Fan Suggestions for 400R (Side Intake and Top Exhaust)

[napes22]

I recently purchased the 400R and will be building an LGA 1155 i5 2500K system (and likely overclocking). I'm looking to add more fans to the case and will be working with the following set up: side/front/bottom intake, back/top exhaust

The 400R doesn't come with fans for the top exhaust and side intake - does anyone have suggestions for fans for these areas? My current build uses the following fans which are all 4.5 years old.

2xScythe S-Flex 1600RPM
1xScythe Slop Stream 1900RPM
1xScythe Minebea NBM Silent Fan

Should I reuse any of the fans listed above given their age? If I buy new fans, should I go 120MM or 140MM?

 

[Elcs]

The Scythes, especially the Slipstream, are some of the best 120's on the market from what I can see. I have 2 Slipstream 1200's and an S-Flex 1200 in my 500R right now, on my Rheobus to keep them down low.

I'd probably just use your Scythes and supplement them with <new fans> if you need to.

As for 120mm fans, I'm not sure you can go wrong with Scythe Sl-Flex or Slipstreams. X-Bit Labs did this roundup which I found interesting. They didn't like the 140mm Slipstreams which saddened me a lot.

140mm fans? I wish I had an answer. I'm wanting to add one as an exhaust and 2 up top as intakes to flow air over my H100. I cannot find enough solid information to find out what I need to replace my existing setup. When it comes to spending in this manner, I measure four times and cut once.

For the record with my 500R, I use 2x Corsair fans @ low voltage top intake over my H100, 2 x 120 Slipstream 1200 @ low voltage front intake, 1 x Corsair 200mm low voltage and 1x120mm S-Flex 1200 @ low voltage. Load temps overclocked to 4.533ghz on my i5 2500k with ~1.27v is between 60-65c. Loudest noise is my H100 pump (RMA pending).

*Low Voltage refers to start-up voltage or lower.

 

[napes22]

Thanks Elcs! I'll read through the roundup. A friend who built his own PC also suggested these Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14 as a very good 140MM fan option.

The 400R can fit two additional 140MM on the top and two additional 140MM on the side. Would maxing out these locations with 4 additional fans be overkill? I plan on overclocking my 2500K to the 4.3 range.

Also, is the H100 worth the money?

 

[Elcs]

Thanks Elcs! I'll read through the roundup. A friend who built his own PC also suggested these Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14 as a very good 140MM fan option.

The 400R can fit two additional 140MM on the top and two additional 140MM on the side. Would maxing out these locations with 4 additional fans be overkill? I plan on overclocking my 2500K to the 4.3 range.

Also, is the H100 worth the money?

It might be overkill but as long as stuff stays cool and quiet, who cares? 😀

You could buy 2 fans, see how they go and if you feel like you need more airflow, buy 2 more. Depends on how you feel and the shipping costs/time etc.

It's unfair for me to say. I bought my H100 for about the same as that Noctua monster everyone seems to rave about. At idle my i5 2500k (1.65ghz) stays around 28-35c when just web browsing, IM'ing etc. When it's overclocked to 4.533ghz, I Prime95 at around 65C after 2 hours.

The H100 fans have a high startup voltage requirement and I use my Sunbeam Rheobus to fire them up to full voltage and then slowly take them down until they are pretty quiet.

Having the 500R case also gives me an unfair advantage over the Noctua doo-dad.

 

[Subyman]

You could just go with Yate Loons and save some money, that's what most builders do. They offer high/med/low fans for whatever your needs are and they are only 3.99-5.99 each. If you are using a fan controller, I would go with the medium speed versions and set them down a bit. The good part about the Yate's is they offer a lot of pressure for pushing through heat sinks if you need that. The slipstreams can not handle higher pressure loads well, but they are great for open air (although costly.) They offer Yate Loons in various LED colors now as well, if that is something you are looking for.

 

[Subyman]

Thanks Elcs! I'll read through the roundup. A friend who built his own PC also suggested these Prolimatech Blue Vortex 14 as a very good 140MM fan option.

The Prolimatech fans are nice, but sometimes hard to find. They make a 120mm version, but they are no where to be found in the states.

I was actually looking at those a few days ago. I found them really cheap here:
http://www.svc.com/blue-vortex-14.html

Also, Performance-pc.com will be getting more 140mm and 120mm versions in soon. I spoke with their rep about the stocking issue before I decided to just go with Xigmatek.

 

[Concillian]

This is why I like that I work reasonably close to SVC. If you buy at least three, yate fans are $4 each.

Kinda makes filling out a case a no brainer. I figure out if I want lows or mediums and order what I need and go pick them up at lunch. Slipstreams may be great, but Yates aren't bad, especially when it's almost 3 for the price of 1 slipstream.

Fan reviews without talking about pressure differential leave out a very important variable. Since almost no reviews include this, I don't see much value in splitting hairs on case fans, as it's too likely this missing data results in drawing conclusions that are not necessarily correct.

 

[Subyman]

This is why I like that I work reasonably close to SVC. If you buy at least three, yate fans are $4 each.

Kinda makes filling out a case a no brainer. I figure out if I want lows or mediums and order what I need and go pick them up at lunch. Slipstreams may be great, but Yates aren't bad, especially when it's almost 3 for the price of 1 slipstream.

Fan reviews without talking about pressure differential leave out a very important variable. Since almost no reviews include this, I don't see much value in splitting hairs on case fans, as it's too likely this missing data results in drawing conclusions that are not necessarily correct.

I agree. Here is how I work up my case fans for myself and clients:

1.) Yate Loons
2.) Need something for looks: Anything else.

That's pretty much it. Yate Loons aren't lookers, but they do the job. If you are doing a visual install, then look at other fans otherwise the good ole Loons are all you really need.

 

[napes22]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll either go with the Yates or the blue vortex (since it's only $7.50 each). I wanted to try 140MM but the Yates look like a good deal. Would I

In a related question, my motherboard only has 2 Fan headers (not counting the CPU fan header) and a "Power Fan Header." If I have a total of 5 case fans (2xfront, 1xrear, 1xtop, 1xside) is there a way to have the motherboard control the fan speeds?

In my current rig I have a scythe fan controller (controlling 3 fans, which I always leave at full blast), but I'd rather the fans be controlled by the motherboard if I'm overclocking. Basically I want to set this PC up and not have to fiddle with fan speeds or settings after I overclock.

 

[Elcs]

Not had good experiences with Yates. Haven't been reliable and have some motor noise. It's only my experience in a sea of good experiences for their price.

I'm probably going for some Gentle Typhoon 1,450 rpm fans and hooking them up to the motherboard. Probably use that Akasa PWM connector which draws the power from the PSU but hooks up to the Motherboard for control.

Re: Static Pressure. It's an essential assessment for fans in my opinion. High static pressure fans on a heatsink work wonders. This is the whole reason I am struggling to decide on fans to replace the stock Corsair ones on my H100.

Anyone know if the Gentle Typoons have a high static pressure for their RPM/noise level?

 

[napes22]

The Gentle Typhoons isn't a PWM fan, is it? I wouldn't think the Akasa connector would work the way you want it with a non PWM fan.

I thought that with non PWM fans you'd need to adjust the voltage in bios to adjust the speed manually?

 

[Elcs]

The Gentle Typhoons isn't a PWM fan, is it? I wouldn't think the Akasa connector would work the way you want it with a non PWM fan.

I thought that with non PWM fans you'd need to adjust the voltage in bios to adjust the speed manually?

Well that's no good. Looks like I'll have to use normal 3-pin splitters.

I'll email Akasa.