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80mm Fans -- Annoying



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 15th 04, 06:14 AM
Brent Wege
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Default 80mm Fans -- Annoying

Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Thoughts?


  #2  
Old June 15th 04, 06:26 AM
David Besack
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Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?


YOu can get away with just one. Make it an intake fan at the front of
the case, and (hopefully) your PSU will include its own dual-exhaust
fans moving the air out of your case. You will get half-decent airflow.
  #3  
Old June 15th 04, 06:49 AM
Will Dormann
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Brent Wege wrote:

Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?


Get one or two PC Power & Cooling Silencer 80mm fans.
At 20dBA, you'll barely hear them.
That should be all that you need. 8 to 15 fans per box is completely
ridiculous.
http://pcpowercooling.com/products/c...rfan/index.htm


-WD
  #4  
Old June 15th 04, 06:52 AM
wooducoodu
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i prefer 3 quiet 80mm case fans (2 front filtered intake and 1 rear exhaust)
plus the PSU fan which is another rear exhaust. this creates slightly
positive pressure so you're not drawing in dust through your drives or
anywhere else.

i used panaflo L1As mounted with EAR fan isolators which are very quiet and
what sound they do make isn't an annoying type but if i were going to build
today i'd probably use the nexus real silent fans even though they won't
work with the fan isolators because these fans have solid corners.

"Brent Wege" wrote in message
news:RAvzc.24720$Hg2.22255@attbi_s04...
Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I

feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering

changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so

all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Thoughts?




  #5  
Old June 15th 04, 07:31 AM
Daniel P
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Default

I am saying I have 8 fans and my case is super quite. I don't see how your
annoyed by just 2. I have my case up on my desk and right next to my ear.

--
"Duct tape is a lot like the Force. It has a Dark side, a Light side, and it
holds all the pieces of the Universe together"
"Brent Wege" wrote in message
news:RAvzc.24720$Hg2.22255@attbi_s04...
Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I

feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering

changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so

all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Thoughts?




  #6  
Old June 15th 04, 07:39 AM
john
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Default

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 05:14:25 GMT, "Brent Wege"
wrote:

Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Thoughts?


http://www.silentpcreview.com/


  #7  
Old June 15th 04, 07:45 AM
David Maynard
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Posts: n/a
Default

Brent Wege wrote:

Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?


No, it doesn't.


Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?


One would be enough, depending on what criteria you use to determine 'enough'.

People seem to be terrified of 'heat' and have somehow gotten the idea that
everything should be as near room temperature as possible. Well, that might
be nice but there's the 80-20 rule, which states that the last 20% of
anything takes 80% of the time/cost/resources/what-ever-hurts. E.g. a 6C to
10C case rise can be had with reasonable airflow but it you want it down to
3C it's hurricane time.

You'd have to tell me where your two fans are located. Is that two rear
fans or one front and one rear? If it's the later, you can probably
eliminate the front fan with little impact, unless it's located in front of
the drives, in which case a low speed, and quiet, fan would do nicely
(although you could still probably eliminate it).

Odds are the rear fan is overpowered, if your complaint about noise isn't
exaggerated.

But it depends on the case layout and a host of other factors (like, is it
perforated with holes all over the place?). There isn't a 'simple'
solution. Well, except for the "hoot, man, throw another fan at it."


Note, front fans sound louder because... they're on the front and closer to
your ears. They also have the least impact on case cooling (as they're
typically used home-built PCs) so reducing the speed on those, or
eliminating them, has the most impact on noise with the least impact on
cooling.

Second note, most case 'fan vents' stink. The stamped (round) hole pattern
is a noise maker and it'll reduce the noise if you cut that out to a full
fan hole pattern and use a wire grill. PLUS, the airflow will go up as
well, (bigger hole = less air resistance) which means a low RPM fan will
move as much, or more, air as as your high RPM screamer trying to push/pull
air through those lousy punched holes.

You could try the '7V trick' on your existing fans to quiet them down and
see how effective they are at the lower CFM.

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Dell has the advantage of being able to control the layout of every
component in the system and can optimize the case airflow patterns because
of it. General market case and motherboard manufacturers don't know what
each other, much less the user, is doing and so you end up with 'extra'
effort in places (like a fan on the heatsink).

For an example of how one can 'optimize' things, consider this new solution
from thermaltake

http://www.thermaltake.com/coolers/c...fanless103.htm

That brings the heat to a radiator that can be cooled by the rear case fan,
in that case a 90mm which can turn slow, quietly, but still move a fair
amount of air. You'll see similar things in Dell cases although they can
avoid the cost of the heatpipe by laying out the motherboard and case so
that a large 'passive' heatsink on the processor lines up with the rear
case fan properly, perhaps with some moderate shrouding to direct the
airflow. And when you control the whole ball of wax you can do even fancier
things with it.

One beautiful example I saw was a Compaq dual P-III work station. Air came
in the front through a cardboard shroud that lead it across the two passive
heatsinks on the dual P-IIIs, was then directed upwards and back to the
front across the motherboard components, then to the rear again across the
hard drives and CD drives, eventually existing out the back. And a low
speed fan to boot. You could hardly tell the thing was on.

Of course, the case, motherboard, PSU, heatsinks, and ducting were all
custom designs that you couldn't duplicate with 'off the shelf' components.
You'd end up with a PSU fan(s), two processor fans, and at least one case fan.



  #8  
Old June 15th 04, 08:01 AM
Wes Newell
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On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 05:14:25 +0000, Brent Wege wrote:

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

No it won't suffer if you do it right. And you don't need a screamer
either. What you probably do need to do is to lessen the airflow
restriction for the front intake so the fan you put in there will be
able to work efficiently. Most cases block more than 50% of the intake
hole with unneeded metal. And then to make it worse, there's not enough
air holes/cutouts in the pastic front cover so it get's even more
restrictive and then also tries to suck the hot air in the case back
around. So take the front plastic cover off and cutout ALL the metal
blocking the intake fan hole. Now before you put the plastic cover back
on, either break off a bunch of plastic from the bottom of the cover
and/or if there's small holes in the front plastic take a drill and make
them BIG. Now you'll get at least double the airflow from the fan and it
will be quieter also since it won't be starved for air. With a decent
exhaust fan in the PSU (which you might want to cut some more metal from
if it's blocking the exhaust) you should be ok. On exposed fans, you might
want to install a standard fan guard.

--
Abit KT7-Raid (KT133) Tbred B core CPU @2400MHz (24x100FSB)
http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm
  #9  
Old June 15th 04, 10:03 AM
spodosaurus
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Brent Wege wrote:
Ok, my computers are LOUD. I hate fans because they make too much noise.
Right now I have two 80mm Sunon fans in each of my two computers, and I feel
like I'm sitting in the back of a 747 when they are both on. I'm thinking
about replacing them with one quiet 80mm fan. I'm also considering changing
the ATX power supplies to a quiet power supply.

It seems like most of the cooling news groups are full of *fan*atics, so all
I'm seeing are posts recommending at least 8 to 15 fans per box -- can we
get some honest opinions on whether or not a standard PC really needs all
this airflow?

Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?

I also see new Dell's more powerful than my PC coming with only one fan.


Thoughts?



The front fan (I assume it's one at the front and one at the back) is
probably the one producing the most noticeable noise for you. That said,
you may wish to replace both (or at least the front one) with quietter
fans. I like the Vantec Stealth fans and use them in my systems.

--
remove the underscores to unmung the email address...
  #10  
Old June 15th 04, 11:42 AM
Dave C.
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"David Besack" wrote in message
...
Will my machines *really* suffer from just one 80mm fan? I have

standard
mid-tower cases... do I really need *two* 80mm fans?


YOu can get away with just one. Make it an intake fan at the front of
the case, and (hopefully) your PSU will include its own dual-exhaust
fans moving the air out of your case. You will get half-decent airflow.


I agree with what you wrote. The OP also needs to be aware that one LOUD
fan can easily drown out the noise of several quiet ones. So it's not
necessary to reduce the number of fans. If you want quiet, you simply need
quiet fans. But you are right, the OP could probably get away with just
one. I've got two (not counting the power supply or CPU), but my mid-tower
sits inside a desk, so it's already got bad ventillation before I even turn
it on. -Dave


 




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