Is it safe to replace a high rpm fan with a lower rpm fan?

Ski2985

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May 22, 2014
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Hi forum! I'm just going to ask:

If I were to replace my Corsair H100i radiator fan (2x120mm running at 2700rpm) with another branded fan (running at 2000rpm), would it be safe for the radiator? Would it overheat or carry any risks? I really want to replace my corsair stock fans basically because they are so loud.

I'm looking into buying this fan, it looks like a pretty sweet deal. I'll let you compare the specs of my current stock fans and my desired noctua fans:


Stock Fans that I currently have (scroll down to the bottom):
http://www.corsair.com/en/hydro-series-h100i-extreme-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler

Noctua fan that I want: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_413&products_id=27867&zenid=d97e2aa17906838d96ae5899229d3bdb
 
Solution
as long as the air flow is the same no issue if the fan pushes 80cfm @ 2000 rpms or 80 cfm @ 1600 all that matters is you don't loose the required cfm's for the application so if a fan pushes the same amount of air at a lower rpm then whats the issue?

lantrich

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Dec 20, 2012
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A lower rpm fan will mean that the radiator will not keep the cpu as cool but should not hurt the radiator. You could download a program called speed fan and lower the speed of the fans you have now and watch your temps. If your temps are good then replace your fans.
 

Ski2985

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May 22, 2014
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Well, they look sweet but they produce almost the same amount of dba as the stock fans I already have. These models don't really solve my problem. :(
 

Ski2985

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May 22, 2014
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I like this idea, but will that mean that I'll probably just have to deal with the amount of noise being produced by my fans? Is there really no silent 2700rpm fans out there on the market?
 
rpm =/= cfm or amount of air moved nor does it necessarily relate to static pressure (how forceful the air is)

for instance the much vaunted NH-F12 from Noctua @ 1400rpm can get nearly the same if not better results than a lot of stock fans on water coolers

in fact the SP120 Quiets are afaik, give nearly the same performance as the stock 2700rpm corsair units while being a lot quieter

I have my h80i stock fans cranked to 600-700rpm and max out at 1300rpm on my custom profile
nearly the same results by about 2-3c as letting then go full out
 

ShadyHamster

Distinguished
At 2700 rpm no fan is going to be silent.

Your best bet is to start of with the fans at max then slowly lower the speed until you find the sweet spot between temps and noise.

Quick example:
the fans on my Noctua NH-D14 run at 1300rpm, how ever i can lower that rpm to around 900 and only gain 3-4 degrees in cpu temp while lowering the noise of them fans that they are inaudible compared to my case fans.
 
as long as the air flow is the same no issue if the fan pushes 80cfm @ 2000 rpms or 80 cfm @ 1600 all that matters is you don't loose the required cfm's for the application so if a fan pushes the same amount of air at a lower rpm then whats the issue?
 
Solution

Ski2985

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May 22, 2014
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Thanks, this helped a lot.