40 mm fan recommendations?

[Rajahal]

This concerns my 6 Drive MiniTower which I will soon be selling (I already have a buyer lined up).

 

I would like to replace a faulty fan that came with one of the 3-in-2s I bought (these Kingwin units).  I bought them used, so I doubt I could get Kingwin to replace the bad fan, although I suppose I could try.  These fans are cheap enough that I doubt it is worth my trouble anyway.

 

Basically the fan will sometimes get out of whack and make a very loud noise (bad bearing?).  A solid smack will usually fix it, but I would prefer a more permanent solution.

 

Newegg lists plenty of 40 mm fans, but none stand out to me.  I don't think that the CFMs are going to be terribly important because I've run some tests on this case with the bad fan completely disabled and the drive temps were still perfectly acceptable (under 40C).  Still, since I'm selling this server soon I would like it to be complete.  Should I just choose the fan with the lowest noise rating?

 

I'm also open to suggestions about some way to remove all the 40mm fans (4 total, 2 on each of two units) and replace them all with one or two large fans that will move the same amount or more air with less noise and power.  As you can see below, there's a decent rat's nest of wires between the 3-in-2s and the PSU, so there isn't a lot of room there.  Maybe a high quality 80mm rear case fan would solve it?  Or a CPU cooler that faces sideways (something like this)?  The PSU fan and the rear 80mm case fan are both in line to help cool the 3-in-2s.  I'm wondering if I could get by without any 40 mm fans at all, or maybe removing one fan from each 3-in-2.  This picture shows the fans and close quarters in good detail:

 

 

Thoughts?

[SSD]

Whenever I am looking for fans I always look at Jab-Tech.

 

Take a look here and see if you see anything you like.  There are some with pretty impressive CFM ratings (that must be loud as an airplane engine!)

 

Good luck!

[GBH2]

I think all 40mm fans inherently have a lousy noise signature. If it is at all possible I would remove them and replace with a 120mm or 92mm or at least 80mm fan. Hard to tell from the picture but if you had the height for a 120mm fan you may get lucky and the top screw holes may line up , as you know, 40 x 3 = 120, other than that you would need to make a bracket, which should be relatively easy.

 

You cannot trust any dbm ratings manufacturers post, they are meaningless. Nothing will be very quiet if you spin it much over 1300 rpms.

 

Some of the best "silent" fans are Noctua, Nexus and Scythe - there are other good ones but I have had great luck with those. Scythe in particular offers a lot of fans in different rpms.

 

Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185005&cm_re=scythe_s-flex-_-35-185-005-_-Product would be great if you could find a way to mount it.

[SSD]

Is that an earlier version of this fan?  Looks like a good one.  Jab-Tech price is cheaper but does not have free shipping.  Shipping is pretty reasonable though, esp for 2 day shipping.  And unlike other vendors, does not increase if you add more to the order.  I think if you bought 3 of them you'd break even with Newegg cost and after that Jab-Tech would be a little cheaper.

[GBH2]

Is that an earlier version of this fan?  Looks like a good one.  Jab-Tech price is cheaper but does not have free shipping.  Shipping is pretty reasonable though, esp for 2 day shipping.  And unlike other vendors, does not increase if you add more to the order.  I think if you bought 3 of them you'd break even with Newegg cost and after that Jab-Tech would be a little cheaper.

 

Same fan except the "G" version. I posted the "E" version. Scythe has A,B,C etc. versions at various RPM's. Jab-Tech looks like a good site- good selection, good prices.

 

SFF21G:

 

RPM

    1900 RPM

 

Air Flow

    75 CFM

 

Noise Level

    35 dBA

 

 

SFF21E:

 

RPM

    1200 RPM

 

Air Flow

    49.0 CFM

 

Noise Level

    20.1dBA

[Rajahal]

Good ideas, thanks for the feedback.  I'm using the server right now to preclear some drives, but once that is done I'll play around with a spare 120 mm fan I have to see if I can get it to line up.  I'm not terribly hopeful, though, considering the mess of cables that take up so much space there.  Even with a modular PSU the situation wouldn't be much improved, since the case is just so small.

[rich.bingham]

I'm running a CM Hyper 212 (similar to the one you're looking at) on a Phenom 9950 Black Edition and it has been a great cooler.  One trick I've used with it is to surround the heatsink on 3 sides with cardboard (plexi works too and will look better) and create a sort of duct.  You could do something similar to direct airflow from the holes where the fans are on the 3-in-2's pull it through the HSF and push it out the back using the case fan.  Since the heat sink will be more than adequate for the processor it won't hurt to pull some warmer air from the 3-in-2's through it.

[GBH2]

Good ideas, thanks for the feedback.  I'm using the server right now to preclear some drives, but once that is done I'll play around with a spare 120 mm fan I have to see if I can get it to line up.  I'm not terribly hopeful, though, considering the mess of cables that take up so much space there.  Even with a modular PSU the situation wouldn't be much improved, since the case is just so small.

 

After taking a better look at the picture you posted, you are right, the 120mm will certainly not work as a "swap out" because of the wires/connectors. You would have to make some standoffs and build a "shroud" to make it work.

 

As far as just removing the 40mm fans and going without them - I think this is a distinct possibility. However, IMHO I don't think the replacement CPU cooler configurations you are looking at are going to help - they won't directly remove air from the HDDs or remove the heat from the case. I would be looking at utilizing powerful enough case fans to create sufficient negative pressure inside the case to pull the heat off of the HDDs and remove it from the case. Of course, what fans you will need to accomplish this will be determined by size limitations, case venting and air flow characteristics.