Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master HS

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Fraoch
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Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 12:57 pm
Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master HS

Post by Fraoch » Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:02 pm

Hello, new member here.

I've been reading quite a few reviews and technical articles here on SPCR. I've (tentatively) decided on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo for several reasons:

- good efficiency
- 120 mm fan for low noise
- reasonable weight and size
- fairly low cost

I'm more interested in silence than anything and my Zalman CNPS5X isn't cutting it - it cools just fine but I find it noisy. Performance doesn't have to be fantastic as I'm not overclocking and only have a modest AMD Phenom II X3, but the fan needs to be quiet. I'll be upgrading to a quiet case as well.

What really interested me about the Cooler Master was the suggestion to replace the rather noisy stock fan. Unfortunately the fan reviews here at SPCR don't quite cover what I'll require - a high static pressure PWM fan.

I'll probably be buying the fan through NCIX although I could be convinced to buy it from any Canadian online retailer or a U.S. online retailer with sane shipping to Canada. :) NCIX doesn't carry certain lines and most of the fans SPCR recommends are not available there, either because they were discontinued or NCIX just doesn't stock that manufacturer, so I'd be willing to go somewhere else for just the right fan.

So far the only suitable fan which is available to me which is (sort of) reviewed here is the Noctua NF-P12 PWM. It's "sort of" reviewed here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1020-page5.html

in the Noctua NH-D14 review which uses the NF-P12 fan - it's not a glowing review of the fan by any means...

Other fans with high static pressure, 120 mm, 4-pin connector, controlled with PWM, which would be suitable, are available to me and which I'm considering:

Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition (NCIX and Corsair seem to conflict as to whether it's a 3-pin or a 4-pin connector)

Cougar CF-V12HP

Any others I should be considering?

Thank you.

CA_Steve
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Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master H

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:23 pm

Welcome to SPCR.

My suggestion would be if you like the EVO, then buy it and try the stock fan. It might just work for you. If it doesn't, then you can sweat figuring out a better replacement. :)

By the way, what's your CPU? Are you overclocking or overvolting? If you are, then my answer may be different.

Fraoch
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2013 12:57 pm
Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Re: Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master H

Post by Fraoch » Wed Nov 13, 2013 1:40 pm

Thanks for the response!

Good point about just trying the stock fan first. :wink: It should be better than my Zalman CNPS5X which uses a non-replaceable 92 mm fan - I'd think that a competently-designed 120 mm fan should always be quieter than a 92 mm fan. I think the worst thing about this HS is the torque from the fan at high speeds causes the motherboard to flex and the whole assembly to resonate like a plucked guitar string. It's deafening when the computer restarts and the BIOS hasn't had a chance to set the PWM speed. It's tolerable at lower speeds but I'd like to do better.

My processor is an AMD Phenom II X3 B73 that I unlocked to 4-core. I'm not overclocking or overvolting. It's not the most-power efficient CPU for sure - stock is 95 W TDP, an equivalent 4-core (Phenom II X4 925) is also rated at 95 W TDP so I'm not sure if unlocking the 4th core creates more heat or not. The Zalman HS doesn't have a hard time cooling it at all - perhaps I have an overly optimistic thermal diode but it's reading 32 C. I don't doubt that a larger HS like the 212 should handle it fine and there should be lots of headroom for turning the fan down.

MikeC
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Re: Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master H

Post by MikeC » Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:43 pm

Have you tried the simple expedient of slowing down the stock fan on the Zalman cooler? If the CPU is at 32C, you have so much headroom.

lodestar
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Re: Newbie question about fan replacement on Cooler Master H

Post by lodestar » Wed Dec 11, 2013 5:36 pm

If you're restricted to NCIX then the Noctua NF-F12 is worth considering at around $20. With this fan in PWM mode you should expect idle speeds in the 300 to 500 rpm range, it will be somewhat quieter than the stock fan fitted to the Evo. I note from the customer reviews on NCIX that a couple of 212 owners have already used this fan successfully.

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