Should I add more fans to Antec SOLO case?

[Bobsy]

Hello,

I own an Antec Solo case. It has one 120mm exhaust fan at the rear. It is currently set to "Low" flow, but I could set it to High flow to improve cooling.

I have been using integrated graphics up until now, but I would like to upgrade to the MSI GTX 460 with the Cyclone cooler. This cooler throws hot air all over the case, so now I am worried that my case ventilation is not going to be sufficient.
a) Should I be worried?

The case allows for adding 2 92mm fans at the front.
b) Should I add one, two, or none?
c) Those would be intake fans I guess?
d) Any proposal for good fans? Price is not really an issue. I know nothing about brands, models, specs, so I was going to simply get those Tri-Cool fans from Antec to be sure they would fit.

Thanks!

 

[zagood]

I'd definitely add 2x92mm fans as intake on the front. Two fans at lower speeds will (generally) be more quiet than one fan at high speed.

Personally I'd go for either the Nexus Real Silent, or the midrange Scythe Gentle Typhoon. With either one, I'd recommend getting a fan controller so you can lower speeds when browsing, and raise speeds when gaming. You can also put your rear fan on the same controller (just set the 3-speed switch to High) and do the same thing.

If you're going to leave your dust filter on, then the Gentle Typhoon should be the way to go. The filter is very restrictive. I left mine off, but it's up to you.

Another option is to drill/cut your own mount for one 120mm fan.

 

[Bobsy]

Thank you for your advice. I never thought about a fan controller, I did not even know it existed. Any suggestion for that as well?

I think I'll go with the Typhoons.

 

[zagood]

I always stand by the cheap and reliable Sunbeam Rheobus. The regular model is 4-channel and perfect for standard setups. They also have an "extreme" version with 6 channels. Lamptron also makes some very good ones.

Some good online sellers for fans/cooling are svc.com, performance-pcs.com, jab-tech.com, and sidewindercomputers.com. Check prices, tax, shipping, etc. to find the best deal.

 

[Bobsy]

Thank you for the advice. The Scythe Gentle Typhoon 92mm seems to be a good choice. Why do you say I should with this one vs. the other one (Nexus) if I intend to keep the dust filter installed?

As I was shopping for it, I came across the Noctua NF-B9 (http://bit.ly/9U3kj7). According to specs, here's how they compare:

Noctua NF-B9

• Speed: 1600 RPM
• Airflow: 64.3 m³/h
• Noise: 17.6 dBA

Scythe Gentle Typhoon (-13)

• Speed: 2,150 RPM
• Airflow: 58 m³/h
• Noise: 20 dBA

From these, should I conclude that the Noctua is a better product (if I don't care about the price difference)?

Lastly, it seems the Scythe fan comes in three flavors (three model numbers), depending on how fast I want the fan to turn: 1,700 RPM, 2,150 RPM, 2,650 RPM.

The Noctua, on the other hand, comes with an "Ultra-Low-Noise Adapter" and a "Low-Noise Adapter" which allow to reduce the rotationnal speed, the airflow and the noise.

Am I getting this right? Will the adapter allow me to adjust the airflow, while on the Scythe I must make the decision before purchase?

As always, thank you for the info.

 

[zagood]

The dBA ratings on the Noctua are exaggerated, it's not quite that quiet.

Static pressure on the GTs is better at low speed, hence the recommendation if you were using the dust filter.

The ULNA device is an inline resistor - to change speeds you have to manually unplug your fan, attach/remove the adapter(s) - then reattach.

If I were going to get new fans, I'd probably get the high-speed GTs on a fan controller. With no fan controller and no dust filter, it would be a toss-up between the midrange GTs and the Noctuas, whichever was cheaper at the time. It's nice having the ULNA stuff handy, but not being able to change them on the fly is pretty annoying.

 

[Bobsy]

Thanks Zagood, that's great info. Now it's shopping time!

 

[Sahakiel]

I have the Solo as well. I also taped off all the small vents here and there, even unused drive bays and around the optical drive, except for fan mounts and run everything with one 120mm exhaust.
When I bought it years ago, it was one of the quietest cases off the shelf. Now, it's pretty mediocre sound-wise and has terrible air flow compared to other cases on the market. My biggest gripe now is the PSU, which I now highly prefer to bottom mount, both for lower center of mass and better case airflow. Its current placement reduces the effectiveness of the rear exhaust fan. I actually added a duct directly to my CPU cooler and dropped temps there by 5 C under load (no changes in other temps).
Do note that noise will increase because you are adding fans in front, closer to you, the user, with less mass to dampen sound.

A few ideas:

1. Remove all the slot covers below your video card. Keep 120mm as exhaust. The idea is to help cool the exhaust from your video card before it circulates with the rest of the system. Or, you can also mount a fan over several unused slots if you have the room.
If you prefer one, it's not hard taping a filter over the slots or using my personal cheap-ass method of simply taping both sides and cutting narrow slits with a utility blade. I use the snap-off type that was common with print companies before digital presses. I assume poking holes works similarly.

2. Open up that second slot on your video card. Maybe 1/4th or 1/3rd of the hot air thrown off from the cooler heads towards the slot cover, so if you open it up, that's more heat that gets blown out. The stock grill looks to be quite restrictive. You can either scrap a single slot plate from a broken card with the same output configuration (and leave the 2nd slot wide open) or have at it with a rotary tool.

3. Look at other cards that use a slot cooler. They probably won't be as efficient, but at least they don't heat your overall system as much.

4. Get a bay cooler the Lian Li 3 x 5.25" fan mount. Set to exhaust or intake as you prefer, depending on rest of case and whether you add the bottom 92mm fans.

5. You can add a metal or other non-flammable non-conductive material (some plastics come to mind) plate to the middle of your system. This should block most of the vertical airflow between your video card and above it except near the rear fan. The idea is that most of the heat exhaust will only heat the air on the bottom of your case and exhaust almost immediately out the back. You will probably have to add a bay cooler or just remove one bay cover to feed air across to your CPU. I did this years ago with an Antec SX1040 case and it worked really well after a few tweaks. You can attach a plate and or L-bracket to the side panel. Just be careful not to crush/short anything.

5. I've seen PCI-slot exhaust fans. The single/double slot types are pretty loud, but move a good amount of air out the back. Another type I haven't tried side mounts the fan outside your case, so while it only draws (or pushes, it's reversible) air through a single PCI slot, the fan sits vertical to your case. The assumption being this way you can get better airflow with less noise. Have no idea how well those actually work.

6. The tried and true blowhole method. Cut a hole into your side panel to exhaust the hot air before it reaches your CPU. Alternatively, cut a hole to blow cold air onto your CPU area.
Another option is to cut a hole on top of the case and exhaust from there. The top panel is actually warmest in the middle of the panel, probably because of hot air trapped behind the PSU (mine's sealed with only a single bottom fan).