Choosing Case Fans

[asian_tempation]

I have a Phanteks Enthoo Pro case, Phanteks PH-TC14PE cooler (black), a 200m intake fan, and 140mm exhaust fan. I want to add 4 140mm phanteks fans in the top and I want to spray paint all the fans in my case so the blades are red and the other part is black in order to match my peripherals and MOBO led. However, I'm not sure if this is safe or not and if I should just get the red corsair AF140 fans. Also, how should I orientate the fans on the top, should I replace the intake 200mm with dual 140mm, and should I put a fan in the psu shroud area?

 

[Isokolon]

Phanteks fans are far superior to those overhyped Corsair AF fans
they move more air while being quieter doing so


why not just buy the red led fans by Phanteks?

I'd let the 200mm in front and add a bottom intake and maybe a side intake if supported by the case
but honestly you won't need more than one additional intake and maybe one exhaust additionally

 

[synphul]

If using the psu shroud there's little point in adding a fan to the bottom. Airflow is going to hit the shroud a couple inches above it and do nothing for case airflow completely obstructed like that. I'd suggest trying a couple phanteks 140mm fans in the top before buying all 4 fans. I didn't have a good experience with mine, the stock fan worked great vertically mounted as a rear exhaust. Smooth, lots of airflow, quiet. Turned it horizontal as a top exhaust, it hummed and vibrated something fierce, I don't think the style of bearing it uses is up to the task of a horizontal fan. I ended up getting a couple noctua redux 140mm for the top and they run completely smooth oriented that way, no vibrations at all.

The front 200mm is alright, eventually I'll probably replace mine with a couple 140mm fans. It's fairly quiet but the amount of air it moves is kind of lackluster in my opinion. Even with the center hdd cage removed I can barely feel air movement from it. The static pressure is pretty weak at 1.04 mm/h2o which is somewhat to be expected. As fan diameters increase their static pressure drops unless rpm's are turned up significantly. Compared to the rear fan that came stock which runs 1.3 mm/h2o, 30% more static pressure.

The 200mm stock intake is rated to move 110cfm (realistically it will be less due to the front intake filter and metal grill restricting airflow which is why static pressure is important, higher sp overcomes obstructions to keep overall airflow higher). 2x 140mm like the stock exhaust, they're rated to 82cfm each. Having 2 in the front as intakes would mean intake airflow at 164cfm vs 110cfm.

This is the stock 140mm that comes with the case.
http://pcpartpicker.com/product/nYMFf7/phanteks-case-fan-phf140spbk

They also have led versions, pwm versions etc. The stock fan is 3pin, not pwm so it may depend on how you plan to control it or if you plan to try and control rpm's.

From my personal experience using a larger air cooler similar to the tc14pe is that a single 140mm top fan set as exhaust would likely be plenty for the top. I added 2 to balance the look a bit but honestly the 2nd fan doesn't add much to cooling performance. If you decide to use the top fans as intakes then leave the mesh filter in place. If using them as exhaust I'd suggest removing the top mesh filter. Beneath the metal grill on top is a piece of cloth screen similar to the front filter and it's between the metal grill and plastic supports of the case lid. To remove the cloth mesh you'll have to pop the case top panel off, turn it over, gently bend the metal tabs so the grill pops off then remove the mesh screen. Put the metal grill back on and gently bend the tabs back down and pop the cover back on. Be careful with it, the plastic of the case scratches easy so try to put it on a towel or something when working on it.

 

[asian_tempation]

From my personal experience using a larger air cooler similar to the tc14pe is that a single 140mm top fan set as exhaust would likely be plenty for the top. I added 2 to balance the look a bit but honestly the 2nd fan doesn't add much to cooling performance. If you decide to use the top fans as intakes then leave the mesh filter in place. If using them as exhaust I'd suggest removing the top mesh filter. Beneath the metal grill on top is a piece of cloth screen similar to the front filter and it's between the metal grill and plastic supports of the case lid. To remove the cloth mesh you'll have to pop the case top panel off, turn it over, gently bend the metal tabs so the grill pops off then remove the mesh screen. Put the metal grill back on and gently bend the tabs back down and pop the cover back on. Be careful with it, the plastic of the case scratches easy so try to put it on a towel or something when working on it.

Thanks for the answer! Do you have any experience spray painting fans is it safe? Also, is it safe to orientate all the top fans as intake? I was thinking the two over the cooler as intakes and the two over the hdd cage as exhaust

 

[frank_hnd]

From my personal experience using a larger air cooler similar to the tc14pe is that a single 140mm top fan set as exhaust would likely be plenty for the top. I added 2 to balance the look a bit but honestly the 2nd fan doesn't add much to cooling performance. If you decide to use the top fans as intakes then leave the mesh filter in place. If using them as exhaust I'd suggest removing the top mesh filter. Beneath the metal grill on top is a piece of cloth screen similar to the front filter and it's between the metal grill and plastic supports of the case lid. To remove the cloth mesh you'll have to pop the case top panel off, turn it over, gently bend the metal tabs so the grill pops off then remove the mesh screen. Put the metal grill back on and gently bend the tabs back down and pop the cover back on. Be careful with it, the plastic of the case scratches easy so try to put it on a towel or something when working on it.

Thanks for the answer! Do you have any experience spray painting fans is it safe? Also, is it safe to orientate all the top fans as intake? I was thinking the two over the cooler as intakes and the two over the hdd cage as exhaust

it is not recommended to use the top fans as intake since hot air naturally goes up ^. usually front and bottom fans are intake and rear and top fans exhaust for a more natural air flow.

 

[synphul]

I've not tried top fans as intakes, you could always try it and watch your temps. Turn the fans around and watch temps again. Keep an eye on cpu temps, motherboard chipset temps as well as gpu temps.

Painting fans isn't something I've done personally. Some people have with success, of course you void your warranty. Some fans the blade pulls off like the corsair ml (mag lev) fans. That would make painting easier, otherwise you'd have to use masking tape or similar to help make sure you don't paint parts you don't want painted. Especially around the hub so no paint gets in the hub/motor area.

There's room for a 200mm fan, 2x 140mm fans or 3x 120mm fans up top. There isn't room for 4 fans along the top of the enthoo pro. A 3rd 140mm fan could be installed but you'd have to remove the interior panel that holds the edges of the 5.25" bays and covers the 3.5" bays.

If you set up the case so that the rear fan is exhaust, one or two fans over the cpu cooler in the top of the case are intakes, an additional fan on top right up close to the front of the case is an exhaust and the front of the case is intake you're going to have some really weird airflow likely fighting itself. Most likely causing pockets of air that doesn't get circulated well. A consistent flow of air is preferable, like frank_hnd mentioned generally front and bottom are intake, top and rear are exhaust. That way air flows front to back from a lower position to higher position.

 

[asian_tempation]

Thanks guys for the answers, I think I'm going to get 3 fans (all exhaust), spray paint them, and get an LED Strip to bring the build together.