What are Fan Bearings??

[Iver Hicarte]

So whenever I look for something in case fans or coolers, they always tell me the type of bearings that the fans have. So my question is, what are fan bearings??? what do they do?? what are they for??. Do they increase the cooling power of a fan?? so on and so fourth... oh almost forgot! do they affect performance??

 

[kanewolf]

They support the axle that the fan uses. See Wikipedia -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearing_%28mechanical%29

The reason they are important is they make noise and they fail and make A LOT of noise.

 

[cdrkf]

So whenever I look for something in case ans or coolers, they always tell me the type of bearings that the fans have. So my question is, what are fan bearings??? what do they do?? what are they for??. Do they increase the cooling power of a fan?? so on and so fourth...

So a bearing is the part of the fan that holds the fan in the casing and allows it to rotate. The reason so many fan adverts mention bearings is this is usually what fails and kills a fan.

Typical things that happens if the bearing goes- the fan will get noisy, and even vibrate more. This will reduce the speed and thus cooling performance. Eventually if the bearing gets too far gone the fan will stop spinning and will have to be replaced.

Here's a really nice article that explains the different options:
http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/779-computer-case-fan-bearing-differences