[SOLVED] 1500 rpm exhaust fan, is it enough?

simo311

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Hi! i currently have a 3400 rpm exhaust fan, and it's quite noisy so i want something more silent.
Is it a good idea to replace my current fan with a 1500 rpm more silent fan ? Are those RPM enough to keep my PC cool?
Are 3400 rpm too much for a case fan?
Should i also install an intake fan in the front of my PC case?
My current PC specifications:

System:Windows 10(64 bit )

CPU:Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz

Memory:12288 MB DDR3 SDRAM 1596

Disk: ADATA SX900 ATA Device 64 GB SDD + Toshiba DT01ACA200 ATA Device 2000 GB HDD + SAMSUNG HD502HI ATA Device 500 GB HDD

Display adapter:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780(3.00 GB)

Motherboard: Asus P8H77-M Pro

Monitor: Samsung c24f390 24" LED Curved Monitor

Power Supply: CP 750W combat power


Any other suggestion about cooling my pc down, are welcome! :D
 
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I have a case from a pre-built PC, i bought back in 2013 ( https://www.asus.com/media/global/products/bskhEUeyljnlVMJb/P_500.jpg ) i've never experienced any overheating problems since then, so i'm not planning to buy a new one yet, just wanted to add an intake fan on the front since i'm upgrading my HW with something more powerful :)

Sounds like a good plan. :) May I recommend Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 PWM? Connect them to your new motherboard and they will run between 500 - 2000 rpm. High quality fans, designed in Sweden.
Assuming your existing case fan plugs into your motherboard, there will likely be an option to reduce the speed of the fan from within your motherboard's BIOS.

Of course, that graphics card can put out a lot of heat, so you should monitor your CPU and GPU temperatures under load to make sure they are not running too hot when less air is running through the case. Does that system have any other intake or exhaust fans?
 

Paperdoc

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RPM specs do NOT tell you what you want to know. The item you should focus on is the air flow spec in CFM. And then since you are concerned with noise, check the noise spec in dBA (lower is better).

For us to help more, we need to know what you DO have that is not to your liking. If you can, tell us the maker and model number of the fan you have. If it was just something included with your case, maybe you can tell us only the case maker and model. One item for sure: you should buy only FOUR-pin fans - the new PWM type. Your mobo's manual indicates that it only handles that type of fan and could not control the speed of older-design 3-pin fans. I encourage you to go ahead with both front intake and rear exhaust fans (could be two of the same model) and your mobo has two CHA_FAN headers making their connection easy.
 

simo311

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Currently i have (wich was included with my PC case) a maglev sunon 120mm 3400 rpm ( https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51PLesAfxhL.jpg ) as an exhaust fan, but it's quite noisy, so i wish to have something similar but more quiet.
Also, i'm about to buy a Bequiet 120mm 1500RPM ( https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81ZxZrS6bSL._SL1500_.jpg ) as an intake fan, is that a good idea?
Additionally, i just bought a new motherboard ( https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91Khe1DLUxL._SL1500_.jpg ) which will only has 4-pins socket for fans, will my 3-pins fans fits into a 4-pins socket?
Help please! :)
 

simo311

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A 120mm 1500rpm exhaust fan should be fine. I presume you've got a couple 120mm 1200-1500rpm fans as intake?
Currently, i have no intake fans...
P.S. will a 3-pins fan be able to change speed if it's plugged into a 4-pins slot? Maybe by changing from PWM mode to DC mode from the bios' settings?
 
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Paperdoc

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If your mobo does allow you to configure the mobo SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header to use the older Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode), then YES, that header CAN control the speed of a 3-pin fan. The number of pins on the header does not matter - it is how the BIOS sends ont signal that is important. When you make such a connection, because of the way the connectors are molded the 3-pin fan simply will not use the 4th pin of the mobo header.
 

simo311

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If your mobo does allow you to configure the mobo SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header to use the older Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode), then YES, that header CAN control the speed of a 3-pin fan. The number of pins on the header does not matter - it is how the BIOS sends ont signal that is important. When you make such a connection, because of the way the connectors are molded the 3-pin fan simply will not use the 4th pin of the mobo header.

Does the MSI B450M gaming plus motherboard allow to switch between DC/PWM mode?
Is it safe to use the PC with only one intake fun spinning? (leaving the exhaust fan powered off)
 

Karadjgne

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Did you also buy a new cpu and new ddr4 ram, because the Intel lga1155 cpu and ddr3 ram you have now is in no way compatible with the AMD AM4 B450 motherboards.

Splitters, wonderful things. You plug one end into the motherboard, and both other ends go to the fans.

That's how you get multiple fans running. You need 1x intake and 1x exhaust fan and a 2-way splitter that plugs into your motherboard port.

The reason the fan spins so fast is the case is very hot. You aren't going to have much under 100% fan speed regardless until you can get cool air in and the hot air out.

The H77 doesn't differentiate modes like modern motherboards, and Asus doesn't say if it's 4pin or 3pin for the 1x chassis fan, but the board will control either. The only dedicated pwm is the cpu_fan header. My Z77 has a combination of 3 and 4 pin headers and is pushing nothing but 3pin fans atm.
 

Paperdoc

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See p. 14 of ypour MSI B450M mobo manual. It indicates that all three fan headers (CPU_FAN plus two SYS_FANn) have the option to specify either PWM Mode or DC Mode. for 3-pin fans, set it to DC Mode so the fan speed can be controlled by the header.
 

simo311

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See p. 14 of ypour MSI B450M mobo manual. It indicates that all three fan headers (CPU_FAN plus two SYS_FANn) have the option to specify either PWM Mode or DC Mode. for 3-pin fans, set it to DC Mode so the fan speed can be controlled by the header.
Great! Thank you! (i could not find my motherboard's manual, so i asked it here xD)
 

Karadjgne

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I'm still confused ....

Op has an i7-3770, 12Gb of DDR3 1600 and a H77m mobo.

How is buying a B450m going to help with cooling issues, even if it does have 1 more sys_fan header and can manually swap between pwm and DC modes? It can't be used with the current equipment.

All op needs is the beQuiet 120mm fan he was talking about buying and a 2-way splitter. The existing header on that H77 will work either DC or pwm, whichever populates it. Just has to buy the same pin fan as the existing Sunon, which I'm assuming is 3pin.
 

simo311

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I'm still confused ....

Op has an i7-3770, 12Gb of DDR3 1600 and a H77m mobo.

How is buying a B450m going to help with cooling issues, even if it does have 1 more sys_fan header and can manually swap between pwm and DC modes? It can't be used with the current equipment.

All op needs is the beQuiet 120mm fan he was talking about buying and a 2-way splitter. The existing header on that H77 will work either DC or pwm, whichever populates it. Just has to buy the same pin fan as the existing Sunon, which I'm assuming is 3pin.

Yea, but i've just bought a new Motherbnoard, CPU and DDR4 RAM, so i wanted to know if i can still use a 3-pins fan into a Motherboad wich only has 4-pins fan slots onto it.
And i also wanted to know, if 2 case fans (one intake (and one exhaust) are enoght to keep my system cool :)
Extra question: do i need to re-install the entire O.S. once i've installed my new motherboard?
 

Countess_C

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And i also wanted to know, if 2 case fans (one intake (and one exhaust) are enoght to keep my system cool :)
Extra question: do i need to re-install the entire O.S. once i've installed my new motherboard?

Yes, one intake and one exhaust fan would be alright. If the case can use two intake fans (plus the exhaust one) it would be even better. Yeah, you need to re-install the OS if you have a new motherboard.
 
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Karadjgne

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Ok, you only mentioned motherboard. That makes a ton more sense.

Don't know if that's enough fan for decent airflow. It's a good start, but only you can tell once the pc is up and running if it's enough. For high end pc's, it's typically about 4 or 5 fans total, for low end many just use one exhaust, so 1+1 will drop case temps at least @ 10-15°C. If you feel you need more, you can add more, but a 1+1 is a minimum for me.

Absolutely yes, you will need to install 2 things. Motherboard chipset drivers and OS. You may or may not need to update the bios.
 
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simo311

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Ok, you only mentioned motherboard. That makes a ton more sense.

Don't know if that's enough fan for decent airflow. It's a good start, but only you can tell once the pc is up and running if it's enough. For high end pc's, it's typically about 4 or 5 fans total, for low end many just use one exhaust, so 1+1 will drop case temps at least @ 10-15°C. If you feel you need more, you can add more, but a 1+1 is a minimum for me.

Absolutely yes, you will need to install 2 things. Motherboard chipset drivers and OS. You may or may not need to update the bios.

Ok, got it, thanks!

What case do you have?

I have a case from a pre-built PC, i bought back in 2013 ( https://www.asus.com/media/global/products/bskhEUeyljnlVMJb/P_500.jpg ) i've never experienced any overheating problems since then, so i'm not planning to buy a new one yet, just wanted to add an intake fan on the front since i'm upgrading my HW with something more powerful :)
 

Countess_C

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I have a case from a pre-built PC, i bought back in 2013 ( https://www.asus.com/media/global/products/bskhEUeyljnlVMJb/P_500.jpg ) i've never experienced any overheating problems since then, so i'm not planning to buy a new one yet, just wanted to add an intake fan on the front since i'm upgrading my HW with something more powerful :)

Sounds like a good plan. :) May I recommend Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 PWM? Connect them to your new motherboard and they will run between 500 - 2000 rpm. High quality fans, designed in Sweden.
 
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