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Fans fans fans

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Jul 16, 2014
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Motherboard
MSI Z590 MEG ACE
CPU
i9-10900k
Graphics
RX 6900 XT
Mac
  1. Mac mini
Classic Mac
  1. PowerBook
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
Hello all again!


My build plan is coming together very quickly! I have a CPU and PSU picked out, and a LaserHive kit on the way! Now I'm looking at fans ~ My plan is to reuse all the fan slots except the HDD blower fan. I thought about replacing the internals of the original fans, but it seems like too much work. I've been trying to do research on fans but there isn't much info out there.

So basically, I'll have:
1 80mm fan on the top shelf for the HDD/SSDs
1 80mm fan for the PCI shelf
2intake/2outake 92mm fans for the CPU area
And 2 60mm fans on the 750w PSU that I'll be modding into the original case.


My question is -- there are all kinds of fans! Are there any good recommendations? I've seen some fans that create more static pressure and some that move air more quickly. For the CPU area, should I use the same fans front and back? Or try to create extra air pressure inside the case or less? I'll be using a i7-4790K (but not OC'd) so it might get stuffy. Also, for the CPU, will I need a better air cooler than the stock one provided? Also, I assume the one fan in the PCI shelf will be enough to cool a 770 GPU?

Sorry for the odd questions, I'm just pretty confused! Thanks for the help in advance,

stiligFox
 
Last edited:
Before worrying about fans you should decide on the load. Number of drives and type. Which motherboard will be used. With your CPU you could go air cooling, AIO water cooling or DIY water cooling.

But the G5 Power Mac case is a wide open free breathing case. I have observed that many hacks have way more fans installed then needed. If I were going to go with an air cooler for the CPU, I would use push/pull fans through the cooler and one exhaust fan in the rear. I would only add a fan to the GPU area if needed and with modern tech drives, you don't need fans. Many will not agree, but this is what I have found.

Then if you go with a good AOI water cooler you can do is push/pull fans through the rad which exhausts out the rear.

However if you plan to stack 4 to 6 hard drives up in the front portion of the case then you may well need to add fans.

And I have reused the two original PSU fans powering them with 5 VDC. I anticipated a reduced life of these fans but have had no failures to date on PSUs and/or fans.

And good practice is to dress the power cables neatly (under the motherboard were possible) so that excess cabling does not impact air flow through the case.

Good modding,
neil
 
Thanks Neil! Your advice is invaluable!

I'm planning on using the the Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5 mATX board. I ordered the LaserHive 2 rear fan kit last week; I want to retain the use of the fan grille :)

My plan is to keep the HDD cage where it is, and fill it with one 3.5" HDD and two SSDs -- I don't foresee heat being a problem.

And I have reused the two original PSU fans powering them with 5 VDC.
And good practice is to dress the power cables neatly (under the motherboard were possible) so that excess cabling does not impact air flow through the case.

neil

I'll give reusing the PSU fans a shot, thanks! But I'm curious, when you say routing the cable under the motherboard, does that work for all cables? I.E. the SATA cables and such? I know there is limited space between the perspex backplate and the back of the mob, do I need to worry about the heat of it destroying them?
 
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I'll give reusing the PSU fans a shot, thanks! But I'm curious, when you say routing the cable under the motherboard, does that work for all cables? I.E. the SATA cables and such? I know there is limited space between the perspex backplate and the back of the mob, do I need to worry about the heat of it destroying them?

Well cable dress and routing has a lot to do with personal taste.

On many other sites, there is great attention to sleeving all the visible cables which adds bulk and has an impact on air flow (probably small). After about 50 hacks I have come to the decision that I would rather dress the cables and cut them to length which has caused me to invest in pin crimpers, pins and connector housings. The point is I am not trying to hide un-used extra cabling.

Also, I am now a fan for SSF (small form factor) modular PSUs. Also I have a PSU tester which I use after major cable mods before putting power to the a modded system.

By intent, I now use 0.6 to 0.75 inch tall standoffs on motherboards which provides the space under the motherboard for cables and SSDs and 2.5" HDDs.

I also build modesty panels to hide cables. My System On Slides [SOS] is an example of hiding cables.

In your case where you plan to use a Laser Hive board mounting kit, I probably would not count on hiding cables under the MB mounting plate. You could create a vertical cable riser running from lower PSU to the top shelf which could hide most of the cable from view.

Anyway each hack takes on a personality from the builder and there is no right way or wrong way to do most of these tasks as long as it works for you.

Good modding
neil
 
Last question for you Neil;


Then if you go with a good AOI water cooler you can do is push/pull fans through the rad which exhausts out the rear.


I see how nicely you've done liquid coolers in your builds and you are very experienced-- I have zero experience so if I did I'd go with a prebuilt solution as you suggested. But my question is ~ would something like this be adequate in your opinion if I mounted it to the original rear grey fan case over one of the two 92mm fans? (The cooler itself seems quality enough as they make the units for Corsair, Thermaltake and others)


http://asetek.com/desktop/cpu-coolers/545lc.aspx


This the only 92mm one I can find. It would be either this or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018


(I do not plan to OC)


Thanks again, this should be my last question for a while!
 
Last question for you Neil;





I see how nicely you've done liquid coolers in your builds and you are very experienced-- I have zero experience so if I did I'd go with a prebuilt solution as you suggested. But my question is ~ would something like this be adequate in your opinion if I mounted it to the original rear grey fan case over one of the two 92mm fans? (The cooler itself seems quality enough as they make the units for Corsair, Thermaltake and others)


http://asetek.com/desktop/cpu-coolers/545lc.aspx


This the only 92mm one I can find. It would be either this or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018


(I do not plan to OC)


Thanks again, this should be my last question for a while!

You're better off with an air cooler than that tiny AIO asetek radiator. Another option would be to mount a single or dual 120 or 140mm AIO radiator in the front of the case.
 
You're better off with an air cooler than that tiny AIO asetek radiator. Another option would be to mount a single or dual 120 or 140mm AIO radiator in the front of the case.
If I mounted a single 120 in front of the two stacked 92mm fans in the front end of the case, would that still provide enough air flow through the radiator?
 
If I mounted a single 120 in front of the two stacked 92mm fans in the front end of the case, would that still provide enough air flow through the radiator?

You could just use the fan that comes with the rad and you'll be fine. If you plan on a higher end GPU then you might want an additional intake towards the top of the case. You're better off with larger fans because 92mm fans are generally quite loud.
 
Last question for you Neil;





I see how nicely you've done liquid coolers in your builds and you are very experienced-- I have zero experience so if I did I'd go with a prebuilt solution as you suggested. But my question is ~ would something like this be adequate in your opinion if I mounted it to the original rear grey fan case over one of the two 92mm fans? (The cooler itself seems quality enough as they make the units for Corsair, Thermaltake and others)


http://asetek.com/desktop/cpu-coolers/545lc.aspx


This the only 92mm one I can find. It would be either this or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018


(I do not plan to OC)


Thanks again, this should be my last question for a while!

My personal experience with AIO water cooling is with Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro and Water3.0 Pro (used on 4 systems; i7-2600K, i7-3770K, and two i7-4770K). On the SOL I stood the cooler up in the front of the chassis with air path of front to rear; and I did not install any exhaust fan(s) in the rear. This works fine and the i7-3770K is OC to 4.2GHz and runs the Prime95 Torture Test without getting to 70C.

My advice is to assemble your system, get it running the way you want and add fans only as needed.

Good modding,
neil
 
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