The Air Cooling Thread

[Snafu]

Originally Posted by RangersFan

Hmmm, so what sounds good? Both video cards on one contoller, processor HSF on another, front intake and back exhaust on the 3rd, and top blowhole on the 4th?

I think that would be the best set-up.

I do however, have my CPU fan connected to teh mobo header and on on a controller. I let the mobo do its thing.

One thing you need to watch for is the allowable load on the fan controller especially if you daisy chain some fans. I am not certain with the controller you picked there.

The difference with Panflo's fans is basically speed/volume/noise as follows:

Model	Volume		Noise		Speed		Amp (Watt)
L1A	68.9CFM		30.0dBA		1700rpm		0.35A (2.16w)
M1A	86.5CFM		35.5dBA		2100rpm		0.45A (4.08w)
H1A	103.8CFM	41.5dBA		2500rpm		0.6A (5.52w)
U1A	114.7CFM	45.5dBA		2750rpm		510mA (6.12w)

(I am not sure why the U1A has a lower amerpage but a higher wattage than the H1A - something might be off on this spec)

IMO I would go for something like the H1A if it is on a controller. This way you have the high flow when you need it but also can drop its speed down when you don't.

Thermalright actually recommends the L1A fan (see info on xp120 at www.thermalright.com)

The site where I buy my hardware does not recommend plugging these fans into the mobo header but "recommend a 3 Pin Panaflo tail with a motherboard header saver cable" (anyone know what this is?)

BTW the fans designated with a "B" have the third wire for detecting fan speed. All thw "A" varieties only have two wires.

Hope it helps ya out.

[Nefarious]

Originally Posted by The_Athlon_Man

Pic's are interesting.....upsidedown mombo. Just wondering, does this go along with the "heat rises theory"? Been a long time since I air cooled. Very interesting.

Theory works well for vid cards. but haven't tested it yet. CPU temps are much lower than before, but I think that its because of my reversed airflow

[fvbounty]

I read somewhere that you don't want to hook up a fan with 4 watts or more to a motherboard header....

[Snafu]

Thanks for that fvbounty. Do you think this varies depending on who makes the board?

[fvbounty]

Originally Posted by Snafu

Thanks for that fvbounty. Do you think this varies depending on who makes the board?

I don't know, it might be in your motherboard manual, the review I read didn't say if it was motherboard specific or not.

[RangersFan]

So i should use a L1A on my thermalright Xp-120 and connect it to both the motherboard header and fan controller?

[Nefarious]

Yes, but not power wise. What I did, and I think Snafu ment was to attach the power to the fan controller, and add the RPM wire to the motherboard header. At least thats way I have it set up

[Deer Slayer]

Originally Posted by fvbounty

I read somewhere that you don't want to hook up a fan with 4 watts or more to a motherboard header....

Most Asus boards have the Q-fan feature, where the CPU fan is controlled by the mobo. If that's the case, there's a transistor that you can burn up if you put too much load on it. It says in the mobo manual somewhere. On my mobo, it's 600 MA, which is like 7.2w. I would hook any fan that draws over .36a or 360ma up to the PSU so it won't cook the CPU fan control on the board. The case fans should be OK up to 600 ma or more. The only thing limiting them are the mobo traces, and I don't think anything less than an amp will burn them up. Just go hooking a 3a delta to the CPU fan header or you'll have problems. I've never had one burn up, but I've never put a huge fan on a mobo plug either. The biggest fastest fan in my puter is on my CPU and it only draws .4a or something. It turns 4000 rpm @ full cpu heat (46c) and only turns 2400 rpm @ idle (33c). So most of the time it's not spinning full speed or drawing the full .4a. Tha's only because my mobo said it was good to 600 ma on all of the fan headers. So you do have to watch the load a little. :o

[Deer Slayer]

Originally Posted by Snafu

The difference with Panflo's fans is basically speed/volume/noise as follows:

Model	Volume		Noise		Speed		Amp (Watt)
L1A	68.9CFM		30.0dBA		1700rpm		0.35A (2.16w)
M1A	86.5CFM		35.5dBA		2100rpm		0.45A (4.08w)
H1A	103.8CFM	41.5dBA		2500rpm		0.6A (5.52w)
U1A	114.7CFM	45.5dBA		2750rpm		510mA (6.12w)

Amps X volts = watts, so how the heck do they figure that .35a = 2.16w @ 12v? That gives 4.2w according to my calculations, WTF??? Somebody needs to go back to school, the only one that's accurate is the last one. I don't think I'd trust that table's wattage ratings, they're off by a bit. What's more important on things like this is the current capabilities of the power source, be it a fan controller, the mobo, or the PSU. So if your fan controller is rated in watts, I'd go with the calculation, and not the table. That's stupid that they give different specs than an actual calculation. Maybe the amperage rating is the starting current for the fan, and the wattage is the running current. That would explain it, because it takes more juice to start a motor than it does to keep it spinning. It should have been expressed differently if taht is indeed what they meant.

[Snafu]

Good catch. I went back to check and the wattage listed is "input power" with the amps are "rated current". So the amperage is likely right and the wattage is the amount needed to get the fan spinning.

Even the slowest fan (L1A) draws over 4w at 12v - not good for the mobo header.

Thanks

[Deer Slayer]

If it takes more juice to start a motor than to run it, that can't be right. The wattage would have to be the running current for all of the fans. They are all stating a lower rating for wattage than amperage if you do the conversion, and the last one is exactly equal. So it's got to be a mistake, or that's their logic behind it. I dunno, I'd ignore the figures all together, and measure the current consumption with my meter. That way there's no doubt about it. What would expect from Panasonic engineers (j/k) .

[Jorrell]

Originally Posted by Snafu

The difference with Panflo's fans is basically speed/volume/noise as follows:

Model	Volume		Noise		Speed		Amp (Watt)
L1A	68.9CFM		30.0dBA		1700rpm		0.35A (2.16w)
M1A	86.5CFM		35.5dBA		2100rpm		0.45A (4.08w)
H1A	103.8CFM	41.5dBA		2500rpm		0.6A (5.52w)
U1A	114.7CFM	45.5dBA		2750rpm		510mA (6.12w)

(I am not sure why the U1A has a lower amerpage but a higher wattage than the H1A - something might be off on this spec)

Are you sure they were specifying 12v for all of those? If you do the math to figure out voltage rather than amps or watts you get (roughly):
L1A = 6V
M1A = 9V
H1A = 9V
U1A = 12V

[Deer Slayer]

I didn't think they made a 9v fan, or a 6v. I dunno I could be wrong, but I thought they were 12v. From what I see these are 120 mm fans. Here's the PDF I found on them, shows all of their specs. http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/...f/fanindex.pdf So they made an error in some of their specs, because they don't match here. Check it out, straight from panasonic.

[azimuth2003]

Hey Guys!

Don't forget that filter built into the front of your Antec case!

Mine clogs every 2 months if I don't clean it

Regards

[nlezcano]

I read all the posts and I liked the discussion, but I didn’t get the information I was looking for.
I have an Intel Pentium 4 HT - 3.4GHz - Northwood processor and I just bought the Artic Silver 5 thermal paste. I have the Intel heat sink and fan, but I was thinking maybe they are not enough. Since I’m changing the thermal paste so I also tough about changing the whole heat sink (because AS5 is pretty expensive here where in Brazil, US$ 14,00 and I don’t want to waste any). I’m looking after the best HS for my processor and the best fan I can plug into my motherboard.
My MB is a D875PBZ, where can I see how much amp or watts does it support for auto RPM fans?
Please Indicate any HS you think is the best, I looked at the TT heat sinks but I think there are better ones. Which fans are the best for cooling and not so loud (I’m not so worried about noise, but some quiet, good performing fans will be welcomed)?
Another think, what do you think about the aluminum framed fans? ( coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product_list&p_class=561 ) Cooler Master have some and I liked them because they surely last many years, I think, please comment on this too.

Thanks!