Help with case fan configuration

[Whitestar]

I'm considering building inside a O11D EVO XL because I want a case that's going to last for many years. I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to fans, headers, splitters and such though (I've only ever used the built in fans in my cases). So I'm asking for a little help in fan setup.

My plan is this for now:
2 side intakes - Noctua NF-A14 chromax
2 bottom intakes - Noctua NF-A14 chromax
1 rear exhaust - Noctua NF-A12x25 chromax (with mobo in middle position there won't be room for an NF-A14 or two NF-12x25)
1 top exhaust - Noctua NF-A14 chromax

As I understand it it's better to split the fans into different "sections" rather than just connect them all to a fan hub/controller, since it allows me to balance the airflow?
I have made an (fairly ugly) illustration of how I plan to set up the fans using these splitters (for some reason it was hard to find 2 ways white splitters but it doesn't matter). My mobo is the B650 Aorus Elite AX V2.

The two exhaust fans will share SYS_FAN1, bottom fans will share SYS_FAN2 and side fans will share SYS_FAN3.

The specs of my mobo's headers and the fans themselves look like this:

I assume one fan header can support two fans without issues? (Side question: how many fans with these specs can be connected to one header?)

I know it will be an expensive setup, but like I said I plan to have this for many years.

Does this setup make sense with regards to number of fans, size of fans and how they are split up?
Do you think I would be able to make this case cooler and quieter than my current Lancool II Mesh Performance (which has the standard factory fans)? If not, then would it be possible with some other fan configuration?

 

[evernessince]

With 24w supplied through each header, even with the most power hungry fans (7w) you should be fine with up to 3 per header. It is a good idea to split the fans between headers to enable more granular control but that's mostly beneficial to CPU fans, SSD fans (if you have any), and other fans you might want running at a different speed than the rest. When it comes to case fans you are fine to connect all those to a single fan hub unless there a specific reason you want to be running one at a different RPM (in which case you can take just that fan and put it on a seperate header).

Your fan setup appears fine, pretty typically flow setup for an O11. Will it run cooler than your Lancool? Hard to tell, GN has it being 0.6c cooler with 3x side fans installed but there will be variance build to build.

A couple of notes on the fan selection itself, if your rear fan is going to be 120mm and you are spending $32-33 you should be getting the Phateks T30 120mm. Same price as the noctua and it's simply the best 120mm fan on the market. For the remaining fans I recommend the Arctic P14 Max. 6 year warranty and class leading performance at half the price you would be spending on the Noctua:

6 year warranty to boot. There's also a database providing the raw numbers for these as well:

Cybenetics Labs – PSU Efficiency & Noise Level Certifications - Fans

www.cybenetics.com

Cybenetics Labs – PSU Efficiency & Noise Level Certifications - Fans

www.cybenetics.com

 

[Whitestar]

Are those Arctic fans as silent as the Noctuas?

 

[Chicken Patty]

I think you have the right idea and as others have stated try to stick to 3 fans per headers at most. Going with this setup is perfectly fine. The reason you want to split also your fans into sections when it comes to connections is so that you can have some sort of control over how much positive/negative pressure your setup has. In this case you should have some positive pressure which is good. You have more air coming in so it helps push the air out through the exhaust fans. if you have too much of it, you can always turn up the rear and top fans a bit to help relieve some of that positive pressure.

 

[evernessince]

Are those Arctic fans as silent as the Noctuas?

The P14 Max has superior acoustic efficiency at the same given noise level, which is really what you want to be looking at. They will be louder at max speed but that's only because the P14 Max supports a max RPM of 2783 vs the A14's max of 1500. The noctua fan at 100% can only go as fast as the P14 Max at 54%, which just means that the P14 Max can scale up performance much higher should the end user need it. In your case you are going to be controlling the fans via PWM, so you can tune them to whatever noise level you wish. At whatever noise level you do tune them to, the P14 max will move moving more air with higher static pressure.

 

[Whitestar]

They sure look good. Still a bit hesitant though, since:
- I could really only find 1 review (the one you linked to)
- The Noctua NF-A14 was for some reason not part of the tested fans in that review

I see they are rated at 0.35 A. I don't suppose there will be a problem anyway with connecting 3 of them to one header, since my mobo headers are rated at 2 A? Or doesn't it work quite like that, just adding ampere numbers together? I mean, mathematically that would mean that one of my mobo headers could support 5 of those Arctic fans!

 

[evernessince]

They sure look good. Still a bit hesitant though, since:
- I could really only find 1 review (the one you linked to)

Makes sense, they are very new to the market. Plus fans are not the most reviewed products.

- The Noctua NF-A14 was for some reason not part of the tested fans in that review

Correct, he has only tested a few Noctua fans including the A12x25. It's going to be hard to find a review that directly compares the two given how old the A14 is at this point. There is a review floating around by STS from 2022 but it's extremely suspect due to including 120mm and industrial fans in the results:

That review only provides a single chart at 100% fan speed without noise normalized tests but at the very least we can extrapolate some things from it if we ignore that it seems to specifically exclude fans and charts that would make the AF140 look bad. In HardwareBuster's review the SilentWings Pro 4 is mostly a mid-table performer except at low noise levels where it sort of breaks into the upper level. The STS review has the Noctua performing slightly better than the SilentWing Pro 4 at 100% (again not a very comprehensive review and disadvantageous to the SW Pro 4) and by extension based off the SW Pro 4 performance in both reviews we can tell the AF14 is also a mid-table to barely breaking into high-end fan. Noctua has kept delaying an update to it's fan lineup to the point where there are sereral better and much cheaper options on the market.

Note the Phanteks T30 in the above review is only a 120mm fan yet it is handily beating the 140mm AF14. The only fans that beat it Noctua 3000 RPM fans, which sound like a literal jet taking off (I used to have some). I have AF140s in my rig right now, had them for a long time now. They generate significantly more noise than the Phanteks T30 while moving less air. The P14 Max are sort of a middle ground between the two performance and noise wise while being significantly cheaper. You could probably go ham with all Phanteks T30s but for case fans it's overkill IMO. The P14 Max is a perfect fit for that job IMO.

I see they are rated at 0.35 A. I don't suppose there will be a problem anyway with connecting 3 of them to one header, since my mobo headers are rated at 2 A? Or doesn't it work quite like that, just adding ampere numbers together? I mean, mathematically that would mean that one of my mobo headers could support 5 of those Arctic fans!

They consume 4w at max, which puts you at 12w for 3 assuming you run them at 100% all the time. If you like a quiet rig most likely you'll be running that at between 15-40% most of the time. In any case you should be well under your per head wattage budget.

 

[Whitestar]

Makes sense, they are very new to the market. Plus fans are not the most reviewed products.



Correct, he has only tested a few Noctua fans including the A12x25. It's going to be hard to find a review that directly compares the two given how old the A14 is at this point. There is a review floating around by STS from 2022 but it's extremely suspect due to including 120mm and industrial fans in the results:

View attachment 343599

That review only provides a single chart at 100% fan speed without noise normalized tests but at the very least we can extrapolate some things from it if we ignore that it seems to specifically exclude fans and charts that would make the AF140 look bad. In HardwareBuster's review the SilentWings Pro 4 is mostly a mid-table performer except at low noise levels where it sort of breaks into the upper level. The STS review has the Noctua performing slightly better than the SilentWing Pro 4 at 100% (again not a very comprehensive review and disadvantageous to the SW Pro 4) and by extension based off the SW Pro 4 performance in both reviews we can tell the AF14 is also a mid-table to barely breaking into high-end fan. Noctua has kept delaying an update to it's fan lineup to the point where there are sereral better and much cheaper options on the market.

Note the Phanteks T30 in the above review is only a 120mm fan yet it is handily beating the 140mm AF14. The only fans that beat it Noctua 3000 RPM fans, which sound like a literal jet taking off (I used to have some). I have AF140s in my rig right now, had them for a long time now. They generate significantly more noise than the Phanteks T30 while moving less air. The P14 Max are sort of a middle ground between the two performance and noise wise while being significantly cheaper. You could probably go ham with all Phanteks T30s but for case fans it's overkill IMO. The P14 Max is a perfect fit for that job IMO.



They consume 4w at max, which puts you at 12w for 3 assuming you run them at 100% all the time. If you like a quiet rig most likely you'll be running that at between 15-40% most of the time. In any case you should be well under your per head wattage budget.

You have me convinced. Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive answer (and saving me money in the process).
Arctic and Phanteks it is!

 

[evernessince]

You have me convinced. Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive answer (and saving me money in the process).
Arctic and Phanteks it is!

No problem and enjoy the new fans when you get them in!

 

[Whitestar]

One more question. This time about the Phanteks T30. On the Norwegian web store it says 1200-3000 RPM. On Phanteks' site it says 0-3000. Does that mean that I have to select one of those 3 settings? I can't make it go at for example 800 or 1000 RPM? A little confused here.

 

[evernessince]

One more question. This time about the Phanteks T30. On the Norwegian web store it says 1200-3000 RPM. On Phanteks' site it says 0-3000. Does that mean that I have to select one of those 3 settings? I can't make it go at for example 800 or 1000 RPM? A little confused here.

Nope, you don't have to select one of those. It can be anywhere between 0 and 3000. There's a chart on the T30 product page on their website showing how the RPM responds to a given PWM signal. The T30 also has a switch that let's you choose from 3 different operational modes also explained in that same chart.

I have the T30s on my CPU cooler running at approx 800 RPM under 40% load.

 

[Whitestar]

The build turned out really nice. However, those two side intake fans (vertical) make a lot of noise when they exceed about 2000 RPMs. A sort of mechanical whining noise. I did use a vibration dampening rubber o-ring between the fan mounts and the vertical tray as illustrated in the very simplified picture below.

Should I use an o-ring on the other side of the tray as well? Or is the issue that the vibrations are manifesting themselves in the vertical tray and are then transferred to the case, thus producing the noise?
Any thoughts or tips?

 

[A Computer Guy]

In my original 011D I notice the bottom fans collect the most dust at the fastest rate despite the bottom dust filter.
At the bottom using white fans, or at least fans with white blades, it would be less noticeable if that kind of problem bothers you and you don't frequently blow out your system.

 

[Whitestar]

In my original 011D I notice the bottom fans collect the most dust at the fastest rate despite the bottom dust filter.
At the bottom using white fans, or at least fans with white blades, it would be less noticeable if that kind of problem bothers you and you don't frequently blow out your system.

I'll make sure to keep the floor beneath very clean at least.
This does not address my question above about noise though.

 

[A Computer Guy]

I'll make sure to keep the floor beneath very clean at least.
This does not address my question above about noise though.

When testing your system for temperature management adjust the fan curves for less noise. You may find that high or max fan speeds for those fans at that location won't produce a meaningful difference so reducing fan speed is acceptable to solve your problem. You have huge gaps there so recirculation may be a factor that reduces those fans effectiveness as intakes. If you wall off the gaps those intakes will be more effective also making lower rpm more effective. Since the case is dual chamber design walling off the gaps is fairly easy but finding the aesthetically pleasing materials to do so is a different challenge.

 

[Whitestar]

When testing your system for temperature management adjust the fan curves for less noise. You may find that high or max fan speeds for those fans at that location won't produce a meaningful difference so reducing fan speed is acceptable to solve your problem. You have huge gaps there so recirculation may be a factor that reduces those fans effectiveness as intakes. If you wall off the gaps those intakes will be more effective also making lower rpm more effective. Since the case is dual chamber design walling off the gaps is fairly easy but finding the aesthetically pleasing materials to do so is a different challenge.

Good info, thanks!