Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.overclocking (
More info?)
The best thing to do for fans is buy aftermarkets at places like
http://www.1coolpc.com or
http://www.frozencpu.com and places like
that. For nice accessorites,
http://www.crazypc.com is also a nice
place to do business with.
Most cooling fans in computers use sleave bearings, which are the
cheapest things you can get. I wouldn't think an ATI video card
would be one of them however.
There are exceptional fans like Thermal Take, Antec, and others that
use ball bearings, but usually they are only available at specialty
shops like the ones I just mentioned. Most, if not all Mobos won't
have them on them.
I would replace the North Bridge fan, and if you don't have one, get
one! And there are really great coolers out there. Very reasonably
priced.
All Thermal Take CPU coolers have very nice fans. That's all I use
exclusively. I have a T T silent boost cooler for my big Athlon. It
has a solid copper cooler with a vented liquid bearing fan. You can't
even hear it run! When I do video encoding and the processor pegs for
about 1/2 hour, she only heats up 4 degrees f. No lie...
I like liquid bearings because there's no friction. In theory,
they'll last forever. My 4 Maxtor Diamond Max 9 Sata hard drives
(dual RAID 1) also have liquid bearings. That's why I bought them.
Front case fans, the ones you can't see, should all be ball bearing
fans.
Back wall fans can be sleave because you'll be able to see them if
they stop. Light up fans are almost all sleave anyway. That never
stopped me from using them for case fans, however. My computer lites
up like a Christmas tree.
Power Supply fans? I don't know. I would think the cheapos probably
would have cheapo fans in them as well. That would be the rule of
thumb, you'd think.
Case design is also crucial for system cooling. You'll want something
with a vent at the top, just behind the rom drives. This will get rid
of all the heat build up in the top of the case. This hot spot is
caused by dead air that happens because power supplies draw from the
bottom. Don't use a fan because the vent also will equilize the air
pressure in the case. It will act like another air stream either up,
or down and is quite effective.
If you have a properly set up case, you'll see the air temperature in
the case drop considerably when you put the side door on. Vs.
leaving it off.
Cheers