Fractal Design Silent Series R2 Case Fans?

[AskingAlex]

Okay, so I'll keep this post fairly quick. I'm looking to get a Fractal Design R4, and then add 2 more Silent Series 140mm fans in it for more airflow (another at the front, and one at the top). These fans are apparently "hydraulic" bearings.

What exactly does Fractal Mean by this? Are they long life sleeve, rifle, or fluid dynamic bearings? I wanted these fans because they would've matched the other 2, but if the bearings aren't at least a high quality rifle bearing, then I'll just replace the fans with some Phanteks or BeQuiets



-Extra-
Also while I'm here, what kind of bearings do the Corsair AF and SP fans use? They're apparently "advanced hydraulic" bearings, so what does this actually mean? Glorified rifle bearing, or a fluid dynamic bearing?

 

[dma0991]

Rifle bearings are just a variation of sleeve bearings. I don't quite fancy sleeve bearings unless they're well made, like my Noiseblocker XLPs. HDB = FDB, or at least they have the closest similarity in terms of how it works.

I am favoring towards double ball bearing fans (Scythe GT or Sanyo Denki) but I've yet to try them. Ball bearing fans that I've mentioned are tried and tested to be very silent relative to its performance. Probably will excel in durability compared to sleeve bearing fans. I also happen to have a pair of Noctua NF-P12(SSO bearing, another variation of HDB and FDB) which has comparable silence to my Noiseblocker XLPs at the same speed.

 

[AskingAlex]

I know that rifle bearings are just a variation of sleeve bearings, but I thought they were different in that you could mount them in any orientation without them having added wear, unlike traditional sleeves?


I know that hydraulic bearings and fluid dynamic should basically be the same, but there are some fans which claim to be hydraulic (or FBD, such as the BitFenix Spectre), when they actually aren't. Which is where my concern comes in, as I don't want to go for the Fractal "hydraulic" bearings, just to find out they're not really hydraulic.



I was looking at the Scythe GT's, but I was hoping only to get 140mm fans, because then I could have the fans running even slower but still get the same cooling. And the Noctua colours aren't really to my liking, although in all fairness they are some darn good fans

 

[dma0991]

They say that you can't place sleeve bearing fans in a flat orientation but the Noiseblocker XLP with their variation of sleeve bearing has stood up to that statement. The same can't be said about the sleeve bearing Yate Loons that I have in my Corsair CX500 PSU.

Probably there are a few that falls into the category of false advertising but you wouldn't expect a company like Fractal to tarnish its reputation to specify something that it is not there. I know they don't make fans for a living but I don't think it'll be that bad. There's Arctic Cooling fans that uses FDB bearings, similar in color but different blade design(but the Arctic Cooling F12 has similar blade design to the Fractal ones, could even be rebadged units).

Noctua will be releasing black fans but for its price, I don't suggest waiting. Regarding its color, its doesn't look too appealing but it grows on you over time and gets less distracting. Unlike other fans, its color really stands out and it is instantly recognizable with a single glance.

 

[AskingAlex]

I guess that I shouldn't really be concerned about bearing type too much just so long as it's well made, then?


I didn't think Fractal would've falsely advertised their fan bearing type, but again the Arctic Cooling "FDB", just like the BitFenix fans, are actually rifle bearings (or at least, that's what I've seen on various other sites).


I think I'm probably just going to get another couple of Fractal fans with my case, and if they give me any problems I'll go for something like Noctua or Noiseblocker, seeing as they both have a 6 year warranty



(And reading back on my last post, all it seemed like I was doing was basically ignoring / disregarding what you'd said. If I came across like that then sorry, I genuinely didn't mean for it to sound like that!)

 

[Belial88]

You really shouldn't worry about fan bearings. Any wear or issues with fan bearings can simply be fixed with a drop of mineral oil. You should always relube your fans every 6-12 months anyways, and sleeve bearings are supposed to be the quietest when in good condition.

You can run sleeve bearings in any orientation just fine. If you lay them as 'you aren't supposed to', you just have to relube them a bit early, that's all (pop the back sticker, pop the rubber stopper, a single drop of mineral oil, good to go). But even sleeves run in vertical orientation need to be relubed every 6-12 months. You'd be surprised at how loud your fans were running once you relube them if it's been a while.

140mm fans are generally very low speed, check out martinsliquidlabs reviews on 140mm fans.

Warranty on fan, motors don't generally wear for a long time, and relube is simple enough, and physical damage like a broken fan blade is not covered under warranty.

 

[hans030390]

I have that case. The fans it comes with aren't bad, but not spectacular either. From the research I've done, it seems you can do better for the same price. I could be wrong, though.

 

[Z15CAM]

I have a Fractal ARC Midi R2 case with 3 of them 140mm Fans in push-in mode (2 in front and 1 in back) with 2 Corsair SP 140 on top in push-out mode thru a H110 rad - Believe me they are quiet at 7v and barely audible at 12v's, plus they move air - I like them even if they did come with the case ;o)

 

[Cerb]

I guess that I shouldn't really be concerned about bearing type too much just so long as it's well made, then?

Yes.

I didn't think Fractal would've falsely advertised their fan bearing type, but again the Arctic Cooling "FDB", just like the BitFenix fans, are actually rifle bearings (or at least, that's what I've seen on various other sites).

Rifle bearings are a type of FDB. With a traditional sleeve bearing, you just hope that the motion and capillary action will make a film of oil, for the surfaces to glide upon. In a situation where the bearing isn't dealing with highly unbalanced forces (got a perfect fan? Let it get a bit of dust on it. Now it's unbalanced), and/or if most of that is effectively in the bearing, that works out fine. With computer fans--any fan of that kind of size, really--that's not the case. A fairly mild imbalance could lead to some rather serious pressure moving the shaft about.

All a hydrodynamic bearing is, regardless of marketing name, is a sleeve bearing with an irregular shape, or regular grooves, that forces oil to move around, so that there will definitely be that film of oil everywhere that is loaded.

If Global makes FDBs, now, you can bet a Delta, Nidec, or NMB will be far and away superior in quality. OTOH, computer fan sellers are largely rebranding, and only rarely say who makes what. But, aside from a fluid dynamic bearing needing to not be a smooth sleeve just for truth in marketing, take it all with a grain of salt.

You really shouldn't worry about fan bearings. Any wear or issues with fan bearings can simply be fixed with a drop of mineral oil. You should always relube your fans every 6-12 months anyways, and sleeve bearings are supposed to be the quietest when in good condition.

Ball are fine, until something gets scratched. And, it will. Same with cheap sleeve bearings, but the cheap sleeve bearings might start seizing, with no real warning, while scratched ball bearings will work fine, but drive you insane. Even so-so sleeve bearing fans, though, like Yate Loons, will go a few years, before they need anything, and then more years before they actually fail. It's only the true bottom of the barrel that are worth worrying about...and you should just not get those.

You can run sleeve bearings in any orientation just fine. If you lay them as 'you aren't supposed to', you just have to relube them a bit early, that's all (pop the back sticker, pop the rubber stopper, a single drop of mineral oil, good to go). But even sleeves run in vertical orientation need to be relubed every 6-12 months. You'd be surprised at how loud your fans were running once you relube them if it's been a while.

Stopper? I haven't seen a computer fan with one of those in quite awhile. Most you either just drop some oil on the bearing, and let capillary action do the work of getting it in there, or, with better fans, you simply can't relube them at all.