Disabled case fans - good idea?


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My case is horrible. Fans are loud and it is absolute cable hell.

But, it is not worth messing with.

So I just turned off all three case fans for CPU temperatures less than 40 C.

The two CPU heat sink fans cannot be controlled, it is a three pin connector.

CPU is around 35c right now idling.

So, pretty much, running a game kick start the fans.

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If you aren't OCing, you probably didn't need the extra case fans anyway. You are in a much better position to tell if you need them or not just by testing and watching the temperatures. I'd tentatively say that if the CPU fans aren't handling the job, something is probably wrong.

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If you aren't OCing, you probably didn't need the extra case fans anyway. You are in a much better position to tell if you need them or not just by testing and watching the temperatures. I'd tentatively say that if the CPU fans aren't handling the job, something is probably wrong.

Mild OC (3.8 Ghz to 4.5 Ghz - + .13 V I think).

I am more worried about GPU though

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Can't you control the CPU fan in BIOS?

 

Turning off case fans are not a good thing. There's more in there than just your CPU. HDDs, SSDs, GFX card, etc. CPU is not the point where you start turning off fans.

 

Not worth messing with? You can ALWAYS do better wire management. Take a few cable ties and get busy. Airflow is the best thing to keep your system cool and healthy.

 

If you have loud fans, get new ones, replace them.

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Mild OC (3.8 Ghz to 4.5 Ghz - + .13 V I think).

I am more worried about GPU though

All bets are off then for the CPU. I'll say the same as I said before for the GPU though, if you aren't OCing it, the stock fan should be fine to keep it coolish. If it isn't, there is something wrong.

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Can't you control the CPU fan in BIOS?

 

Turning off case fans are not a good thing. There's more in there than just your CPU. HDDs, SSDs, GFX card, etc. CPU is not the point where you start turning off fans.

 

Not worth messing with? You can ALWAYS do better wire management. Take a few cable ties and get busy. Airflow is the best thing to keep your system cool and healthy.

 

If you have loud fans, get new ones, replace them.

I don't think there is any way to control a three pin dual fan.

I really did not think about these things a year ago.

Replacing the fans would require disconnecting the mobo and taking it out.

Easier said than done - there is just no room.

I mean I can tie things up better, sure but, even that is a difficult accomplishment.

Here is a pic, hope you've got eye bleach,

post-478688-0-96953200-1398136215.jpg

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You have a modular PSU, yet you have this mess? Looks like you can hide you 20-pin behind the motherboard plate. Can do that with GFX power also.

 

And I thought meant you case fans. I was talking about those, not your CPU fans.

 

CPU fan speed, rather 3 or 4 pin, can be controlled by BIOS. I control speeds myself.

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Those Noctua fans are so ugly, they hurt my eyes.

But they work and are quiet. Who cares how components inside the computer looks.

Your CPU cooler seems to big for your case though. And the rear case fan as it is right now, not running, is blocking exit airflow from the CPU cooler. Provided the CPU cooler is mounted correctly and blows air out the back and not out the front.

As for the cables, the ones you can't hit under the mobo mounting plate you should be able to strip nicely up together along the HDD and odd rack at the front of the case.

Also, download speedfan.

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In my opinion you should have the rear fan running and blowing the air out.

 

I have that Noctua myself, and with those two big fans turning without anything at the back venting the air out it will just accumulate in the case. I would suggest to have one fan at the front sucking air in and the one at the back blowing it out. That way you get a nice airflow through the case.

 

If they make a lot of noise, try checking whether they are dusty or turning properly. Maybe they are old, or dust is in the way. Also check the heatsink. If it is clogged with dust, the CPU temperature will go up and force the fans to blow even more.

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You always want more air pushed into the case then put, it's creates overpressure and avoids dust. Having more fans blowing air out than in creates under pressure and will suck in dust.

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You always want more air pushed into the case then put, it's creates overpressure and avoids dust. Having more fans blowing air out than in creates under pressure and will suck in dust.

 

I'm a bit lost on this - I can see more in than out as you can filter those locations and know where dust will mostly deposit, but I always thought you wanted pretty well equal draw to push. You're after maximum flow which is maximum cooling. While it would help with dust, wouldn't it be possible to have too much over-pressure which would reduce your overall cooling power, create stagnant areas or 'hotspots', and raise either your temps or the speed of your fans to compensate?

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You have a modular PSU, yet you have this mess? Looks like you can hide you 20-pin behind the motherboard plate. Can do that with GFX power also.

 

And I thought meant you case fans. I was talking about those, not your CPU fans.

 

CPU fan speed, rather 3 or 4 pin, can be controlled by BIOS. I control speeds myself.

It is set to low right now. It is an ASUS motherboard, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

ASUS has this fan software which is nice as in easy to use, but also no options for CPU fan (says it cannot be controlled).

Not that I mind, nothing normal pushes the CPU even near 70C and I want to keep it that way.

I also enabled the back fan per recommendation. 40% at ~540 RPM at idle.

And tied up some cords a bit better "freeing" up the GPU spot a bit when I put in Crucial M500 480GB.

CPU cooler is gigantic and is a very tight fit, but it very sexy.

My second build will feature a tower case instead.

PSU is partially modular, the default cords cannot be removed - thus I have few extra cords wasting space.

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Main 24-pin, 4/8 pin and 6-pin? you'd ALWAYS need those, you can hide it behind your motherboard plate.

 

Like this:

 

IMG_0850.jpg

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