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Is a 11 CFM 120 mm fan useless?

F

forumposter32

Banned
I swear it doesn't push a lot of air. It makes me feel kind of weird. I put it in front of my hard drive to keep it cooler when file sharing.
Anyway, it's a Coolermaster. Should I bother to get another one?
 
it will not move much air at all. i have 2 of the exact same cooler masters in the front of my stacker. they do a good job and are very quiet, but there are better options out there.
 
Originally posted by: forumposter32
I swear it doesn't push a lot of air. It makes me feel kind of weird. I put it in front of my hard drive to keep it cooler when file sharing.
Anyway, it's a Coolermaster. Should I bother to get another one?
Click to expand...

Just get a higher cfm fan and control it (7 volt it , 5V whatever). Get best of both worlds.
 
I don't know the CFM of a Nexus undervolted to 650-700rpm, but with my passive Ninja I get 40/60C at idle/load. Motherboard at about 34C. As long as you don't have a rat's nest, you really don't need that much airflow to cool off a computer.
 
11 CFM is pretty wimpy, but adequate for cooling a stack of HDs. HDs just need some air moving across them to be happy - don't need a lot. So if it's just drives you're cooling and you don't need the fan to contribute to overall system cooling, then a low and slow fan should do it. Helps with the overall noise level too.

.bh.
 
Another area where this fan is best used is sub-compact quarters like Aria or Chenming mATX 118 Small form factors benefit.
 
I first REALLY started to build PC's when the Pentium 200 MMX processors came out, and it coincided with my migration to mid-tower cases. Since then, I've flipped back toward full-tower preferences.

Because I just used Intel boards back then, and because they were only Pentiums, P-2's and P-3's, cooling wasn't much of an issue. You could get by without a front intake fan, and your ventilation was mostly through the PSU's fan. So noise wasn't an issue, either.

Going from the 1.8A P-4 processors to the 2.5B and above, and desirous to over-clock, I found myself initially working with 80mm "whiners." We've gotten beyond that, just as a matter of friendly competition and the discovery about the advantages of larger fans.

My MOJO is about as quiet as an older Compaq OEM machine, with the exception that the rear of the case emits a slight whooshing sound like a well-pressured AC vent on a warm day.

But I just don't understand this idea about using fans with such low CFMs that not only can they not be heard -- they don't ventilate!!

MOJO is getting a makeover. There WILL be silly-cone rubber fan grommets on the front intakes, which I forgot in the hurry of first building it. There WILL be shock-absorbers for the hard disks.

No way I'm going to use a 120mm fan that only pushes 11CFM. Every fan in my case has the capability to move 78 CFM or higher. I've just got them tuned down to a speed that is adequate for both the noise problem and the cooling problem.

My goal is to OC to a limit that doesn't compromise component longevity, and cool as much as possible without pushing CFMs through the case that don't add to cooling. And within those parameters, I've dealt with noise quite effectively, I think.

We had a gas leak last year, and we have at any one time four computers running here. The front intakes are all filtered. The repairman came into the house with testing equipment, went from room to room, and then remarked:

"I've been doing this job for fifteen years, and this house has the cleanest air of any house in the Inland Empire!"

My sinuses thank me, too. . . .

 
11 CFM is nothing; but I'll bet it's really quiet. !! ( you probably exhale more than that rate) I use GlacialTech 120mm as intake fans. Run around 1000 rpm; push 37CFM and are quiet.
 
Originally posted by: Shadowknight
I don't know the CFM of a Nexus undervolted to 650-700rpm, but with my passive Ninja I get 40/60C at idle/load. Motherboard at about 34C. As long as you don't have a rat's nest, you really don't need that much airflow to cool off a computer.
Click to expand...

Mike Chin, as you probably know posted quite a thread on this. The rpm was linear to the cfm's according to his findings...therefore a 700rpm Nexus 120mm is pushing ~25.81 cfms. Could this be?
 
Originally posted by: JBDan
Originally posted by: Shadowknight
I don't know the CFM of a Nexus undervolted to 650-700rpm, but with my passive Ninja I get 40/60C at idle/load. Motherboard at about 34C. As long as you don't have a rat's nest, you really don't need that much airflow to cool off a computer.
Click to expand...

Mike Chin, as you probably know posted quite a thread on this. The rpm was linear to the cfm's according to his findings...therefore a 700rpm Nexus 120mm is pushing ~25.81 cfms.
Click to expand...

I forgot....Chin also concluded (and this is a tricky one for me) that 2 fans....lets say two Nexus 120mm's both @ 500 rpm will push the same cfm's (36.87) as a single Nexus 120mm @ 1000 rpm (36.87 cfm) and at the same time be quieter (on the average 1-2 dBA quieter). Very interesting if accurate/true. Again, these are HIS results/findings and not mine.
 
they actually make 120mm fans that only push 11CFMs? I think the 40mm fan I put on my northbridge heatsink moves more air than that.
 
Originally posted by: govtcheez75
they actually make 120mm fans that only push 11CFMs? I think the 40mm fan I put on my northbridge heatsink moves more air than that.
Click to expand...


40MM is 1.5inches.

120mm is almost 5 inches. You're not going to cool down an array of Hard drives or heatpipeed heatsink with a 40mm fan.

Just FYI, this fan has a purpose.
 
Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck
I first REALLY started to build PC's when the Pentium 200 MMX processors came out, and it coincided with my migration to mid-tower cases. Since then, I've flipped back toward full-tower preferences.

Because I just used Intel boards back then, and because they were only Pentiums, P-2's and P-3's, cooling wasn't much of an issue. You could get by without a front intake fan, and your ventilation was mostly through the PSU's fan. So noise wasn't an issue, either.

Going from the 1.8A P-4 processors to the 2.5B and above, and desirous to over-clock, I found myself initially working with 80mm "whiners." We've gotten beyond that, just as a matter of friendly competition and the discovery about the advantages of larger fans.

My MOJO is about as quiet as an older Compaq OEM machine, with the exception that the rear of the case emits a slight whooshing sound like a well-pressured AC vent on a warm day.

But I just don't understand this idea about using fans with such low CFMs that not only can they not be heard -- they don't ventilate!!

MOJO is getting a makeover. There WILL be silly-cone rubber fan grommets on the front intakes, which I forgot in the hurry of first building it. There WILL be shock-absorbers for the hard disks.

No way I'm going to use a 120mm fan that only pushes 11CFM. Every fan in my case has the capability to move 78 CFM or higher. I've just got them tuned down to a speed that is adequate for both the noise problem and the cooling problem.

My goal is to OC to a limit that doesn't compromise component longevity, and cool as much as possible without pushing CFMs through the case that don't add to cooling. And within those parameters, I've dealt with noise quite effectively, I think.

We had a gas leak last year, and we have at any one time four computers running here. The front intakes are all filtered. The repairman came into the house with testing equipment, went from room to room, and then remarked:

"I've been doing this job for fifteen years, and this house has the cleanest air of any house in the Inland Empire!"

My sinuses thank me, too. . . .
Click to expand...


I really doubt that your computer filters have much to do with this, but believe what you want. My filters pick up a decent amount of junk, but not enough to justify saying that my air feels cleaner.
 
Originally posted by: NotquiteanooB
11 CFM is nothing; but I'll bet it's really quiet. !! ( you probably exhale more than that rate) I use GlacialTech 120mm as intake fans. Run around 1000 rpm; push 37CFM and are quiet.
Click to expand...
I cast another vote for the GlacialTechs, they're the best cooling fans in the "zomg STFU already!!!" category. 😀


But in all seriousness, the 9 blades move air extremely well even at very low RPMs. The 120mm model runs at 950RPM and 19dB, and moves 38CFM of air. With a plastic mount or rubber grommet (and perhaps some undervolting), I bet you can make it totally inaudible.
 
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