Using a small case fan as a GPU fan (modding tips)?

[ShadeOfBlue]

I'm wondering about the possibility of swapping stock 40mm fans on a Gigabyte Windforce 5x cooler with something like 5 40mm Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX fans. Screwing the replacement fans on should be cake, however attaching them to fan headers on the card would be tricky, as GPU fans have different types of plugs.





Here's a photo of the stock fan plugs (looks like 4 fans are paired in combined plugs, and one is separate):

http://media.bestofmicro.com/9/X/345093 ... Cooler.jpg

I could likely mod that to fit, but then I'd have to also know whether fan voltage supplied by the card is sufficient for the Noctua fans.

Anyway, do you think this is a plausible solution, or is it a lot more trouble than I think it should be?

[frenchie]

In my experience, 40mm fans are rarely worth it on high power components. They barely blow any air unless you run them super fast (and are super noisy). Another downside is that the fans pull air through the cooler (instead of pushing) and pulling air is much harder than pushing it...
I have no experience with the 40mm Noctuas but I doubt you'll see much of on an improvement..

[flemeister]

You could just plug the Noctua fans straight into your PSU, or use a manual fan controller, or use a splitter to control them with your motherboard/Speedfan. You don't necessarily have to plug them into the video card.

[ShadeOfBlue]

In my experience, 40mm fans are rarely worth it on high power components. They barely blow any air unless you run them super fast (and are super noisy). Another downside is that the fans pull air through the cooler (instead of pushing) and pulling air is much harder than pushing it...
I have no experience with the 40mm Noctuas but I doubt you'll see much of on an improvement..

Thank you

You could just plug the Noctua fans straight into your PSU, or use a manual fan controller, or use a splitter to control them with your motherboard/Speedfan. You don't necessarily have to plug them into the video card.

True, definitely a possibility (connect in a daisy chain to a fan controller or some such).

[edh]

I can't see this as being a quiet solution. It's already a 3 slot cooler so unless you desperately don't want a 4-slot cooler, ripping off the cover and tying down a pair of 120's blowing into the heatsink is going to be better at cooling and quieter.

Most graphics card fan headers now can give surprisingly high current so there are less problems with fan swaps if you are able to mod the cable or find an appropriate adaptor.

[ShadeOfBlue]

I can't see this as being a quiet solution. It's already a 3 slot cooler so unless you desperately don't want a 4-slot cooler, ripping off the cover and tying down a pair of 120's blowing into the heatsink is going to be better at cooling and quieter.

Most graphics card fan headers now can give surprisingly high current so there are less problems with fan swaps if you are able to mod the cable or find an appropriate adaptor.

This is a pretty different heatsink for what you're describing.

[edh]

This is a pretty different heatsink for what you're describing.

How is the heatsink any different for what I am describing? It's a big load of fins running laterally across the card. What I am suggesting is not changing the heatsink itself, it's just changing how the air flows through it. Rather than blowing it across sideways with 5 tiny fans, take off the shroud and fit 2 120mm fans blowing down on to it. This will be much quieter and cool it better. This is also the principle behind just about all of the high performance graphics coolers.