Case Fan Speed

[Agente_Silva]

Hi guys,

I recently installed 2 Corsair case fans : http://www.corsair.com/us/cpu-cooling-kits/air-series-fans/air-series-af120-performance-edition-high....

They are a "bit" loud and generate too much airflow (so much I can feel air blown to my face :eek:). I was told I could lower RPM by lowering voltage in BIOS. By the description found above it seems they´re capable to do that. My board is a MSI Z87 G43 Gaming. One fan is connected to cpufan2 board pins and the other is connected to molex adapter. Can I control speed on both or just the one on pins?

Be well :cool:

[Chino]

You can control the speed on the one connect to your motherboard. The one connected to the molex adapter will always run at 100%. If you connect it to one of the other fan headers on your motherboard, you can regulate it's speed in the BIOS also. Look for the chassis fan header on your motherboard.

[Agente_Silva]

Ok... so anything refering "fan" will do right? These fans, on top of case, they should intake or exhaust?

Thnx 🙂

[Chino]

Yes. There are different naming schemes like SYS_FAN, CHA_FAN, OPT_FAN, etc... It depends on the manufacturer.

Normally the top fans are used as outtake to pull the hot air out of your case.

[Agente_Silva]

Hum... consider this:

. Front case fan is intaking (positioned at middle of case); CPU fan, back case (top) and PSU fans (bottom) are exhausting - horizontal bi diagonal flow:P

If top fans are exhausting aren´t they "braking" this chain? (considering they have quite a punch) :rolleyes:

[Chino]

Each case is different and the ambient temperature between one user and another varies. There's no correct way for fan orientation. You just have to test and see which one works better for you, mate.

[Razor897]

I was reading this thread and remembered I made a chart of cooling-fan direction-actual temps....etc. Thought I would share it. Maybe it can be some assistance. I have found that higher/lower speeds make a difference (and full speed is not always the best). Anyhow, here's the pic (hope this can help with your set-up):

[Agente_Silva]

🙂 hi again

Good news. I found a sysfan3 below my graphic card wich allowed me to connect one of the top fans without having to use a molex adapter. Better yet, these Corsair AF120 include a low-voltage adapter that, once fitted, allow BIOS to control fan speed (via software included in MSI´s board cd) according to board temperature.

They´re tresholded from 50% speed up to 100% meaning if computer is "inactive" these fans steady at 900 rpm (of 1650) wich, as you can figure, is a massive noise and wind reduction 🙂 After playing Battlefield 3 they scale up to 1300 rpm.

Concerning air flow, and considering that pic, the only difference from my setup is that my PSU is oriented upwards. One more question that might sound stupid... wich generates better cooling - side lid open or side lid closed? 🙂

Thanx for sharing your thoughts on this 🙂