This is the "fan plan"...

[looper]

Existing rig w/upgrade:

E6600/stock to E8400/will OC w/ goal to @ 4.0ghz
new Xigmatek S1283 HSF

on Asus P5B-D w/ latest "1237" bios
Corsair XMS2 6400c4 (4-4-4-12) 4 gig
PC Power & Cooling 610 Silencer PS
nVidia BFG 8800GTS (640mb)
LianLi A16 case w/ 3 stock 120x25mm fans...one front "in", one rear "out", one low-side "out"- lines up w/ the video card...

About to order these 3 fans and Sunbeam/LianLi fan controller:
2 Scythe S-FLEX? "G" 1900rpm/35dba/75cfm
1 Noctua NF-P12......... 1300rpm/20dba/54cfm

Questions:

*What do you think of fan choices? ...any high-quality alternatives?
*2 Scythe's for front and rear, and Noctua to replace the stock fan for the Xigmatek S1283... OR...
*2 Scythe's for front and rear, and Noctua to replace side fan...OR...
*Besides the 3 case fans, can I also run the Xigmatek cpu-HSF from the fan controller as well?

Thx, folks...appreciate the expertise on these boards

Brian
USA/RI

 

[WoodButcher]

Use all Scythes, Using the Noctua on the cpu because it's quiet makes no sense. The fans blowing out are the ones that you will hear most and on the heatsink you want a fan w/ higher static pressure. If the side fan blows out this will be your biggest offender, check the temps both ways and use rubber screws for all your mounts. Add to that some kind of sound dampening to the big panels of the case and you'll be good to go.

 

[looper]

So, would you get another Scythe...w/ the same 1900/35/75 specs for the Xigmatek HSF, or something not so high-powered?

Possibility... use the Noctua as the front intake, and one Scythe on the cooler, the other Scythe as the rear exhaust...? There would then be a BIG difference in intake and exhaust air movement... too much? And remove side fan...

 

[WoodButcher]

Definitely, as I said, your side fan may be noisy but you have a controller, "better to have and down-volt than to not have had at all"
The cpu fan you may want run off the mobo, maybe not? I don't know. These are all things you will need to experiment with but having the controller and better fans will give you more options. Don't forget to try ducting or separation in the case, many times this can make a huge difference. Depending on airflow through the case you may not want the side fan, many times this just adds turbulence and interferes or "shortcuts" proper airflow.

 

[looper]

oops, our responses crossed in cyberspace... I edited my above response to you...

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: looper
Possibility... use the Noctua as the front intake, and one Scythe on the cooler, the other Scythe as the rear exhaust...? There would then be a BIG difference in intake and exhaust air movement... too much?

Don't worry about the neg/pos air pressure question, with the high flow fans and the control you have all sorts of options, if you get a low flow fan your commited.

 

[WoodButcher]

I just went and looked at the case, (should have done that before) the side fan, I have that in a rocketfish and have had a good look at it. As long as the fan is rubber mounted it should not be a noise factor, I would add rubber washers where the fan box mounts to the case as well as soft mounting the fan itself, but this setup will not work as an exhaust, the way the box is made limits the fan to be an intake.

 

[looper]

...Side fan..."this setup will not work as an exhaust, the way the box is made limits the fan to be an intake..."

Don't know if that side fan is worth keeping there(blowing on the nVidia 8800GTS), considering that just above is where the heavy air should be flowing thru the case...Of course, if I OC the vid card too...then keep the side fan...but replace w/ another Scythe...w/ same power of other two, or maybe a bit less?

 

[WoodButcher]

Again, this is what the controller is about, have a look at my last build. My controller is limited, 12 down to 7v, I added a DPDT switch to the mix to be able to run fans as low as 5v and believe me,,, those 4 Panaflows I put in recently are screamers. At 5v they have a tolerable sound for everyday use OC'ed but if I want to push I have the headroom. One day if I think of it when ordering parts I intend to get the s-flex to replace the last 2 Slipstreams.

 

[looper]

Thx again...

Appreciate all your time...

 

[WoodButcher]

Don't mention it, this is how I keep current and if I can help with my unwanted opinions,,,,,:laugh: no kidding, I learn more from these forums than anywhere else as far as pc is concerned, there are some real sharp cookies around here!

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
Again, this is what the controller is about, have a look at my last build. I added a DPDT switch to the mix to be able to run fans as low as 5v

Can you elaborate on how you did this?

Thanks

 

[WoodButcher]

Let's see if I can explain this, Easier for me to do than explain. To keep it simple I'll describe a single pole, double throw toggle switch. This switch as 3 posts / connections, the center post is common and will switch to either side. What I did was to switch the positive wire on the fans, the negative / grounds are not affected, where they connect is not important, PSU or fan controller, ground is ground.

On the SPST the center / common post is connected the fan, to either of the other posts a wire from the 5 volt side of any molex, the last post you connect the positive output from your fan controller. I used this because my controllers low end is 7v but this can also be used without a controller simply to switch between 12 and 5v. The sunbeam control will do the full range 12 -0v so if your planning to buy a control do the homework. I didn't. I was looking at the amps,,,,