Help me work out the best fan situation in my PC

[Coldsnap]

That's my case. Right now my fan situation is this:

All fans are being controlled by a touch aeromaster 1,000 controller:
Two front intakes running at 700rpm - Scythe 1,200 RPM Slipstream and a Stock 1,200 Fractal Design R3 Fan
Side vent fan intake for my gpu running at 400rpm - Scythe 500 RPM Slipstream
CPU Fan running at 800 rpm - Scythe 800 RPM Slipstream
Exhaust - Stock 1,200 RPM Fractal Design fan

The stock fans are much louder than the slipstreams and also the 500 rpm slipstream is louder than the 1,200 rpm slipstreams running at 700 rpm... I'm thinking of just replacing my two stock fans, and the 500rpm slipstream with 1,200 slipstreams since they seem to be much quieter. I do zero overclocking on my computer (I dont like the extra heat) so my cpu temps are really low but my gpu can get up to 80*C during gaming sessions.

[Lithium466]

Your slipstream 500rpm seems to be needy for a bit of oil I think

So currently you have

1 : Scythe 1,200 RPM Slipstream
2 : Stock 1,200 Fractal Design R3 Fan
3 : -
4 : Stock 1,200 RPM Fractal Design fan
5 : -
6 : -
7 : Scythe 500 RPM Slipstream

CPU : Scythe 800 RPM Slipstream

Am I right ? What fan are you able to buy where you live ? Could you buy Noiseblocker fans ?

You could just get rid of fractal fans, and replace them by slipstream 1200rpm. I know they are widely appreciated, but I don't like them very much, and I tend to prefer Nexus or Noiseblocker fans

As for side vent fan intake, if oiling you slipstream doesn't help, I don't know if Silverstone AP121 fan may help with GPU temp...

[mkk]

Perhaps you already have, but try without the side fan altogether. It might not do much except letting noise out through the side. The exhaust must be quite noisy at full speed. Depending on how the system is positioned it could be worthwhile trying out with putting some fan in the upper rear exhaust vent, while slowing down the standard exhaust.

The Slip Stream 800's have been my favorite. Never need more than the 850'ish they deliver at 12V and quiet downwards 5V. Maybe a 1200 on the CPU heatsink together with a hot CPU.

Tried two Slip Stream 140mm 500 RPM fans but both had a ticking noise from the motor, perhaps something like that occurrs with your 120mm 500 fan too?

[Coldsnap]

Thank you for the replys. I buy all my items at newegg so whatever fans they have. I should try to remove the side vent because my GPU fan has a loud tick in it (felt wrong returning a gpu for just that so i stuck with it). What's the best way to test temps to see if with the fan or without the fan makes any difference?

[ickarumba1]

What do you have in your computer?
I blocked off 1 and 2 with wood and covered the entire front with acoustipack. Now I use 3 and 4 only. This is because hard drive noise is too loud.
I have a gentle typhoon + fanmate at 3 and one of the original fans at 4.
I can do this because I have a 6850 + accelero twin turbo pro. Plus a large heatsink over my i5 2500k.
It's cool and quiet because there is less impeded airflow and the GT pushes air directly into the 6850.

[Coldsnap]

ah okay, that sounds like a silent setup. I have a gtx 560, i5 2500k with a large corsair heatsink, nothing overclocked. My cpu temps stay super low due to that fact, but my gtx 560 can get pretty hot during gaming sessions. I also live in south florida so my ampient temps are around 78-80*F which makes inside of my case around 90*F during gaming sessions. It's mostly the gtx 560 that needs to be cooled down by fans, if the gtx 560 fan runs above 40% is gets considerably louder.

[ickarumba1]

ah okay, that sounds like a silent setup. I have a gtx 560, i5 2500k with a large corsair heatsink, nothing overclocked. My cpu temps stay super low due to that fact, but my gtx 560 can get pretty hot during gaming sessions. I also live in south florida so my ampient temps are around 78-80*F which makes inside of my case around 90*F during gaming sessions. It's mostly the gtx 560 that needs to be cooled down by fans, if the gtx 560 fan runs above 40% is gets considerably louder.

In your case, I'd keep fans in positions 1 and 2. Block off 3 with a plastic sheet or a piece of wood/metal. This will channel airflow. Remove the side fan. Keep the rear fan.
The fan positions are good, just remove the side fan. At 500RPM it won't be doing much cooling and it will let the noise come out.

[frenchie]

I'd block fans 1 and 6, and use 2 exhausts instead, maybe 4 and 5. If you feel more intake is necessary closer to the GPU, open a few PCI slots below the GPU.
I'm not a big fan of intake fans, I don't think they provide enough benefits ; I'd rather put a fan right next to the heatsink that needs cooling. If you want to try this, remove the drive holders you're not using and put fan 2 inside the case, on the drive bay (zip ties, elastic bands...). This will greatly improve all the airflow across your card and keep it quieter.

As for fans, I'm a big fan of Nexus fans

[tanassi]

Intake needs to be as low as possible, exhaust as high as possible. The most important line is 2 -> 4, for lower GPU temp line 7 -> 5 is. Use low rpm fans if possible (or just downvolt them). Noiseblocker fans are really good, but so are Nexus and Noctua. I love the BeQuiet Silent Wings USC fans, as the can run at 3,5v en start at 3,5v!!

So use:
1 : -
2 : 700 RPM fan
3 : -
4 : 700 RPM fan
5 : 500 RPM fan
6 : -
7 : 500 RPM fan

Never block fanspace even if there is no fan running in it. Leave them all open.

Oh and dont worry about thew GPU temps. 90c sounds high but it perfectly acceptable. Those cards will operate way beyond cooking.

[frenchie]

Never block fanspace even if there is no fan running in it. Leave them all open.

I'm not so sure about that... It depends on your airflow setup.

[tanassi]

Dissipation > forced airflow.

The goal fo airflow is removing heat out of the case. Dissipation does just that. And it is never so strong that it will screw up the airflow. Dissipation is the best thing there is: nature's airflow without any noise. The more you have it, the less your casefans have to work.

[Mr Spocko]

I would keep 2, 4, 5 and get rid of the others.
The basic concept of airflow is to draw cooler air into the system and to remove hot air quickly. 4/5 are very important to removing air and fan 2 will be at the lowest point to draw cooler air in.

[frenchie]

Dissipation > forced airflow.

The goal fo airflow is removing heat out of the case. Dissipation does just that. And it is never so strong that it will screw up the airflow. Dissipation is the best thing there is: nature's airflow without any noise. The more you have it, the less your casefans have to work.

To dissipate heat just means to get rid of it and the best way to do it is to direct that heat to where you want ot to go, in our case with a fan (or with a duct). In my experience, a controled airflow path is the best way to get rid of heat efficently. That can mean leaving all your fan openings open, but it can also mean closing some of them to better control where the air is going.

[tanassi]

@frenchie
I have a fractal 3000 (see my sig), wich is quite similar to the OP's case and I have the exact opposite experience. But maybe it varies with components etc.