Anyone using Fractal Design 140mm fans ?

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 16:05

I'm using Noiseblocker SilentPro PK2 1200rpm fans at the moment all over my 800D. I find I use them at around 800rpm most of the time except when gaming where I turn them up. I hear good things about the Fractal Design 140mm fans so I'm wondering would these serve the 800D well and be better then stock fans in terms of noise and airflow ? Anyone

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 18:46

Flanno said:
I'm using Noiseblocker SilentPro PK2 1200rpm fans at the moment all over my 800D. I find I use them at around 800rpm most of the time except when gaming where I turn them up. I hear good things about the Fractal Design 140mm fans so I'm wondering would these serve the 800D well and be better then stock fans in terms of noise and airflow ? Anyone

Use 2 for my side and HD with my 800D. Totally silent even at full speed. Won't push masses of air but that's the compromise you pay.

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 18:49

Do you reckon they would be ok for the bottom intake, and the rear outtake (which I have reversed). Also would put 2 on the sidepanel which I have modded.

Did you compare them to the stock 800D fans which to be honest move more air then I thought.

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 19:00

Flanno said:
Do you reckon they would be ok for the bottom intake, and the rear outtake (which I have reversed). Also would put 2 on the sidepanel which I have modded.

Did you compare them to the stock 800D fans which to be honest move more air then I thought.

I use a NF-P14 FLX Vortex Fan for my intake. I have the side bringing air in which puts positive pressure in the case to drive the radiator which push the air out. This is all controlled by my aquaero. I would recommend something more powerful on the intake than the fractal. Really all you can do is try it.

I suspect the Standard fans will push more air.

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 19:12

Thanks. On my case anything faster then stock fan on the bottom intake can cause a certain amount of humming/resonance, hence the need for a fan controller. Same with reversing the rear fan. It's so close to the mesh grille it causes turbilence as it pulls air in, so I had to use some HD grommets and long fan screws to space the fan away from the rear grille. The 140mm rubber gasket just didn't do it for me. The reason I reversed the rear fan was to help cool the VREG (makes a 10 degree difference) and feed the ECO240 rad on the roof.

I'm thinking I could get 90% performance and a quieter experience with either stock fans or fractals and hopefully reduce case resonance. No need for fan controller either. I've pretty much tried every other 140mm fan out there to date.

You mention you use the side to bring air in. Did you mod the case with a sidefan or are you talking about the HD fan and you removed the plastic duct over it ?

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 20:07

Flanno said:
Thanks. On my case anything faster then stock fan on the bottom intake can cause a certain amount of humming/resonance, hence the need for a fan controller. Same with reversing the rear fan. It's so close to the mesh grille it causes turbilence as it pulls air in, so I had to use some HD grommets and long fan screws to space the fan away from the rear grille. The 140mm rubber gasket just didn't do it for me. The reason I reversed the rear fan was to help cool the VREG (makes a 10 degree difference) and feed the ECO240 rad on the roof.

I'm thinking I could get 90% performance and a quieter experience with either stock fans or fractals and hopefully reduce case resonance. No need for fan controller either. I've pretty much tried every other 140mm fan out there to date.

You mention you use the side to bring air in. Did you mod the case with a sidefan or are you talking about the HD fan and you removed the plastic duct over it ?

Sorry when I mean side I mean back, it's side to me because it's on my desk. I brinf air in and duct it over the VRegs. The Aquero monitors all the temps and adjusts the fans accordingly. Normally only one fan runs on the RX360 so the system is silent. The case is totally standard and buzz free. Have you tried sitting the case on something?

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 20:50

Tried everything. The back of the case is warped which is why the PCI slots don't line up so getting case replaced next week and going to swap everything out. I suspect this warping contributes towards the oscillation and to be honest there are lots of threads on the corsair forums about how noisy this case can be even with stock fans.

When you reversed the rear fan did you notice how much noisier it was because the fan blades are so close to the cases rear grille and sucking air through causes a sort of buzzing. I even tried the stock fan and found it noisy like this. That's why I had to use spacers to get a bit of distance between the fan and the grille and reduce the turbulence. Surprised no one has ever mentioned this before. I guess I am just very sensitive to these sort of things because when I had a H50 with the fan blowing inwards I found it noisy even at idle.

Anyway, thanks for the info. My new 800D will be here next week along with some Fractal 140's. I will compare the stock against the fractals in open air and as intakes and go from there.

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 20:59

Flanno said:
Tried everything. The back of the case is warped which is why the PCI slots don't line up so getting case replaced next week and going to swap everything out. I suspect this warping contributes towards the oscillation and to be honest there are lots of threads on the corsair forums about how noisy this case can be even with stock fans.

When you reversed the rear fan did you notice how much noisier it was because the fan blades are so close to the cases rear grille and sucking air through causes a sort of buzzing. I even tried the stock fan and found it noisy like this. That's why I had to use spacers to get a bit of distance between the fan and the grille and reduce the turbulence. Surprised no one has ever mentioned this before. I guess I am just very sensitive to these sort of things because when I had a H50 with the fan blowing inwards I found it noisy even at idle.

Anyway, thanks for the info. My new 800D will be here next week along with some Fractal 140's. I will compare the stock against the fractals in open air and as intakes and go from there.

On the rear I just used the standard rubber gasket and it was silent and buzz free in either direction. I have used draught excluder for mounting my 120mm to the rad. The only slight noise I get is the noise through the caddy on the HD. I use 1 SSD, 1 Raptor and a 7200 spin HD. I sit the case on my desk and it's within arm reach so it needs to be silent which it is.

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 21:10

Thats odd about no noise when the fan is revered as the blades are very very close to the rear grille so it makes sense that turbulence builds up when the fan is at full speed and is sucking through the grille. Your fan must run at very low rpm's (below 800). Or my case is completely knackered

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 21:28

Flanno said:
Thats odd about no noise when the fan is revered as the blades are very very close to the rear grille so it makes sense that turbulence builds up when the fan is at full speed and is sucking through the grille. Your fan must run at very low rpm's (below 800). Or my case is completely knackered

All the fans run at low speed hence the Aquero. The rear is a fractal bringing air in using the gasket and probably runs around 600 rpm. I try to keep all my fans below 700 for silence. I have 3 Akasa vipers on the rad and on the desktop one fan runs at about 600 rpm. In games the 3 run but again at 600. That's with a 5870 and 920 in the loop. It's all balanced for silence.

Flanno · 15 Sep 2010 at 21:35

That explains it mate. Cause mine are dead quiet at 800rpm or below too.

I have 4 vipers on my ECO 240 rad in push pull. PWM controlled by motherboard and idle at 700rpm. Very quiet and push a lot of air when they need to. But I noticed when idle if I put my ear to the case you can hear the fans ticking. I think it's just the way pwm control on my board works and the akasa fans bearing tend to click when mounted vertically as they seem silent when mounted horizontally. I'm getting obsessed now, I can hear the noise the light bulb in my room makes

Might try some noiseblocker pwm's now.

The Asgard · 15 Sep 2010 at 21:46

Flanno said:
That explains it mate. Cause mine are dead quiet at 800rpm or below too.

I have 4 vipers on my ECO 240 rad in push pull. PWM controlled by motherboard and idle at 700rpm. Very quiet and push a lot of air when they need to. But I noticed when idle if I put my ear to the case you can hear the fans ticking. I think it's just the way pwm control on my board works and the akasa fans bearing tend to click when mounted vertically as they seem silent when mounted horizontally. I'm getting obsessed now, I can hear the noise the light bulb in my room makes Might try some noiseblocker pwm's now.

Yes the clicking is PWM which I avoid like the plague. The biggest noise on my system is the seasonic 750 watt M12D which is supposed to be silent and is. The trouble with a quiet system is your ears become more sensitive so there will be always something that you will ear once you silence anything. Very pleased with my 800D and water setup.