Hi all,

I recently purchased a Lenovo Edge 72 sff with an i3 2120, using the onboard GPU (I'm not a gamer). Unfortunately, the high-pitched whine from the stock 80mm heatsink fan is driving me crazy. I can't replace the heatsink because the mounting holes are non-standard (65 mm).

Can anyone recommend a quiet 80mm fan that would be suitable to use on a heatsink. I can orient the case horizontally or vertically. Any other suggestions to quiet things down would also be welcomed.

Thanks in advance!

How many pins does the fan connector have and is it standard type?

I believe it's a standard 4-pin connector.

Thanks.

4-pin implies PWM control of the fan. If it'll fit, the 92mm Scythe Kama PWM would be nice. There's also non-PWM versions - go for the 1200rpm.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I don't believe the BIOS supports PWM but, as you say, there are non-PWM alternatives. Would a 92mm fan generally be able to screw into the same holes as a 80mm fan? I was assuming my choices were limited to 80mm fans because I thought the screw hole placements would be different between 80 and 92mm.

Ok - let's back up a bit. I wasn't paying close enough attention. Here's the stock cooler for the i3-2120. How can the stock cooler have a non-std mounting holes...or are you saying Lenovo custom designed a non-std cooler that they use on this model? If it's the Intel cooler, then it's just a matter of finding a cooler with the right profile to fit your slimline case (time to grab the tape measure). If it's the latter, then you'll still need to make some measurements, and also, a picture or illustration of the cooler would be helpful.

Sorry for the confusion. When I said "stock" I meant the heatsink that came with the computer, which is custom-designed and looks pretty much like this: -- see http://www.taobaodropshipping.com/goods-292747-Super-cooling-of-the-AVC-1155-1156-Original-Lenovo-Genuine-CPU-radiator-fan-thermostat-ultra-quiet.html

The 4 tall screws that attach the heatsink to the motherboard are 65mm apart and so won't fit standard LGA1155 heatsinks. As near as I can tell, the screws that afix the fan to the heatsink are 70mm apart.

Got it. Looks like a std 80mmx25mm fan with 4 wires...which implies PWM...you might try popping into your BIOS to see if there's a setting for PWM mode....

The top non-PWM fan way back when 80mm was in style was the [url==http://www.silentpcreview.com/article689-page2.html#nexus]Nexus Real Silent 1500rpm[/url]. The Scythe Kama Flow also scored well.

As for PWM...Nexus does have an 80mm version, buit they weent with transparent blades, which tend to have a different composition than the non-transparent variety and have been louder. YMMV.

There's the Noctua NF-R8 PWM and the non-PWM NF-R8 1800 and it can be slowed down to 1300 or 800.

Awesome, thanks!

I don't know the specs of the current OEM fan, e.g., CFM or RPM. And, obviously, I want to make sure any replacement fan will keep the CPU and other components sufficiently cool. Would it be reasonable to (1) measure the current CPU temp, (2) replace the fan, (3) measure the new CPU temp, and (4) if, the new CPU temp seems OK, assume that I'm good to go. I.e., is there anything else I can do to assure that the new fan is keeping things cool enough or is measuring the CPU temp good enough?

Thanks again for your help!

You've got the basics. It would be nice to know more about the existing fan (PWM or not, rpm range, cfm, starting voltage....). You could download the Speedfan utility and use it to monitor CPU temp and fan rpm while idling and while running Prime95 and use that as a baseline. Bottom line, we just don't know how good the existing cooler is and how much cfm/rpm it's going to take to keep the CPU cool. So, it's trial and error.

I purchased a Noctua NF-R8 to replace the CPU fan, installed SpeedFan and Prime95 and ran some tests.

With the OEM CPU fan:
-- Idle: 1025 RPM, 35-37 C (case fan 885 RPM)
-- Prime95: 1365 RPM, 58/59 C (case fan 1145 RPM)

With the Noctua NF-R8 PWM as the CPU fan:
-- Idle: 520 RPM, 35-40 C (case fan 1000 RPM)
-- Prime95: 985 RPM, 71/72 C (case fan 1725 RPM)

So, the Noctua spins more slowly and doesn't generate nearly the same amount of airflow. Under load, the case fan spun up much more quickly than the Noctua to try and keep things cool.

The question I have is whether it is "safe" to use the Noctua. My CPU usage will generally be pretty light but, still, given the high CPU temp's under load, I'm concerned that the Noctua does not move enough air to keep the CPU cool.

Thanks again for any insight.

Safe? Sure. Prime95 is about as much stress as you can put on the CPU and 71-72C is tolerable. Try running the highest CPU utilization app you have and compare temps to the Prime 95 result. It'll probably be in the 60's.

What I'm more interested in is: Is it quieter now? Does the ungodly high rpm case fan overwhelm any benefit of the lower noise Noctua? Also, what are the case temps?