Fans and college

Yolner

Banned
Jul 4, 2004
486
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So im going to college in about a month and im pretty sure my roommate isnt going to share my love for tornadoes. Even with fan controllers those beasts are loud as hell. Can you guys recommend something decent and quiet to replace the 10 tornadoes that i have in my 2 cases? Ive been thinking about watercooling but im not really sure how safe/expensive/effective it is. I have two antec cases like THIS. Thx
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
Sounds like you need to strap in four Panaflo L fans, and on a fan controller. With those full tower Dragons, you should easily be able to cool anything but a Prescott with some Panaflos and mild wire management.
 

HardWarrior

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
4,400
23
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Ten? Jesus, and I thought I didn't fool around! :thumbsup:

Pabst or Panaflo. Water-cooling is as safe as the person putting it together, can be expensive depending on the parts you want (but doesn't HAVE to be) and can be very effective.
 

HomerSapien

Golden Member
Jul 19, 2000
1,756
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He said 10 in two cases.

Just go here. Gizzo He has a comparison page of fans. Typically, i find anything in the 30 range loud.

A good thing about college dorms is you can crank up the air conditioning to high and that drowns out most noise. Another good idea is take one computer and leave the second at home.
 

HardWarrior

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
4,400
23
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Originally posted by: HomerSapien
He said 10 in two cases.

We can read. I had ONE 57db Tornado that was TOO much, and Yolner didn't specify what Tornado's he was using.
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Going from 5 Tornados to 4-5 panaflos - be prepared to continuously check to see if your computer is even turned on. A 35+ db drop in noise is extreme.

At least your ears will stop bleeding :p
 

HardWarrior

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
4,400
23
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Originally posted by: Tiamat
Going from 5 Tornados to 4-5 panaflos - be prepared to continuously check to see if your computer is even turned on. A 35+ db drop in noise is extreme.

At least your ears will stop bleeding :p



:laugh:
 

xJUANGRAMx

Member
Apr 17, 2003
93
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I was at svc.com checking out fan controllers and it seems like they have a lot of Vantec. Is that a good brand for a fan controller? I as well have a Tornado and that shizzle is hella loud!!! Any help on a good fan controller is well appreciated =)
 

Tiamat

Lifer
Nov 25, 2003
14,068
5
71
Originally posted by: xJUANGRAMx
I was at svc.com checking out fan controllers and it seems like they have a lot of Vantec. Is that a good brand for a fan controller? I as well have a Tornado and that shizzle is hella loud!!! Any help on a good fan controller is well appreciated =)

Vantec 5.25" fan controllers make a buzzing noise when you set any of the volts below say ~9V. If your Tornadoes are still louder than this buzzing noise, then you are fine. However, if you are trying to undervolt quiet fans, I have found that the buzzing is too loud. My $.02
 

Safeway

Lifer
Jun 22, 2004
12,075
11
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I agree about the buzz. That happened in my old case. In this Sonata, I have 2 120mm quiet fans. One Antec and one Vantec. The only thing I hear is the PSU and CPU fans. It is deathly quiet. The case temp is a very acceptable 27C idle. On full load, CPU gets to 55C and case to 34C, with PSU a cool 33-35C.
 

xJUANGRAMx

Member
Apr 17, 2003
93
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0
Ok...I Know this is gonna sound kinda dum...but oh well, here goes...that fan controller I discussed earlier in this thread came in, it's a Vantec Nexus fan controller model NXP-201-SL. I put it in the bay, hooked up my fans to it...and I set the channel that has the tornado all the way to low, and it still sounds the same! I know the power is hooked up cuz the leds are lit up...can anyone advise as to what I might've done wrong? I didn't use the cables that came w/the controller cuz the fans can reach the input on the controller...i'll try to use the cables, but i would think that shouldn't be the problem.
 

xJUANGRAMx

Member
Apr 17, 2003
93
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0
Well...it doesn't seem like it changes...i guess the Tornados are just loud no matter what? Maybe I should look into getting a quieter fan...
 

slpaulson

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2000
4,414
14
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I changed my fans to Panaflo M's on a controller for college.
I probably didn't really need to because my roomate ran his loud ass desktop fan all day anyways.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
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Originally posted by: xJUANGRAMx
Well...it doesn't seem like it changes...i guess the Tornados are just loud no matter what? Maybe I should look into getting a quieter fan...

yea that was what i've heard. they are just freakin loud. u know people use fan controllers on those quiet panaflos even... i just use led fans with the vantec. can easily dial em down so only hd's are noticable.
 

DarkPrime

Senior member
Jul 12, 2004
293
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Depending on your roommate you might have to do what I did and that is shut down the machine at night every night. With what most campuses are doing today, you won't be able to download stuff all night or host a game all night, so there won't be a need to have it left on, other than for the 30 seconds you are saving when you wake up in the morning.
 

PhoenixOrion

Diamond Member
May 4, 2004
4,312
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Watercool it!

Expensive initial buy but saves you money long-term coz all you have to buy is the cpu block.