Fractal Design case fan help

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nlthompson

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Dec 6, 2014
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I am still [strike]accumulating funds[/strike] waiting for a price drop on my GPU and HDD; this is when I plan on mild overclocking and, one day, upgrading with (custom) watercooling. Until then, I am having a hard time deciding what setup to go with and what type and number of fans to choose for the time being.

My list of parts are here. My Define Mini case can take 2x120mm in front, 1x120 on bottom, 1x120 in back and 1x120/140 on side and on top. My mobo has three 3-/4-pin headers and I also have a PWM splitter for up to two more 4-pin fans (5 fans total). This is pretty old but I have been using this article as reference for fan setup among the many countless others (like this one).


What I am thinking of so far:


  • - 3x120 CM Jetflo 120 or Cougar CF-V12HPB (one rear exhaust and two front intake)

    or

    - 1x120 rear exhaust CM Jetflo 120 or Cougar CF-V12HPB or Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-2000 and 2x120 front stock Fractal Design intake case fans

    or

    - 1x140mm top exhaust Noctua NF-A14 iPPC-2000 with some combination of the above fans (ie. stock Fractal fans in front and rear Cougar/Jetflo or place stock CM 212EVO fan at rear and replace cpu cooler fans with Cougars/Jetflos)

I am on a budget so I would prefer to use the fans I have (2x120 stock Fractal 3-pin and CM 212EVO 4-pin). The noise factor is also a deciding factor or else I would drop my money on either/both Noctuas and call it good. What do you guys recommend, though?
 
Solution
volcanoscout
I have an Arc Mini and a Define R4 (and an Arc Midi), all awesome cases and obviously very similar to yours. With your build, I would recommend getting two Noctua NF-F12s for the front slots, and put the stock fans in the rear and top/rear slots. The fractal fans are nice and quiet, but don't push much air - later, when you have more funds available, switch the stock fans for NF-S12A fans.
This way, you get quiet fans with good static pressure pushing cool air from front to back, then add in the NF-S12As for the high airflow. Don't need static pressure for exhaust fans.

If you try this configuration, I believe you'll find that you won't need a bottom fan.
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volcanoscout

volcanoscout

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Jan 5, 2014
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I have an Arc Mini and a Define R4 (and an Arc Midi), all awesome cases and obviously very similar to yours. With your build, I would recommend getting two Noctua NF-F12s for the front slots, and put the stock fans in the rear and top/rear slots. The fractal fans are nice and quiet, but don't push much air - later, when you have more funds available, switch the stock fans for NF-S12A fans.
This way, you get quiet fans with good static pressure pushing cool air from front to back, then add in the NF-S12As for the high airflow. Don't need static pressure for exhaust fans.

If you try this configuration, I believe you'll find that you won't need a bottom fan.
 
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