Fan selection/placement advice

GUNNER · Post by **GUNNER** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:38 pm

I'm currently building a system and I am debating how to place the fans. I'll probably still end up playing around with different combinations to see what works best, but I figured I'd solicit advice here.

SYSTEM:

Case: Antec SLK3700BQE with AcoustiPack
PSU: Stock Antec 350S (I'm waiting to hear it before I buy a Seasonic)
CPU: AMD64 3200+ Winchester
HS: XP-120
Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe w/ NB47 heatsink in place of stock fan
RAM: 4x512mb
Video: Gigabyte GV-NX66256DP passive GeForce 6600
Other: 3x160GB SATA Samsung Spinpoint, Samsung DVD, NEC DVD-R

Fan Controller: Hardcano 13 (4 fan controls and 4 temp probes)

Fan Options: I have 2 120mmx25mm Nexus Real Silent, 1 Panaflo 120mmx38mm FBA12G12L, 1 Antec 120mm (came with the case).

Which fan should go where? Obviously one on the rear exhaust and one on the XP-120 heatsink.

Do we think I can get away without the front intake fan? If yes, can I still use the front filter from the AcoustiPack? (Probably too much air resistance?)

Where should I use the Panaflo (or not)?

Suggestions on temp probe locations? (I got the fan controller so I would be able to determine just how little airflow I can get away with.)

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:10 pm

You should stick with the Nexuses, although the front intake may be somewhat questionable, because you want to create a balance for pressure. If you put another nexus, you may cause negative pressure since the 80mm in the 350 pulls air as well as the 120, so maybe the antec one (i think it pushes more), or you may be able to just go fanless in the front and let the natural vacuum pull in air.

frankgehry · Post by **frankgehry** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:49 pm

G,

I would use the nexus for the front and rear case fans. These locations are at the edge of the case and should be the quietest. You are only going to run these at 500-600rpm so they will be virtually silent. The antec is on the noisy side so I would try to use the panaflo for the cpu fan if it will fit without hitting the side duct.

I just got an antec smartpower 2.0 500w with inline 80mm fans and detachable cables. I like the inline arrangement because it avoids having a downsucker psu, and exhaust fan, and a cpu fan all in the same region of the computer. The inline psu just cools itself and removes heat from the top of the case and lets the rear exhaust remove the cpu heat. When you turn the smartpower on the front fan or inside fan starts to move very slowly. Eventually the rear fan will move, but with just the front inside fan on, it is silent. It cost $78 from newegg. I would create a little bit of negative pressure at first and use your temp. probes to identify problem areas that need more cooling like hard drives or graphics card. Small changes in pressure can remove heat more efficiently, but I think its trial and error at this point.

That's what I would do. - FG

GUNNER · Post by **GUNNER** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:17 am

I like the point about the down-sucker PSU. Right now, I'm sticking with the stock Antec which pulls through the back. (Though, I noticed last night it has the restrictive slots on the intake side. <grumph> Guess I'll try it as-is and then decide if I'm chucking it for a new PSU or taking pliers to the slots to turn them 90-degrees to open it up.)

I think I'll start without a front fan and watch the temps very carefully.

Where should my 4 temp probes go? top of case, CPU, PSU, ???

Should the CPU probe go on the heatsink or is it safe to try to sneak in under the heatsink (put not over the CPU chip)?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:34 am

I have a very similar setup (BQE with Asus A8N-E and passive chipset cooler). I would consider putting one of the fans just outside the drive cage where it meets the MB. You could attach it with some zip ties and some foam to keep it off the metal. This would blow some air on your passive video card and chipset cooler. You could use any of the fans running about 1000 - 1200 RPM, depending on the voltage. You might also be able to do without the front intake case fan if you installed a fan there.

As already noted, a fan inside the case like that would not be as much as a noise issue as if located on the front or rear of the case.

GUNNER · Post by **GUNNER** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 1:16 pm

Hmmmm......I may have to try that.

If I put the Panaflo there (inside the case against the HD cage blowing to the mobo), it would probably still pull air through the front intake, across the harddrives, and onto the chipset HS and card. I've got the case sealed up pretty well (taped all the holes on the front bezel as I saw in some posts here), so even without the fan being on the front bezel, it would draw from there well.

I'll have to see what I can set up when I get to the point of installing the mobo. (Probably tonight.) Maybe I'll even take pictures if the layout encourges going that route.

Looking forward to being able to change my sig line.....

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 1:19 pm

GUNNER wrote:Looking forward to being able to change my sig line.....

You are going to need a seatbelt once you get your new machine working.

MassMan · Post by **MassMan** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:19 pm

What are the chipset temperatures like with the NB47J? Very higher than with the stock fan or acceptable?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:40 pm

MassMan wrote:What are the chipset temperatures like with the NB47J? Very higher than with the stock fan or acceptable?

The chipset on the Asus A8N-E comes with a very small (very, very small) heat sink and fan. This is because of the height restrictions that could interfere with some video cards. However, the Nvidia 6600GT with Zalman VF700 fits fine on my MB without interfering with the chipset (see pic in NF4 Chipset thread), and the much taller passive Zalman HS probably does a better job without a fan than the stock HS with fan.

However, there are no temperature probes on the chipset of my motherboard (that I know about), so that it based on the difference in the HS size, and subjective touching of the HS, and not based on measurements.

GUNNER · Post by **GUNNER** » Wed Apr 27, 2005 3:39 am

I just got the system running last night, though I still have some tweaking to do.

I placed a thermal probe on the NB47J heatsink replacing the stock fan on the A8N-SLI Deluxe chipset. During installation of WinXP, it stayed right around 54C. I don't know how much of a load was on the chipset from that. AS5 is curing, so I hope that goes down some. I've got a 120x38mm fan blowing in the general direction of the NB47, so that should be helping me some.

The probe I placed at the top middle of the case (to capture general case temp) read around 31-32C during the same time. One in the PSU stayed around 37C. I've got to find a better placement for the CPU probe as I was getting 34-35C for it. (Not close enough to the CPU, I guess. Hard to get it in there after the mobo is in place with a XP-120 and Nexus on it.)

Anybody know how to disable the "CPU FAN FAIL" warning on this board during POST? I have the CPU fan connected to a fan controller not the mobo. Haven't found that selection in the BIOS, yet.

Also, one of my Nexus fans isn't reporting it's RPMs to the controller. (It is spinning.) I haven't tried swapping it's pin position with another fan, yet (that's for tweaking tonight), but any quick ideas on what could be causing it? (Defective fan, defective controller, and bad wire seating, I've got.)