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1st post,1st PC build

eeps24

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2005
2
0
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hello everyone, 1st time here, i was trying to get in for about 2 days then the admin gave me a email saying yahoo email is not allowed here.....why not?......anyways great to be here, alot of educated people here.........................


this is my 1st PC build.......i know very little about fans......i have a few questions.....1st here is my case that i bought....


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156019


1.smaller/bigger fans whats better? does the little one make more noise?

2.if i use a 80mm fan, does that mean they all have to be 80mm?

3.is it 1 size fits all on cases? my case comes with 2 80 mm....can i put a larger fan without making new holes or will it fit perfectly over the orginal 80mm spot?

4.intake/outake must have equal amount of fans?

5.could i open my psu and install a fan with a led?

6.3 or 4 pin, whats better? or just preference?
 

JEDIYoda

Lifer
Jul 13, 2005
33,986
3,321
126
All these questions are indicative of somebody who matbe should get somebody who has built a PC before to be there to advise and help!!

The scary thing is most of those questions you ask you could find the answers toyourself...

Before I would even attempt to buyild my own computer i would research thouroughly....everytthing....

You bought a case raidmax....
look inside it note the 80mm holes......look to see of there indeed are holes to mount a 120 mm fan.....all that information is at the Raidmax site under cases....

You need to understand that opening your PSU voids all warranty period!
But yes people do change there fans!
But if you do`nt know what your doing you could hurt yourself and you can ruin your PSU!!

Most people only have one exhaust fan or 2 if there are 2 rear cutouts for 2 fans...usually 80 mm.
All the rest should be intake!

There are various uses for 3 and 4 pin fans!
Alot of us use both!

Again I serioulsy would do my homework and try to answer most of your own questions.
Also you will retain the answers to your questions better if you do the research!!

Good Luck!

 

Varun

Golden Member
Aug 18, 2002
1,161
0
0
Welcome to the forums.

Originally posted by: eeps24

1.smaller/bigger fans whats better? does the little one make more noise?
Generally, larger fans are better. The smaller fans much spin much faster to move the same amount of air, and therefore are louder at the same CFM. They also have a much higher pitch than the larger fans. Case fans are generally 120mm, 92mm, or 80mm

2.if i use a 80mm fan, does that mean they all have to be 80mm?
No, but the case you selected only has allowances for 80mm fans so you are stuck there unless you want to start cutting your new case

3.is it 1 size fits all on cases? my case comes with 2 80 mm....can i put a larger fan without making new holes or will it fit perfectly over the orginal 80mm spot?
No, you won't be able to fit a larger fan as the mounting holes are different. You would have to at least drill new mounts

4.intake/outake must have equal amount of fans?
No, but it isn't a bad idea to have roughly the same number. Usually one intake and one exhaust are enough, however I see your case has allowances for 8 fans. I wouldn't suggest this unless you are (or want to be) deaf

5.could i open my psu and install a fan with a led?
Yes you can, however it is quite dangerous as the power supply carries quite a punch with all of the storage capacitors in there. I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself as you seem to be a novice. I would suggest taking it to an electronics shop and paying for it rather than doing it yourself. I'm not sure if the power supply you got was just a generic one in the case, if it was it would be a good idea to replace it with a name brand PSU anyways

6.3 or 4 pin, whats better? or just preference?
4 pin allows connection straight to the power supply, avoiding draw through the motherboard. Most fans don't draw much though, so motherboard connection through the 3 pin connector allows features such as software speed control (Speedfan) and RPM monitoring. I would only connect one fan per motherboard header though.
 

JBDan

Platinum Member
Dec 7, 2004
2,333
0
0
I think Varun summed it up nicely...and Welcome to AT eeps :) I will add something about the psu fan swap. Although you are a "1st timer" & while it CAN be dangerous, the fan swap can be super easy. Mainly depends on the brand psu you go with. PM me if ever you feel liking taking this on. I'll be glad to help.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,634
2,028
126
There's some pretty good advice here.

Even so -- here's some basics I've learned over the last couple years.

Fan specs and ratings: Voltage, amperage, CFM (min and max if the speed is variable), size (80mm, 92mm, 120mm -- also by width: 15mm, 25mm, 38mm), RPM, and noise (dBA). Generally, except for minor differences in fan design, fans of the same size will push the same order of magnitude in CFM at the same RPM, and maximum RPM is a linear function of the amperage rating.

All our computers provide 12V(olts) for fans. Fan "tails" -- the power and sensor plugs -- can be modded to make the fan run on 7VDC or 5VDC -- which means that the fans will run slower, quieter, and with less air-flow (CFM).

Noise ratings are not the final arbiter of a fan's "acceptability" if you plan to run the fan at a lower speed -- by either changing the tail, controlling speed through the motherboard, or through a front-panel fan-controller. There are two types of noise: motor or bearing noise, and "white-noise" from air-turbulence. The bearing/motor noise is the most irritating, and fans of lower quality can produce more of it at their top-end speed.

Noise can be muffled by choice of fan placement, grommets or "shock-absorbers" that isolate the fan-frame from the computer chassis, various "ducting mods" to the motherboard, and noise-deadening rubber pads applied to the inside of the case panels.

Positive air-pressure inside the case is a good thing. Creating a vacuum inside the case is a bad thing. You want to at least balance the CFM of intake fans with that of the exhaust fans, or otherwise make intake CFM slightly greater than the exhaust CFM. By this I mean that the fan-spec CFM should be added up on the intake side and the exhaust side -- ultimately, the "true" exhaust CFM should approximately equal the intake CFM even if the "potential" CFM at the exhaust side is lower than the intake. Interior air-pressure and exterior air-pressure will equalize and more air will exhaust through the exhaust fans even if the fans are only capable of something less than what the intake fans are pushing through.

So it isn't necessarily the number of fans -- but their cumulative CFMs -- which should be chosen carefully on the intake and exhaust side.

And as the other members have said, larger fans push more air with less noise.

Many motherboards are capable of providing current or amperage of at least 2 Amps, and most of the fans you find on the market for cases or CPU cooling are rated at between 0.2 A and 0.8A. If the motherboard manual says the limit is 0.78A per motherboard fan-plug OR a total of 2.34 A, you should be able to use a single plug to power one or more fans up to that limit -- assuming you don't use the other plugs for anything other than fan-speed monitoring. Personally, I try to keep cumulative power to fans connected to the motherboard under about half of the total spec. But attaching more than one fan in parallel to a single plug should be approached cautiously. The easiest thing to do is to use more than one fan of the same model (and amperage) -- and use the yellow monitoring wire of a single fan for that purpose.

My personal view is that you are better off choosing a fan with a higher amperage and rpm ( or something more than "needed") and then running the fan at whatever speed you choose to mitigate noise and provide the required CFM. A "beefier" fan-motor may be quieter at lower speeds, and running such fans at lower speeds should extend their life.

Oh yeah. Another thing. Fan specs include information on the type of bearing used and the MTBF or mean time between/before failures. Sleeve bearings are less desirable for CPU cooling -- ball bearings are more desirable. Pick a fan with a 50,000-hour MTBF or higher for CPU cooling.

Given the price of the case you've chosen, I wouldn't hesitate to modify it with a Dremel or nibbler tool to accommodate larger fans, but that's a matter for you to decide.
 

GalvanizedYankee

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2003
6,986
0
0
That is a 120mm fan, being orange,it's probably a Yate Loon(brand).

I'm not sure but it appears to be mounted(see the thin clips)on a SI-120 HS or a XP-120 HS.

Play with what you have for awhile. Buying it and needing it are to different things.


Galvanized
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,634
2,028
126
Ditto -- it's either the XP-120 or SI-120.

It doesn't much matter -- you need something less than 2,900 rpm and the throughput that goes with it -- varying just a little over different fans and fin-designs for 120mm fans across the board.

You could run the fan at 1,500 rpm at idle and probably spin it up to -- say -- 2,500 rpm within 3C degrees of the load temperature that you would measure under the higher speed -- and you would still not exceed that temperature. So you really only need to pick a fan without bearing or motor noise in that speed range.

Surely, there are many such fans.