Fan Sizes

[0veruler]

Wasn't entirly sure where to put this question but I have a fairly general question about case fans.

Right now I'm trying to decide between a
Rosewill Thor v2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053
and a Cooler Master Storm Trooper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119245&Tpk=storm%20trooper

The main question is this. What is better, a few bigger fans or several small ones?
I know that having a couple of smaller ones is supposed to make the case quiter? That isn't a huge issue for me but if one is inherently better at the overall cooling of a system (particularly between the two i mentioned) that is what I'm trying to figure out..

If one of these cases is better or could be made better with added fans I would be up for that too..

 

[striker410]

Generally speaking, the bigger the better. A 200MM fan will push more air than a 120MM fan for obvious reasons. Larger fans are also quieter than multiple small fans because they don't have to spin as fast to generate the same amoutn of airflow.

Both of those cases are excellent. What is your setup? Adding fans might not be necessary, as both of these cases come with very good stock cooling.

 

[0veruler]

Everything (except PSU which I now have) is subject to change, its a from-scratch build.

i5 2500k and CM evo 212
G.Skill 8Gb 1600
and I'm not 100% on the board, wanna get a new Z77 so for now I'm going with an ASRock extreme4 Z77

Thats all the important bits, i'll be getting an SSD and bringing over some of my old drives and like i said before this is a from scratch build so not much else.

Is one of those cases better for that kind of set up?
I'd like to do LAN parties but realistically I don't know of any right now so you can assume it will find a permanent home in my home theater system.

Also on the high price end (not to mention being a super case) I kind of like the BlakcHawk Ultra that comes with 8 fans stock! lol

 

[striker410]

The number of fans does NOT equal it being a good case. Really with a setup like that, you could get any case. A HAF 912 or Antec 300 would cool the components just as well as one of these cases. It's not about the number of fans, it's about total airflow.

What's your video card?

 

[0veruler]

Oops! Man I thought I was missing something. Well again it is subject to change but if I got one today I'd get either the 7870 or 7850, I'll be waiting for Kepler to officially release before I make any decisions.

I guess I sort of worry about expandability..

Is there any case in particular that you would want? If not what are you using now? if you don't mind my asking..

 

[striker410]

I personally use a HAF 912. It is in my opinion the best budget case out there.

If I had to pick, I would probably pick the NZXT Phantom 410 (or the full size version), a Corsair 400R, Fractal Arc Midi, Lian Li PC-8NW or something along those lines. The first two are the "flashy" cases, the next two the more streamlined options. Mind you, these are all sub-$100 cases.

 

[0veruler]

So those cases aren't going to hinder me getting, say a second gpu down the road?

Thats really the only thing I can think that I might do down the road for sure (not that interested in water cooling) and obviously the case won't affect overclocking aside from perhaps space for the cpu cooler :\ but thats something I can look into easily..

 

[0veruler]

Well I think I'd be a fool to not heed your guys' advice, seeing as how you're trying to save me 50-100 bucks, lol

Some pretty great info to go off of here!

Thanks again.

 

[0veruler]

Best answer selected by 0veruler.