H80 with Noctua NF-P12

[Orch]

Excuse me poor knowledge on this, but looking for some clarification.

I have a H80 and last year replaced the standard fans with Noctua NF-P12s in push/pull. They do a great job and cut the temps by miles, also enabling me to turn the H80 to max setting without it sounding like it was taking off (like the standard fans).

However it's not quiet enough still. The other day I thought I'd switch the H80 to it's second setting to calm it down, but nothing changed?

Is this because the Noctua NF-P12 are 3 pin fans and not PMW? Am I right in saying that they are one speed only, whereas PMW is variable?


Also, if I fit PMW fans, connect them to the H80 which then connects to the CPU Fan header, will they change speed with CPU load? Or only if I change the H80 speed setting?

Oviously in an ideal world I'd like a set up that stays whisper when quiet when browsing but gives it the beans when it needs it, without me touching anything but struggling to work out how I get there? if at all?

Thanks in advance

 

[tbyeah]

Are you sure it's the fans and not the pump making the noise?

When I had an H80 it was powerful but the pump was certainly audible. From what I hear the Noctuas are very quiet.

 

[Orch]

Yeh pretty sure. The pump is actually nice and quiet. The noctua fans are great, to be honest I think it's just wind noise through the rad and case exhaust that causes the noise, which would be reduced if I could lower the fan RPM.

When gaming it's really quiet considering the load and the temps it maintains, but the noise obviously stays the same when browsing, watching films etc.

No idea why I didn't buy PMW the first time round. An expensive mistake at £20 a fan

Can anyone answer this bit?

Also, if I fit PMW fans, connect them to the H80 which then connects to the CPU Fan header, will they change speed with CPU load? Or only if I change the H80 speed setting?

 

[Tealc]

Bypass the H80 and have the fans run directly off the motherboard header. Move the pump over to another header that drives it at 12v.

With luck you'll be able to set up control of the Noctua fans using voltage control to slow them down. If not then consider asking me to make you a PWM converter I use one on my Noctua shod CPU cooler and it ranges from 600 rpm to around 900rpm with really smooth automatic increments in speed.

 

[Orch]

Bypass the H80 and have the fans run directly off the motherboard header. Move the pump over to another header that drives it at 12v.

With luck you'll be able to set up control of the Noctua fans using voltage control to slow them down. If not then consider asking me to make you a PWM converter I use one on my Noctua shod CPU cooler and it ranges from 600 rpm to around 900rpm with really smooth automatic increments in speed.

That's great help thank you.

When you say control the fans using voltage control, do you mean like using a 7v restrictor cable?

The PMW converters sound interesting, how much? any more info?

 

[Tealc]

That's great help thank you.

When you say control the fans using voltage control, do you mean like using a 7v restrictor cable?

The PMW converters sound interesting, how much? any more info?

Some motherboards will allow you to use variable regulated voltage control as an alternative to PWM control. Some will just run 12v no matter what you do.

A 7v resistor cable will cap your top end speed, that's not ideal for a CPU fan, unless you can cope with it at that speed permanently.

My PWM converter are a small circuit I developed a couple of years ago that takes a PWM signal in one side and spits out a reasonably steady variable voltage the other side. It allows 3 pin fans to run off a PWM only board or a VGA card, or just allow finer control than most voltage controlled boards will afford. For example if I adjust my PWM duty cycle by 1% to my PWM converted controlled Noctua fan it will reacy by an RPM or two. It's incredibly stable. It is also adjustable and can be tuned to your desired speed.

As my converters are hand built and they take a bit of time I ask £10 for them, just to cover my costs and time a bit.

Phanteks are coming out with a retail item soon for a few quid more that acts in a similar way but lacks the adjustability of mine on the main fan so if you are not happy with the speed curve then it's basically tough. This was a problem with their original lead too.

Looks like this

but with some heatshrink and wiring

Too much info maybe.

 

[Orch]

No that's great info thanks! Will give that some thought, great work!

I did try plugging the fans direct to CPU header, and giving the pump a 12v feed, it all worked but fan speed remained constant regardless of what the mobo was asking it to do.

 

[Tealc]

Yeah my fans were the same on my gigabyte board. I had to use an ulna.

Drop me a message in trust if you want me to send you one.