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daveheath1888

daveheath1888

daveheath1888

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9 Sep 2025
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Hi building my first pc and already got the nzxt h7 flow 2024 and was wondering what to do about fans, it comes with 3 120mm fans but they are 3 pin ones so thinking about replacing them, according to the specs i can have :

top 3x120mm or 2x140mm.
1 rear 120mm or 140mm.
3 front 120mm or 140mm.
3 bottom 120mm.

thinking 3 bottom 120mm,1 rear 140mm,3 front 140mm and 1 or 2 top 140mm.
any advice.
priority is quiet so will probably run them at low speeds.
don't want to spend a fortune.
will probably spend more on the 1 rear fan than the other fans individually.
 
Bottom fans aren't especially useful - they are too restricted in how much air can be sucked in, and too much intake i.e. having 6x intake isn't especially useful - the air is still limited by how much you can exhaust.

Generally you'll want 1x rear, 1x top (in the rearmost position) and 3x front.
Go for 140mm as they will be quieter, although there is slightly less choice in 140mm than 120mm depending on what look you are after.
 
What CPU cooler are you going with?

If it is a big air cooler, it may be best not to have any fans in the roof as it may disturb the airflow through the cooler.

So get a fan for the rear and see how you get on with the stock fans first. Even though they are 3 pin, you should be able to slow them down in bios.
 
As Arma said, easiest is probably 3 on the front as intake and single on the top rear as exhaust.

Having more air intaking than exhausting means your case will such in less dust as the only air coming in is through your fans (which should have a dust filter).
 
thanks for the replies. thinking 3 x140mm front,1 140mm rear, 1 140mm top back, anyone got any suggestions for which fans to use?, cpu cooler will probably be one of the thermalright air coolers.
 
thanks for the reply, look like
Armageus said:
Arctic P series are the go to for value/performance and have RGB + white options depending on what you are after

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £40.92 (includes delivery: £3.99)​
Click to expand...
thanks for reply, looks good for front and top fans, anyone got any experience of these fans, think i want a slightly better one for the rear exhaust any thoughts?
 
daveheath1888 said:
thanks for reply, looks good for front and top fans, anyone got any experience of these fans,
Click to expand...
Yes I have experience of the artic p12, p14 as well as the Max variants.

daveheath1888 said:
think i want a slightly better one for the rear exhaust any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Not sure why you think you need a better exhaust fan?
Generally you'd keep them all the same for aesthetics.
 
daveheath1888 said:
thanks for the replies. thinking 3 x140mm front,1 140mm rear, 1 140mm top back, anyone got any suggestions for which fans to use?, cpu cooler will probably be one of the thermalright air coolers.
Click to expand...

My boring and sensible advice is:

Build it up and see how you go... no point buying more/better fans unless you have a reason to, such as too much noise, temps too high, etc.

You can always add more/replace some later.
 
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