Two fans vs one?

Big McCann · 27 Dec 2014 at 00:46

hi all so i have a corsair H60 CPU watercooler and i am going to buy a Noctua 120mm fan for it as the stock ones that come with it aren't really the quietest.

Anyways question is with this CPU cooler, is one fan okay or do i really need two in a push/pull config?

thanks

Doomedspeed · 27 Dec 2014 at 01:15

You don't need two, it'll work well with just one easily.

A push/pull config may give you slightly better temps so if you want to, no reason not too. The only issue is fittings. I know on my H50 i only had 4 screws. I used two on each fan to enable Push/pull. It did rattle now and again.

Cat_J · 27 Dec 2014 at 01:33

I have tried both an found that push pull creates more noise for little gain

Big McCann · 27 Dec 2014 at 01:36

thanks guys. its a bitfenix prodigy mitx case so space wise it might be tight so best thing would be just one fan. cheers!

Audigex · 27 Dec 2014 at 02:06

The potential advantage of two fans is that two fans at 700rpm will be quieter than one at 1400rpm, while shifting more air than one fan at 700rpm.

In reality, usually you're either running hot at load and need to ramp up both fans until they're quite noisy anyway (in which case push-pull is noisier but without doing much more), or you're running at low speed in which case one fan on low would have done the job anyway, so you're making the noise of two for no reason.

If you spend a lot of time running at medium speeds, you can usually get good results with push-pull. At low speed it's just extra noise for no gain, and at high speed it's a lot more noise for not much gain.