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Help with 120mm fans please?

X

XARiUS

Member
Hey guys, first post here but I've been reading the articles for.. well quite some time..

I recently picked up the Antec P180 case (aka the refridgerator). As everyone says, a little quirky but very lovable..

I also just got the new Abit AW8-Max 3rd-Eye II motherboard. Man, does this thing have some serious fan support.. That being said, before I got my P180, I've always had cases that use 80mm fans (and lots of them).

Can the 120mm fans be controlled via the motherboards onboard fan control system like 80mm's can? I only ask because most of the 120mm fans I've seen are rated up to 12 volts. If memory serves, most onboard fan control hookups only go up to 5v?

My P180 actually came with 4 Fans.. I've got the standard 3 120x25's at rear, top and front, and the massive 120x38 in the PSU section. They move some serious air but I'd like to replace them with something a little quieter, and if possible, something that can be automatically controlled by my new motherboard yet still push (or pull) the CFM's needed should the temperatures rise...

Thanks in advance for the help, I hope to learn more about fans and cooling!!

X
 
If you have the money, I would buy a fan controller... Preferrably this, very good controller imo... can hook up 6 to it, more if needed. If you're wondering about the knobs and the P180 case door, the knobs DO fit when closed. As for fans, these are nice if you don't want LED's, assuming that you don't have a window on your P180. Any Panaflo fans are good too, like these. If you want LED's, Coolermaster is very good.... like these.
 
Hey XARiUS welcom to the AT forums.

You can run 120mm fans off of a motherboard - but - as with any fan (80mm included), you need to look at the fan's total power draw.

Most quiet fans (low watts low RPM) are fine for motherboard headers, but once the wattage/amperage goes up you need to reconsider your power connections. A safe rule of thumb is to stay below 6w (i.e. 12v fan at 0.5A = 6 watts). Check your motherboard manual for specific details on the maximum power available on the fan header.

Most 120x25 fans run under 6 watts, but not all. If you have a Delta or Tornado fan, you could pull upwards of 24 watts which would kill your motherboard quickly.
 
CraKaJax, Thanks for the heads up on the fan controller!

evilharp, Thanks also for the info on the wattage, I would have overlooked that for sure.

Regarding fan controllers, this motherboard has 6 thermal areas it monitors and a whopping 6 onboard fan connectors (minus CPU cooler header). The goal was to try and let the mobo control my fan speeds without me having to intervene using a fan controller.

I think I'll shoot for a low wattage (<6) fan that will still move a decent amount of air so I don't have to twist and turn knobs.

Thanks again guys!

(as always, more comments are of course welcome, opinions are like... yeah...) 😉
 
If you want to use your mobo connectors, you can control your fans with a program called speedfan, google it. it's handy to have, it only works with fans connected directly to your mobo though.
 
Welcome to Anandtech XARiUS.

If you posted,"Do you guys find a fan controller/fan buss nrcessary."

80% would say YES. The twisting and turning of knobs only happens when you game,
the fans blast away, when you want quiet surfing late at night, turn them down.
The best of both worlds. High vs low cfm cost near the same. High cfm fans will last
forever at 5-7 volts. For <$30 you come out the winner!


Galvanized





 
Thanks again guys, for all your feedback. This has really helped me look at a lot of different options for myself!

The Zalman 6 channel fan controller *would* look nice in my rig, and seems to be a great tool. But, it has exactly the same problem as my motherboard.... 7 watts or less the manufacturer recommends.. However, that being said, I would rather fry a $25 fan speed controller, than a $249 motherboard!!

So, it looks like if I want to be able to control fanspeed, I'm either going to have to go with the <6-7 watt fans and just stick with my motherboard headers, or grab that Zalman. I didn't really see any fan speed controllers out there as nice as the Zalman supporting higher wattages..

Thanks again guys for the feedback. It's greatly appreciated!

X
 
actually coolermaster and thermaltake smart fans are both solid fans!!

I use the thermaltake for my exhaust fan...I am very pleassed with it!

All my other 120 mm fans are Coolermaster and they are very nice and quiet and YES the specs are right on the money for the coolermaster...22dba and 42.7cfm@1220rpm!!

Good Luck!
 
Awesome.. Glad to hear about the coolermaster fans! I ordered 4 of them + the Zalman MFC fan controller yesterday from newegg... 🙂
 
hey guys im curious to know if I can throw in a 120x38 on the top and rear?
im pretty much new to fans in a case.
I dont have a fan controller, my sig is in my rig.
I'd like to drop my temp and NOISE isnt an issue.
currently running only 2 fans in my p180 case, both stock fans at high.

top = intake, rear = default, exhaust.
however, I'd like to "upgrade" something that moves more air since I don't think I can install a fan in the front (if so, what size fan do I need for that) due to most of my cables are hiddien in that area and my HDD are in the bottom.

Also, has anyone tried putting a fan in the bottom chamber but blowing to the HDD and not PSU... since I have no cooling on those babies at all... or do I not need to worry about them?

current temp:

abience: approx 77f

cpu - 35c, idle 53 load
system 39c
gpu 46

id like to get a result of 6c less atleast...

what setup is more suitable for me? I've read someone has removed the top fan, sealed off the vga duct area, installed an intake in the front and turned the rear into an exhaust, creating a wind tunnel.

thank you guys.
 
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