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80mm fan high-end vs. generic

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wadec22

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Jul 26, 2005
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Okay guys, I currently have two generic 80mm fans blowing air in the front of my case. I want to upgrade them. I'm looking to either get the 6 pack of cooler master silent fans (28cfm/24dbA) or do I spend 30 bucks and get these: http://www.frozencpu.com/fan-182.html?mv_pc=8892 (47cfm/38dbA). Noise doesn't really matter to me too much. I guess I have never heard anything at 38dbA, I do also have a twin drive bay cooler. Anyway.... Is the $ difference worth it? They will obviouly be much louder, will they perform that much better? I've always believed you get what you pay for and find it somewhat hard to believe that for 9.99 those fans will be much of a difference from the generic fans I have in place now. Thanks for any input guys.
 
I would like to see cooler temps for both my chipset and video card.
 
If you have two fans up front blowing air in, you're probably not going to see a big drop in temps from bigger fans up front, but that depends on airflow through your case. I'd work on cable management first to improve airflow. It also might be helpful to compare the temp difference between your case and room, to see if there is a big difference.

If you want to increase airflow, any "silent" 80mm fan will push the same or less air as your average generic fan you have in the system now. A generic fan will probably be rated 25-35cfm, so the coolermaster will only make your case quieter, not cooler.
 
By the way, you can pick up "generic" fans on ebay for $2-5 a piece depending on how many you order. Or you could just rip them out of junked power supplies like I do...
 
Cable management in my case is pretty good, not the best, but good. My room temp is around 72, case temp is around 90 idle and 100-102 full load. With placement in my case, if the front fans were strong enough, they would blow cool air directly at my vid card, the biggest source of heat in my case. By what you are saying I don't think I"ll bother with the value pack. Do you think the high end panaflos would help 5c or more?
 
What would be more efficient is to get a HSF for your video card so that all the heat it outputs is directly exhausted outside of the case. Also consider cutting out the grills for your case if it is restrictive. Of course, faster and louder fans would also help, but if you can spend the same amount of money for more efficiency, then you should go through that route first. Then you can add in more powerful fans if you really need it.
 
I did put in a pci slot cooler next to the card, which did help some. I did not get a new heatsink for the card itself, kind of waiting for something designed specifically for the 7800. In any case, I just ordered the fans. :) But maybe I will cut the restrictions anyway. This part is embarrassing, I may be the least mechanically inclined person on the planet. What should I use to cut the case? I have an Antec made of steel.
 
I listened to something comparable in the listening room at sidewinder.com, it sounded like a friggin blow dryer. Thats a tad too much for me. :)
 
Which antec in particular? If it's an older series you probably wouldn't gain much by cutting out the grills and putting your own in. It's actually kind of embarassing that a lian li is so expensive, and yet they have one of the more restrictive fan cut outs compared to a more budget case such as the chen ming and it's clones.

But to cut it, probably the cheapest is to invest in a dremel and some cutoff disks. Just take it slowly and it will come out alright. If you have a drill, maybe spending the money on a metal hole saw would be good. You get a cleaner cut than with the dremel.
 
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