Quiet, Reliable 80mm Case Fans?

[jgbishop]

My Cooler Master ATC-201 case has four fans: two intakes on the front (blowing across the hard drives), one outtake on the rear, and one outtake on the top (all are 80 mm). When I bought the case, the top fan was incredibly loud (must have a bad bearing), so I've never used it; instead it acts as a passive intake.

I'd like to replace all of the fans in my case with some new ones, as my computer has gotten noticeably louder over time (I also intend to replace my CPU cooler with a new one, but that's another story).

What brand of 80 mm case fans are recommended? I'm most interested in them being quiet, but reliability is also desirable.

 

[Liberator21]

80mm is a tough size to get quiet and have decent airflow. I'm a big advocate of the Noctua S80-1800. Noctua's are all I use now days. If you decide to go this route, be prepared for a hit on the pocketbook however, as 4 of them with shipping will be painfully nearing the triple digits.

 

[Zardnok]

Panaflo L-1s. If you can get the ones made in Japan, they are even better. The Noctua NF-R8 is also a really nice fan with great air flow and very low noise, but it is almost twice the price of the Panaflo fans.

http://www.jab-tech.com/80mm-Panaflo-fan-L1BX-FBA08A12L-1BX-pr-3243.html
http://www.jab-tech.com/Noctua-80mm-Fan-NF-R8-pr-3635.html

 

[RallyMaster]

Get a bunch of Cooler Master sleeve bearing 80mm fans. They come in boxes of 6 in some locations for around 9.99 per box.

 

[Operandi]

Thats an awesome case, I've used it for a bunch of systems now (after the name change).

I've used two different fan configurations. If the board had good BIOS control over system fans I used Panaflo L1As in the exhaust positions and let the RPM be dictated by system temp, as they are too loud for my preference at 12v. Up front in the intake position were L1As again but run at a consistent 5v.

The other configuration used these low speed NMBs in all four locations. At 12v they move at 1200 RPM not quite near silent like the Panaflos at 5v but they move a bit more air and you don't have worry about undervolting them. The obvious down side here is their max speed is 1200 RPM where as the L1As have a top end of 1900RPM.

If you have moderately cool hardware the NMBs should be fine, otherwise you may have to move to something with a bit more CFM such as the L1As.

 

[Zepper]

I'd recommend using this method to get better flow: http://www.techimo.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=9079 just use an 80 to 120mm adapter instead of the 80 to 92mm adapter pictured. Also cut out any restrictive grills front and rear.

The Arctic Cooling frameless fans are very quiet (as long as their bearings aren't damaged in shipping or some other way - seems to be easy to do) and give better than expected CFM. There are Silverstone fans that put a 92mm blade on an 80mm mount but they have the same mounting limitations as the Arctic Cooling ones - many cases can only use them as exhaust/blowhole fans.

Perhaps SilentPCReview.com has recommendations on some 80mm fans that are reasonably quiet while giving decent CFM. Almost no one uses 80mm fans any more except for PSU/HSF replacements. The CM units mentioned above are pretty quiet but don't move much air - I like their so-called "rifled bearing model" better as it is similar to the Panaflo wave-bearing - much longer lived than a plain sleeve bearing.

You may need to cut a vent into the bottom of the case near the front the size of a 90 or 120mm fan so the rear fan as suggested, PSU and blowhole fans can breathe - doesn't look like that case has much other venting. Cover the vent with a filter to help keep the dust out. Looks like you won't need to do any cutting except for the bottom front vent if you choose to do it as all the other fan holes are fully cut out and have wire grills which are easily removed. CM did a well as was possible in the olden days prior to 120mm fans.

Basically for good effective cooling you want the air to travel as far as possible to the exhaust fans so it has a chance to pick up heat from the devices along the way. If you left the blowhole passive, air would actually come IN thru it direct to the PSU and/or exhaust fans while cooling nothing else along the way. Air, like water, electricity and students, takes the path of least resistance... So you have to force (or trick it) into doing what you want.

.bh.

 

[jgbishop]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will certainly investigate these options.

Any more thoughts or recommendations?

 

[996GT2]

OK...I think I have a pretty good solution for you...

From what I can see in that review, the basic inner structure of your case is almost the same as that of my Cooler Master Wave Master.

Carefully look at this pic...You'll notice that there is space around the 80mm fans...enough, in fact, to mount a pair of 92x38mm fans in there with no disruption to other parts. That is exactly what I did.

One note though: You might have to trim the bolts sticking out next to the fans...not hard at all with a dremel or bolt cutter.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/cases/CoolerMaster_ATC-201/pics/1019.jpg

I chose to install a pair of NMB (Partnered with Panasonic) 92x38mm fans; these fans have built-in thermistors for variable speed control and can vary flow from about 20 to a whopping 69 CFM at full speed (which it will not get to unless it senses some serious heat in your case). They are 38mm wide versus the usual 25, and as such can move a bit more air. Dell uses these extensively in their computers, so they are very reliable and quiet as well (very slight hum when they speed up, but that has only happened during high load situations)

These fans can be found here for a reasonable price (although they were only $5 each when I bought them)
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/nmb92lowsp36.html

Pic of install in Wave Master:
I hot-glued the fans in instead of drilling new screw holes...it's been over 6 months and they are working like new. I also cut square holes where the restrictive round holes were...I'm not sure if your case has a similar setup, but opening the intake up will increase airflow noticeably.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j120/996gt2/Computer%20Hardware/DSC02254.jpg
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j120/996gt2/Computer%20Hardware/DSC02271.jpg

For the side, I cut a 120mm fan port with a hole-saw and installed an Arctic-Cooling 120mm fan. You might want to look into that for extra airflow.
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j120/996gt2/Computer%20Hardware/DSC01716.jpg

Good luck!

 

[Zepper]

Those thermistor fans only work well as exhausts - they will never spin up unless you remote the thermistors as they will always be reading intake air - not the warmer air inside the case. But if you never want/need them to speed up, that's fine.

.bh.

 

[996GT2]

Mine have actually spun up during periods of high load...although during normal use they are probably only moving about 25 cfm or so

However other 92mm fans can be substituted fairly easily in the same case