Setting up two fans

[tg2708]

I recently bought two corsair sp 120 fans ad Im wondering where tot put them. I have a Carbide 300r with the stock fan at the front and a noctua at the back.

Also while changing my graphics card I lost one of the screws to the noctua fan so i only have 3 holding it in place, is that ok.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I recently bought two corsair sp 120 fans ad Im wondering where tot put them. I have a Carbide 300r with the stock fan at the front and a noctua at the back.

Also while changing my graphics card I lost one of the screws to the noctua fan so i only have 3 holding it in place, is that ok.

"SCREWS?!" SCREW-ews?!" Lemme paraphrase that old line from Bogie's "Treasure of the Sierra Madre:" "Screws? Screws? We don' need no stinkeen screws! Whadda we need stinkeen screws for [-- Pindejo]?!"

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/setof4rufanr.html

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/setof4fanrid.html

I'm impressed with those 120x25mm Corsair fans: Reasonably low amps; good airflow; manageable noise-level especially with thermal-control if you can do it.

And frankly, "Noctua" [P12, P14, etc.]: Limp with Quality

I'm sure you can do any of several things with those Corsairs. Maybe -- decent rear case-exhaust. Maybe -- the case side-panel ports for that Carbide 300R. From my "HAF" view of things, you're just a tad limited with your options, since I favor bigger intake fans (lower rpm and noise) coupled with smaller exhaust fans (higher rpm and noise -- when needed).

The wisdom is scattered through several current threads here -- and many threads over the years: Use a strategy of a slightly-pressurized case that controls airflow to cool the hottest parts (like CPU, RAM and hot motherboard components) and then exhaust that air as soon as possible before it much mixes with the rest of the case atmosphere.

I feel optimistic for the benefits of your Corsair 120x25s -- though I never used them. I might look for a 140x25mm flavor, myself, but it depends on your case fittings, your inclination to "mod," and so on.

 

[tg2708]

ok does the screws provided go through the rubber holes? They seem to go through forcibly and might break something.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

ok does the screws provided go through the rubber holes? They seem to go through forcibly and might break something.

"Rubber holes? We don' need no stinkeen rubber holes! Whadda we need stinkeen rubber holes for?"

The point of the rubber rivets: they isolate the fan and its understandable vibration from the metal case. You need to pull them through the mounting holes with just a bit of care. Getting them out when you're exchanging a fan or doing some "maintenance?" Just a bit more care, perhaps with a small tool like an ice-pick -- something to force the rivet back through the hole from whence it came -- without tearing the rubber.

 

[tg2708]

Then I will have to buy them because the fans came with regular fan screws.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Then I will have to buy them because the fans came with regular fan screws.

They always do! Little shiny Phillips flathead self-threading screws. You can save them for some household project unrelated to computers, or throw them away.

The only outfits that ever sent rubber fan rivets or similar items were Noctua and a heatpipe/sink manufacturer. Now I remember: It was a heatsink from OCZ -- a tower model like a TRUE or a Megahalem.

And I still say -- they may seem like chump-change or a nuisance to pay, but buy extras. ONe thing I can tell you for sure: they don't just deteriorate or fall apart on their own. Removal requires a bit more care than installation.

 

[46andtool]

They always do! Little shiny Phillips flathead self-threading screws. You can save them for some household project unrelated to computers, or throw them away.

The only outfits that ever sent rubber fan rivets or similar items were Noctua and a heatpipe/sink manufacturer. Now I remember: It was a heatsink from OCZ -- a tower model like a TRUE or a Megahalem.

And I still say -- they may seem like chump-change or a nuisance to pay, but buy extras. ONe thing I can tell you for sure: they don't just deteriorate or fall apart on their own. Removal requires a bit more care than installation.

BonzaiDuck you are wise :biggrin:

 

[BonzaiDuck]

BonzaiDuck you are wise :biggrin:

Like I'd said . . . I'd tried 2" and even 3" slotted round machine-heads, rubber donuts with washers to protect 'em. But any contact with the case would still be a slight problem. You could even buy square silly-cone rubber grommets for the fans, but hard-plastic, metal screws and case metal couldn't beat the rubber rivets . . .

 

[Tweakin]

I recently bought two corsair sp 120 fans ad Im wondering where tot put them. I have a Carbide 300r with the stock fan at the front and a noctua at the back.

Also while changing my graphics card I lost one of the screws to the noctua fan so i only have 3 holding it in place, is that ok.

Is it just me or did you purchase equipment without any thought to your need or how they will be used? I wish I had disposable income like that...it's good to be young!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Is it just me or did you purchase equipment without any thought to your need or how they will be used? I wish I had disposable income like that...it's good to be young!

Ask me -- he's not so much a spendthrift -- just a bit new to the nuance of noise . . . :biggrin:

 

[Tweakin]

Ask me -- he's not so much a spendthrift -- just a bit new to the nuance of noise . . . :biggrin:

Been there...done that! That is what turned me on to water!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Been there...done that! That is what turned me on to water!

I figure for the expense of different "test-fans," noise-pads, the time taken for "building ducts" -- I could've purchased the parts for H2O and be living in a different plane and frequency.

At the time, I was looking at "DIY evaporative bong-cooler" and one guy's idea for chilled water: filled and frozen drinking-water bottle discards, stacked in a tub. Someone also experimented with running the water loop through their water cooler: I started watching the ads for compact water coolers at Frye's. Then there was the idea of chilled water with TEC devices in the loop. Somewhere I saw this idea where someone built a copper reservoir, with three TECs.

Then, there was the XP-120, XP-90, the TRUE, the Megahalem, the Silver Arrow . . . my D14.

Last week, I reviewed FrozenCPU's stock of phase-change kits. Decided to keep the $1,000 for a rainy day.

Dunno. I figure if my 4.6Ghz OC doesn't peg to more than 73C on the hottest core for a warm day, I just keep putting it off. Instead, I'm more likely to try for 4.7 Ghz and see what I can do to keep things in the low '80s.

. . . . and I keep playing around with new fans and foam art-board -- from time . . . to time. . . .

 

[46andtool]

Like I'd said . . . I'd tried 2" and even 3" slotted round machine-heads, rubber donuts with washers to protect 'em. But any contact with the case would still be a slight problem. You could even buy square silly-cone rubber grommets for the fans, but hard-plastic, metal screws and case metal couldn't beat the rubber rivets . . .

Welp I book-marked the sidewinder link you provided, going to order when Im ready to install the fans :thumbsup:

 

[46andtool]

Is it just me or did you purchase equipment without any thought to your need or how they will be used? I wish I had disposable income like that...it's good to be young!

I did the same thing, bought 2 rosewill 120mm fans knowing that I wanted to cool my components just not sure where in the case I wanted them. thats what anandtech forums are for!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Welp I book-marked the sidewinder link you provided, going to order when Im ready to install the fans :thumbsup:

Gary Stoffer was either the customer-support rep or owner of Sidewinder last time I corresponded. Very helpful.

They have a lot of stuff to choose from there -- very well organized. If they have any "schlock" in their inventory -- I haven't found it.

If I decide on a switch to H2O, I'll likely order my parts there. Of course, I'll check elsewhere for the dee-ulls. But they don't delay shipping, and if I can claim the easy-estimated "use-tax" in CA in lieu of itemized spreadsheet of untaxed purchases from places like Illinois, that's also a consideration.

But it's a specialty shop! For comparison purposes, you don't have the information at your fingertips shopping at the Egg for some of those things.

 

[tg2708]

Is it just me or did you purchase equipment without any thought to your need or how they will be used? I wish I had disposable income like that...it's good to be young!

Its not about not knowing where to put them, its more along the line of "the screws provided does not seem to work well with the rubber in the area where it should be screwed into". I know that much of the screws are what creates the threading in the holes, as they are not pre-drilled.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Its not about not knowing where to put them, its more along the line of "the screws provided does not seem to work well with the rubber in the area where it should be screwed into". I know that much of the screws are what creates the threading in the holes, as they are not pre-drilled.

Not sure I get it . . . You have a case . . . with some sort of . . . "rubberized-fan-holes?!" Most cases I've had -- and they're either HAFs, CM Stackers or "deep-modded" discard ATX cases from the '90s -- don' have no rubberized fan holes! That's the reason for the rubber rivets.

If you have such a beast -- rubberized holes -- then you could use machine-head screws and metal washers . . . . I suppose.

. . . I just used the "zoom" feature at the Egg to look at the Carbide 300R. They're metal holes -- no rubber. I must've misunderstood you, thinking that I'd already misunderstood you.

 

[tg2708]

lol the screw holes in the sp 120 fan is rubberized not the carbide 300r case fan holes.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

lol the screw holes in the sp 120 fan is rubberized not the carbide 300r case fan holes.

Well, then it depends on whether the "rubberization" adequately deadens vibration that would be transmitted to the case, or whether you would have any special problem using the rubber rivets.

I'd try and use the rubber rivets with the rubber holes. If the rubber rivet doesn't pass through the hole as easily as it would with plastic, dab it with a little Vaseline or soapy water.