Dumb case fan question

[baran311]

Hey guys,
I just finished building my first PC, and I wanted to put some case fans on it. I suspect it is running hot.

It looks like I have one large exhaust port in the back can I just buy a 120mm fan to put back there? is this standard?

I also have a port on the side of my case, which appears to be an intake for the CPU fan.

Lastly, i have what appears to be a intake area in the lower area of the front. What size fan goes here?

Recommendations would be helpful.

 

[waylander]

Please provide the name of your case so that we can make intelligent suggestions... or just take a tape measure and measure the distance between the holes. My guess is that the front and back ones are 120mm and the side is a 92mm. You can go out and buy any fan you want, I'm partial to antec ones, then you can also buy a fan controller with will allow you to control the speeds of all your fans.

 

[Onus]

A lot of side fans are 80mm. Check the front mounting area carefully, is it for one fan (likely a 120mm), or for two side-by-side?

The airflow directions are the ones I use too; front and side intake, and rear an exhaust (the PSU is also an exhaust).

 

[baran311]

Thanks for the replys.

After going back through my invoices (to find model#), found out that it does take an 80mm & 120mm.

Are fan controllers really worth it?

I will look into Antec fans.

 

[1Tanker]

Are fan controllers really worth it?

Only if your worried about noise. If you aren't super-sensitive to noise, then try and get some fans with a noise level between 30-35db, and you won't need a fan controller. Some people can never find quiet enough fans. GL

 

[allred]

Easiest way to know what size fan is to measure the size of the hole, using the screw holes as a guide. The just round that to the nearest fan size.

 

[waylander]

You don't really need the fan controllers but I find them useful especially since I have 9 fans (including the one on the psu). You can also get fans that are temperature sensitive and increase rpms when your case is hot and reduce when it's cool.

 

[baran311]

Okay, all the fans are in.

I have:
1 80mm fan blowing into the case up front.

1 120mm fan out back blowing air out of the case.

1 PCI slot exhaust fan spaced 2 slots over from my 7600gt

1 80mm blowing air straight down onto my processor fan.

Sound okay?

It isn't too loud, infact my processor fan is louder than all of the others combined.

 

[waylander]

Yes that's always been the problem with noise. The processor, GPU and chipset fans are usually louder than case fans because they are smaller. You can find some cpu hsf's that have larger fans and so run cooler and quieter.