Fan Comparison

[Geniside]

Hi,

I have recently bought a new case, and i do not fully understand what fan work better of why.

4 x 14cm fans or 1 x 20cm fan.

All i could find on the net from google is that the 20 cm one will be quieter.

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards
Rainer

 

[Archer]

I think a good place to start is to tell us what you've got, and what you're after in terms of cooling
So what hardware are you trying to cool, and do you prefer silence, or good temperatures? And what money are you willing to spend on fans?

A very broad statement would be the 140's will cool better, and the 200 will be more silent. But you get some really good 140's that'll beat a 200 on all fronts.

 

[Geniside]

Hardware wise i have:

Manufacturer MSI
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820 CPU @ 3.60GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.6GHz
Memory 12288MB RAM
Hard Drive 4 TB Total
Motherboard MSI X79A-GB45-8D
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Service Pack 1
Video Card ATI Radeon HD 5770
Case Aerocool Xpredator

Fans i have atm is the default 23cm at the top and front, and a 12cm one at the back(will replace with 14cm).

i care more about good temperatures than silent but both would be nice, price wise i would prob spend about R60-100 per fan, would go more if needed the nice fan i have found that i like was the Shark Fan 14cm that i believe goes for R120

 

[GreyBush]

nah you don't need more fans, is everything at stock voltage?

 

[Geniside]

everything at stock voltage?

Yes they are while running on a fan controller.

 

[AlmightyBender]

Lol that GPU vs CPU is like David vs Goliath

Those 4 fans on the side are almost exclusively for multi-GPU setups so unless you go that route I don't think putting more fans in there is going to be necessary

 

[GreyBush]

Yes they are while running on a fan controller.

I meant have you overclocked your CPU and GPU to levels where you needed to up the voltage.

 

[Geniside]

Lol that GPU vs CPU is like David vs Goliath

Those 4 fans on the side are almost exclusively for multi-GPU setups so unless you go that route I don't think putting more fans in there is going to be necessary

i am going that route, but first wanted to sort out any problems that may occur before they do

I meant have you overclocked your CPU and GPU to levels where you needed to up the voltage.

I do sometimes, but thats completely of the topic where i ask what fan is better, having 4x 14cm vs 1x 20cm, and what benefits does one have over the other, my rig was asked to see what it is to work on, but saying from that i dont need more fans, i want more fans but i dont know what fans or fan setup are better

 

[EmileS]

Nice PC you have there. What PSU do you have? The case has more than enough fans for keeping your system cool. If you don't do any overclocking or have multi-GPUs then you can even disconnect the 2 bottom placed fans, it won't make a big difference temperature wise, but would probably bring down the dB.

Usually (not always), 20cm fans are quieter than 14cm. 4 x 14cm fans would make a lot of noise, I would think. But, if you are going for good temperatures there are a lot of good quality fans out there, which is also silent. However, do you really need more cooling? What are the temps in your case, GPU, RAM, and CPU? What are you using your PC for mainly (gaming, video editing, rendering, etc.)? Rather save some cash for a new GPU

Lol that GPU vs CPU is like David vs Goliath

Hahaha yeah, that is so true!

 

[AlmightyBender]

I think you can get away with really high quality 20cm fan for two gpu setup. Should be quite and push plenty of air. If you are putting 3 or more gpu's in there then the 4 fan setup is going to be more appropriate.

I can suggest that you get the best quality fans that you can as they are not all equal in performance and noise

 

[Geniside]

Nice PC you have there. What PSU do you have? The case has more than enough fans for keeping your system cool. If you don't do any overclocking or have multi-GPUs then you can even disconnect the 2 bottom placed fans, it won't make a big difference temperature wise, but would probably bring down the dB.

Usually (not always), 20cm fans are quieter than 14cm. 4 x 14cm fans would make a lot of noise, I would think. But, if you are going for good temperatures there are a lot of good quality fans out there, which is also silent. However, do you really need more cooling? What are the temps in your case, GPU, RAM, and CPU? What are you using your PC for mainly (gaming, video editing, rendering, etc.)? Rather save some cash for a new GPU


Hahaha yeah, that is so true!

The temp on my CPU sits on 55 doing nothing and gets up to 70-75 when i play games and watch video at the same time,
65-70 without the video going, the cooling is also needed as the box can only sit in the corner of the room, as its the only safe place, and the room isnt the coldest in the house,

 

[Geniside]

I think you can get away with really high quality 20cm fan for two gpu setup. Should be quite and push plenty of air. If you are putting 3 or more gpu's in there then the 4 fan setup is going to be more appropriate.

I can suggest that you get the best quality fans that you can as they are not all equal in performance and noise

Thansk for the helpi believe ill go with 4x Shark Fan 14cm Blue Edition then, since i can put them on silent mode if needed,

I heard 4 fans setup like that could make a vortex of air inside my case?

 

[GreyBush]

The temp on my CPU sits on 55 doing nothing and gets up to 70-75 when i play games and watch video at the same time,
65-70 without the video going, the cooling is also needed as the box can only sit in the corner of the room, as its the only safe place, and the room isnt the coldest in the house,

You need a proper cpu cooler.

 

[Archer]

Multi GPU you say?
4x140mm fans it is. You can always turn them down if they are too loud

 

[EmileS]

Hopefully you are not going multi-GPU with that GPU (don't think they are still available) Keep the 4x14cm fans, it will provide the best cooling. And I'll also suggest getting a proper CPU cooler! If you are still not happy with the temps, liquid cooling is the way to go, but it will be expensive though.


On a side note: Maybe invest in some dark curtains or aircon

 

[Geniside]

Hopefully you are not going multi-GPU with that GPU (don't think they are still available) Keep the 4x14cm fans, it will provide the best cooling. And I'll also suggest getting a proper CPU cooler! If you are still not happy with the temps, liquid cooling is the way to go, but it will be expensive though.


On a side note: Maybe invest in some dark curtains or aircon

haha they are dark and thick, and no im not using that one that one is one i bought in a 5 min rush since my old one went up in smoke while i was out of country, put the pc off when i went away came back and it didnt want to go on again after being off 3 months, CPU cooler will come, but im most likely going with watercooling for it,

 

[AlmightyBender]

but it will be expensive though.

Based on the CPU Geniside is clearly not someone concerned with costs

 

[Rickster]

Arnt smaller fans usually faster than bigger ones?

 

[EmileS]

Arnt smaller fans usually faster than bigger ones?

Yes, they usually are. However, speed is not the only key to air throughput, size also matter. The volume of air going through a 200mm fan is usually much bigger than the volume going through a smaller 80mm fan. A lot has to do with the amount of fins and the fin design as well. Smaller fans are usually noisy as well due to their higher rpm. Fans between 140mm and 200mm are optimal for airflow. Going bigger will reduce the force of the air on the components, which has an impact on the amount of chill on components. It's not always about speed, it's more about efficiency.