How Many Case Fans Should I Use?

[thismafiaguy]

I have a front intake, two side panel intakes, and two top exhausts in my case. I removed the bottom intake due to the restriction of intake air. The side panel intakes are usually off and I don't think I would need them until I add a second GPU. The front intake and top exhausts are constantly running, along with my CPU cooler and GPU.

I'm replacing the front intake fan with a quieter one to bring the noise down, and I expect it to have less airflow. But I think the front intake fan is just mostly cooling the drive cage, so I'm not too concerned about the airflow as long as it's moving. I think this is the optimal fan configuration for my case, but I would love to get some fresh air onto the GPU, since it uses a reference design and is dependent on the dead air surrounding the blower fan.

 

[TheBigTroll]

what case do you have? generally, the stock configuration is enough. more fans dont always help like for example, fans make no difference in my 550D

 

[thismafiaguy]

what case do you have? generally, the stock configuration is enough. more fans dont always help like for example, fans make no difference in my 550D

I have a Rosewill Ranger Mid-ATX case, it's not very big but it's full of fan slots.

 

[TheBigTroll]

yeah it looks like that you dont need that many fans. if you want to make things a bit more silent though

these should help.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181021&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

or get the high performance editions. they are slightly louder but then they move more air. they have a voltage reducer inside if you want to drop the noise accordingly

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RESGD0/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[thismafiaguy]

I'm actually really concerned about noise because my computer is on my desk about 2 feet away. The fan configuration I have right now is pretty quiet but the front intake can makes too much noise. The AF120 fans are nice but I was thinking of getting Scythe Gentle Typhoons, I hear those are top notch as well?

 

[TheBigTroll]

the GTs make more noise than the quiet editions or the performance editions. i have a GT 1850rpm but i never run it above 1100rpm.