SPCR

On this forum, I see many people talking aobut if stock grill are "good" or "bad." Stock = what the case has: stamped, laser cut, etc. Can anyone supply pics of what works and what creates additional noise. I am suspecting this is a combo of <<Fan & Grill>>, so maybe a bit more info on Fan, volt and rpm might be nice.

Thanks in advance to all.

Peter
(my PII Micron server tower about ready to be silenced & become my new Linux box)

Grills are in the way of the airflow and therefore affect the noise and ammount of air that a fan can "push". I'm sure someone will chime in with a more extensice answer, but here is my undersatnding at this point.

Restrictive stamped or laser cut fans means more air turbulance, more noise, and less cooling potential.

Wire grills are prbably the best since they are naturally rounded and will cause less turbulance.

Wire grills if you want to protect your fingers or make the case look pretty, no grills otherwise, just big gapping holes for friendly air movement.

grills stamped from the aluminum / steel of the case create large flat sheets of impedement directly in the path of the airflow. There is no reason such a thing should stay. Flat wire grills can be a problem, as they put themselves closer to the source of air than raised wire grills (where the feet are slightly bent). I currently have a raised wire grill on my PSU, because I was getting sick of sticking my finger in the fan when trying to move the computer.

You can easily tell if a grill is creating noise by moving it closer and farther away from the fan. Nearly all of those lazer-cut thingies make noise.

I don't think anyone has done an extensive study of grill noise, because there is no second variable you are optimizing against. Fans need to be optimized for silence and airflow. Grills just need to be cut off.