120mm fan vs 200mm

[Xtrastor]

Hi guys, I have a Thermaltake Element G case, it has a 200mm intake fan on the front, but it also comes with 2 adapters for 2 120mm if you wish to replace the 200mm.

Now... normally, when you place your hand behind a fan, you'll feel all the airflow, and a 120mm fan is stronger than a 200mm, so I would think that, if the 120mm can get more air inside, the case would be cooler that with the 200mm right?

I think there's going to be more airflow if I install 2 120mm fans on the front, but I've read some people saying that a larger fan is better than a little one, but I'm not sure about that because the larger one produces less air than the smaller one.

I was thinking of buying 2 of this 120mm fans:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6634

This way, the case is going to have better airflow and it's going to be cooler right?

Please let me know which fan is better and why, cause as far as I know, more air = less temperatures.

Thanks

 

[rolli59]

When you put the hand in front of the fan what you are feeling is the velocity (speed) of the air which is a function of fan rpm and pitch. The volume of air the size of the fan ads a function and a bigger fan can move the same amount of air at lower rpm (noise) and velocity as a smaller fan.
If you look at the specs in this link http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6492 200mm fan 700rpm 110cubic feet a min. The fan you linked to has to go up to 2000rpm to deliver 85cfm

 

[Xtrastor]

When you put the hand in front of the fan what you are feeling is the velocity (speed) of the air which is a function of fan rpm and pitch. The volume of air the size of the fan ads a function and a bigger fan can move the same amount of air at lower rpm (noise) and velocity as a smaller fan.
If you look at the specs in this link http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6492 200mm fan 700rpm 110cubic feet a min. The fan you linked to has to go up to 2000rpm to deliver 85cfm

But if I add 2 of those Excalibur fans on the front of my case, it will be 85x2 CFM, besides, I dont really understand how can a bigger fan cool more that a little one, ok, if we talk about space, the bigger one is going to send air all over the case, but the little ones have more airflow, or at least, send more powerfully the air inside the case, so this way, for example, Hard Drives, are going to receive the air directly...
What do you think?

Thanks

 

[rolli59]

It is not the speed (velocity) of the air that cools components it is the volume of the airflow in a given time period (cfm) that cools components
2 x 120 mm fans running at 2000rpm are going to send total of 170cfm that is correct. At 2000rpm the fans are going to be loud but you can always put on headphones or turn up the sound in the speakers, right?

 

[Xtrastor]

It is not the speed (velocity) of the air that cools components it is the volume of the airflow in a given time period (cfm) that cools components
2 x 120 mm fans running at 2000rpm are going to send total of 170cfm that is correct. At 2000rpm the fans are going to be loud but you can always put on headphones or turn up the sound in the speakers, right?

Ok, so once again, a want to ask you, what would YOU do in this case:

My case can take 2 120mm fans instead of 1 200mm (front panel), I'm no longer going to use the Cooler Master Excalibur fan, instead I will use Cooler Master SickleFlow x2 120mm (2000rpm, 69.69CFM, 19dB-A, 4.2W) OR, use Cooler Master MegaFlow 200mm (700RPM, 110CFM, 19dBA, 3.36W)

If I install the SickleFlow, the power consumption is going to be 8.4W, noise 19dbA x2, and 140CFM, and if I install the MegaFlow, power consumption is 3.36W, for 110CFM and less noise but less air pressure too.
As I said before, the fans will be in the front of the case, so, technically, the intake air is going to blow directly to my HDDs, so thats why I thought that the 120mm would be better because of the air pressure; those fans should be place one below the other one, so, the bottom fan would blow 2 HDD, and the top fan would intake air directly to the motherboard, graphics card, etc.

I'm also going to use a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus cooler for my CPU.

SickleFlow: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=4375
MegaFlow: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6456
Hyper 212 Plus: http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6603

So, what do you think?...

Thank you again

 

[rolli59]

With 19db the 120mm is quiet and you would get more cooling. If you are going to be playing around with overclock on air you are going to benefit from that. Either way you would have good cooling air intake.

 

[Xtrastor]

Ok thank you for all your answers, I think I'm going for 2 120mm for the front of my PC.

Now that we are talking about cooling, I would like to ask just one more thing:
I was thinking on buying Cooler Master Hyper 212+ for my CPU, and also buy a Excalibur to put it as my second fan with the Hyper 212+, those 2 things would be like around $50... I did some research and I found the Corsair H50 ( http://www.corsair.com/products/h50/default.aspx ) and it's about $80.

Now, will you go for the Hyper 212+ or the H50?, one thing to keep in mind is that the H50 intakes air from the back of the case, so the ONLY exhaust fan that I would have, is the top 200mm fan that is on my Thermaltake Element G case, and also, remember that I will have 2 120mm on the front, so it would be, intake from the front and intake from the back too, and exhaust ONLY on the top.

What do you think is a better option?

Thanks

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Hyper 212 over the h50 imo, but you can always ignore Corsair and mount the fan as exhaust,not intake, and have 2 fans on the rad,not just the one.
Moto

 

[Xtrastor]

the best feature of the H50 is its silent operation. the CM 212+ cools better and I have it set up on a fan controller so it runs silent also. I used two fans on the CM 212+ and my temps only dropped 1-2c, it was not worth it compared to the single fan. If you do use two fans on the 212+, make sure the faster fan is pulling air.

I've seen some reviews, and it seems that the H50 is a little bit better that the H 212+ (about 5°), thats why I was thinking on buying one.

What do you mean by pulling air, pulling air INTO the cooler or as the 2nd fan that pulls the hot air out of it?... Where should the faster fan go?... AND, If I use the second fan, the temperature is going to drop only 2 degrees?... if it's like that, I don't think it'll worth the money.


And about the air circulation, what do you think of it in my case?... If I buy the H50, theres air coming in from the back and front, and going out from the top ONLY... and if I buy the H 212+, the air circulation is going to be, front to back...

Thanks

 

[Xtrastor]

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