Replacing Antec 300 Tri-Cool's

[thechief73]

Hello,

Please reply if you can answer just a few of my concerns, I do not expect anyone to be able to cover all my questions.

I have to say this is a lenghty set questions and will take someone with a fair bit of fan knowledge and expierence to answer them. I have done my research, read the comparisons, and came prepaired with detailed questions.

I have an Antec 300 Illusion case and I am looking to replace all the Tri-Cools in it: 2x120mm(Blue LED, Front), 1x120mm(standard, Rear), and 1x140mm(Blue LED, Top).

For starters I do not like having LED fans, I like my case without lights and quiet. As for the Tri-Cool's, I run them all set to LOW and the cooling they provide is adequate, and even with them being more quiet than my last PC case and fan setup was, I am still not as happy as I want to be about the noise.

These are the factory specifications I have found on the Tri-Cools and I do not know if they are accurate:

Antec 300 140mm fan
rpm 1500 / 31.8 dBA / 94.1 CFM
rpm 1100 / 21.4 dBA / 66.8 CFM
rpm 700 / 19.8 dBA / 47 CFM

Antec 300 120mm fans
RPM 1200 / 25db / 36cfm
RPM 1600 / 28db / 56cfm
RPM 2000 / 30db / 79cfm

I am looking to replace them with:
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D 800RPM or
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 1200RPM or a combination of the two. I am going to order the same model for my Megahalems as I do for the case, unless I decide to put the 800RPM's on there anyways, if I can confirm that will be adequate for CPU cooling.

And this to replace the top 140mm: Thermalright TR TY-140 140mm PWM. Do you know of any other quality 140mm fans I could consider? There are not many out there. It does not have to be a PWM fan.


My Concerns:

1. Will these be an improvement noise wise, over the Tri-Cools?

2. Running at full speed will the 1200RPM be to loud? I belive they are rated at ~23db by Silentpcreview and the 800RPM are at ~20db. I know that +3db is a double of sound energy and most people tested precive a +6bd as twice as loud, based on that the 1200RPM's should be making ~50% more noise than the 800RPM, correct?

3. Could I run all 800RPMs in my case and still have good cooling for an i7-950 and a 5000-6000 series GPU, possible X-Fire in the future?

3. Will the 800RPM for push/pull on the Megahalems be adequate for colling a i7950 OC'd at 3.6-3.8GHz?

4. Is negative pressure better for a case? Belive me, I have spent a good solid everyday, all day, week reading fan reviews and the best setup but I want to hear opinions from some Tom's forum folk.

5. If negative pressure is better, will two 800RPM intakes and one 1200RPM exhaust be a prime setup?

6. Are there anyother fans you would suggest to improve over the Antec Tri-Cools?

7. I have considered Yate Loons D12SL-12C 1300RPM at 21db, just due to the savings, I could fill my case with these for the price of one or two of the Scythe fans, but the very fact the there are so many "different manufactures" or "fakes" or just low quality fans with there name you never know what your going to get. I know of Petra's, that have a good reputation and have claimed publically in several places that the get the fans directly from Yate Loon and are of the best quality. Also they are sleeve bearing fans not SFDB.

8. I have also considered these: COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4-Pack, also just for the savings orver the other fans.


If you cannot answer all these questions that is Ok, I just want some opinions on the matter, I really would like to get all Scythe 1200RPM's and then if they are too loud I will have to control them some how and if I am happy with them I can run them at there rated speed and not be hindered if I went with the 800RPM's and found them quiet but not providing adequate cooling.

Also I am looking to sell my Antec Tri-Cool's, they are about 3 months old now, so that will help with the cost of premium fans.

 

[ortoklaz]

take your pic;
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=261778&page=11

 

[thechief73]

Thanks for the suggestion ortoklaz, but all those fans are quite a bit louder than the Antec Tri-Cools and the models that I listed to replace them, so none of those fans will work for me.

 

[abully]

Chief... if the lights from the LED is your only concern, you can just cut the LED wires on the fan if you can reach them... I did this on a few fans without any problem...

then again if you are looking for quieter fans then scythe's gentle typhoons are better than S-flex in terms of sound... if you are looking for the best then sharkoon silent eagle or noiseblocker black silent would be ideal... the noiseblock black silent also has 140mm fans at $25 at 3 different speeds...

1. The tricool fans are low noise (just a gentle whir) at low speeds and should be sufficient... it becomes louder at higher speeds and that is when other quality fans come into the equation if you are looking for a more silent operation...

2. answered above... quality 120mm fans at 1200 rpms have a nice low swoosh with no motor or bearing noise...

3. depends on ambient temps... if you are below 21 then low speeds could be OK...

4. for the cooler please go for PWM fans... both the fans i listed are PWM so will adjust the speeds based on temps... or you can even set it up using speedfan...

5. Negative pressure is always ideal but not too much though... you have to strike a right balance... my setup has one 230mm in front and one 200mm in the side as intake; two 200mm at top and one 140 in rear... all attached to fan controller which has auto temp controlled speed adjust and manual speed adjust... i have tried all permutations and combinations possible in terms of speeds, on/off, temp ranges to find the best speed setup for each temp range... i would advise you do something like this...

6. answered above...

7. I found yate loons pretty much the same as any other fans in terms of airflow / noise though they have good build...

8. if you dont mind the noise then go with the cooler masters...

Even if you decide on the scythe's, just go for high rpm choice and control them with a speed control... just in case if your rig burns hot you can crank it up...

 

[thechief73]

Hi, abully.

First thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, after awhile I was going to give up on getting anything.

I do not want to damage the Tri-Cools, by disabling the LED's, I have considered it and decided I would rather replace them and sell them. I have thought of covering the LED's with some black electrical tape, but I am concerend about making more air turbulence and noise and also about it staying in palce only temporarely.

1. Ambient temp is ~21-22c all year.

I am also considering removing the fan grills on the 300 completely in the front and rear and only putting the thin wire type grill on the rear. But I would need to buy or barrow a dremel tool. One way or another I belive I will do this mod.

2. So the Antec Tri-Cools noise is at a common level and will be hard to beat? And th main problem of noise is due to air turbulence? If I need higher airflow and RPM, thats where high quaility fans come into play to keep the niose levels down while slightly increasing performance.

3. I would prefer not to use a fan conroller on the case if I can avoid it just for neatness and simplicity's sake, but if its becomes necessary I will. I also do not want to have software running to control fans. I know this may sound like an odd question but will letting the motherboard like Cool and Quiet or Q-Fan uses system resources? I am OCd about getting the system down to the lowest amount of used resources possible.

I do not mind paying a bit more for some nice fans, I would like to keep the 120mm under $15 if not $10, I have considered the GT's before but the price is kind of up there and I know those far east companies are all laughing to the bank.

4. So if it is going to be hard to find a fan that is more quite than the Antec's and performs on the same level, is there anything else you would recommend as a direct replacement in terms of performance without LED's besides the Silent Eagle @ $18, Noisebloocker @ $15 and the GT's @ $18?

I am liking these: Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL1 120mmx25mm Ultra Quiet Fan - 1000 RPM - 13 dBA. For one they are made in Germany rather than Asia, but they are sleeve bearing and the blue fins turn me off, I wish they were all black, same with alot of the nice fans out there.

5. I have also considered some noise blocking foam from frozen CPU, when my budget will allow and also rubber fan mounts, what do you think about those ideas?

Last thing I can replace my ATI 4670 512mb with a XFX5830 1GB for $130, you think I should jump on that deal?

 

[abully]

Either you cut the LED wires or replace them... absolutely no masking the LED's...

The temp is perfect for your fan speed levels... but if you get unlucky high heat producing chips (not exactly faulty just a bad manufacturing batch) then you will have to increase fan speeds... thats why i suggested a fan controller if you dont want softwares managing your fan speeds... even a simple knob kinda controller is fine...

Without any restriction to airflow is the best AND SILENT way to exhaust air out... but you better have dust filters for intakes... dont worry about less air being sucked in... it will get in through any crevice if the air pressure is negative inside the case... just blow clean your case fans periodically to clear the dust sediments...

When it comes to fan noise bear one general rule in mind... All quality 120mm fans are whisper silent to the ear in low speeds (circa 800 rpms and lower)... cases where its noisy in these speeds could be due to non fan factors like exhaust fan vents, distance of fan to the intake vents (or lack of it in some cases)... Yes most of the sound is from the airflow... the true test of fans is at higher rpm's where the motor, bearing, blade construction, frame etc all come into play... thats where good engineering designs win... so if you are running your fans at low speeds all the time then any quality case fan will do the job for you silently provided you have no airflow restrictions...

The motherboard controls take system resources... period... if you want to be devoid of them, then go for fan controllers... quality ones have temp controllers inbuilt in them...

Noiseblocker is also available in all black finish check these options... sleeve bearing last longer and is silent than ball bearing... noiseblockers have more expensive options with different bearing...

foams are good noise suppressors when installed along with fans...

Regarding replacing your gpu i feel its pricy... new one is for $170 in newegg...

 

[thechief73]

I am using an Antec 300 so there are dust filters in the front, I've had the case for about 4 months and its clean as a whistle inside. And I do not use the side intake, I actually switched that panel to the motherboard side and covered the fan grill with black card paper, to stop air leaks, and to keep air flowing just front/bottom to back/top.

It seems some ~1000-1200RPM fans running stock or with a fan controller is my best choice then.

Thanks for the Noiseblocker recommendations, I'll keep them in mind as they look like good fans, its just those prices are a little high for my taste, I do not want to pay more for fans in total than my case cost, and that cost a $1 to manufacture in the first place.

I will get the foam when I have some extra spending $ and I have absolutly everything else squared away, its only $20 for a mid-tower case kit.

As for the GPU, it was listed on Newegg.com from 3am to ~4pm on Nov. 24th, at $150 w/$20 MIR, and then they raised the price again to $170 w/$20MIR. I created a tread asking for some input and the answers I got said my 4670 is pushing my CPU as much as it can be and the 5830 will only cause a bigger CPU bottle-neck. Anyhow that deal is gone I am just going to wait on a GPU. I am hoping to get a new CPU, Mobo, RAM, and HDD within the next 2 months.

 

[thechief73]

Best answer selected by thechief73.

 

[Stealth3si]

Antec 300 120mm fans
RPM 1200 / 25db / 36cfm
RPM 1600 / 28db / 56cfm
RPM 2000 / 30db / 79cfm

I apologize in advance to the admins for resurrecting this thread but after reading the first post, I feel it is pertinent to correct potential misinformation about this particular text, particularly in case other readers may view this for future clarification.

Despite that the top rear fan's spec is exactly what the OP has said, the manual for the Antec 300 Illusion states that the front two intake fans have different specs.

For one, it has only two RPM settings according to the manual but these "same" fans that come with my case has 3 RPM settings.

See below (page 5).
http://web.antec.com/pdf/manuals/300_illusion_manual_EN.pdf

 

[megazildjian]

To get rid of LEDs simply push them out with a cotton swab. Did this to the top 140mm fan on mine. No problem whatsoever. That way if you want to have them back you can.