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120mm for P160

R

RawsonDR

Gawd
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
583
Hello all. I've got an Antec P160 case and am interested in getting the most airflow through the front fan slot as possible.

The slot hole won't accept a 38mm fan. The actual width of it seems to be about 30mm, although the bracket will take up a little more than 1mm of that. Are there any fans in between 25 and 38mm? I might be able to make a fan thats slightly too big to fit if I cut off some of the trim.

Has anyone addressed this issue with the P160? If I must have a 25mm thick fan, what's the [H]ardest one on the market? It will be hooked up to a fan controller.

Thanks
-Dave

edit: Actually, it looks like a 38mm fan would barely fit if it weren't for some aluminum thats stopping it only from entering. I could cut it off but I don't really want to mangle my case.
 
There is no way a 38mm will fit in the front. I just bought this case three weeks ago; I've kept the stock Antec 120mm fans front and rear (added Vantec vibration dampers) and cut a top blowhole for a Panaflo L1a 120x38mm fan to add more airflow but at reasonably low noise. My project should be finished in the next week, my final step is to sleeve the front panel connectors from the case or otherwise organize them to reduce clutter. If you've found a good way to route these, post pictures, I'd appreciate it.

If you're not going to get a blowhole, the question is how much noise you're willing to live with. Sunon has a 120x25mm monster that does 90CFM @3100rpm, noise rating of 44.5dB (http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/fan-15.html). YS Tech also has a similar model that is rated 105CFM @2600rpm, 45dB (http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/fan-21.html), I'd guess it gets its additional airflow from a higher blade count and better design, I'd probably choose it over the Sunon.
Personally, I'm not willing to deal with that kind of noise. My Panaflo adds 68CFM on top of the two quiet 120mm Antecs already there, and does so at 30dB, and will be exhausting from the top where all the warm air will be rising to. My additional cooling is provided by two fans in my Enermax 470w PSU (I may replace those fans with low noise Panaflos if I decide things are too noisy), a Vantec Stealth 80mm for my CPU HSF, and an Arctic VGA Silencer for my Radeon 9700 with the fan set to low speed.
 
Those fans are excellent. I hadn't noticed any high CFM 120mm fans that were 25mm thick - but those are just what I was looking for. Thanks for the heads up.
I have a fan controller that I will run it through, so I will probably end up picking whichever fan I like best and finding an acceptable power level for it.

What's frustrating about the front fan slot (although I love the case, don't get me wrong) is that it is almost big enough for a 38mm thick fan. Really it's almost exactly 38mm thick, from the grill to the drive cage. The only problem is that the surrounding aluminum doesn't allow enough clearance for it to enter. I bet I could make one fit if I were to cut some of it away, and perhaps trim the fan, etc etc. But I'm not going to go to all that trouble to make my case less functional/attractive.

As for the front panel connectors... mine just run down along the drive cages until nearly at the bottom, where they shoot over to plug in.
 
I decided I'm going to run the front firewire connector along the top of the case; I'm running the USB and front Audio down just in front of the mainboard tray, and tie-wrapping those two together. I haven't decided where I'll put the temperature sensors yet, I'll probably peel those cables off the main ribbon, then tie-wrap all the mainboard connectors together, leaving the temp sensors to run where I need them to. I've bought adhesive-backed cable clamps to run some things where I neec them to go, the rest I think I'll tie-wrap down. I have the windowed side panel, so I'm trying to get everything as neat as possible.

Glad I could help you in finding the fans. I'd recommend getting vibration dampeners for them which should seal them better against the case as well as lower noise. FrozenCPU was down so I couldn't post a link there, but my other favorite cooling retailer Plycon has them (http://www.plycon.com/noise/fan_dampener_120.htm). They don't tell you but one kit does two fans.
 
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