Which is preferable for g5 mod. Two fans or one fan kit from Laser Hive?

[Wolfie81]

Hi guys, I'm sure the quality is identical for both kits so its not a issue, but just curious on people's opinion on whether to go one or two fans for my mATX. Personally, it makes no difference to me aesthetically speaking. I want a dead silent system and just wondering which one is likely to give it to me. Pros and cons of either?

 

[kiwisincebirth]

If noise is your main concern, I think a single large fan will be quieter than two smaller fans.

 

[ersterhernd]

If you want dead silent, go with the 120 kit and a water cooler system. Replace the two stock fans with Noctua PWM 120mm fans in a push/pull setup and throttle them down to less than 500 rpm through bios.

You can hear a pin drop, I kid you not. Laser Hives 120 kit works like a charm with a water cooler radiator configuration.


Ersterhernd

 

[Dschijn]

I agree. Go for a 120mm fan!

1. Two fans are always louder than a single one.
2. 120mm fans are way more common as the 92mm fans are!
3. My two 120mm Enermax Cluster PWM in the front are working @ 500rpm idle and @ 650rpm under full load
4. BUT one 120mm fan will just transport 75-80% of the air of two 92mm fans

Good 120mm fans:
- Enermax Cluster
- Bequiet! Silent Wings 2
- Noiseblocker eLoop

 

[minihack]

IMHO, the reason to go for the 2 x 92 mm fan back is if you like the look of the original fan grill and want to keep that (which many people do).

2 x 92mm fans can be quiet, noctua do some nice silent 92mm fans. And it is even possible to convert the original fans to a PC type use of innards to keep the same fan outer look and then to undervolt them to get them near silent. They won't shift as much air though as a good 120. See my attachment for a how-to on converting G5 fans.



If you are interested in maximising function, performance, versatility, quietness (or watercooling) then go for the 120. If you are after an original type look and are not contemplating watercooling or go for a maximum performance set of components then the "Original" kit is the one to choose.

 

[Wolfie81]

Thanks guys. Looks like im sold on the 120 kit.
Im still toying with setup and while im not in a hurry to mod my case (G5 on its way though) this is the first time not only building but also modding a PC.

I have a general idea on how I want it to look, but silence is my goal along with compatibility with my 24 inch cinema display (im spoilt by my macbook air).

Ersterhernd, how do you find the noise on the water cooling? I contempl;ated it but reviews about noise put me off and was considering this..
http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/309

Just a bit iffy whether itll fit into the GA Z77N board with a GC.

Thanks for the fan suggestions. The noiseblockers look awesome. Now i gotta decide do I want those or

http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/260
Which ones win out? I like the look of the be quiet ones though.

I just want a bloody quiet system. Needless to say it'll only be ssds and as for the PSU im looking at the sea sonic x range which only switches fans on when power level is required.

 

[minihack]

Thanks guys. Looks like im sold on the 120 kit.
Im still toying with setup and while im not in a hurry to mod my case (G5 on its way though) this is the first time not only building but also modding a PC.

I have a general idea on how I want it to look, but silence is my goal along with compatibility with my 24 inch cinema display (im spoilt by my macbook air).

Ersterhernd, how do you find the noise on the water cooling? I contempl;ated it but reviews about noise put me off and was considering this..
http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/309

Just a bit iffy whether itll fit into the GA Z77N board with a GC.

Thanks for the fan suggestions. The noiseblockers look awesome. Now i gotta decide do I want those or

http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/260
Which ones win out? I like the look of the be quiet ones though.

I just want a bloody quiet system. Needless to say it'll only be ssds and as for the PSU im looking at the sea sonic x range which only switches fans on when power level is required.

That big cooler may just about fit on a laser hive mATX kit, but it might be very close. Height of the laser hive motherboard mounting is exactly the same as the height of the original G5 motherboard mounting. So if you check that against the big be quiet cooler you can see if it'll fit.

Personally I would probably take the suggestion of a water cooler mated with a pair of Noctuas if you really want performance and silence.

 

[Dschijn]

The main issue of the water cooling solutions is the "loud" pump.
A good air cooler is also nice! The Bequiet cooler are really good, I just build a system for a friend with a be quiet! Shadow Rock PRO SR1 and that baby is cooling the i5 3750K very nice!
If you are considering eLoop fans, make sure that they have 10mm distance to any object they are pulling air from (front case grid).

Today I received a 140mm SILENT WINGS 2 PWM from the be quiet! easter lottery and will test it later, these fans are just soooo expensive :/

One of the main points you should get an idea of is: how do you want to controll these fans?
Voltage -> you need a controller to down volt the fans
PWM -> you need a splitter to spread the CPU FAN PWM signal (that's what I did)

I connected 5 fans (2x 120mm in the front, 2x80mm in the back, 1x120mm on the CPU cooler) to the power supply and spread the PWM signal to all of them (because Gigabyte boards only have one good PWM signal).

 

[Wolfie81]

Even if I replace a stock fan on the water cooler, I read reviews the pump is still loud. I dont know how true this is though.

Thanks for the pointers on the fan control. Haven't really thought about that aspect yet and the better setup. Really, I just want the one thats less hassle and easiest to just 'work but if variable control isnt much more work, im all for it.

 

[Dschijn]

I bought the "Akasa Flexa FP5 PWM Fan Splitter" and did set the PWM controll in the BIOS to lowest possible level.
By that my fans are just in between 500-650rpm (idle -> load) and the eLoop 800-950rpm.