• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Fans . . .

J

jnick

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
2,888
I'm thinking about getting an X2 3800+ and want to OC it to at least 2.4Ghz. From what I've read, it's possible however the temps do get around 50+C on load. This is WITH a Zalman 7000B-CU fan. I currently have the 7000AlCu version and am willing to replace it in order to get the speed I need.

So I just read through the Air Cooling guide and have a couple of questions.

Something such as the Panaflo L1BX, which is capable of 27dbA and 47CFM at 2100 RPMs . . . Would that be better than say a fan with higher RPMs but a lower CFM?

What if I purchased a fan at, say 2700 RPMs but only 32CFM. Would that be considered better than the Panaflo? Or is CFMs the more important of the two?
----------------------------
On a side note, as far as case cooling. I have a Lian-Li PC-65. It's equipped with 2 front intakes, a top exhaust and a rear exahust. If I recall, the stock fans that come with the case are around 31dbA and 35-37CFM. Would I benefit from replacing them with something of greater CFM or would that not necesarilly make a difference? What about something of greater RPM? (I have no clue what their RPM is)

Thanks in advance.
 
RPM is rotations per minute, and if you are concerned about airflow, CFM (cubit feet per minute) is what you should be looking at. RPM is useful for estimating the amount of noise a fan will produce. Manufacturer specs for noise generally cannot be compared.
 
yeah, if you don't care about noise just get the highest cfm fan you can find/afford. that being said i remember the tornado fans a few years ago were quite popular but unbelievably loud... I would just look around at fans and take one with a good cfm/noise ratio, however if what talonz said is true i guess you can't really compare them like that. just go with what other people seem to use and have good results with.
 
Thanks for the reply guys. I understand what RPM means. Being I do want a nice and quiet system, I'm looking at lower RPMs. I'm just wondering if I found a low 1900 RPM fan, with 53CFM, would that be the same if there was a fan at 5400RPM (loud!) and 53CFM?

I was also wondering what is more important. Faster spinning, or more air flow? Though I'll probably stick with Airflow anyway :p
 
Spinning is not necessarily proportional to airflow.
Basically the only measure of a fans effectivness in terms of cooling your case/hs is airflow. The more airflow, the better.

RPM on the other hand is the main cause for noise, be that motor noise, or noise of air rushing through the fan enclosure or grill. Thus, the lower the RPM, the quieter the fan (for the most part).

However, low RPM (low noise) often also means low airflow (low cooling). The key is to find some sort of middle-way between low RPM and good airflow. There is no "one fits all" solution. A lot depends on the overall airflow in your case, the amount of heat that is generated in your case by all your components, ambient air temperature, and so on.

Generally speaking larger fans are able to run at lower RPM and still provide the same airflow as smaller fans at higher RPM.

The case I am building from scratch (still the mostly conceptual stage as I am still waiting on a couple components) will have a total of five 120mm fans as well as a small 40mm fan on the NB.

One of the 120mm will be sitting on my SI-120 HS, another 120 will deliver air from outside the case via a duct to the SI-120 assembly. The third 120 will push outside air over my two HDs and serve as general intake fan. The fourth 120 will be situated above the CPU area and act as general exhaust fan, and the fifth 120 will be the exhaust fan for the PSU. I am hoping to undevolt all of them and still have enough airflow to properly cool my rig.

Manufacturers fan ratings are rarely true once you put the fan into your case. Silverstone fans come with the disclaimer that their ratings are only true in "free air". Once you equip your fan with a grill and you are blowing againts static pressure things look different.

Having said that, 53cfm = 53cfm, no matter what the RPM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top