# How many fans do you have on your PC case?



## dirtyferret (Sep 12, 2019)

My profound morning shower thought today was "what's better two 140mm or three 120mm front intake fans".  I figured I would make a poll to ask people what they thought but then there are so many options; number of fans, fan speeds, fan sizes, fan placement, etc., etc., and what about about out take fans?  So I figured people could just post what they have if they like to.

I currently have two enermax TB twister 140mm fans up front as intake,
one noctua 140mm fan on the roof mount and one noctua 120mm on the rear for out take


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## Anymal (Sep 12, 2019)

Phanteks Luxe 2, 1x140mm bottom, 1x140mm rear, 1x140mm roof,  2x120mm right side panel. In front still without fans, maybe I will add 1x140mm. All Arctic F  series Silent FDB.


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## phanbuey (Sep 12, 2019)

3 x 120mm intake (@800rpm)  and 1 x 120mm exhaust. 

one of the 120MM intakes is just a double wide rad in push pull, ramps with cpu heat, and the 120mm exhaust that ramps up with PCH chip temp (so it ramps up exhaust during gaming when the gfx heats up).


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## londiste (Sep 12, 2019)

No space for case fans here


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## rtwjunkie (Sep 12, 2019)

My Main Sydtem:
2x 140mm Cougar Vortex HDB front intake
1x 140mm Cougar CFD white LED bottom intake
1x 140mm Fractal R2 top exhaust
1x 140mm Fractal Venturi HF-14 rear exhaust

The above has been carefully calculated by cfm to be very close to balanced, with slightly more air going in than out.  My temps are always fantastic.


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## Nordic (Sep 12, 2019)

At the moment 2 intake, 2 on cooler, and 1 exhaust. I have ran as few as 0 and as many as 10. I have a box of used parts with about 30 old fans in it.


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## IceScreamer (Sep 12, 2019)

My own case has 2 Zalman fans at 1000rpm, brothers' case has 5 Scythe Glidestream 1200rpm running at about 800rpm, 2 intakes and 3 exhausts. That case (Zalman Z3 Plus) has hands down the best cooling of all the cases I've worked so far.


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## Arctucas (Sep 12, 2019)

Two 140 bottom mounted intake, one 140 top mounted exhaust, one 120 rear mounted exhaust, one 140 internal circulator.


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## Divide Overflow (Sep 12, 2019)

2 x 140 intake
1 140 exhaust
The CPU fan gives pretty good exhaust flow as well.


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## Brusfantomet (Sep 12, 2019)

Depends on the case really,
1st HTPC: none
2nd HTPC: one 120 mm for the tower cooler, that does protrude substantially from the case itself.
the last daily used one has:
1 front intake
3 bottom intake
1 back exhaust
1 back exhaust in PSU
All fans (except PSU) are arctic cooling F12 PWM
It also has an external radiator with 18 fans (9 fans in push and 9 in pull)
All fans running approximately at 500 rpm at desktop and ramp up to round 1000 rpm when needed, since the driving voltage has been lowered in a fan controller.
Most noisy component is the D5 pwm pumps (witch were an improvement from the MCP 35x)


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## phill (Sep 12, 2019)

I suppose for this I'd need a case.........


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## Vario (Sep 12, 2019)

My PC A05 case has 3 fans.  Keep in mind the internals of my PC A05 case are upside down.
1) Top intake Yate Loon D14BH-12  140mm
2) Front intake Corsair SP120L 120mm (mainly just vents the hot bezel air from the power supply's exhaust)
3) Rear exhaust Corsair SP120L 120mm

Corsair fans are the high performance PWM grey ones from an H100i.


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## Bill_Bright (Sep 12, 2019)

dirtyferret said:


> "what's better two 140mm or three 120mm front intake fans"


Two 140mm fans - obviously! Why? Again, that's obvious. Two fans are quieter than 3. 

Now don't go interjecting a bunch of "what ifs" in some futile attempt to discredit that claim. If you want to do that, use specific model numbers for the 140mm and the 120mm fans. And be specific about your definition of what "better" means in your scenario.


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## theFOoL (Sep 12, 2019)

The normal for my Video Server (1 120mm Front) and for my Main Rig (120mm rear/front) though I would mod for my video Server but not at this time


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## Roddey (Sep 12, 2019)

6x120mm intake, 1x140mm exhaust, 2x120mm exhaust


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## biffzinker (Sep 12, 2019)

3x Cougar Vortex HDB 120mm as front intake
2x Cougar Vortex HDB 120mm as exhaust


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## 64K (Sep 13, 2019)

I've got the 3 fans that came with my Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition case. 2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust. They seem to be doing a good job pushing heat out of my rig so I haven't bothered to add any more although there are several more places that I could if I ever need to. This PC case is certainly not the best out there but it's the nicest case that I have ever owned.


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## neatfeatguy (Sep 13, 2019)

1 - 200mm top exhaust

There are two 120mm push fans on the H100i cooler, but I just have the 1 exhaust fan.


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## oxrufiioxo (Sep 13, 2019)

6 120mm front intake in push/pull with 3 120mm exhaust (1 rear/2 top in my main Pc.

3x 140mm front intake with 3x 140mm exhaust (1 rear/2 top) in my secondary pc.


All configured to run at 800-1200 RPM depending on what my GPU is doing.

My Rowenta Turbo Silence table top fan make more noise than my pc.


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## windwhirl (Sep 13, 2019)

1 intake, 3 exhaust (1 rear, 2 top), 120 mm all of them. I've been considering installing a second intake fan, but the only place remaining is pretty much covered with hard drives. Seems kinda pointless. And since my current rig is still being fine tuned, I haven't settled yet on any specific setting for the fans, although they can spin up to 1600 RPM if needed...

And I also need to fix that cable mess I have inside the case, so... Lots of work left to do


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## natr0n (Sep 13, 2019)

In my server case got  8 -140mm  and 1- 120mm
also a 70mm just looked lol for chipset


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## PooPipeBoy (Sep 13, 2019)

I always try to minimise the amount of case fans running because less airflow means less noise and less dust.

At idle, only 1 x 140mm top-mounted exhaust fan is running at 350rpm.
Under load, the exhaust fan ramps up to 800rpm and then a 120mm intake fan kicks in around 500rpm.
There's a second 120mm intake fan but it never turns on because temperatures are pretty good.


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## freeagent (Sep 13, 2019)

In my Meshify C I have 5x 120x38's and a single 120x25 for the hdd bay. Three intakes at the front, 1 intake top front,  1 exhaust top rear, 1 exhaust rear. Better than open air lol. Not too loud, you can hear it. But with the kids, stereo, etc it really doesn't bother me. And now the kids are in bed, its quiet, and its really not bad. I run them at 7v, but at 12v its a different story. Hairdryers.

Edit:

I myself normally wouldn't run an intake next to an exhaust, but my fronts will push right out of the top at 12v with no fan up there, so I've got it there to push the incoming air straight through the cooler. The two exhaust are literally acting as push/pull against my cooler since there is a about a mm or two of clearance on both sides lol. At normal quiet speeds, its not what you would expect, it still throws air, but quietly 









						Your PC ATM
					

I had a MSI s754 mATX board with a GF 6200 SE graphics card in a Cosmos S back in the day, that looked even more tiny. :)   Geez this poor guy.  What else we got?  Has anyone taken "I can't believe he's using a NZXT fan on a corsair radiator!" ?  LMAO, "poor guy" since I don't have a graphics...




					www.techpowerup.com


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## sam_86314 (Sep 13, 2019)

I have four Cryorig XF140 fans in my Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. Two are in the front as intakes, one is on my R1 Ultimate, and one is in back as the exhaust.


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## robot zombie (Sep 13, 2019)

All I've got are two Corsair ML 140's on the front intake. Whether I go 120mm or 140mm, my case can only take two front fans so 140mm it is. They peak at around 1100 rpm but typically it's more like 500-800. As far as I can tell, more air cannot physically be drawn to the case. It overcomes the restriction of the filter and front panel about as well as possible. If I run the same stress test, one run with those fitted and another without, I see roughly the same temperatures at the same speeds. It's a good balance. Suckers have some pull even at low RPM's and they're pretty quiet!

My case (NZXT S340 Elite) also has a top 140mm and rear 120mm exhaust spot, but I don't populate them. I found that all they were doing was making the front intake work harder to push the same air through and directly contributing to noise themselves. The flow pattern just wasn't right, I think. The exhaust must've been throwing a wrench in it. I had exhaust from the GPU being drawn right back in underneath. CPU cooler was working harder, too. Just removing the exhausts reduced its RPM's a good bit. And that's not to mention the dust being sucked in from god knows where. My setup runs much quieter, holds lower temps, and draws in far less dust without the exhaust fans. But I think the worst part was the nasty resonance the exhausts caused. Just no benefit. I mean, it ran fine with them in and I kind of figured "why not?" but it really was holding things back more than it was helping.

It really does perform great this way. I run a Ryzen 2600 at 4ghz all-core and verrry rarely does it ever break 55C. And by then my CPU cooler (Dark Rock 4) is just *starting* to approach 1000RPM. More typically I'm seeing maxes of 800, over several days running and carrying out all sorts of tasks. Meanwhile my Strix 2060 will boost to nearly 2100mhz barely breaking a sweat. The only two games to ever push it over 70C have been Metro Exodus and SOTTR... and even then it's just barely hitting 70. Most games are lower to mid 60s. The fans there can get up to 1600RPM under heavy strain, but that really isn't loud for that cooler... ~50% of max speed. And that sucker kicks up some watts! Just shy of 200w, in fact. Decent amount of heat coming off of it, but it all makes it out easily.

I've put in a lot of time to getting the best, quietest performance out of this setup, playing with different configurations of different fans, a couple of different CPU coolers, OCD fan-curve tweaking... everything I could think to isolate, I did. I also did my best to find the best performance compromise for my CPU. The boost on the vanilla 2600 is kind of a shame. Very efficient, but it leaves a lot of the performance off of the table for anything that hits multiple cores. So it had to be all-core, which means more heat and power consumption. After extensive fuckery I found the max all-core to be 4.3ghz! But as tempting as it is to run it there just because I'm lucky enough to have one of the few that does it well enough to actually run it there continuously, the heat is too much. I take that voltage headroom and use it for efficiency. It has the headroom and stability to run that 4.3ghz OC, so it also doesn't take as much as your typical 2600 to run lower. I don't fear the heat, but I greatly dislike the screaming dinosaur sounds my computer makes when I run it that way.

4ghz ended up being the ideal point. Past that, the performance gains aren't as significant as they are at any point below it, and the power usage starts to go up at an exponential rate. Not just more voltage, but quite a lot more current when those cores start getting nailed. 4ghz is stable at 1.1ish volts, which as far as I can tell is about the best voltage you can ask for. But to get to 4.1 I'm already getting closer to 1.3v. That combined with the extra current needed results in a 10C temperature increase on the same fan curve. 4.2 is another 5C over that, as well as firmly over 1.3v. 4.3, I'm approaching 1.5v and going over 200w... nuff said. It clearly likes 4ghz best, so that's where it stays!

And then, there's other little things. I've got rubber washers on both sides of the screws for my intake fans, just to help dampen vibrations. And it does seem to help. I also try to keep all of the space around the machine open and keep everything clean to minimize obstruction... and I also have it near the AC exhaust. The GPU was a little tricky. There is a certain RPM range you have to stay out of because it makes a resonant humming sound, so I set the curve so it never lingers there. Just a steep jump at that RPM range. Hueristics help significantly, too. Temperatures are just slightly higher due to the response delay, but they're also more stable... RPM's overall tend to stay a bit lower. And idle-stopping with this card is out of the question... the fans on this card are ridiculously noisy when they start up... not to mention when they first kick-up they go up to very high RPMs before settling down... I mean, when you're going from no load to high load and temperatures jump, makes sense the fans might too. Some cards handle it better than others. But with the Strix, I couldn't have that obnoxious shit randomly bothering me.


I'm at a point where I don't wonder what's best for my setup, fans/cooling-wise. I just feel like there's nothing left to optimize. It does everything I need it to nice and snappy-like and I barely know it's there by the sound. Meanwhile the parts inside are staying (I think) pretty respectably cool. I picked the parts I did partially with efficiency in mind. Right out of the box, both the Ryzen 2600 and many of the RTX 2060 cards are pretty easy to cool. With optimal configurations they really shine in that department. It's really what they're best at - they do well delivering solid performance with really good thermals. I mean, a decent sized tower cooler, two fans, and a chunky, triple-fan GPU cooler get the job done well enough I think.

It's interesting to see how people run their airflow. Everyone has their rules for what works and what doesn't, but honestly I think advice can only take you so far. The only way to know what's best for your case, parts, and cooling solution is to play around with it. There's nothing mystical or arbitrary about it. All you have to do is apply some basic rigor. That's the only way to know. What generally makes sense may not be the best, depending on the case layout, placement in the room, and components inside.


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## Sithaer (Sep 13, 2019)

6x120mm in total in my In Win 101,it was completely unnecessary with the hardware I'm using but I did not want to leave empty spaces.  'non expensive fans anyway'

3 intake at the bottom,1 exhaust at the back and 2 at the side.
Thats the default mounting setting on the case's site so I went with that.

Airflow is kinda weird  in this case but so far it works fine w/o being loud.


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## newtekie1 (Sep 13, 2019)

Two 140mm intakes in the front on my 240mm RAD and a single 140mm exhaust in the back.  And technically 3 on my 1080Ti Strix, but they aren't really moving any air in or out of the case.


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## theonedub (Sep 13, 2019)

(13) 120mm Yate Loons- (6) on each of the (2) 360 radiators in push/pull and the final one as an intake blowing on the VRMs of my motherboard.


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## Lorec (Sep 13, 2019)

7x Fractal Prisma 120mm (3 intake , 4 exhaust) fixed  @40% speed (highest soundless fan speed for this setup)


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## AsRock (Sep 13, 2019)

3xfront 120mm (Cougar 120 1600rpm )
2xrear 90mm +120mm 90mm is a Pana flo fan i tend to keep that as low as possible and the 120mm is another Cougar 1600prm fan.

Should be one at the top and been thinking about adding 2 holes on the bottom of the case for more air flow for GPU and to be able to remove the adon fan bracket i have with 2x120mm fans.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 13, 2019)

4 case fans 2x Bitfenix Spectre Pro LED 230, 2x Spectre Pro LED 140.

2x Glidestream 140s on CPU HSF, 3 fans in vaporx 290, 1 in X1250


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## Chomiq (Sep 13, 2019)

3x120 mm in the front, one 140 in the back. Came with the case. If anything I'd probably consider switching to two high quality 140's in the front at some point, but I'm happy with what I'm using atm.


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## biffzinker (Sep 13, 2019)

I had a Cougar Vortex HDB 140mm as a exhaust in the past. Ended up pulling it, started making a ticking sound the next day on boot up that was annoying.


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## FinneousPJ (Sep 13, 2019)

3x 180 mm +1x 120 mm


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## GamerGuy (Sep 13, 2019)

This is for my recently built Ryzen rig:
2x 200mm intake fan (came with my CoolerMaster case)
1x 140mm exhaust fan (came with my case as well)
3x 120mm exhaust fans on my Thermaltake Water 3.0 360 AIO
3x 120mm exhaust Fractal fans (pull)

My i7 3960X + Caselabs M8 rig has more:
6x 120mm case intake fans (RGB)
3x 120mm Thermaltake RGB exhaust fans (Thermaltake Riing Floe 360 AIO)
1x 120mm RGB exhaust fan
1x 140mm Corsair AF exhaust fan


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## GoldenX (Sep 13, 2019)

1x120mm intake on the front, 1x80 intake on the side, CPU height, and 1x92mm exhaust on the back. That's the best the case allows.
Oh, and a 40mm noise generator on the notebook.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 13, 2019)

Front/bottom intake:

1xCorsair ML120 pro
2xCorsair ML140 pro

Rear/top exhaust:

3xCorsair ML140 pro

- front/bottom fans on standard fan curve
- rear/top fans on silent fan curve


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## kapone32 (Sep 13, 2019)

Thanks to my case I have the following 
2x200MM front intake fans 
1x200mm side intake fan 
2x140mm bottom intake fans
2x140mm rear exhaust fans 
2x420MM Rads with 6 140MM fans that exhaust out of the top of the case 

Upcoming will be 2x120MM on a fan bracket to further cool the VRM, Memory and first GPU.


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## Chrispy_ (Sep 13, 2019)

Bigger fans are better, IMO since they can spin slower for the same airflow. It's not about how loud they are, more that the lower RPMs are below the range of human hearing so you don't hear the hum of the fan, only the airflow noise they generate. The tone of a fan is also related to the number of blades, so a 7-blade fan is going to make a higher-pitched noise than a 5-blade fan if they're both running at the same RPM. This is why I dislike GPU fans with 10+ blades, and of course those horrible 40-blade squirrel cage fans in blower coolers!

More important than fan size is making sure your PC is dust-filtered on all intakes and that the total CFM of your intake fans exceeds the total CFM of your exhaust fans to maintain positive pressure.

Negative pressure isn't the worst thing in the world, as long as you have taped over any vents or unused fan bays. Failing to do that with negative case pressure results in your PC looking like the inside of vacuum cleaner in short order.

The closest thing I can call to "my own" PC is a NZXT H440NE with 3x120 intake, 2x140 top exhaust, 1x140 rear intake, pointing at a reversed Noctua cooler.


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## Splinterdog (Sep 13, 2019)

The CM Storm Trooper only has room for three, so I've just changed mine to PC Cooler RGB 120mm fans with one at the rear and two at the front.
The H100i RGB Platinum pulls air in from the top using two 140mm fans and I have no idea if I have positive or negative pressure, but everything stays nice and cool, even in the hottest weather, which is good enough for me.
But fan control is now an issue since Asus AI Suite Fan expert literally turns off my PC which, along with Aura are the two buggiest pieces of software I've ever used.
Since the three case fans are connected to the mobo headers, I've removed AI Suite and will see if I can get the UEFI to take care of the fan control or find something else.


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## kapone32 (Sep 13, 2019)

Chrispy_ said:


> Bigger fans are better, IMO since they can spin slower for the same airflow. It's not about how loud they are, more that the lower RPMs are below the range of human hearing so you don't hear the hum of the fan, only the airflow noise they generate. The tone of a fan is also related to the number of blades, so a 7-blade fan is going to make a higher-pitched noise than a 5-blade fan if they're both running at the same RPM. This is why I dislike GPU fans with 10+ blades, and of course those horrible 40-blade squirrel cage fans in blower coolers!
> 
> More important than fan size is making sure your PC is dust-filtered on all intakes and that the total CFM of your intake fans exceeds the total CFM of your exhaust fans to maintain positive pressure.
> 
> ...



I set my 200MM fans to run 100% and my bottom intake sit right under the CPU socket. The Level 20XT has too much glass but the Core X9 is the best case for airflow that I have owned 2nd would be the Raven 02 from Silverstone.


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## JATownes (Sep 13, 2019)

Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic with side mounted 360 AIO in push/pull intaking, single 120 in the floor intaking, and three 120s in the top exhausting...so 10 total.  

JAT


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## Deleted member 67555 (Sep 13, 2019)

2x Tt riing+ 140mm front
2x Tt riing+ 120mm top
1x Tt riing+ 120mm rear
8700k tops out at 77°c @5ghz
GTX 1070ti tops out at 80°c  @+205mhz core (2113mhz boost) and +400mhz on the memory. Power set to 103% max temp set @84°c


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## Khonjel (Sep 13, 2019)

My old In Win Mana 136 with 5 fans total. Two 120mm on the front. One exhaust in the back and another at the top. Modified the 5.25" drive bay (read bent the platform that hold the drives) to accept a 140mm Yate Loon fan from my old power supply I had lying around. One fan in the front is molex only and the 140mm Yate Loon is a weiwed small 2-pin connector so I ghetto modded them together and feed them to the board. From my limited understanding I just need 12v and ground pin to run the fans. Then I set the fan port to DC mode in bios and set them at 25%. Actually I set all my case fans at 25%. I can't see the rpm on the ghetto fans but I believe they're not running their rated full 2000 rpm since they're so quiet.


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## dirtyferret (Sep 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Two 140mm fans - obviously! Why? Again, that's obvious. Two fans are quieter than 3.



I generally agree with you which is why I have two front 140mm rather then three 120mm.  At similar speeds and model a 140mm will move more air and should make less noise then its 120mm counterpart.



Bill_Bright said:


> Now don't go interjecting a bunch of "what ifs" in some futile attempt to discredit that claim. If you want to do that, use specific model numbers for the 140mm and the 120mm fans. And be specific about your definition of what "better" means in your scenario.



This brings up an interesting review I saw on gamers nexus recently.  The 3 x 120mm stock phanteks fans (1200rpm) out performed 2 x Noctua A14 140mm fans (I assume 1500rpm) for GPU temp only (it was reversed for CPU temps).  The video card in the test seems to be using a common dual 100mm fan cooler.

Their reason was as follows

_GPU dT averaged 51.4C dT in the standardized fan test, slightly worse than baseline thanks to less incoming air along the bottom of the case, but still competitive compared to the other standardized fan results. This is an example of where the stock configuration performs better 





_

So depending on the person, one could make an argument for 3 x120mm over 2 x140mm for a slight improvement to GPU temps and cooling on the HDD cage while sacrificing CPU temps *if *you have that particular case.


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## infrared (Sep 13, 2019)

I have only corsair ML fans, 4x 120mm fans intaking through dust filters and radiators and 1x 140mm exhaust fan with no restrictions. They're set to all ramp up together based on the coolant temp, and fan curves are set so there's always very slight positive pressure to keep dust from coming in. I'd prefer it if the radiators were on the exhaust side, so the air flowing through the case isn't already warm, but in practice it doesn't seem to matter as long as there's plenty of airflow.


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## Bill_Bright (Sep 13, 2019)

Chrispy_ said:


> It's not about how loud they are, more that the lower RPMs are below the range of human hearing so you don't hear the hum of the fan


Sorry, but that is not true at all. It is all about how loud they are - and not just the hum of the fan motor, or the noise the bearings make as they spin, or the sound of air molecules moving past (and banging into) the fan housing. It is also about the noise of the air molecules banging on the blades and the noise the blades make when "_chopping_" through the air!

It really is all about understanding the most important principles of aerodynamics - just like what goes into the design of air plane wings and propellers (propeller blades are - in effect - just spinning wings). "Quality" fans use advanced designs in their blades and are highly sophisticated pieces of aerodynamic technology, designed to move the maximum amount of air while making the least amount of noise. 

It is much more than the design and construction of the motor that determines how loud or quiet a fan will be. And I'm not even counting the noise caused by the fan vibrating due to the inevitable imperfections of the bearings or the channels they run in. Nor am I talking about the vibration noise caused by the inevitable imperfections in the "balance" of the multiple blades.

In fact, the design of the blades is a much more complicated and technical process - at least with quality fans. The investments that go into the research and design of the blades is one of the main reasons quality fans cost so much. It is NOT just about the motor or the type and precision manufacturing of the bearings.

Yes, the slower the blades spin, the lower the noise the fan makes. But that is much more due to less air moving past and through the fan than the noise of the fan motor itself (again, at least with quality fans). 

The biggest impact on our ability to hear the "hum" of a fan at lower RPMs is most likely the "drone" from the ambient noise in our environment. That is, the background "din" in our homes and offices drown out the noise of our fans when they spin at slower RPMs.

And for the record, the typical range of human hearing extends way down to 20Hz (20 cycles per second) for "normal" people and down to 12Hz for those with exceptional hearing. Even the slowest spinning case fans spin at several hundred RPMs.

While humans tend to lose our ability to hear higher frequencies as we age, the ability to hear low frequencies changes little. 

So yes, it really is all about how loud they are in relation to the rotation speed in relation to the amount of air each blade scoops up and pushes through with each rotation.


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## xtreemchaos (Sep 13, 2019)

6 in my zen rig 5x120 1x200 and 6 on my intel rig 6x120.


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## Tomgang (Sep 13, 2019)

In my current X58 rig i have 20 screaming justin beiber fans. Joke a side, i have 20 fans in total.

3 x Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-3000 PWM 120 mm fans on CPU cooler.
11 (8 x 120 MM, 1 x 140 MM and 2 60 MM) case fans that are Corsair ML120/140 and two from noctua: 5 in front as intake + 1 in side panel also intake and 5 in rear as exhaust fan.
3 fans on chipsæt 1 x noctua 60 MM and 2 x 40 MM fans from noiseblocker.
Besides that 1 x 140 MM in PSU and two fans on GPU cooler.
Noctua fans on CPU cooler can run from 300 RPM to 3000 RPM and corsair ML fans operate from 400 RPM to 2400 RPM (140 MM up to 2000 RPM throw) and are all PWM controlled with software fan profiles i can change on the fly. Thanks to the fan profiles, fan speed has been set so that some of the front and rear fans are controlled by GPU temp and the rest of the front and rear fans are controlled by CPU temp. So no matter how temp are on GPU or CPU, there are all ways plenty airflow for GPU or CPU.
The small fans are 3 pin so voltage speed controlled with a dedicated fan controller. 40 MM spins from 1800 RPM and up to 4400 RPM while the 60 MM spins from 1100 RPM to 1800 RPM.

This setup will be change a little bit for then i get my ryzen setup.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 13, 2019)

That's quite a fan club tomgang.

My new pc has much less than my old since i swapped to just pushers on my two rads.
10 in total including the psu fan.
3x120 unrestricted in's, 6x 120 restricted by rad outs.

Range of fan speeds from nice to wtf depending on use.


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## Tomgang (Sep 13, 2019)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> That's quite a fan club tomgang.
> 
> My new pc has much less than my old since i swapped to just pushers on my two rads.
> 10 in total including the psu fan.
> ...



Yeah that is alot of fans. But it´s needed for the summers we have had in my country the last two years and still alow for a high oc on CPU/GPU and then i overclock the crap out of it as well for benchmark.

You can see my setup here. There is a good mix of ghetto mod and exsperimenting on cooling. But it works great.



http://imgur.com/a/NLahrg9


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## Bill_Bright (Sep 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:
			
		

> Now don't go interjecting a bunch of "what ifs"





dirtyferret said:


> *if *you have that particular case.


 And then you did just that. And you failed to specify your definition of "better".  

Cooler temps do NOT automatically mean "better". When a processor (or any heat sensitive device) is properly cooled and temps are already being maintained comfortably within its normal operating range, providing cooler temperatures will NOT improve performance or stability nor will it ensure a longer lifespan. 

Does anybody think louder fan noise is better? I don't think so. So achieving and maintaining adequate cooling (even at the risk of sacrificing a few degrees of cooling) while reducing fan noise is always "better"!


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## dirtyferret (Sep 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> And then you did just that.



guilty



Bill_Bright said:


> And you failed to specify your definition of "better".



I would say in general my definition would be lower CPU & GPU temps while holding noise to minimal levels (even noise varies per person) but that is just my definition.  There are so many definitions and all are correct depending on the user.

one can argue using stock fans is better because you spend no extra money.
one can argue using an extra generic $10 fan is better because it costs just $10 and lowers temps
one can argue using a $30 fan is better because it lowers temps an extra 2-4c then the $10 fan
one can argue using a 1000rpm fan is better as makes no noise and cools well (I would assume this is also your definition of better)
one can argue using a 3000rpm fan is better better as it performs better then the 1000rpm fan even if it makes a ton of noise
one can argue lower GPU temps is better (as in the GN example above) at the cost of CPU temps
one can argue lower CPU temps is better at the cost of GPU temps
this list can go on and on


----------



## Chrispy_ (Sep 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Sorry, but that is not true at all. It is all about how loud they are - and not just the hum of the fan motor, or the noise the bearings make as they spin, or the sound of air molecules moving past (and banging into) the fan housing. It is also about the noise of the air molecules banging on the blades and the noise the blades make when "_chopping_" through the air!
> 
> It really is all about understanding the most important principles of aerodynamics - just like what goes into the design of air plane wings and propellers (propeller blades are - in effect - just spinning wings). "Quality" fans use advanced designs in their blades and are highly sophisticated pieces of aerodynamic technology, designed to move the maximum amount of air while making the least amount of noise.
> 
> ...


*Wrong.* You made the incorrect assumption that my generalisation had anything to do with different fan blade designs, qualities or fan, or in fact anything except size.

Pick a fan, any fan. As long as there are different sized variants of the same fan it honestly doesn't matter.
Look up the noise, rpm, cfm, and static pressure of two different variants of that particular fan. 
It's not something you have to argue. Here, take Corsair's rather excellent maglev fans as an example:

120mm 37dBA is at 2400 RPM (280Hz) producing 75 CFM.
140mm 37dBA is at 2000 RPM (233Hz) producing 97 CFM.
That's a like-for-like comparison and the exact same design shows that the smaller fan produces less airflow for the same noise level. And those figures are already weighted for human hearing response (dB*A*) so the frequency doesn't matter here. When talking about how a larger fan can sound quieter than a smaller fan, even though the blade tips might be moving just as fast through the air and creating as much chop noise, the absolute noise level (dB) will be the same, but since the lower rotational speeds produce that absolute noise at a lower frequency, it is perceptually quieter on the weighted (dBA) scale, adjusted for human hearing.


----------



## Kissamies (Sep 13, 2019)

One intake, one exhaust and two on both 240 radiators = six.


----------



## Bill_Bright (Sep 13, 2019)

Chrispy_ said:


> *Wrong.* You made the incorrect assumption that my generalisation had anything to do with different fan blade designs, qualities or fan, or in fact anything except size.


No I am not wrong. And no I did not make an incorrect assumption because, as I explained, it IS all about design and qualities.

And your Corsair example just illustrates my point. It is NOT a like-for-like comparision! You made an incorrect assumption by assuming it is all about "equal" noise. It is not. It is about "cooling effectiveness" and cooling effectiveness is all about the amount of air a fan moves. Lower the speed of that 140mm fan so that it moves an equal amount of air as the 120mm fan (75 CFM) and guess what? The amount of noise that fan produces will drop correspondingly while maintaining an equal amount of cooling effectiveness.

And of course the frequency matters - because we are talking about human hearing response. As you correctly noted, the specs are weighted for human hearing. If the fan noise is up in the 30KHz region, then you would be right and the frequency would not matter - only our pet dogs could hear it.

Edit comment: Corrected typo


----------



## Anzlew (Sep 13, 2019)

Hi.
My case is equipped with 5 fans:
IN - 3x120mm Noctua NF-S12; OUT:  140mm Akasa Viper + CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 Blue LED.
All are controlled by NZXT Sentry 3 with thermal sensor installed under VRM heatsink. 
On quiet and power mode it runs very quiet. On 100% only the 140mm is noise is irritiating. The rest is just humming. It is audible but not disturbing. 
Reducing the Akasa speed to 90% eliminates the issue.
If anybody knows a good replacement for the Akasa I would be pleased to hear about it. But because already noticeable overpressure I prefer the efficency over noise.


----------



## Chrispy_ (Sep 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> No I am not wrong. And no I did not make an incorrect assumption because, as I explained, it IS all about design and qualities.


*I didn't even bring that up. You did. *At no point did I mention design or qualities. You're having an argument with yourself ffs.



Bill_Bright said:


> Lower the speed of that 140mm fan so that it moves an equal amount of air as the 120mm fan (75 CFM) and guess what? The amount of noise that fan produces will drop correspondingly while maintaining an equal amount of cooling effectiveness.


Are you for real? That's what I said originally before you went off on a full-page rant.


Chrispy_ said:


> Bigger fans are better, IMO since they can spin slower for the same airflow.


See. *You're literally paraphrasing my original comment *as your counterargument.
If you're trying to troll you suck at it.


----------



## flmatter (Sep 13, 2019)

OK... then...
Back on topic  I have 2 case fans, both intake and let everything vent naturally out the top or back of my case. One is 140 and the other is 120.


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 13, 2019)

Anzlew said:


> Hi.
> My case is equipped with 5 fans:
> IN - 3x120mm Noctua NF-S12; OUT:  140mm Akasa Viper + CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 Blue LED.
> All are controlled by NZXT Sentry 3 with thermal sensor installed under VRM heatsink.
> ...


You've just given me an idea of where to add a spare RGB fan from a four-pack I bought yesterday - on the bottom of the case. The only thing is that I'd need to move the SSD cage, but I'm sure there's a way.
Bananas for scale only.


----------



## Bill_Bright (Sep 13, 2019)

Chrispy_ said:


> I didn't even bring that up. You did.


Yes and you said it was wrong. It was not. You said "_it is not about how load they are_" when clearly it is. Go back to my first post #13 on page one and get caught up on the flow of this thread.


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 14, 2019)

I'd be interested to know what people use to control fan speed.
Prior to fitting these new fans, I had three (3 pin) connected to the fan controller on the case which has three simple settings- slow, medium and fast.
Now that the new ones are connected to the mobo headers, I tried Asus AI Suite (Fan Expert) to create a fan curve, but the software is either bugged or conflicts with something else and turned off the PC, so I removed it.
I then set the fan curve to silent in the UEFI and all is now well.
I wish Asus would get its act together with their software - Aura works with the new RGB fans, but only because I rolled back to an older version, but it's still bugged.


----------



## Chrispy_ (Sep 14, 2019)

Stop misquoting me - Especially out of context. I did *not* say your first post #13 was wrong at all. _That_ was an argument you were having with dirtyferret long before I even joined this thread. Bringing that up is just another straw man from you.

You quite clearly stated


Bill_Bright said:


> Sorry, but that is not true at all.


...when actually, what I'm saying is fact and I'm about to show you.
Here's the human hearing frequency graph:






A 2400rpm 7-blade fan with 3-phase motor: peak motor noise at 120Hz and blades noise peaking at 280Hz.
A 1600rpm 7-blade fan with 3-phase motor: peak motor noise at 80Hz and blades noise peaking at 187Hz.

Those are the speeds the _otherwise identical_ ML-120 and ML-140 need to spin at to produce 75 CMF, respectively. You'll notice that dB SPL is on a very steep gradient in the 80-280Hz range I just brought up for those Corsair fans. The gradients of these curves are the very basis of the *a*djusted, dB*A*-weighting commonly used to represent noise levels. You imply that you understand the difference between dB and dBA and then dismiss it as if it's not important.

The fact that bigger fans spin more slowly is super-important because human hearing sensitivity starts to drop off sharply from around 500Hz. Relative to the sound pressure level a fan is generating, humans are practically deaf to low-decibel sound in the last few hundred Hz of our hearing range. Even a 2400rpm fan is making the bulk of its noise well below the threshold where human hearing drops off into near-uselessness.



Bill_Bright said:


> the slower the blades spin, the lower the noise the fan makes. But that is much more due to less air moving past and through the fan than the noise of the fan motor itself


Wait, what now? You've managed to dismantle your own argument twice, in just one sentence.

Less air moving through the fan? Uh no. The slower ML-140 pushes *more air* than the faster ML-120, not less because it's bigger, of course. I linked the specs directly in my last post. If you want to dispute that with Corsair, be my guest.
You dismissed the fan motor itself as the noise source and drifted into three separate straw man fallacies about quality aerodynamic blade design, fan vibrations, research costs. Now you're saying that it's *NOT* those things, but that the lower noise is _the_ _fan motor itself._



Bill_Bright said:


> The biggest impact on our ability to hear the "hum" of a fan at lower RPMs is most likely the "drone" from the ambient noise in our environment. That is, the background "din" in our homes and offices drown out the noise of our fans when they spin at slower RPMs.


And here we have straw man number five. 
What does your noisy home have to do with anything? If you can hear a fan it's above the ambient noise floor. Stop assmuing that other people's homes and offices are too noisy to hear fans.


----------



## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 14, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> And then you did just that. And you failed to specify your definition of "better".
> 
> Cooler temps do NOT automatically mean "better". When a processor (or any heat sensitive device) is properly cooled and temps are already being maintained comfortably within its normal operating range, providing cooler temperatures will NOT improve performance or stability nor will it ensure a longer lifespan.
> 
> Does anybody think louder fan noise is better? I don't think so. So achieving and maintaining adequate cooling (even at the risk of sacrificing a few degrees of cooling) while reducing fan noise is always "better"!


I think his point was that cooling can vary depending on a lot use and positioning in the case and is certainly a personal thing since some aim for different outcomes 





Splinterdog said:


> I'd be interested to know what people use to control fan speed.
> Prior to fitting these new fans, I had three (3 pin) connected to the fan controller on the case which has three simple settings- slow, medium and fast.
> Now that the new ones are connected to the mobo headers, I tried Asus AI Suite (Fan Expert) to create a fan curve, but the software is either bugged or conflicts with something else and turned off the PC, so I removed it.
> I then set the fan curve to silent in the UEFI and all is now well.
> I wish Asus would get its act together with their software - Aura works with the new RGB fans, but only because I rolled back to an older version, but it's still bugged.


I used similar , ai suite has had buggy fan control forever, i discarded it via an mcubed fan controller for years on a crosshair V for the same reasons i hate the hero 7 ,the fans don't always react to heat using aisuite , I've had more luck uninstalling all asus soft and using manual bios fan curves but now I use a Corsair commander , it's not bad but not without issues since sometimes Ique it's software ,glitches out.
The mcubed Tbalancer worked best, programmable fan curves ,set and forget and seperate from the os and pc ,sort of ie no live linked control(possible but using causes issues) and it worked flawlessly.


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 14, 2019)

I have iCue, but it only works with Corsair products, so I'm currently using the UEFI fan control.
Anyway, since AI Suite literally turned my PC off without warning or errors, I never got anywhere with it. It worked last year, so it could be a Windows update issue.


----------



## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 14, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> I have iCue, but it only works with Corsair products, so I'm currently using the UEFI fan control.
> Anyway, since AI Suite literally turned my PC off without warning or errors, I never got anywhere with it. It worked last year, so it could be a Windows update issue.


Well comically when I upgraded cpu i retested asus software, it's actually still on.
They did not auto install aisuite , it's installed it's system process for fan control but asus grid will not install aisuite , if I want it i have to install an older version manually , says a lot.

I remember not long ago they had a security issue with it or something, they need to do a lot of work on it no doubt.

Corsair's commander does always react and control fans ok, worth a look ,comes with four sensor points and includes sensors , the issue i have now and again is that features ie the performance tab goes missing in IQue but even then it does still react and work, it just takes a reboot to get the adjustment tab back.
It's got profiles so i have a few for different tasks like chillin ,gaming or benching.

Which also adjusts rgb from off to subtle to rainbow puke danger in bench mode, rainbow puke grows on you i swear.


----------



## Calmmo (Sep 14, 2019)

2 Cases
Cosmos Pure Black with x4 Akasa fans (no clue what model) 120mm fans, 1 front+1bottom for intake, 1 top+rear exhaust
Phanteks P400s, with 2 intake LL corsair 2 exhaust stock case fans.

Soon™  EvolvX system with x4 NF-A14 fans +I guess the 2 AIO fans? those being ML140's


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 14, 2019)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> Well comically when I upgraded cpu i retested asus software, it's actually still on.
> They did not auto install aisuite , it's installed it's system process for fan control but asus grid will not install aisuite , if I want it i have to install an older version manually , says a lot.
> 
> I remember not long ago they had a security issue with it or something, they need to do a lot of work on it no doubt.
> ...


But Corsair Commander is yet another piece of hardware, isn't it?


----------



## Enterprise24 (Sep 14, 2019)

3x Gentle Typhoon AP-15 1850 RPM as front intake (2x on radiator and 1x pure intake).
3x EK Vardar 1850 RPM as top exhaust (all of them on radiator).
2x 120mm stock H440 fans blow over GPU VRM and VRAM.
1x generic 60mm fan blow over motherboard VRM.
1x generic 60mm fan blow over RAM.


----------



## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 14, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> But Corsair Commander is yet another piece of hardware, isn't it?


Yes , something else to fit in and hide


----------



## Joss (Sep 14, 2019)

*1* Position your case away from walls/solid surfaces so that the fans (either intake or exhaust) aren't choked.
*2* Position your case away from heat sources (windows, heaters)
*3* Use a well ventilated case

Considering how number 3 is almost impossible nowadays, and how many of you position your cases (one can see that from "post pics of your battlestations" type of forums) no wonder this thread is full of 5/6 fan setups most of which, I bet, wouldn't need more than 1 intake/1 exhaust


----------



## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 14, 2019)

Joss said:


> *1* Position your case away from walls/solid surfaces so that the fans (either intake or exhaust) aren't choked.
> *2* Position your case away from heat sources (windows, heaters)
> *3* Use a well ventilated case
> 
> Considering how number 3 is almost impossible nowadays, and how many of you position your cases (one can see that from "post pics of your battlestations" type of forums) no wonder this thread is full of 5/6 fan setups most of which, I bet, wouldn't need more than 1 intake/1 exhaust


I disagree, this is an enthusiast forum , many of these systems are running beyond spec.

And a well ventilated case is now easy to find , i used to cut holes in cases, no more.

1 in one out is for stock, just about speeds and if you can maintain the boost clocks with that long term you have a low end Gpu ,simple.


----------



## Vario (Sep 14, 2019)

Anzlew said:


> Hi.
> My case is equipped with 5 fans:
> IN - 3x120mm Noctua NF-S12; OUT:  140mm Akasa Viper + CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120 Blue LED.
> All are controlled by NZXT Sentry 3 with thermal sensor installed under VRM heatsink.
> ...


The 140mm top fan labeled 188M³ /H looks like it is the wrong direction, as an intake rather than exhaust, and that would be why its rattling and dying and your case is overpressurized. I drew a blue box around this fan in MSpaint, see the pic below (the top left corner).

You probably do NOT even need a fan there, try removing it and leaving an empty slot and see if temperatures change.  It probably adds turbulence to your CPU heatsink which impairs cooling.

The upper part of the case might even run cooler if the 140mm hole was blocked so the air has only one way to flow: Out the back.  You could test it by putting a book or other object on the roof and see how temperature and noise change.

More fans is not better.  Particularly if you have a fan that flows the wrong way so all the fans in the case are pressurizing from different directions and fighting that fan.


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 14, 2019)

In terms of dust and other debris, positioning your case on the floor, particularly on a deep shag carpet isn't really a good idea either. Our house is quite dusty due to a busy street and crappy windows, even though the floor is tiled, but I have my PC raised at least 18" on a small table which means there are less fan and filters cleaning to do.
I think Joss may be referring to the bog-standard beige variety.


----------



## freeagent (Sep 14, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> I'd be interested to know what people use to control fan speed.



I have my two front 120x38s spliced together, and top 120x38s are spliced together and are plugged into my Define R4 controller, which I have sticky tacked in place from the inside of the case, but the switch is accessible from the front, right beside the middle fan. The rear fan is not the same as the others, and runs at 12v surprisingly quiet, so that just runs off of a mobo header at the full 12v. The hdd bay gets a stock Fractal 120mm fan and it too just gets the full 12v off a mobo header. Gotta be careful in the dark if I reach for that switch lol  those fronts have some brutality to them. My TY-143 is on a custom curve which ramps at 60c.


----------



## Splinterdog (Sep 14, 2019)

Vario said:


> The 140mm top fan labeled 188M³ /H looks like it is the wrong direction, as an intake rather than exhaust, and that would be why its rattling and dying and your case is overpressurized. I drew a blue box around this fan in MSpaint, see the pic below (the top left corner).
> 
> You probably do NOT even need a fan there, try removing it and leaving an empty slot and see if temperatures change.  It probably adds turbulence to your CPU heatsink which impairs cooling.
> 
> ...


From what I can see in the picture, 188M/H is exhausting through the top. Doesn't look like an intake, judging from the red arrow.


----------



## Hellfire (Sep 14, 2019)

10x Corsair ML120's
3x Corsair ML140's


----------



## Vario (Sep 14, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> From what I can see in the picture, 188M/H is exhausting through the top. Doesn't look like an intake, judging from the red arrow.


The motor frame is on the bottom indicating it is an intake fan  and not an exhaust fan.  Most PC fans blow in the direction of the motor frame.


----------



## tvamos (Sep 14, 2019)

3x120 silent wings 3 intake, 
3x120 pure wings 2 exhaust.
Set to around 500/450rpm not gaming, 900/800rpm gaming.


----------



## bonehead123 (Sep 14, 2019)

13 in my TT900:

3x 140mm Corsair AF 140 Reds up front in a custom push-pull intake rack configuration, designed by me, with an H115i in the middle
4x same in the side intakes
2x same in the top exhaust
2x same in the rear exhaust
2x 80mm intakes in the front, behind the mesh grills....

nearly constant temps of ~24-30c, even under heavy work loads


----------



## Bill_Bright (Sep 14, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:
			
		

> the slower the blades spin, the lower the noise the fan makes. But that is much more due to less air moving past and through the fan than the noise of the fan motor itself





Chrispy_ said:


> Wait, what now? You've managed to dismantle your own argument twice, in just one sentence.


Gee whiz. And you accuse me of misquoting you and taking something out of context?   Folks can easily go back to post #47 above and see the context for that comment and what I really said. 

Fact: I did not misquote you, I actually copied and pasted exactly what you said. 
Fact: It IS about how loud they are. Contrary to what you implied, no case fan spins in absolute silence across its full range of speed. Even at very slow speeds, every fan makes some noise. Whether you can hear it or not depends on your hearing and ambient noise.
Fact: I did NOT dismiss the difference between dB and dBa as unimportant. In fact, I specifically said you were correct that the specs were weighted for human hearing. What you don't understand or refuse to accept is fan noise that is in the frequency range of human hearing, if loud enough, is still perceptible fan noise - regardless if weighted (dBa) or not (dB).



Chrispy_ said:


> Less air moving through the fan? Uh no. The slower ML-140 pushes *more air* than the faster ML-120


Uh yes. You interject two specific fans in some attempt to obfuscate your silly point. It is clear you cannot or simply refuse to follow the conversational flow of this thread. You twisted my comments around. Again, it is NOT a like for like comparison. Yes, "IF" spinning at the same RPM, the 140mm fan will move more air than the similarly designed 120mm fan. I NEVER EVER disputed that! What I said is if those two fans were set to move the same CFM, the 140mm fan will be spinning at a lower RPM, thus will be quieter. 

Fact: Your comment now about "*more air*" with the slower ML-140 is only true to a point. Keep slowing that 140 down and it soon will move less air than the 120mm. But it will still make less noise.

That comment of mine, which you took out of context from post #47 above , did NOT refer to any specific fan or size fan. In fact, as everyone can clearly see, no where in that post was any mention of fan size. 

My comment merely stated a fact. Fact: When you reduce the speed of a fan, any fan, the fan noise goes down too. 

Your crusade here deserves no more of my attention. 

******

Since this thread seems to have turned into posts of what folks are using, my Fractal Design R4 has 2 x 140mm intakes in front, 1 x 140mm exhaust in back. While this case supports a bottom mount PSU and has a filtered bottom vent for the PSU fan to pull air in from, there is no seal between the PSU and that case vent. Therefore, some air is pulled from inside the case and exhausted out the back of the PSU. Overall, there is a slight but desired over-pressure effect that does a pretty good job of keeping air flowing in only through the filters, keeping dust out of I/O ports, the Blu-ray drive and other cracks and vents.


----------



## oxrufiioxo (Sep 14, 2019)

Splinterdog said:


> I'd be interested to know what people use to control fan speed.




Corsair commander pro.


----------



## Tatty_One (Sep 14, 2019)

Excluding my AIO fans (top mounted AIO), I have just 3 decent quality (Phanteks) PH-F140SP 140mm fans (82 CFM @ 19DB), 2 front and 1 rear.


----------



## Bill_Bright (Sep 14, 2019)

"Decent" quality? I think you are selling them short. While there are other "decent" quality fans with similar noise levels, and there are other "decent quality fans that move that much air, most don't move that much air that quietly. 

I would categorize those fans as top quality - at a great price too.


----------



## TheMadDutchDude (Sep 15, 2019)

Eight in total if you include the PSU.

1x 140mm in the front for intake (due to clearance from the rad on the bottom)
2x 120mm in the floor as intakes through thick EK rad.
3x 120mm in the roof as exhaust on slim Hardware Labs rad.
1x 140mm in the rear as exhaust.

All radiator fans are Noctua Redux @ 1300 RPM max via PWM and controlled by CPU temp. They rarely go above 800 RPM in my rig - nice and quiet! The two exhausts are Enermax fans from an AIO that was reviewed previously.


----------



## TheinsanegamerN (Sep 15, 2019)

Corsair 230t here. Seven case fans, Two in the front, two on top, two in back (doubled up on a 120m water cooler) and one on the bottom. All 120mm controlled through a 5.25" fan controller from NZXT with the exception of the two watercooler fans, which are motherboard controlled with an aggressive fan curve.

Will go to 9 (doubled on top) if I ever get a 240mm rad and watercool the GPU as well. But that is waiting for a rx 5970xt/3080ti to drop.


----------



## John Naylor (Sep 15, 2019)

Channel 0 - Twin MCP 35X2 Pumps .... RPM Range 2000 - 4500 rpm
Channel 1 - MoBo Header => Fan PCB1  => (6) Fans on 420mm x 45mm Radiator
Channel 2 - MoBo Header => Fan PCB2  => (4) Fans on 280mm x 60mm Radiator
Channel 3 - MoBo Header => Fan PCB3  => (6) Case Fans Fans

-All Fans are 140mm, Phanteks  PH-140SP

Radiator fans all blow in (of course).  Fans shut off when temp curve calls for < 350 rpm.  Ramp up is immediate; ramp down is 90 seconds.  Max speed is 850 rpm under starees test ... typically 375 - 650 rpm when gaming.

Case fans (5) in /  (1) out aren't really needed.   Main reason they are there is to keep Hot  (25-27 C) air from exiting the front of the case.  The rads are cooled by 23C ambient air  which forces the warm air out the the large rear grille.  Fans shut off when temp curve calls for < 400 rpm.  Ramp up and  ramp down is 30 seconds.  Max speed is 850 rpm under stress test RoG Real Bench + Furmark)  ... typically 375 - 650 rpm.

Coolant Temp under Stress test if 8.6C above ambient.


- Why 140mm ?  Cause they are much quieter cfm for cfm.

- Why standard pressure ?  Because it's not the 1990s.  In the 90s, radiators had a very high fpi and they required hi-speed fans to push air thru the tiny spaces.  Today's copper rads are typically 8 - 14 fpi and neither HP or MP fans provide any benefit here.  Aluminum rads or CLC rads will likely require MP high speed (2000 rpm) fans

- Why Phanteks ?   1)  Cause when I built box they were the best on the market based upon real world testing.  See silentPCreview.com chart and Overclockersclub testing (take noctua fans off noctua cooler and replace with Phanteks and at same rpm, temps drop 6C









						What's the Best CPU Cooler in 2021? - Silent PC Review
					

Are you looking to buy a cooler for your precious CPU? You want it to be capable enough and look good, but also quiet; who wants loud fans droning in their ear all day? But how much do you need to spend exactly? Can you afford both decent power and near-silence within your budget? In




					www.silentpcreview.com
				





			Phanteks PH-F140(XP, SP, SP_LED) Fans: Testing -  Phanteks PH-F140 (XP, SP, SP_LED) Case Fan Review - Page 3
		


2)  Why replace them if ya can't buy better ?
3)  Half the cost of the competition

The Silent Wing 3's were not tested but based upon various builds, I would say they are equivalent.

- Why aren't intake and exhaust fans equal in number ?  The fact is you don't need to balance intake and exhaust.   If ya have no AC and want to cool an attic or a room there is an attic exhaust fan ... there's no attic intake van, just a vent.  When you put an exhaust  fan in one window, open the other window and tuyrn the fan on , what happens to the curtains in fromt of the open window ... mine are at about 45 degrees from the rush of air coming in.

In addition, intake fans have filters, as they clog with dust they restrict more and more air flow.  A good rule of thumb is to have no more than 1 exhaust fan for each 2 intake fans.

- This related to the next topic ... Why do rad fans always blow in ?   Well the logic that generally has folks having them exhaust is that hot air rises. 

Finally, when folks talk about negative pressure the downside most talked about us dust .... This is minor compared to the problem almost always missed.  Example:

Let's say your case has a 3 x 120mm CLC blasting air out of the ccase with 2000 rpm fans.  Y0u also have two intakes in the front with folters and 1 exhaust fan in the back.  A dust clogged filter can restrict air flow by 30% ... if ya real lazy, even 50%.   But let's say for the sake of argument that all fans are 2000 rpm and the air inlet filter restriction is only 25%.  What are we left with ?

(2) intakes x (A) cfm x 75% of full flow due to filters = 1.50 (A) coming in
(3) radiator exhaust x A cfm x 90% of full flow due to rad restriction = 2.70(A) going out
(1) rear exhaust x A cfm x 100% of full flow due to no restriction = 1.00(A) going out

End result 3.70A going out - 1.50A coming in = 2.20A that's gotta come in somewhere.  look at the case, where is the biggest least restrictive openings > ... answer to rhetorical question ... the rear grille.  What's the air like back there between the case in the wall ?  the space that your 750 watt PSU and 300 watt GFX card are exhausting all their hot air ?

You're not exhausting hot air out of your case, you're recycling it.  Think about it ... your 3 x 120mm AIO is exhausting heat created by your 75 - 125 watt CPU by cooling the coolant with air preheated by your 35 watt MoBo, your 300 watt GFX card and other odds and ends.  If ambient is 23C and your interior case temp is 28C with say 33C coolant .... numbers chosen 'to make the math easy".


Top Rad intake:  Cooling air is 23C / coolant is 33C, Delta T = 10C
Top Rad iexhaust:  Cooling air is 28C / coolant is 33C, Delta T = 5C

The cooling efficiency of your cooling system is directly proportional to Delta T, with those numbers intake fans provide cooling which is twice as effective.  While 28C might be appropriate for a small number fans, no matter how many you add, it's always going to be warmer inside the case than outside:

We have tested this extensively, varying pump speeds, fan speeds, number of intakes and number of exhausts.  Equipment used includes (6) temperature meters  and 1 6 channel digital display, accurate to 0.1C.   Coolant temps are measured in and out of each rad, the remaining 2 measure ambient and interior case temps.    But the most defining tool is a cheap fog machine, my son left here from his teenage garage band days.

Set up ya box with that top rad fans blowing out and direct the fog machine exhaust behind the case ... unless you can still manage to still have more intakes than exhausts, ypou will see the case fill up with fog.

Air flow design / fan selection should always be tailored to case design, number of fan mounts and keeping with attention to where make up air is coming from ... workoing on a bakery right now where they have more exhaust than intake air and when oven is on, you can't open the doors into the building due to the pressure differential.


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## Vayra86 (Sep 15, 2019)

Have had both. Now using 3x120mm BeQuiet Silentwings 3 High Speeds at very low RPMs, 1 exhaust top rear. I've got them set to monitor CPU temp, if that goes into the red (>85C) they go fast mode @ 1500 RPM.

Had 2x140mm Gelid low-RPM optimized in the previous case. Overall performance... very samey. The low RPM Gelid setup did have some heat build up in the case, but that was only on hot days with everything running full tilt for hours on end.

Airflow is airflow, and in most situations, if you can feel it move, its OK. When it comes to ambient / air cooling.... I see far too many people (here too...) overcomplicate things tremendously. Calculations and... seriously? Just grab a few fans that sound nice at the desired RPMs and you're done. And that is already going into detail.



flmatter said:


> OK... then...
> Back on topic  I have 2 case fans, both intake and let everything vent naturally out the top or back of my case. One is 140 and the other is 120.



I prefer venting naturally as well.


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## Jetster (Sep 15, 2019)

In simple terms a larger fan will move more air with less noise. It really is as simple as that. Given similar circumstances

Personally my gaming PC has 3- 120 in 1- 140  out so there is a slight positive pressure


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## Athlonite (Sep 15, 2019)

In my Raven RV02 I have 
bottom: 3x 180mm silverstone AP181  700>1000rpm 90>110cfm 
top: 1x 120mm Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm 90cfm
front: 1x 120mm Globe ~1500rpm ~57cfm 

because of the way the case airflow goes I get ~300cfm blowing upwards on all components and all hot air is exhausted out the top of the case


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## Simplex0 (Sep 15, 2019)

On my latest build I have 1x 60mm fan on the VRM, 2x 75mm on the back, 1x 120mm on the side blowing on VRM, CPU and RAM, 2x 140mm on the front radiator, 7x180mm on the radiators on the top and on radiators & PSU light box under the mother board. The computer case is an old, modded  Cooler Master Praetorian 730. All fans are blowing air in to the case except the 2x 180mm radiator fans on the top. The case has a slight positive pressure. Temp on VRM and CPU is 65 - 73 °C when running on full load, Threadripper 1950X@3900MHz +  RTX 2080@2025MHz. I'm running WorldCommunityGrid and Folding


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## droopyRO (Sep 15, 2019)

I don't care about positive/negative pressure, as there is no way you can measure that in my PC case or room.
So i have 4x Coolink 120mm fans, two in the front and two in the top, that spin ~ 800 rpm and a 120mm Noctua in the back set to the same 800 rpm as the others. All controlled by the motherboard/BIOS.


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## P4-630 (Sep 15, 2019)

Front: 2 BQ Silent Wings 3 140mm (1 is PWM, rpm by CPU temp, other connected to case fan controller @ medium speed)
Bottom: 1 BQ Silent Wings 3 140mm (connected to case fan controller @ medium speed)
Top: 1 Scythe 120mm @ low speed
Back: 1 Noctua 120mm PWM , same fan and rpm as CPU cooler fans.

Overall my system is pretty quiet.


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## Bill_Bright (Sep 15, 2019)

droopyRO said:


> I don't care about positive/negative pressure


I did not want to imply I felt great importance should be put on +/- pressures within the case. IMO, there is way too much emphasis put on that. I was only stating what I have. 





> as there is no way you can measure that in my PC case or room.


Well, pressure in the room is immaterial, assuming the room is not a vacuum chamber!  Only the ambient temperature matters there. I agree there is no practical way a normal person can "measure" such pressures within the case but if you know the characteristics of your intakes and exhaust fans, it is easy to determine if you have positive or negative. 

I only mentioned it because generally a "small" amount of positive pressure is desired - not so much for cooling efficiency but to force the vast majority of intake air through the filters to trap the dust floating in the air, and not through our I/O ports, optical drives, and other unfiltered cracks and openings. 

I do emphasize "small" positive pressure, however because too much inside pressure can actually hinder the desired "flow" of air and create pockets of heated air. Not good. 

So if your case has intake air filters, you should care a little bit that you achieve a bit of over-pressure to ensure "clean" air is being pushed out those I/O ports and your optical drives (if you have any) instead of dirty air being pulled in through them.


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## 64K (Sep 15, 2019)

I've always assumed that it's better to have some positive pressure than some negative pressure because with negative pressure you might end up sucking in air where you don't need to, like with the gap in the side panel or fan cutouts that haven't been used. With some positive pressure the hot air can escape through the gap in the side panel or unused fan cutouts but it's still hot air being vented out of the case.

That's why I pick out a case that has 2 front intakes and 1 rear exhaust. 

Ultimately the proof is in the pudding and my GPU and CPU stay nice and cool. It helps, of course, that my rig is in a finished basement where the ambient temp is pretty cool even in the summer here in the South.


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## Anzlew (Sep 15, 2019)

Vario said:


> The 140mm top fan labeled 188M³ /H looks like it is the wrong direction, as an intake rather than exhaust, and that would be why its rattling and dying and your case is overpressurized. I drew a blue box around this fan in MSpaint, see the pic below (the top left corner).
> 
> You probably do NOT even need a fan there, try removing it and leaving an empty slot and see if temperatures change.  It probably adds turbulence to your CPU heatsink which impairs cooling.
> 
> ...


Thanks for hint, but the fan is installed properly. I don't have any issues with temperature. The only thing that bothers me is the noise of this 140 Akasa fan running on full speed. But i think it is the price of performance.
Everything with my airflow is fine. I have a slight overpressure but it helps a little bit with dust.


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## jallenlabs (Sep 15, 2019)

5 Corsair high pressure low speed 120mm (sp120s) and one of the same in 140mm.


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## droopyRO (Sep 15, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Well, pressure in the room is immaterial, assuming the room is not a vacuum chamber!


If your window and the door are open, you could make, what i think is called, a _draft. _It was intended as a joke.

I do have fan filters in the front, that is a kind of mesh and i duct-taped the other intakes in the bottom, except the one for the PSU that has it's own filter. I clean it about every 3 months or so, it only gets a fine lair of dust.
Cutting the fan grill helped a lot, i added that grill to protect the fans from cables or fingers


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## Bill_Bright (Sep 15, 2019)

droopyRO said:


> If your window and the door are open, you could make, what i think is called, a _draft. _It was intended as a joke.


The problem with "jokes" in technical discussions (where tone-of-voice is not heard and facial expressions/body language are not seen) is they have to be very well crafted, or obvious. Sadly, that was neither. That's why there's, "what I think is called"  , _smilies_ - there to avoid such confusion. 

For the record, a draft does not create over or under pressure either. Now if just the window was open and you had very strong winds blowing in, that would be another story. 

And if your mother-in-law is in the hallway complaining about the bum son-in-law, then there's some extreme over-pressure going on - at least it would be in my blood vessels.


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## Susquehannock (Sep 15, 2019)

As few as possible to achieve acceptable temps. I am a test geek. Perform smoke tests and place thermal probes throughout the case with various configurations. Often less is more. Go with the flow.

Probably not the answer you were looking for. I use a re-purposed Dell T3500 as my main system (see sig).

Two 120x38mm front = intake
One 80x25mm CPU cooler
Two 92mm graphics card
One 80mm PSU = exhaust


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## Vario (Sep 16, 2019)

Susquehannock said:


> As few as possible to achieve acceptable temps. I am a test geek. Perform smoke tests and place thermal probes throughout the case with various configurations. Often less is more. Go with the flow.



That is the correct attitude.


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## Valantar (Sep 16, 2019)

4, though I guess 5 if you count the tiny 40mm Arctic fan I stuck on my SSD to bring it below the 60-degree mark. 2x BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 on the front radiator (intake), a Noctua NF-A12x15 as an extra top intake to get some ambient-temp air around the motherboard, and a Nidec Gentle Typhoon (1850rpm) on the rear rad. All running at low RPMs, though the GT does run full speed when things heat up. Other than my case ambient being a bit toasty, this setup is enough to keep everything at very decent temps, including that power hog of a GPU. The CPU can exceed 60 degrees, don't think I've ever seen the GPU go above 52.

Also worth noting, all case fans are connected to the NZXT "smart hub" (oh dear how I hate that name), which is quite a good unit except for CAM crashing from time to time. Good thing my setup is capable of keeping temps in check even when fans are at their lowest setting 



Anzlew said:


> Thanks for hint, but the fan is installed properly. I don't have any issues with temperature. The only thing that bothers me is the noise of this 140 Akasa fan running on full speed. But i think it is the price of performance.
> Everything with my airflow is fine. I have a slight overpressure but it helps a little bit with dust.


So your top fan has been flipped since the picture was taken? If not, it is indeed set up as an intake, which seems unnecessary - you'll still have positive pressure with three intake fans and two exhaust fans (as per your own illustration).


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## lZKoce (Sep 16, 2019)

Just saw the thread, joining the raid  I have four fans in the case (PSU/CPU excluded). Two 120 intake and two exhaust (120+140). I think for cheaper cases it is better negative pressure than positive. This conclusion of mine based on Bit-tech extensive review that in general it is better to take the hot air faster from GPU and CPU area, than to pump fresh air in. Dust I can't fight anyway, I have come to terms with that. Just blow it with car compressor/air can from time to time and off we go. I'm never gonna invest into super expensive magnetic dust filters anyway and there are plenty of cracks, gaps and all sorts of mini holes in the chassis. Lost battle if you ask me. But I'd love to get my hands on some of Silverstone's vertical oriented cases, despite the fact convection in such small space doesn't really help all that much. Their success is more of combination of massive 180mm fans plus the fact there isn't much clutter between the fans the object they cool. Not my words, Puget's systems testing, I just happen to agree with their conclusions.

Edit: I control the fans with Lamptron FC2 fan controller. No frills, no display, separate power supplier tough little bugger.


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## de.das.dude (Sep 17, 2019)

1x front intake 120mm
1x side exhaust (beside GPU) 120mm
1x chonky rear exhaust, panaflow 120mm (use it dialed down since ambient temps range here from 45C in summer to around 10C in winter, lol )
1x PSU exhaust 120mm
1x deepcool slim type intake for the GPU

internal:
1 x 40mm VRM and chipset cooler
2 x 120mm deepcool ice blade on the CPU cooler
2 x 90MM on my RX 580

so 10 in all. I have all of them controlled to low -> med settings so much that they are not audible. I control them with ASROCK AXTU supplied with the mobo itself.


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## SaltyFish (Sep 17, 2019)

Someone should make an updated version of that.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 17, 2019)

SaltyFish said:


> Someone should make an updated version of that.



That reminds me of this.


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## kapone32 (Sep 17, 2019)

Tatty_One said:


> Excluding my AIO fans (top mounted AIO), I have just 3 decent quality (Phanteks) PH-F140SP 140mm fans (82 CFM @ 19DB), 2 front and 1 rear.



Those are great inexpensive fans my 2nd favourite to use after Arctic F12s and 14s


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## Tatty_One (Sep 17, 2019)

kapone32 said:


> Those are great inexpensive fans my 2nd favourite to use after Arctic F12s and 14s


And the bonus is...… they came with the case


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## Chrispy_ (Sep 18, 2019)

SaltyFish said:


> Someone should make an updated version of that.


Thanks to RGBLED inflation, it would be over a thousand bucks today. Those old sleeve-bearing fans used to cost a dollar each, tops...


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## shovenose (Sep 18, 2019)

In my primary desktop, I have 2x120mm. 1 intake and 1 exhaust. I know, I'm so boring!


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## Valantar (Sep 18, 2019)

SaltyFish said:


> Someone should make an updated version of that.


How about this? I guess it's a bit lacking in the RGB department for modern standards, though.


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## Mac2580 (Sep 22, 2019)

I have 2 intakes on both my PCs. 1 Exhaust at the back each with the top fan slot empty. Ryzen has all CM Jetflos. (3 total) My i7 has 2 CM Jetflos intake, Noctua IPPC 12V on the heatsink and the lovely beige stock noctua fan as exhaust.
I dont actually overclock daily, its heavy overkill, and I guess to most a waste of money. I do often spool up my fans to full speed when celebrating a victory at a LAN at least.


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## Apocalypsee (Sep 22, 2019)

Two intake two exhaust; two at the front, one at the back and one at the top. All 120mm.


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## Liquid Cool (Sep 22, 2019)

Thermaltake P1...so, zero case fans.   My CPU Cooler is a Cryorig M9 with a 92mm be quiet! PURE Wings 2.  The whole system is dead silent at 12 inches and runs extremely cool.

Although, currently shopping for a replacement.  It's a little too flashy...I prefer conservative and boring....

Best,

Liquid Cool


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## SN2716057 (Sep 22, 2019)

Nine 120mm for the 3 radiators, and 2 in the front. All controlled by a Lamptron fan controller.


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## Rickkins (Sep 22, 2019)

One.


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## agent_x007 (Sep 22, 2019)

2x 120mm front
2x 140mm top
1x 120mm back
1x 120mm side


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## Solid State Soul ( SSS ) (Sep 23, 2019)

3x Noctua S12A front intake fans
1x Noctua S12A exhaust on the back

For a positive air pressure configuration


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## RainingTacco (Sep 23, 2019)

5x120 but its too much, and with new build im going for 2x120 front, 1x120 rear. 2x120 front and 1x120 rear is enough for 90% of cases, unless the airflow is really really bad. Sometimes adding more fans do absolutely nothing if the intake is choked[looking at non mesh front builds].


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## ShrimpBrime (Sep 23, 2019)

Main gaming PC, I don't run a case.... So no case fans.  Cpu cooler and VRM fan. Plus the 2 fans on the GPU.....lol.

HTPC has 4. 2 in front, one on top and one rear.
Wife's rig has 2 case fans. Modded side panel with 220mm?? intake and a 120 rear exhaust.

My TJ07 (when used) had 11 case fans and 4 radiators.

fun times!


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## revin (Sep 23, 2019)

HAF 932 Amazing case especially inside a desk.
three 230 mm fans BIOS set to 100% and all blowing In
One 140 rear exhaust 
 and with the CM 4in3 cage, got an old awesome San Ace 1011 120mm fan on 7v to keep it all cool inside the drive cage
This case was a Huge leap from the older one's that a Lot would recall with So many 80,92,120 fan's being moved all over just to "try" to cool inside.
It's super quiet and with the air cooler work's like a champ since about 2009/10, and the current 2012 build.
Those slow huge fan's move a ton of cool air for it.


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## Khonjel (Sep 24, 2019)

Liquid Cool said:


> Thermaltake P1...so, zero case fans.   My CPU Cooler is a Cryorig M9 with a 92mm be quiet! PURE Wings 2.  The whole system is dead silent at 12 inches and runs extremely cool.
> 
> Although, currently shopping for a replacement.  It's a little too flashy...I prefer conservative and boring....
> 
> ...


Yeah. If you're keeping it I think you ought to get a down draft cpu cooler so you can cool the vrm and rams as well.


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## Roddey (Sep 24, 2019)

I never counted all the fans in my case. Just the case and cpu fans. Now that I have its 16 spinning devices.


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## Melvis (Sep 24, 2019)

6 total, 5 120mm intake fans, 3 side 2 front and a 140mm top fan


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## BlackSun59 (Oct 2, 2019)

3x 120mm Noctua NF-P12 @ 1300RPM. Two in the front, one at the rear.


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## oobymach (Oct 2, 2019)

18 including the one in the psu. On silent it runs around 16db, running around 20db right now to keep up with cpu temps but if I wind up the fhp141's for benching it sounds like a vacuum cleaner.


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## The Egg (Oct 2, 2019)

Intake: 2x 120mm  
Exhaust: 1x 120mm, 1x 80mm


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