Fans in a Cooler Master 690

[loganex]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119137

I'm planning to get that case, with this build:
Intel E8400
Xigmatex HDT-SD964 HSF
GTX 260/216
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Corsair 650TX
Seagate Barracuda 500 GB

So I've got some questions about fans in that case. I plan to overclock, so I'll want solid cooling and air flow.

1. It comes with three fans. Will I be happy with the stock fans or will I want to replace them?

2. Will I want to add a couple of extra fans? I think I like the idea of pulling in cool air from the bottom and blowing hot air out the top. Good idea? Or is six fans overkill?

3. If I need to replace/add fans, what are your recommendations? I'd like some 120mm fans with good CFM/noise ratios. Also, where do you buy? Yate Loons from jab-tech?

4. I wanna connect all the fans to the mobo (using splitters if necessary) to control them with software so they can adjust in real time when I load up a game and get quieter when I'm just web browsing. Is that a good way to do it?

 

[zerogear]

I never tried the stock fans, the blue fan bothered me to no end, so I just got Yate-Loons from jab-tech and threw in a fan controller (Zalman MFC1B Plus) to control the voltage.

Adding extra fans is fine, but I don't think it will help too much. Especially with the top, since the holes are too small to really have any airflow out.

Yate-loon with fan controller, or Nexus Silent fans if you don't want to bother with a fan controller.

I've never done fan/splitters, so don't know, hopefully someone can enlighten you 🙂

 

[Zepper]

The stock C-M fans don't push a lot of air, but they are fairly low noise. I had an extra fan just like the C-M stock fans in the 690 so I put one in the bottom and I also replaced the LED fan in the front with a black one (same part no. - actually moved the one from the rear to the front). I found the LED fan to be the lowest noise of the 3 that came with the case - unfortunately. I also put a slightly stronger fan in the rear to move the air out (used an OEM fan from one of my Silverstone cases). That combo (front, bottom, rear) worked well for me while I had a 690 here.

.bh.

 

[Tullphan]

I had that case & swapped out all the fans for Y-L, save the 80mm fan that mounts behind the motherboard tray.
You can use a boatload of Y connectors if you're wanting to hook them to your motherboard, but I used a Sunbeam rheostat. It came in handy on that noisy 80mm fan. I think the only fans I hooked to the motherboard headers was the front intake & the rear exhaust.
Seven (counting the 80mm) fans may be excessive, but it'll impress your friends when you tell 'em! 😉 (Is that an example of epeen, Zep? 😉 )
It's your case, though...enjoy it however you wish.

 

[primosavant]

As Zepper stated, CM 120mm fans don't push enough air for most but are quiet as they run at about 1000rpm. They also don't provide much static pressure for intake on a case that has filters. They would do the job depending on how far you intend to OC. I think in the long run you would want to get better fans however. I have 2 Scythe intake fans, one is the s-flex and one is the ultra Kaze. The ultra is a bit of over kill and you need a controller for it as it needs 7.2 watts (may be replacing this with another s-flex). The S-flex is very impressive for an intake fan being much quieter, pushing alot of air and providing solid static pressure. Downfall seems to be I have heard some reliablility concers but have not experienced that myself. For Exhaust, Scythe Slipsteams do a great job and are among the quietest fans at the speeds they run vs the air they push. Sorry not providing numbers for performance because I don't remember all that, but they are availible on these forums via search. Btw I purchased my fans on newegg. Most places have similar prices when you include shipping. If you are going to use spliters or daisy chain your fans, I would make sure you have two of the same type and in the same location, i.e. 2 exhaust at top rear.