recommendations for case cooling fans and heatsinks

[dodecahedron]

i need some advice.
i want to buy a few 80mm fans, the kind that are used for cooling the computer case (intake in front, outtake at the back of the case).

can you give me recommendations for good brands/models?
i'm interested particularly in quiet fans.

also:

what's the word on a good heatsink for an AMD Athlon?
nothing too extreme/large/expensive, just a good HSF.

TIA

[hoxlund]

for nice quiet fans that performe pretty good, go for some Vantec Stealth fans

for heatsink go for either the Thermalright sp-97 or the thermalright slk 900a

or they have a new 120mm native fan heatsink, suppose to kick major ass:

http://www.jab-tech.com/customer/produc ... =47&page=1

i know you said not big or anything, but put a nice low speed 120mm fan it will cool better then any 80mm fan/heatsink, excluding a tornado 80mm fan of course

[LoneWolf]

Panasonic PanaFlo have consistently been the best for me. The newest Hydrowave bearing (fluid bearing) models are the best, but even the old ball bearing ones rock. As an example, the back of my rig has a 60mm fan to exhaust heat from the CPU area. It's a Panaflo ripped from an IBM PCjr. That fan has been around for around TWO DECADES, and has been running in my system for around 3-4 years without a hitch. They make varied models with different CFM and noise ratings, but they're the most reliable stuff I've seen.

As for heatsink/fan, I agree that Thermalright makes the best. I have the SLK-800 on my Athlon XP-M with a Sunon 80mm double-bearing fan, and it keeps it very cool. The 800 has been replaced by the SLK-900. One note: Use some compressed air to keep those thin fins clean once every six months or so. When dust accumulates in the heatsink, it reduces the cooling efficiency.

[dodecahedron]

thanks guys.

have heard good things of PanaFlow before.

They make varied models with different CFM and noise ratings, but they're the most reliable stuff I've seen.

now you got me.
what kind of CFM should i be looking for fans such as i need (intake/outtake)?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDe ... 014&depa=0

[dodecahedron]

i'm looking at newegg's site.
only one Panaflow model. with Hydro Wave bearing.

but looking at the Vantecs, there are a few kinds:
there's ThermoFlow fans and Stealth fans.
what's the difference?
ThermoFlow says: "Temperature Control Sensor Adjusts Fan Speed Automatically." how does this work? where's the sensor located? inside the fan?
Stealth says: "Smart fan with Speed Detection" what does this mean?

maybe i'll get one PanaFlow, one Vantec Stealth and one Vantech ThermoFlow LOL

[LoneWolf]

Temp-controlled fans have a thermistor wired to them. They'll vary in speed depending on the temperature of your inside case. If you're looking for quiet this can be good, but it results in less airflow unless you have the sensors placed in warm locations. I'd avoid them, especially if you're already overclocking any part of your system.

Speed detection would just be a three-wire fan, which could hook up to your motherboard so that it can monitor the RPM's, in case a fan dies. Your mainboard can show this in the BIOS or you can use a program like Motherboard Monitor to report it to you. It's convenient for a CPU fan, but I don't like powering high-end fans of the mainboard for the most part, if they draw more than a certain amperage you place strain on the mainboard, which can affect stability, or cause a fan header to burn out.

Panaflo fans are pretty simple. I've not seen a speed-monitoring 3-wire model yet, some wouldn't like this, but as I've never seen a Panaflo fan die (we used to keep them in stock to replace dead PSU fans at the shop I used to work at), I don't see a need for the RPM monitoring. The HydroWave bearing models are the fluid-bearing ones. They aren't the high-RPM screamers like Delta or Papst, but they don't sound like a Concord at takeoff like some of those do. Mid-level cooling, reasonable noise levels, and they last. forever.

[dodecahedron]

thanks for the tips.

I've not seen a speed-monitoring 3-wire model yet

here's the Panaflo, with a 3-wire:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDe ... 014&depa=0

It's convenient for a CPU fan, but I don't like powering high-end fans of the mainboard for the most part, if they draw more than a certain amperage you place strain on the mainboard, which can affect stability, or cause a fan header to burn out.

makes sense, but i'm confused. so fans you would power off the motherboard are CPU fans only, not case fans, is that it? but what about "high power" cpu fans? or did you talk about case fans only when saying "high-end fans" ?

Temp-controlled fans have a thermistor wired to them. They'll vary in speed depending on the temperature of your inside case. If you're looking for quiet this can be good, but it results in less airflow unless you have the sensors placed in warm locations. I'd avoid them, especially if you're already overclocking any part of your system.

what i don't understand is where's the thermistor?
here's a pic of Vantec ThermoFlow (from newegg):



is the thermistor built into the fan itself? (doesn't make sense really) or is it at the end of some kind of wire that plugs into the fan??? i don't see such a connection.

EDIT: OK after reading some user reviews at newegg, it appears as if the sensor is in the fan itself ("a thermal controlled fan that had the sensor in the air path and not at the end of a wire"). makes some sense LOL

also, what's your opinions on Enermax fans?
it appears that some people like them better than the Vantecs. they're a little cheaper too.
and they have a model that has the temp probe not inside the fan itself.

[pranav81]

LoneWolf has good suggestions with temperature controlled fans.These fans have temperature sensors and they automatically speed up when the temperature increases.

I have very good experience with Adda fans.And in heat sinks Zalmann is the best,IMO.


See ya later.


::Pranav::

[LoneWolf]

By "high-end" fans, I mean the amperage. Admittedly it's a judgement call, but I don't think I'd ever run a fan 0.2A or higher off a motherboard header. Some mainboard manufacturers list a true current limit in their documentation. The high-flow Papst and Delta fans are ones you never want to run off a mainboard.

I'd also limit the total number of fans linked to mainboard headers. My only linked fans are the CPU, and the power supply, which isn't powered by the mainboard but just allows the mainboard to monitor its RPMs.

Adda has made some good fans, though I've seen them more in pre-configged setups like power supplies and OEM equipment.

[dodecahedron]

thanks for all the tips.

since i can't make up my mind (how typical of me ) i think i'll buy 5 fans:
PanaFlo
Vantec Stealth, Vantec ThermoFlow
Enermax (the 2 models i saw - manual control, temp control)
and then play around with them in my case, see which are more quiet, which temp control works more to my liking...

unless anyone else has comments to make about this...any input appreciated.

[bill]

I don't know how the prices compare or if your still looking. I had seen this link in a hot deals forum- http://www.2cooltek.com/

[dodecahedron]

thanks.

how is this place? are they OK?

anyway, reading their news, it seems like by the time i'll place my order everything will be already gone...a lot of stuff already is.

[bill]

You're welcome.

I only ordered one time (last year) from 2cooltek, ordering and shipping went well. I just checked Reseller Ratings for their recent history. It may have been a bad idea... http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2096-p2-s1-d1.html

Here is the original hot deal thread http://forums.pcper.com/showthread.php? ... 5&t=345071

It's a shame NewEgg doesn't ship international.

[dodecahedron]

so they were a site that shipped internationally?

too bad they're going out of business.

[Spazmogen]

http://www.thecardcooler.com/index.html ships world wide.

I ordered a dual fan card cooler about 6 years ago. It's still running strong. It's two 80mm fans in a bracket.



It moves a lot of air over the video card & motherboard. I drilled holes into the case frame to offset the card so it blows on AGP slot & MB near the ram.

They have a good selection of case fans too.

[hoxlund]

haha all this talk about fans and im sitting here laughing:

http://www.aviationwiz.net/photo/hox/cropped.jpg