I'm building a new set-up, with a new case (Phantom from NZXT), and I'm shopping for case fans to go with it - specifically about 120mm case fans. I'm looking to get at least four 120mm fans.
I'm digging the Gentle Typhoons a lot, but the models I initially wanted (ap-15, ap-45s) are not PWM. I wondered how PWM (4 pin) could be superior to non-PWM (3 pin), and found this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/989566/pwm-fans-what-does-it-mean
And a poster claimed that not only will PWM allow the motherboard to control the fan speed (given that it's plugged into the proper PWM fan slot) based on temperatures, but it would also conserve power when not needed/not under much load; whereas with a non-PWM fan (standard 3 pin) will either run at 100% all the time, or have to be downvolted via a fan controller - wasting the "subtracted" voltage as some sort of thermal respiration. Correct me if anything is false/misleading so far.
Before I ask the burning question (see thread title), I am now considering the higher RPM Gentle Typhoon models (AP-29 specifically) that have the PWM capability after a bit of soldering... but they are about $8 more expensive each. They also look rather cheap, but I will be dyeing/painting the fans anyway.
So then I ask: how much power is wasted using those non-PWM fans, and will I be indeed saving power by using the modded PWM-capable Gentle Typhoons (also after the fact that they are ~$8 more expensive each)? I will be using these for at least a few years, almost every day.
Thanks for reading
I'm digging the Gentle Typhoons a lot, but the models I initially wanted (ap-15, ap-45s) are not PWM. I wondered how PWM (4 pin) could be superior to non-PWM (3 pin), and found this thread: http://www.overclock.net/t/989566/pwm-fans-what-does-it-mean
And a poster claimed that not only will PWM allow the motherboard to control the fan speed (given that it's plugged into the proper PWM fan slot) based on temperatures, but it would also conserve power when not needed/not under much load; whereas with a non-PWM fan (standard 3 pin) will either run at 100% all the time, or have to be downvolted via a fan controller - wasting the "subtracted" voltage as some sort of thermal respiration. Correct me if anything is false/misleading so far.
Before I ask the burning question (see thread title), I am now considering the higher RPM Gentle Typhoon models (AP-29 specifically) that have the PWM capability after a bit of soldering... but they are about $8 more expensive each. They also look rather cheap, but I will be dyeing/painting the fans anyway.
So then I ask: how much power is wasted using those non-PWM fans, and will I be indeed saving power by using the modded PWM-capable Gentle Typhoons (also after the fact that they are ~$8 more expensive each)? I will be using these for at least a few years, almost every day.
Thanks for reading