14s, and you're talking Noctua plus an adapter so can we assume that's in budget?
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juzz86
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 6:42 pm

I second the suggestion to just stick with the AP180/AP181 mate.

There's no better fan at the size (the OEM eBay 2-pin cheapies are obnoxiously noisy) and by the time you price out adapters and decent 140mm fans you're at $30 a pop anyway!
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klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 7:30 pm

Topinio wrote:
? You want decent replacement fans because there's something wrong with the 2 which come with the (10 year old) case, but don't want to pay $30 each? Here, the 180 mm Silverstone SST-AP181 is available for £15 which I think maps to the $15 which a quick search shows is about the cheapest you can get Noctua NF-P14s, and you're talking Noctua plus an adapter so can we assume that's in budget?


Not sinking $60 into a 10 year old case for what's basically an obsolescent proprietary fan size seemed like a decent idea? $15 would be great--I'll keep looking around for somewhere that sells them this side of the pond for less than double that, I guess.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 7:36 pm

Depending on how the existing fan mount is set up, it might be pretty simple to make an adapter out of something from the local hardware store, or possibly even out of something you have around the house.
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klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 7:48 pm

just brew it! wrote:
Depending on how the existing fan mount is set up, it might be pretty simple to make an adapter out of something from the local hardware store, or possibly even out of something you have around the house.


This is kinda what I was leaning towards--that way I'd at least have a couple of more standard size fans 120mm or 140mm or whatnot if ever I switch cases, for spares or upgrades from stock. Not really sure how long new ones last with all their fancy bearing tech these days? Seems like 120mm is the norm for most cases.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sat May 11, 2019 8:05 pm

klrcommute wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
Depending on how the existing fan mount is set up, it might be pretty simple to make an adapter out of something from the local hardware store, or possibly even out of something you have around the house.

This is kinda what I was leaning towards--that way I'd at least have a couple of more standard size fans 120mm or 140mm or whatnot if ever I switch cases, for spares or upgrades from stock. Not really sure how long new ones last with all their fancy bearing tech these days? Seems like 120mm is the norm for most cases.

Fan mounts which let you install a 120mm or 140mm (your choice) seem to be pretty common for front intake and top exhaust. 120mm seems to be the most common for rear exhaust.
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Topinio
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sun May 12, 2019 2:41 pm

klrcommute wrote:
This is kinda what I was leaning towards--that way I'd at least have a couple of more standard size fans 120mm or 140mm or whatnot if ever I switch cases, for spares or upgrades from stock. Not really sure how long new ones last with all their fancy bearing tech these days? Seems like 120mm is the norm for most cases.

Stupid question, but what makes this old case worth keeping and fitting new fans to?

Asking b/c the cheapest (nastiest?) ATX case on Newegg comes with 2 fans (1x 120mm and 1x 80mm) and is $21.99 shipped, and the cheapest with 2x 120mm is $30.95 shipped, and it's hard to see you getting 2x 120mm fans and adaptor mounts for less than that. In your shoes, I might consider getting a less-than-good case wothy of a look, given it's effectively available for free!
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The Egg
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sun May 12, 2019 3:39 pm

klrcommute wrote:
Topinio wrote:
? You want decent replacement fans because there's something wrong with the 2 which come with the (10 year old) case, but don't want to pay $30 each? Here, the 180 mm Silverstone SST-AP181 is available for £15 which I think maps to the $15 which a quick search shows is about the cheapest you can get Noctua NF-P14s, and you're talking Noctua plus an adapter so can we assume that's in budget?


Not sinking $60 into a 10 year old case for what's basically an obsolescent proprietary fan size seemed like a decent idea? $15 would be great--I'll keep looking around for somewhere that sells them this side of the pond for less than double that, I guess.

Do cases go obsolete? ATX doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so they more or less just become "less fancy". I still have my parents using an Antec SLK1650B from 2005, and it looks and performs just fine. I plan to use my GD07B for at least another 10 years (fits my desk setup like a glove). Meh.

Anyhow, at a glance, I'd still put the FT01 in the top 95% of cases being sold today. Aluminum body, bottom PSU with filter, tons of drive bays, drive dampening, sound insulation/dampening (!!), cable management, USB 3.0 front ports. That's like a $200 case. Are the fans going out? If not, I'd just keep your eyes open for a sale on the OEM model. You can always go smaller, even if it doesn't perfectly fit the mounts. Just suspend a 140mm with zipties, and then cut some black duct-tape to go around the gaps.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sun May 12, 2019 4:05 pm

I don't see retiring the Antec P182 anytime soon.
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Topinio
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sun May 12, 2019 5:34 pm

The Egg wrote:
That's like a $200 case.

I had no idea. But, presumably this is because something's getting toasty and so the sunk cost is only relevant in so far as it could change the OP's mind on the question of whether solving the problem is not worth $60.
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JustAnEngineer
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Sun May 12, 2019 5:44 pm

The original AP181 is available for $53½ for the pair:
https://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Pene ... 003RRY9SC/

You might check to see if the voltage-reducing low-noise adapter is connected. If you're wanting more cooling, maybe you just need to switch from 700 rpm to 1200 rpm max.
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just brew it!
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 5:53 am

Topinio wrote:
Asking b/c the cheapest (nastiest?) ATX case on Newegg comes with 2 fans (1x 120mm and 1x 80mm) and is $21.99 shipped, and the cheapest with 2x 120mm is $30.95 shipped, and it's hard to see you getting 2x 120mm fans and adaptor mounts for less than that. In your shoes, I might consider getting a less-than-good case wothy of a look, given it's effectively available for free!

This is a really odd line of reasoning. Why would he want to trade down to a "cheapest (nastiest?)" case just to save a few bucks? Silverstone generally makes pretty nice stuff. (Not to mention the hassle of moving the system to a new case...)
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 6:32 am

What makes you want to replace the fans? Are they running poorly (noisy, vibration, etc.)? Are they not cooling well enough?
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 9:01 am

K-L-Waster wrote:
What makes you want to replace the fans? Are they running poorly (noisy, vibration, etc.)? Are they not cooling well enough?

They're old enough that I assume the bearings are starting to wear out. Since he was considering replacing them with identical new Silverstone fans, I assume they worked adequately when they were new.
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 12:01 pm

I get dozens of hits for "180mm fan" on eBay, including the Silverstone. Not exactly uncommon or pricey, at least in the US.

And that being said, if you have a nice case and everything else about it works, why not invest in it? Large, slow fans have the advantage of moving a lot of air without the high-pitched whining.
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Topinio
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 1:07 pm

just brew it! wrote:
This is a really odd line of reasoning. Why would he want to trade down to a "cheapest (nastiest?)" case just to save a few bucks? Silverstone generally makes pretty nice stuff. (Not to mention the hassle of moving the system to a new case...)

I'm not suggesting he would.

But, he needs fans; he doesn't want to pay the $60 and is looking for < $30 total.

The cheap new case solves the problem within the (v. small) budget.

Personally, I would buy the nice Silverstone fans for the nice $200 Silverstone case, but this isn't my system and OP should be able to set price constraints...

It's also ridiculous that these fans are < £12 here with free shipping, when they're $18.50 there + $40 shipping there!
Last edited by Topinio on Mon May 13, 2019 1:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 1:07 pm

Sounds like new 180mm has become a bit hard to find (I can't get results on eBay.ca or Amazon, or Newegg - that are not industrial fans). I would invest a bit more (i.e. 50USD) to buy good fans for the case, if I was in your situation, such as Noctua, NZXT, etc. They'll be quieter than the stock options (at least in my case they were).

However, in terms of obsolescence, if you're ok with the ports that you have, then I would suggest looking at fans - otherwise, it would be a good time to upgrade the case. While the form factor will not get out of date, the I/O will sadly. The only case I've seen upgrades were when I changed my MasterCase 5 I/O panel to have USB-C ports.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 1:12 pm

What we have today is way too much pluribus and not enough unum.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 1:21 pm

Topinio wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
This is a really odd line of reasoning. Why would he want to trade down to a "cheapest (nastiest?)" case just to save a few bucks? Silverstone generally makes pretty nice stuff. (Not to mention the hassle of moving the system to a new case...)

I'm not suggesting he would.

But, he needs fans; he doesn't want to pay the $60 and is looking for < $30 total.

The cheap new case solves the problem within the (v. small) budget.

...and the fans that come with the new case will probably fail within 6 months. If the entire case is selling for sub-$30, it is coming equipped with craptastic $3 fans. I would assume the OP is probably looking for a solution where he won't need to mess around with it (and spend money) again for a while.
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Topinio
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 1:36 pm

just brew it! wrote:
...and the fans that come with the new case will probably fail within 6 months.

Bowing to your experience, but I've never seen anything that bad.

Again, I'm not advocating the cheap and nasty case option, but if the system is overheating in early May something has to give and I don't know if it can be the budget.
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 2:33 pm

Topinio wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
...and the fans that come with the new case will probably fail within 6 months.

Bowing to your experience, but I've never seen anything that bad.

Again, I'm not advocating the cheap and nasty case option, but if the system is overheating in early May something has to give and I don't know if it can be the budget.


Yeah, but if he wants to go the cheap route, there are tons of 180mm fans out there for under $10... so why bother with a whole case that he'll probably pay more to get shipped, and then have to deal with removing the fans, and then disposing of the case, etc.

I think what the OP is really asking is if anyone knows where he can get something that is relatively as good/reliable as his SilverStone fans, but without paying the SilverStone price.
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Mon May 13, 2019 8:45 pm

Topinio wrote:
? You want decent replacement fans because there's something wrong with the 2 which come with the (10 year old) case, but don't want to pay $30 each? Here, the 180 mm Silverstone SST-AP181 is available for £15 which I think maps to the $15 which a quick search shows is about the cheapest you can get Noctua NF-P14s, and you're talking Noctua plus an adapter so can we assume that's in budget?


Note: Noctua's Redux fans (which are their original fans re-released for economy) are a lot less expensive than the new Noctuas, and still good. The 140mm 1500rpm Redux fans are $14.95 apiece on Amazon. Main difference is they use the original SSO bearing instead of the SSO2.

I'm using two of the 120mm 1300rpm Redux fans on my heatsink, and can say they're great. The other benefit is they're gray in color instead of the putty/brown. They're available in 3 and 4 pin.

https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/redux
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klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Tue May 14, 2019 10:40 am

cphite wrote:
I think what the OP is really asking is if anyone knows where he can get something that is relatively as good/reliable as his SilverStone fans, but without paying the SilverStone price.


Yeah, I suppose so, just the odd price differential that's developed since these 180mm have fallen out of favor: $27 here vs. 12 pounds in the UK? I'm just shooting for the best, cheapest option i.e. the best value.

It's been a great case. Lasted 10 years on the original fans, power supply. Just now are some of the fan bearings starting to go out--they still run, albeit a bit noisier. No actual failure yet. So, no complaints there. Maybe I just buy another set of relatively expensive Silverstone fans, maybe they last another 10 years. Or maybe they've changed their manufacturing process or supplier and they don't. In any event, it seems as though 180mm has been left behind as a standard fan size and I only expect them to get more expensive if there's limited production. So, I figured I'd see what my options were.
 
klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Tue May 14, 2019 10:50 am

Captain Ned wrote:
https://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g36/c781/s1500/list/p1/Fans-12_Volt_Computer_Fans-180mm_x_25mm_Fans-Page1.html


These might be alright if shipping wasn't so high. Anyone tried this Phobya brand?
 
klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Tue May 14, 2019 10:55 am

qmacpoint wrote:
Sounds like new 180mm has become a bit hard to find (I can't get results on eBay.ca or Amazon, or Newegg - that are not industrial fans). I would invest a bit more (i.e. 50USD) to buy good fans for the case, if I was in your situation, such as Noctua, NZXT, etc. They'll be quieter than the stock options (at least in my case they were).

However, in terms of obsolescence, if you're ok with the ports that you have, then I would suggest looking at fans - otherwise, it would be a good time to upgrade the case. While the form factor will not get out of date, the I/O will sadly. The only case I've seen upgrades were when I changed my MasterCase 5 I/O panel to have USB-C ports.


Yep, it's not really the case that's become obsolescent, just 180mm as a fan standard. Decent ones have become a bit hard to find as you say. This is true with the I/O. All the ports are usb 2.0, I believe. I just stuck a remote usb hub on top and ran to one of the usb 3.x ports on the mobo. Not the most elegant solution, but hey if it lets me squeeze some more life out of the original case, that's fine by me.
 
klrcommute
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Tue May 14, 2019 11:05 am

Topinio wrote:
The Egg wrote:
That's like a $200 case.

I had no idea. But, presumably this is because something's getting toasty and so the sunk cost is only relevant in so far as it could change the OP's mind on the question of whether solving the problem is not worth $60.


Oh, it's totally worth $60. I just like to use my money as efficiently as possible. :lol: 180mm are waning in production and clearly not the future, so retrofitting newer sized ones in this case might offer a few advantages, in spite of the trouble of doing so. 1) if/when I do switch cases I'll have good/spare fans I can still make use of. 2) if I don't get so lucky as to have a replacement last another 10 years, I'm not repeatedly paying high 180mm prices. 3) I wouldn't know, but it looks like the bearing tech--hydraulic, etc.--has come a long way in 10 years
 
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Re: Fan question for y'all

Tue May 14, 2019 11:18 am

You could always go with the DIY route and 3d-print adapters(e.g. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:21112) and go with 200mm fans - which seems like they're here to stay from what I can see.

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