Question Do I have no options anymore in the US for 230mm fans that are RGB?

Cyber_Akuma

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Oct 5, 2002
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I have a Cooler Master HAF X case that I cleaned up and am re-using for a new build as other than lacking USB-C (which I am going to manually remedy) it's still one of the best airflow and port-filled cases out there.

Also since the case is now almost 10 years old and one of the fans has already died, I figured I might as well replace all the fans as I am already replacing every other component in it and adding USB-C, and since my new motherboard supports RGB (two RGB and two ARGB ports), I wanted to finally try my hand at adding some RGB to my systems.

The problem is that one or two of the fans on my case are rather... nonstandard. The fan on the front is 230mm and glows red, and the fan on the side is... actually, the specs sheet says different things. At one point it says it's 200mm, and another it says it's also 230mm (though apparently I can replace it with four 120mm fans, but I don't have that option for the front. Plus I looked this up and apparently a single fan is the better option as it would be quieter with the same airflow).

The other fans in the case are not a problem, 120, 140, and 200 are very common and available everywhere unlighted, lighted, RGB, and ARGB. The issue is the front fan, I was only able to find ONE place that made RGB (and not even ARGB) 230mm fans:

https://bitfenixshop.us/product/spectre-pro-rgb-230mm-w-o-controller/

https://bitfenixshop.us/product/spectre-pro-rgb-230mm-w-controller/

And frustratingly, they appear to be out of stock everywhere in the US. I found a store or two in European countries that stock them, but that would be a no-go as even if the stores ship to the US the shipping costs alone would be more than the fans.

Are there any others anyone is aware of? I can barely find 230mm fans at all, especially lighted ones (and for some weird reason, the only lighted ones I could find were green of all things), but I would really love to get an RGB one.
 
I suggest a different approach. First examine closely the details of how that 230mm fan is mounted in the case front panel. Current standard designs use a SQUARE frame with holes at the corners, and the specified dimension is the length of one SIDE of that frame. For example, a 200 mm fan has a frame that is 200 mm on each side. I don't know the details of spacing of the mounting HOLES in those corners. On the other hand, the photos I saw for a Bitfenix 230 mm fan show one with the "corners"missing, resulting in mounting holes at unspecified locations. I don't know what Cooler Master did in your case fans.

IF the existing mounting holes just happen to match the spacing on current 200 mm fans, you have an easy path forward. Otherwise, perhaps you could make a custom mounting plate with a large central hole and with holes to match existing holes in your front panel, and then to provide a new set of holes to match a current 200 mm fan.

Then you are free to choose any curent fan of that "standard" size. At a quick scan I saw ones with max air flow ratings of 90 and 125 CFM, and I expect you'll want a higher rating - no info available on the fan you are replacing.