need a hand with fans

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justy
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Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 1:50 pm

need a hand with fans

Post by justy » Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:07 pm

Hi, I'm new here and also I just built my first rig. The problem I have is that my case is noisy. I have no problems with psu, cpu cooler or gpu - they're really quiet. All the noise comes from case fans, which I have two: one 80mm on the side window and one in front (under the mesh) 120mm.
Could anyone point me in the right direction as to which fans would be good to use, or how to reduce the noise?

P.S.: both fans are 3-pin, if that helps

P.S.: I have my old Dell Dimension E521 which served me for a long time and it is really quiet

My rig:
i5 4440
GTX 750ti
8gb ram
600W corsair PSU
Gigabyte Gi Sniper B5
CiT Mars Midi Tower Part-Mesh Gaming Case

CA_Steve
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:15 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

Are the fans connected directly to the PSU or are they connected to the mobo fan headers or...?
If they aren't already, hook them up to the motherboard chassis fan headers and load Gigabyte's Easy Tune s/w to control them. See if that gets them under control. Monitor your component temps as you do this...

Abula
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by Abula » Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:22 pm

I would do as Steve suggests. Personally unless you really need it, i would avoid 80mm, there are some decent fans that that size, but unless you really need it i would remain 120s. What the size of your back case fan holes 120?

justy
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by justy » Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:56 am

thery're connected to psu. i can't connect them to mobo untill i get female to female cable. also, tey're 3-pin, so if i understand correctly, i wouldn't be able to control them, would i? the back hole is 80mm, but there's no fan in there yet. just on the side window

CA_Steve
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Aug 26, 2014 6:00 am

3-pin means voltage controlled, with +V, gnd, and sense pins.
adapter example
Maybe buy one locally and try it out on each of the fans to see if controlling them via s/w works. If it does, you can buy another. If they are still noisy, you can invest in new fans.

lodestar
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by lodestar » Tue Aug 26, 2014 10:19 am

justy wrote:...i can't connect them to mobo untill i get female to female cable. also, tey're 3-pin, so if i understand correctly, i wouldn't be able to control them, would i?
The Sniper G1 has 4-pin chassis fan headers SYS_FAN1/2/3 but in fact they can control 3-pin fans. So your best option is to plug the fans into the motherboard, using cable converters/extenders if need be. If you then go into the PC Health section of the BIOS there should be some settings for chassis fans. One option is to set Silent mode. This keeps fans down to the lowest speed possible when the system is idling. But under gaming conditions it will automatically speed up the fans for greater case airflow.

justy
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Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 1:50 pm

Re: need a hand with fans

Post by justy » Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:39 am

thanks for replies, i'll try that. but if your suggestions don't work, could you give me any suggestions on new case for my set-up?

quest_for_silence
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:33 am

justy wrote:could you give me any suggestions on new case for my set-up?

As garish as the current one?

CA_Steve
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:45 am

quest_for_silence wrote:As garish as the current one?
Looks like the PC fashion police are in town....

justy, based on the case coming from a UK vendor...you are in the UK? How much do you want to spend on a case if fan mods don't pan out?

xan_user
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by xan_user » Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:02 am

the airflow on that case looks rather anemic. one exhaust, plus the PSU has to deal with case heat.

justy
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by justy » Wed Aug 27, 2014 10:51 am

i live in ireland. and prepared to spend anything up to 100 euro.

P.S.: what's wrong with the current case?

quest_for_silence
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Aug 27, 2014 11:58 am

justy wrote:P.S.: what's wrong with the current case?

"Wrong" is an overrated word: more probably that not, it isn't well thought noise (& cooling) wise.

What I don't like about it is mostly the restricted front intake, then the side window with the two 80mm exhaust fans (little air, noticeable noise), like a misinterpreted positive pressure setup. Third, the PSU placement (but you say it doesn't affect the PSU noise) and the overall build quality (I always prefer sturdy parts).

Anyway, you didn't answer about the aesthetics.

xan_user
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by xan_user » Wed Aug 27, 2014 4:10 pm

@ q_f_s; taste is personal. who cares what a case looks like? (as long as it works)

@ OP; the PSU fan must run faster (louder) than it should, because it has to deal with the heat of the CPU being forced through.
windows generally resonate vibrations, especially if there's a fan mounted to it.
too many lower drivebays block the front intake(s), restricting efficient airflow.

CA_Steve
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:44 pm

Fractal Design Define Mini and R4 are easy cases to work with. The Fractal Core 3500 is a tad cheaper with fewer frills/a little noisier.

quest_for_silence
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:34 am

xan_user wrote:@ q_f_s; taste is personal. who cares what a case looks like? (as long as it works)

I care: whether he like the current aesthetics, any advice should take into account that fact.

xan_user
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by xan_user » Thu Aug 28, 2014 5:11 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
xan_user wrote:@ q_f_s; taste is personal. who cares what a case looks like? (as long as it works)

I care: whether he like the current aesthetics, any advice should take into account that fact.
cool, fair enough. I only make recommendations based on features, and just let the user decide if they like the look of it or not.(but thats just me, id do the same with recommending a car ect.)

justy
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by justy » Thu Aug 28, 2014 5:19 pm

and what do you think about this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerocool-Strike ... l+strike-x

seems really cool to me...

quest_for_silence
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by quest_for_silence » Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:30 pm

justy wrote:and what do you think about this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Aerocool-Strike ... l+strike-x

seems really cool to me...

Whether "cool" mean "nice", well, it's your cool, sorry, call (silly teasing, I couldn't resist :wink: ).
On the other hand, about cooling prowess, your mileage may vary, but it should be a noticeable improvement over your current one (I found just a review about it from KitGuru, and that website talks about good thermals: I have different references).
With reference to build quality and quietness, it should be a "no go" (thin sheets, some lack of cable management, large side/top mesh and mediocre sounding stock fans), at least according to SPCR "standards".
Unless you can source it from a different supplier, the performance/price ratio also doesn't look like that good, whether you compare it with some SPCR favourites, like the Fractal Design Define R4 (which unfortunately is not similarly looking, and by far), and considering that Aerocool should be a discontinued product.

And what about Corsair? Perhaps something like the Graphite 230T, or the Carbide SPEC-03? Nothing to write home about, but they might offer a somehow better performance/price ratio and support (and some potential savings might be re-invested onto SPCR-like fans, in case).

Well, this is my not that educated and very humble opinion about the Aerocool Strike-X Advance! :wink:

lodestar
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Re: need a hand with fans

Post by lodestar » Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:43 pm

justy wrote:...and what do you think about this one...
If you want a case with LED fans it might be worth considering something like the Sharkoon T28 Blue. (And yes there are Green and Red versions too). It has 3 120mm LED fans pre-installed and the fans will plug straight into your motherboard, matching the 3 chassis fan headers. Maybe a bit restrained for your taste but it would provide fairly reasonable airflow. Available from Amazon and other sources for around £52.

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