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Question for Antec 900 owners

C

CitizenSnips

Member
I was just wondering if it's a good idea to buy extra fans for the two slots the 900 case has for optional 120mm's, the side panel and the one on the hard drive cage? Does adding extra fan power increase airflow/cooling noticeably? Or would it just be overkill with the fans the case already has built in?

For the record, it'll be a gaming computer and I may or may not overclock, and I'll be running with an 8800GT and one WD500GB HD. Would I need the extra fans to keep those parts cool, since the extra fan docks are right over said parts?
 
Snips,

The 900 comes with 120mm fans on 2 of the HDD cages in front and one in the rear of the case, as well as the 200MM fan on the top. The only option you would need is the side window fan, so it depends on how much heat you could generate in your case. If you have a large HSF like a Tuniq Tower, there's no room for the side window fan, so you wouldn't need it. If you have to buy a fan and don't have it available on your shelf, believe I'd build the rig with supplied fans, get it running, check temps, and buy a new 120 for the side window if it needs more cooling.

Noel
 
Hi CitizenSnips,

I have the Antec 900 fitted with 2 x 120mm front intake fans, one side 120mm intake fan, a rear 120mm exhaust fan and, of course, the top-mounted 200mm exhaust fan.

A lot of what you want depends on the internal set-up. I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro as my CPU cooler which, because of its downdraught MOSFET cooling fins, I have it orientated towards the rear exhaust fan. I also have a Graphics Card with its own rear-exiting exhaust fan. With separate MOSFET cooling, I'd point it towards the top-mounted exhaust fan (hot air rises and all that...) especially as I now have a Thermaltake HR-05 NorthBridge heatsink sitting alongside the AC F7 Pro mounted longitudinally to the main through-case airflow (there isn't enough room to mount it transversely on my mobo).

I've noticed at times that the side fan can cause internal case turbulence - in certain circumstances, turning the fan speed down can lower the internal temperatures (very counter-intuitive....).

However, set up correctly, the outside case fans work very well.

The internal "extra" fan that sits behind the HDD cages is, in my opinion and experience, a gimmick. Not only does it not produce any tangible benefits, it adds to the noise and takes up an inordinate amount of space.

My advice, for what it's worth: 2 x 120mm front intake fans, linked to a single channel on a fan controller. The side fan as an intake, on it's own channel. Same with the rear exhaust. Leave the top mounted exhaust fan on M or H on the attached fan speed control. And wear thick socks if your case sits under your desk. The cold air at your ankles will bring on rheumatism or frost-bite!

Good luck.

T42

And fit dust filters for the intakes: the case is very prone to dust.
 
Originally posted by: NoelS
Snips,

The 900 comes with 120mm fans on 2 of the HDD cages in front and one in the rear of the case, as well as the 200MM fan on the top. The only option you would need is the side window fan, so it depends on how much heat you could generate in your case. If you have a large HSF like a Tuniq Tower, there's no room for the side window fan, so you wouldn't need it. If you have to buy a fan and don't have it available on your shelf, believe I'd build the rig with supplied fans, get it running, check temps, and buy a new 120 for the side window if it needs more cooling.

Noel
Click to expand...

Pretty sound advice Noel, probably the best way to go about it. The way the case is built the fans can just slide right into the premade slots so they wouldn't be hard to put in later if need be, and no sense in adding them if my rig would run cool enough as is.

Originally posted by: Team42
Hi CitizenSnips,

I have the Antec 900 fitted with 2 x 120mm front intake fans, one side 120mm intake fan, a rear 120mm exhaust fan and, of course, the top-mounted 200mm exhaust fan.

A lot of what you want depends on the internal set-up. I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro as my CPU cooler which, because of its downdraught MOSFET cooling fins, I have it orientated towards the rear exhaust fan. I also have a Graphics Card with its own rear-exiting exhaust fan. With separate MOSFET cooling, I'd point it towards the top-mounted exhaust fan (hot air rises and all that...) especially as I now have a Thermaltake HR-05 NorthBridge heatsink sitting alongside the AC F7 Pro mounted longitudinally to the main through-case airflow (there isn't enough room to mount it transversely on my mobo).

I've noticed at times that the side fan can cause internal case turbulence - in certain circumstances, turning the fan speed down can lower the internal temperatures (very counter-intuitive....).

However, set up correctly, the outside case fans work very well.

The internal "extra" fan that sits behind the HDD cages is, in my opinion and experience, a gimmick. Not only does it not produce any tangible benefits, it adds to the noise and takes up an inordinate amount of space.

My advice, for what it's worth: 2 x 120mm front intake fans, linked to a single channel on a fan controller. The side fan as an intake, on it's own channel. Same with the rear exhaust. Leave the top mounted exhaust fan on M or H on the attached fan speed control. And wear thick socks if your case sits under your desk. The cold air at your ankles will bring on rheumatism or frost-bite!

Good luck.

T42

And fit dust filters for the intakes: the case is very prone to dust.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks a lot for that Team, quite a lot of input there.

For the record, my CPU cooler is the Zalman CNPS9500. It's still in transit to me so I'm not sure quite how big it is physically and how it'll fit in. So you'd suggest orienting it so it blows out to the rear-panel fan on the back of the case, or positioning it to blow up at the big 200mm top fan?

As for linking all the fans together, bear with me here as I'm pretty new to this stuff. The Abit IP35 Pro board I have has smart fan control, so you're saying I should plug the 2 cage fans in together, then plug them into one fan controller on the MOBO? Then just plug every other fan seperately into the MOBO's fan controllers, but stick the 200mm into the power supply?

What would you recommend for dust filters? I've heard varying accounts about them, some accounts I've read online say they make the fans almost useless for blowing air and just lead to overheating.

For the record, I plan to set it on my desk top so at least that won't be an issue. With all the time and money I'm sinking into my PC I'm not about to just shove it out of sight by my feet, especially with LEDs and a window 😛

Thanks a ton for the info guys!
 
Snips,

As I recall my 900 case fan configuration (I no longer use my 900), it's front fans and top fan come with Molex (large 4 pin) connectors and aren't conducive to plugging in to the mobo unless you hook a 3 pin/Molex cable combo to the fan connector's Molex. I chained my 2 front fans with a PSU Molex lead (probably combined with the HDDs) and I hooked the top fan up directly to a PSU Molex connector. The rear fan I don't recall but think I plugged into directly the mobo (believe it has a 3 pin/Molex combo). The side fan is whatever you put in there at the time, 3 pin or Molex... I prefer 3 pins so I can hook into the mobo. BTW, the 900 fans are are 3 speed selectable.

As for the HSF, I would aim it towards the rear exhaust and let the rear fan help exhaust it's heat as well. I think the top fan will exhaust any residual heat in the case.

Agree with Team42 on the conflict that a side fan can create. If you don't need it, don't use it... The hole there would be a good place for a filter...

I installed 4x4 aluminum dust filters on the front of the fan cages (http://www.xoxide.com/12alfanfil.html) and they worked well, I didn't detect any heat issues with them and they do catch dust!! EDIT: The Xoxide site won't go to "Filters", you'll have to select "Fan Accessories" on the side menu. Sorry about that...

Last, the 900 is VERY heavy, about 30 pounds, so loaded it can be a chore lug around, so I had it in a CPU cart with wheels. You don't need to put it on a desk to see it, it shows up well under the desk if well placed.

Noel
 
I'd add both 120mm from the start, but it doesn't hurt to wait and see as you can order any 120mm later and add as necessary. I've found both extra fans to be beneficial though and think they should be included.

The caged passthrough fan is very important if you have 2 or more HDDs, as they will block/deter a lot of airflow and also heat that air up as it passes by. I run 2x Raptors and they do run EXTREMELY hot. Also, the PSU is also on the bottom and wires can further deter airflow from that bottom-cage. This makes the middle cage that much more important as it'll align with your video card and pass air towards your CPU as well and a passthrough fan only helps facilitate that.

The side window fan is also very important if you run one of the hotter/newer cards like an 8800/X19xx/2900/38xx. I know a lot of folks here will say a side fan isn't necessary if you have proper airflow coming from the front but I've noticed significant drops in temps adding the side fan blowing right onto an 8800. Certain configurations might not need it as much, but with a Tuniq blowing away from the center towards the 200mm I don't get any of the negative turbulence some others mentioned.

If you want even more cooling and some of the features mentioned here, like fan filters, Antec was showing off their new 1200 at CES. Pics on AT's frontpage.
 
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