I purchased modified case recently which included 7 case fans. Didn't pay attention to who made the fans though. *oops* This is f***ing loud. Just got it setup today. So I went right back online and dug up the best price I could find on some Vantec Stealth fans to replace the originals - I think they will make quite a difference.

Wow. Just leave one side off and unplug the fans, about the same cooling effect but quieter?

I have 2 panaflo's pulling air through my Antec 840, it's been plenty. And I do O/C. Can't imagine what 7 case fans are for.

They are for my damn room getting too hot in the summer. Also, I migrated my Dell ATX motherboard into this case... and the CPU on the board doesn't have it's own cooling fan - just a heat sink. So I want those case fans running. I found a good deal on some Vantec Stealths, and so I will use those to replace the loud Sunons that came with the case - anyone need a case fan?

What kind of case is it? I'm curious. Pictures would be cool.

I'm quite interested now that I have my own monster case of sorts. Mine's got two on the front and two on the back, plus space for two more on the top back. I don't think I'll need those though because my power supply is going to have a fan up there, but who knows

Also, do you guys reccomend connecting all my fans to the mobo, or do you think I could get like a temp monitor to mount in a 5.25 bay? I'm kinda wanting to go the latter, so I can monitor it myself and choose when it goes on and off...

It's the new Z-40 Storm from Xoxide Modifications. You can check it out by using the link. But like I said, the only problem is the fans that come with it. Move a lot of air - but loud.

As for further modification - i.e. temp. sensor, etc. - I wouldn't know. I'm new at this. The fans came with in-line connectors - so each fan is connected between the power supply and a drive.

Heh. I get a kick out of how all the electronics keep getting smaller and smaller, but the fans to keep them cool get bigger and bigger.

I see what you mean. But - wouldn't replacing the heatsink with a fan equipped model, plus maybe one or two case fans accomplish the same thing overall?

Fans on the side - have to be for cooling a video card. Seems like getting a small orb for the card itself would have the same effect. Fan on top to cool the top of the case - the top? Doesn't the fan in the power supply pretty much evacuate the air from the top of the case? Fans in front to cool hard drives - seems like rear fans would pull air in through those holes for a similar effect, especially if you paid attention to where the incomiing air holes were located. Also, having two fans in and two fans out does not double the airflow compared to having either pair by itself, it's more like half again as much - the rise in pressure inside the case from the fans blowing in kills the efficiency of any fans blowing air out. With 4 fans blowing in, I'm doubting the rear or top fans are doing anything more than going for a ride. And to cool the chip - without just getting a heatsink / fan combo, what about attaching a dryer duct or something to an existing single fan and let it pull air over the heatsink, and ditch the other 6? Or leave one or two of them for general case flow, and that's all. But you'd have to seal all the extra holes to guide the airflow...

Random thoughts, sorry if I sound like I'm crapping on the new case. I spent nearly $100 and about a day to finally get mine from 5 fans to 2, I actually got cooler temps and drastically reduced noise in the process. I hear about 7 fans and I cringe.

Well, I thought I had gone through this... I do have my reasons. The main concern is how hot it gets in this room during the summer. My one little Dell fan won't do the job. Also, I'm planning on upgrading eventually anyway - all of the Dell parts will end up back in the Dell case and I'll have two computers (small home LAN). The 2 in front do pull in air for hard drive cooling. The 2 on the side are also intake for basically the whole motherboard. The 2 in the rear are just more exhaust than the normal one. The 1 on the top pulls the heat out of the top - the power supply fan DOES NOT do this because the PSu is a closed box.

I have ordered quieter fans already for this case. And when I upgrade, I will definitely have a cooler on the new CPU. So, I may very well decide that even the Stealth fans aren't quiet enough and unplug some of them. But seeing as the Dell did not come with a CPU cooler besides the heat sink - they all stay on for now.

Basically, I'm not taking any chances. I know it's going overboard. But when I decide to do something I tend to do it right to the point of going over far enough that I won't have to do it again. And it does get very hot in this room.

I agree on that part - I've always said "I work as hard as I can to avoid working".

Ever thought about the water cooling? They can be a little pricy, but - compared to seven new fans it might not be so bad? Also, if you like this kind of stuff, it could be a wildly fun setup to try out! Might only be good for the chip itself though.

If you end up purchasing more pieces down the road, although I'm an AMD fan, Intel seems to run a lot cooler. And depending on your exact needs, Cyrix makes a new chip that is on the edge of not even needing a fan to keep it cool. Having one of these new Cyrix's could help keep the temp in the room itself down a little bit and help overall.

I was put off from water cooling as soon as I heard about it. The first review I read was of a Koolance case in which the independent reviewer's system failed from overheating after 20 minutes. I'm sure they've had time to go over it and actually make it work by now... but I'll stick with my trusty fans like I'll stick with my trusty Intel.

Also, I've had a Cyrix based machine before (2 years ago). Nothing but problems. I'm pretty sure it was the mobo, and that they have ironed out any problems as well. But I don't take the same chance more than once. And since the first time didn't work out - the 2nd time will still be viewed as a chance.

I'm simply going to put in some quieter fans. And if it's not quiet enough... the upgraded machine (months down the road) will have a cpu fan, so it will be safe to disconnect some of the case fans.

Play it safe. Do it overboard; never have to do it again.

All you really need is a small refrigerator. Get a Tiny one. Mod it to accept connectors @ stuff, and put the processor inside with a fan on it.

Your heat problems will be over and the machine will be much quiter than what you're running now.

I went the 'massive' route with fans. At one point I had a full tower with,,, lemme see,,, 3 + 4 + 2 + CPU fan... all it did was make lotsa noise.

These days I try to go for quieter stuff. I'm even planning to migrate to P4s JUST to get away from all the noise.

Luck

Well, that's what I plan to do. But I won't be able to afford it unitl heat is not an issue (summer will be over). Once I have a fan on the CPU I'm going to disconnect a few of the case fans. The Stealths are much quieter, but yes, there are still too many.

Those small fridges really do work well for cooling a system down. A friend of mine cut the door apart to allow the front of his PC stick out, drilled a hole in the back for the cables, left the fan's on just to move the air around, threw some dessicant in, and viola, a VERY quiet, VERY cool computer. Oh, he uses foam to fill the holes, so it doesn'e waste too much energy, too.

Well space is also a problem. So I don't think the fridge setup will be an option. Plus, I would also worry a bit about moisture.

Anyway, the Stealth fans are so quiet that disonnecting 5 of them have made no noticeable difference in the noise level. So the noise is coming almost entirely from the power supply. Is replacing the fan in the PSu a bad idea? Should I just get a new PSu?

There are certainly some very quiet, powerful PSU's to be had. Just tried to find the thread and couldn't but a quick hunt should get you all sorts of ideas.

Replacing the stock ones is nice and easy too.

I thought I'd post on the noise of my new machine. With that Antec 550 watt PS, 4 80mm case fans, CPU and chipset fan, and all that, mine is indeed pretty loud. About as loud as the 10 year old office laserjet printer I've got that weighs about 100 pounds. But I've been able to sleep with them quite well. The hum of these things doesn't bother me too much, I guess.