Hi all,

I'm a newbie - but have become addicted to silencing my PC - no real reason apart from once I started making it quieter, I couldn't stop!

I have a 1.86 core duo, ASRock mobo, and Samsung HD. The HD is in a Silentmaxx enclosure (not sure it really makes much difference) and the CPU is cooled by a Skythe Ninja with a Notua 120 mm fan running at 600 RPM. The PSU is a Seasonic 430. I bought all the components (apart from mobo) through reading reviews in SPCR - what a great site for newbie’s and veterans alike!

I'm looking to replace the Seasonic with a fanless Silverstone ST30NF and so want to get some more cooling in the case without making any more noise - so here's my question:

I have the Thermaltake Mozart TX case (o.k. I know I should have really bought an Antec P180) which has room for 4 fans mounted in a square on the back side of the case (the Mozart TX case is an unusual shape - more square then oblong). I was looking for a 240mm fan that would fit here instead of 4 x 120mm fans. The idea would be to run it very slowly to be quiet but get enough air movement to equal what 2 or so 120MM fans.
Does anyone know where you can get a 240mm fan that might mount on the standard fittings of 4 x 120 mm fans?

Mu current temps are 45 for PSU, 38 for case, 40 for CPU, 36 for HD.

Many thanks for any advice.
Doors.

To the best of my knowledge, there's no such fan. If there were one, it would need a circular exhaust very different from the four circular exhausts you already have. I suggest you abandon this quest.

You say you're interested in low noise, yet you indicate (as I understand it) that you're only using two fans in the four-fan slot. Do you realize that raises the noise level for your exhaust fans 15dBA? No, I'm not kidding.

Say you need 4X CFM for your case cooling. You can get X from each of 4 fans, or 2X from each of 2 fans. That means you need twice the RPM from the 2 fans as from the 4 - a difference of 18dBA! With twice as many fans you have 3dBA more noise, so the net noise level difference between 2 and 4 fans is 15dBA - a very substantial difference indeed.

Your computer, your choice(s).

depends if he actualy needs the CFM that 4 fans would pull. If he only needs say, the CFM from one fan on low, then one fan on low would be better than 4 at the same RPM right?

Yes, I only need to cool down the case temperature by another couple of degrees, so I don't need much airflow / CFM.

The idea is just to get slightly more airflow than I have at present, but at a lower noise - i.e. bigger fan at a lower RPM.

I'm currently running one Noctua fan at 600rpm blowing over my CPU and one Scythe fan running at half speed at the front of the case. That’s it as the PSU is in a different section of the case so its fan adds nothing to cooling the case temperature. These are to all intents and purposes noiseless i.e. I can hear the HD and the PSU more than these fans at these RPM’s. I could turn them up to get more CFM but then I would hear them.

The case offers the option of 4 x 120mm fans on the back (I am currently not using any fans there at all) - so why not try and fit a huge slow spinning fan there instead? Maybe I cut the whole out if I need a circular exhaust - similar to what Thermaltake themselves use on the side of some of their new pc cases - they are 250mm.

I guess you don't know unless you try - surely that's the joy of modding?

I don't know about the availability of their products, but I just checked iCute's website. It says all their cases are now available with 250mm side fan.

http://www.icute.com.tw/english/

You can get 250mm fans from Performance PCs in the US, which i'm sorely tempted to do. Anyone know if they can be found in the UK?

I saw them on Maplin website.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Tab ... 8&doy=20m4

Yup, I think that's for a whole case though, not just the fan.

There's another thread on SPCR about this that mentions they are more like 220mm, so should fit the 4x120mm space in Doors' case pretty easily?
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33204