Best CM 690 Fan placement

[vijayallenraj]

Hello people,

I am buying a new cm 690 case. The CM 690 comes with three fans. So I have the following questions:

1. Are the stock fans good enough?
2. If the stock fans arent good then will removing the front LED fan and adding it to the bottom for intake, and adding a 90cfm fan to the front and a top 60cfm fan work? So the setup will be 90cfm front, blue led stock fan at the bottom, the stock side fan, the stock rear fan and a 60cfm top rear fan.
3. If this isnt good, then can someone please tell me the best setup for this?

I am not much into this so I mostly dont know. So..Help!!

 

[MisterDonut]

Welcome to AT forums .

There is no need to replace the fans that come with the case, unless there are issues with them performing properly. What CPU/heatsink combo are you running? What orientation is it in? Unless your ambients are blistering, I wouldn't spend the extra money on a minute boost in airflow.

Just a heads up, the CM fans that rate at 90 cfm/16db or whatever bullshit the company created are totally false. As far as I know and have read, 99.9% of the community agrees with the fact that those ratings are almost literally impossible (the .1% would be the ones that bought it and refuse to recognize the fact...). However, that does not mean you should spend money to replace them.

 

[fffblackmage]

What defines "good enough?"

For me, good enough means keeping my case cool enough while staying quiet. With 5 case fans (4x120mm 5Vmod, 1x200mm low setting), I can keep them all running at low rpms to reduce noise, but still retain decent airflow/case temps, even when overclocking. Honestly, having 5 fans feels like overkill.

Looking at the CM690, it's fine as it is. 3 fans is good enough to me. One for intake/keeping HDDs cool, one to keep mobo components cool, and one for exhausting hot air.

 

[vijayallenraj]

Well good enough for me is the same thing. Keep it as quiet as possible while retaining acceptable temps inside the case. If the stock fans (whatever rating they are) would suffice then I am good with that.

To answer misterdonuts question, I am buying a cm hyper 212+. And would install it with the fan facing the front. BTW my configuration is as below. I am not sure if temps vary with configuration too much but looking at it if you guys have another opinion I'd be glad to know:

i5-750
msi p55 gd65
hd 5850 (Crossfire in the future with another 5850)

cm hyper 212+

If the stock fans are good enough then I'd probably go for a low cfm top rear fan for exhaust. Is that a good idea?

 

[MisterDonut]

Keep the airflow moving from front to back, so make sure your intake fan is not blowing over your hard drives and stopping there. If it is, add another intake fan. Align the fan on the heatsink to push (and not pull) towards the exhaust. If your heatsink fan is significantly stronger than your exhaust, consider matching both speeds, so you don't interrupt airflow (though it might not even matter). I don't see a need to add more fans.

 

[vijayallenraj]

Ok great. So if I find that the intake fan is blocked by the hdd then where do i add another intake? bottom or side?...which would be better?..

 

[MisterDonut]

I wouldn't put anything on the side, as that might interrupt your front to back airflow. Keeping one direction seems like the ideal option, but that's just my two cents. If there's no option for another intake fan in the front, side would be your next best bet...but only if the front intake is not pushing enough air for decent airflow, which I think it should

 

[vijayallenraj]

Hey thanks md. That helped.

 

[aigomorla]

wait on the CM690 V2

It seems pretty badass.

 

[Quiksilver]

wait on the CM690 V2

It seems pretty badass.

whats he got to wait on?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119216

 

[aigomorla]

whats he got to wait on?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119216

Oh its out...

lol... i actually like the new CM690 V2.

 

[fffblackmage]

I don't have any experiences with the CM690 myself, but the v2 looked like quite an improvement over the first one. Unlike the Antec 900 -> 902....

btw, the reason I like having the side fan in my comp is because of the passive heatsink for the 650i north bridge. The fins on the heatsink are vertical, so front to back airflow probably isn't quite effective at cooling my 650i.

 

[MisterDonut]

I did a build out of the 690 II two weeks ago. It's a really friendly case. Took little effort to put together the whole thing. I still think the 900 has the superior airflow (when modded) compared to the 690, and the mod only took a little while. It was fun. But the 690 II comes with a lot of pre-made holes (backplate for heatsinks, hiding and looping wires, etc.). I didn't like the tool-less design though, or any for that matter. I prefer the old screws 'n screwdriver. It may be tool-less, but it was annoying. Doesn't really make swapping HDD's much easier either. Aesthetically, it's not too bad. It also has a lot of extra spaces for fans...but they're in really odd places...Would prefer if another intake on the front was possible. Also uses 140mm, which are much harder to find if you're aching for case fan replacements. Other than that, it's a super easy case to use.