[SOLVED] PWM + be Quiet Silent Base 802 + Extra Fan + Dark Rock Pro 4

[Dylan Beckett]

PWM + Silent Base 802 + Extra Fan + Dark Rock Pro 4


Hello

I am going to put together my new 12700K build hopefully in the next 24 hours but I have some fan questions.


The parts in question:

Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro LGA 1700 DDR4 ATX Motherboard
Model Number: GA-Z690-AORUS-PRO-D4

MSI RTX 3070 Ti VENTUS X3 OC

2-4x Sticks of Corsair LPX 3600 CL18 RAM (might get another set?)

be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler

be quiet! Pure Wings 2 140mm High Speed Fan (Extra fan I bought to maybe add to/and cool the PSU/3.5” drives Shroud by mounting it as a 3rd fan in the Front Panel.



There are MUTLIPLE Images here - so please click the link to see these images first or cycle through them via the image below - then please read on aftewards...

https://imgur.com/a/tZIqJys

View: https://imgur.com/a/tZIqJys




I was originally thinking about putting it on top of the shroud (you remove the roof panel of the shroud near the front panel)… but I’ve found out you’d lose some drive space in the shroud so changed my mind.

Besides – I’m thinking it’d be better at the front anyway (have 3x Intakes instead of 2x) – and still keep the end of the shroud roof open for better air flow (especially if I put drives there along with the PSU)?

BTW - It’s a 1000W Seasonic Gold + PSU if that matters?


I’m planning on taking of two roof plates for the shroud near the front, the little half one and the full one…. Exposing the HDD cage underneath and the little step down/gap at the front of the case.

I’d also like to leave the final full roof plate near the back (over the actual PSU) exposed also – so there is no shroud covering at all… but would that heat from the PSU interfere too much with the GPU and CPU/RAM? Keeping in mind I’ll have the extra 3rd fan at the front to help push that warm air through?

Or should I leave the covers on directly above the GPU and open the rest?




BTW - at the moment I don’t think I’ll be putting drives vertically in front of the Front Fans (would block air flow a lot)?

I’m only assuming I can put the 3rd fan up the front directly under the other two.... or would I need to slightly move the 2 fans slightly up first? – is that correct?

And I’m thinking

So does my logic with fan placement and opening the shroud stack up?



Thing is - I think I may have made a mistake buying the extra fan (4th x 140mm)– because I’ve just realised there is a PWM version as well. Would that be better? More control? I don’t really know – I’m new to all this.

From what I can see – I “think??” the 3x pre-installed fans are all non PWM or they are PWM but are set up as non-PWM? But I could be wrong on both counts? From my research I think they are all wired up to a hub all ready to go.

If they are all non PWM – then maybe I should just use the extra fan I have? I don’t want to replace all of them unless there will be a really good performance improvement for the extra cost.

I haven’t opened the extra fan yet – so I could take it back and swap it over if I need to?

Am I right in assuming that I should plug the extra fan into the same fan hub on the back of the Mobo wall… and then do I need to plug the fan hub into the motherboard? Is that it then…. Will that also give me PWM control over all the fans?

I came across this….

The Silent Base 802 also uses a fan controller. A maximum of six 3-pin fans are possible here. The case's I/O panel provides practical fan control. A slide switch allows you to switch back and forth between the different stages.

Alternatively the fan can be activated by a PWM signal of the mainboard. You can leave the switch at 12V and use a constant maximum fan speed of 1000 rpm (~ 970 rpm, as monitored), or lower the fan voltage to 8 V (~ 740 rpm) or 5 V (~ 510 rpm) ).

In addition, when PWM mode is activated and the controller is connected to the motherboard, you can configure automatic speed control of all fans through the motherboard BIOS or proprietary software.

Not sure if it’s accurate though?


Also regarding the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler… Should I connect that to the fan hub also so I can control all x6 fans at once (DRP4 is 2x fans)? Or does this need to only connect to the mobo?



So yeah – those are my fan questions!

It would be great if someone could set me straight before I attempt to put it together!
If you have relevant info or links please post em.


Thank you for your help

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

you need your CPU cooler's fans connected to CPU_FAN and if necessary for a second cooler fan, CPU_OPT.

you would want to clear as much of the front panel as possible;
whether that means placing extra drives in a dock, external enclosure, etc.
but then removing drive trays.
if you're using SSDs place them elsewhere. and just totally remove all front trays.

placing your extra fan under the GPU in very bottom, not PSU tray but VERY bottom, as an extra intake could significantly lower graphics card temp.

you want all fans under PWM control so you can set their RPMs based on system temperatures.
whether this means connecting them to a single hub or individual headers depends on options and personal preference.

 

[Dylan Beckett]

you would want to clear as much of the front panel as possible;.......
if you're using SSDs place them elsewhere. and just totally remove all front trays.

Yeah - unobstructed airflow... but do you mean have no drive bays/drives under the shroud either?

Can you get a special little hdd hotel enclosure for multiple hdds and or ssds that can sit on my desk... and how would i plug them in to the pc without leaving the case open? Would they be hurt over time by not being protected and cooled in the case? They'd have no cooling at all right?

Wouldn't the ssd's be ok behind the mobo wall?

placing your extra fan under the GPU in very bottom, not PSU tray but VERY bottom, as an extra intake could significantly lower graphics card temp.

You mean literally the bottom of the case... I'm not sure they'd have holes there (maybe only under the psu itself)? If it's not got holes there - would it really help being there compared to the other two places i mentioned?

What do you thin about having the wall of 3 fans at the front?

you want all fans under PWM control so you can set their RPMs based on system temperatures.
whether this means connecting them to a single hub or individual headers depends on options and personal preference.

But can you tell me would they all be under pwm control if i use the preinstalled fan hub?

That's just it - I just don't know if the preinstalled fans are PWM or not... or does it not matter if the hub is PWM? This is the info I'm asking people to explain to me?

I still don't know if I should take the extra fan back and swap it for a pwm version (which they have).... but I figure it makes sense to keep that extra fan the exact same as the other three... so I need to know pretty soon as I'm going back today to get the other parts.


Thanks for your help

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Can you get a special little hdd hotel enclosure for multiple hdds and or ssds that can sit on my desk... and how would i plug them in to the pc without leaving the case open?

i have 2x 3TB SATA III HDDs in an external dock connected via USB Type-C.
i just turn it on when backing something up or restoring.

any 2.5" SSDs will have locations on the back of the motherboard tray to keep a cleaner look and/or on top of the PSU shroud.

I just don't know if the preinstalled fans are PWM or not... or does it not matter if the hub is PWM?

there are PWM versions of the included Pure Wings but you would have to check included documentation or the model number on the fans themselves to verify.

the included hub will have a 4 pin PWM cable leading out to connect to a motherboard 4 pin PWM header.
this way any connected fans will have the option of being under PWM control.

for control of fans connected to the hub you would need the front panel I/O fan settings on "auto".
and then set a custom fan curve through motherboard control software or BIOS.

I'm not sure they'd have holes there (maybe only under the psu itself)...

What do you think about having the wall of 3 fans at the front?

the entire bottom is vented with a dust filter.
all other be quiet! cases i've worked with have offered fan mounting there.

i would have;
3x 140mm front & 1x 140mm bottom intakes.
2x 140mm top & 1x 140mm rear exhausts.

and i would leave the PSU shroud as open as possible.
with your PSU installed correctly, it's fan pulling in from the bottom and pushing out through the rear, it will not affect or be affected by system temperatures.

 

[Dylan Beckett]

i have 2x 3TB SATA III HDDs in an external dock connected via USB Type-C.
i just turn it on when backing something up or restoring.

Can you link me to what you've got?

So connecting it with using usb-c; the speeds would be slower with the back i/o wouldn't it (compared to connecting internally)... for any type of drive?

And in general - do I just search for multiple enclosure or are there better terms to search with?

all other be quiet! cases i've worked with have offered fan mounting there.

Would I need to buy screws or should they be provided to mount on the base?

i would have;
3x 140mm front & 1x 140mm bottom intakes.
2x 140mm top & 1x 140mm rear exhausts.

Would that be overkill? Would that increase the noise - which is what I want to prevent?
Or are they slow enough that it doesn't matter?


Any chance you could do a test for me.... I'd suggest three tests..... idle, normal and a stress test?
one with 5 fans
one with 2 front and 1 back etc... or some other options?

I'd be really curious to see if its worth the extra coin to buy even more fans... or if it makes no difference to thermals and only increases noise?


cheers

 

[Dylan Beckett]

I'm also curious - if I don't have pwm fans in my system... does that mean that the automatically controlled software in the system won't speed up, slow down or turn off the fans depending on the temp and load?

So would that mean that I can only manually change the fan speeds via the case switch at the top?


Do I need to ditch these non pwm and get all new fans?


cheers

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

i always go for PWM because i want more control of the RPMs and their spin up/down time.
given the choice i would much rather have all PWM fans.

you can set it up using DC control through the BIOS but it will not be as exact as PWM.
instead of basing the actual RPM off of temperature reading it will use a % of power supplied based on temp reading.

if DC control turns out to not work as you'd like then maybe return/exchange them.

you can always just use the front panel switch though.
maybe low when idle, high when gaming, etc.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Can you link me to what you've got?

So connecting it with using usb-c; the speeds would be slower with the back i/o wouldn't it

i currently use a WavLink WL-ST334UC USB 3.1 dock.

USB 3.1/Type-C offers up to 6Gbps which roughly translates to ~720MB/s transfer rate.
a 7200rpm HD only gets up to 120MB/s.