Aftermarket Case Fans

[Alkaline Earth]

First, Would upgrading the case fans on the HAF 932 be worthwhile? If so would it be wise to go with Cooler Master fans as their replacement?

Also, I'd like to know what configuration you would use, I might add more case fans as the case provides a few alternatives; for instance if you take out the 230 x 30 mm side fan you can replace it with four 120 x 25 mm fans.

Finally, how easy is adding red LEDs to all of the case fans? If that is a possibility I would like to do it to all of my fans to really make the case shine.

I want to go with a low noise setup if possible because I am using this computer to play movies as well.

More info:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The HAF 932 comes with four stock fans.

- One front 230 x 30 mm red LED fan @700rpm / 19dBA

- One side 230 x 30 mm fan @700rpm / 19dBA
[ The side also supports four 120 x 25 mm fans ]

- One top 230 x 30 mm fan @700rpm / 19dBA
[ The top also supports three 120 x 30 mm fans or one 120 x 30 mm fan or one 230 x 30 mm fan ]

- One rear 140 x 25 mm @1200rpm / 17dBA

[Bolkonsky]

What's your rig? That Haf 932 probably offers zero advantage for you as it is. If you want to bring temps down, you want thermal cooling. If you're just looking to get air out of the case, and fresh air in to make sure your air cooled system works well, don't bother with extra fans.

[Alkaline Earth]

Explain what exactly a thermal cooling solution is ( i assume heatsinks and such ), I Googled it and didn't get any useful results.

So what you are saying is new fans won't add anything the stock fans don't already, and that more fans doesn't necessarily mean lower temperatures?

What do you mean the HAF 932 offers no advantage? What case does? Elaborate.

[paradamed]

Hi, thomas. You could give us more info on your current rig and what are you planning to do. Are you in for the aesthetics? looking for more performance? Looking for a better case for a cleaner build? Better cable management? Are you planning on watercooling or air cooling? Be sure to check this link. They have thousands of pages dedicated to discuss coolermaster cases including case modding. There are very interesting builds there.

[Alkaline Earth]

Hi, thomas. You could give us more info on your current rig and what are you planning to do. Are you in for the aesthetics? looking for more performance? Looking for a better case for a cleaner build? Better cable management? Are you planning on watercooling or air cooling? Be sure to check this link. They have thousands of pages dedicated to discuss coolermaster cases including case modding. There are very interesting builds there.

No need to get specific but: ATX MOBO, hyper 212+ evo fan, all case fans, PS/2 PSU, only using 2 DIMMS ( 8GB ), 7750 GPU.

yah i do want aesthetics mostly, not interesting about the 'bleeding edge', i also would like less dust build up, and want to keep the current case i have, my current cable management solution is fine but might want to get cables sleeved some day.

thanks for the link, i'll go over it extensively to see what i can find out.

[Bolkonsky]

Yeah save your money, the 932's not what you want. If you just want aesthetics and a quality case go with the 922.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Computer-Cases

Save you $60 and looks the same.

And by thermal cooling, I mean water cooling. However, no amount of overclocking will save you from the bottleneck that is your 7750.

[Alkaline Earth]

Yeah save your money, the 932's not what you want. If you just want aesthetics and a quality case go with the 922.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Computer-Cases

Save you $60 and looks the same.

And by thermal cooling, I mean water cooling. However, no amount of overclocking will save you from the bottleneck that is your 7750.

Alright, I'll look into the 922. I've been very interested in doing a water loop for awhile ( never heard it referred to as thermal cooling though ) at school my teacher showed us how it works and demonstrated how to assemble one.

Main reason i'm interested in the looks of the reservoir are the LEDs that can go behind it to make it look beastly. Does the 922 provide enough room for the radiator, pump, and resevoir though? or will i have to run an external enclosure ( which I think is a good idea )

the 7750 isnt a bottleneck, its the gem of my build , dont diss it ! I could have the money for an upgrade like your suggesting ( loop/external enclosure and gpu ) by tonight, i just have to make sure to tell my dad i'll be using his debit card before using it.

[Bolkonsky]

From the listing:
"EASILY UPGRADE TO LIQUID COOLING
The Cooler Master HAF 922 has a spacious interior and rear retaining holes for easy installation of liquid cooling systems."

Keep in mind though, HAF stands for High Air Flow, so there might be a better case for liquid cooling. Also keep in mind, no matter how low you get your temps, that 7750 will stop you from seeing a performance increase.

[Alkaline Earth]

From the listing:
"EASILY UPGRADE TO LIQUID COOLING
The Cooler Master HAF 922 has a spacious interior and rear retaining holes for easy installation of liquid cooling systems."

Keep in mind though, HAF stands for High Air Flow, so there might be a better case for liquid cooling. Also keep in mind, no matter how low you get your temps, that 7750 will stop you from seeing a performance increase.

I already have the HAF 932 by the way, my friend gave it to me as it was his old case ( He upgraded to Cosmos ll ) so downgrading to the HAF 922 isn't really something I want to do ( plus it is unnecessary money spent, especially since borrowing from my dad incurrs a 5% interest rate. )

I know you are trying to help but spending all this money when I didnt mean to in the first place is just pointless. I just want the original questions answered, to be honest

[Bolkonsky]

Ah, I thought you were considering getting one.

Well like I already said, no, probably not worth getting more case fans.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

custom water looks nice but for the cost to performance benefit its rather worthless unless your on Socket 2011 / 1366

Sandy bridge runs so cool water isnt worth it a 7750 runs so cool water isnt worth it on that either.

an All in water kit like the Corsair H100 / Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme / offer cooling fairly similar to a water kit for just the CPU its 0 maintence and will mount at the top of the 932, the 922 it can have a few issues but simple angling the rad a few mms it works fine.

if you want LED fans buy LED fans that simple lol just avoid coolermaster fans. the R4s are notoriously bad i know i had 9 of them 5 failed in 3 -6 months the other 4 failed within a year.

[Alkaline Earth]

Ah, I thought you were considering getting one.

Well like I already said, no, probably not worth getting more case fans.

custom water looks nice but for the cost to performance benefit its rather worthless unless your on Socket 2011 / 1366

Sandy bridge runs so cool water isnt worth it a 7750 runs so cool water isnt worth it on that either.

an All in water kit like the Corsair H100 / Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme / offer cooling fairly similar to a water kit for just the CPU its 0 maintence and will mount at the top of the 932, the 922 it can have a few issues but simple angling the rad a few mms it works fine.

if you want LED fans buy LED fans that simple lol just avoid coolermaster fans. the R4s are notoriously bad i know i had 9 of them 5 failed in 3 -6 months the other 4 failed within a year.

Alright thanks guys, so I cant just hook up some red LEDs to the fans? I'd imagine it would a cheaper option.

If I upgrade the case fans to fans with lower dBA will it be noticeable? For instance the stock ones are at 19dBA and the fans I'm looking to upgrade at are 8-14dBA.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

uh no regular led fans are cheaper than doing it yourself for the most part. and if you do it wrong you just wasted money keep that in mind. DBa ratings are god damn worthless



long as the fans are rated under 40db its honestly not that bad 35 or lower is best for keeping noise down but in all honesty it doesnt matter much just avoid fans that are in the 40+ range

depending on fan color you can get decent ones but to be blunt quiet GOOD fans will cost you a good bit anyway just strapping leds to cheap fans doesnt help much either.

Pretty much do it right the first time.

Not all fans are created equal in fact quiet a few of todays fans are utter garbage however if you need cheap and LED colors their is one generaly affordable option.

BLUE LED: http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-12...s-pr-3773.html
RED LED: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10...tl=g36c331s518

yate loon makes the cheapest fans available as such QC is a bit of an issue however long as it works your good to go ive got 5 140mms been working just fine, medium speeds are a good balance of performance/ noise and their LED they also make green version as well.

As For Water cooling'
Notice the Thermaltake Water 2.0 PROs temps vs the Swiftech Edge also note the Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme cools better than the PRO and is quieter also same goes for the Corsair H100 shown below to give you an idea of AIO vs Custom in cost and cooling the PRO is close to the H100 and Extreme roughly 2-4c difference
Below is the Edge 320 quit its a 400+mm rad that basically takes 3x 120mm fans heres the kicker on an overclocked CPU the full water cooled kit which goes for $300 is only offer a few degress more than an AIO kit

below is the Corsair H100 which can be found for around $115

[Alkaline Earth]

Gee thanks, you put quite a bit in that answer.

If I don't decide to go with a liquid solution what would be the best air setup since I have a few options

[Side] (x1) 230 x 30 mm fan OR (x4) 120 x 25 mm fans

[Top] (x1) 230 x 30 mm fan OR (x3) 120 x 30 mm fans OR (x3) 120 x 30 mm fan OR (x1) 230 x 30 mm fan + (x1) 230 x 30 mm fan.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

your talking case cooling and to be honest in a haf 932 by default cooling is fine unless fans are dead dont bother i replaced the stock fans in mine so i had a 230 in front 4x 120s on the side 1x 140 in the rear and 3x 120s up top it made 0 difference in temps maybe 1'c at best if your looking for better CPU or GPU temps you need a better CPU cooler aka H100 or better GPU cooler which isnt worth the hassel. so if you have the 932 if just want more lights fine but really adding extra fans isnt going to do much to improve cooling. as for dust build up herp derp dust filters.

better yet make your own dust filters take panty hose cut a square stretch it across the front of the fan use a rubber band make sure its fairly secure test the fan make sure it doesnt suck the hose in if it doesnt add a second rubber band for added support and install the fan quick easy dust filter. can be used multiple times just remove the old hose toss it out or wash it it will last for awhile but it eventually needs to be replaced regardless it will cut down on some dust. biggest problem is simple the HAFs design its most metal mesh so no matter what dust has a way to get in. Its why i moved to a different case

but honestly without specs on CPU i can't tell you if added cooling is worth it. and lets face it if your running something like a dual core + 7750 water cooling + bunch of case fans while making it look blinged out is like pimping a ford pinto.

[Bolkonsky]

but honestly without specs on CPU i can't tell you if added cooling is worth it. and lets face it if your running something like a dual core + 7750 water cooling + bunch of case fans while making it look blinged out is like pimping a ford pinto.

I was trying to think of a good analogy last night. With a mid to low end rig, it's a waste of money since you won't see any performance increase, and it's probably running cool enough if you keep the case clean. (And the Haf 932 should more or less do most of that by itself.)

[Alkaline Earth]

Funny you said that, the car I'll be getting when I get my drivers license is my dads 1998 Civic and I talk about pimpin' it out all the time .

I got the case for free so it is a high end case with mid range components, and I think those Yate Loon red LED fans you showed me look really nice so I'll buy enough to replace all my current fans and do the configuration that you did.

Found a video on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH1CsgADwBY
Also found an alternative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Bi3zvI8_c
These are so much cheaper than buying actual dust filters: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11...-_4_Piece.html

I, nor anyone in my family owns any panty hose so I will have to go out and buy some ( which I hope doesnt look awkward .)

Thats all my questions, thanks for the help guys.

[paradamed]

The Demciflex filters are awesome. I will eventually buy a set for my HAFX. Let me just suggest you to take a look on the aerocool cases. They have a real nice design. If I would have known I would probably have bought one instead of the HAFX. Not that the HAFX is bad, it is actually a great case that even allows for fancy watercooling if you wish but this case caught my attention.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

find a female in the family send them shopping, explain that panty hose is a mesh fabric and is actually works well as a dust filter just make sure they are black.

example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH1CsgADwBY

[Totalheadache]

i went from a 932 to a hafx for the extra size + water cooling. that said 932's arent bad.

never bothered with the panty hose, just clean the case out every 2 weeks or so. (compressed air + feather duster).

i agree with the other posters in the thread, extra case fans more or less pointless. ok some lights for bling...but tbh not my cup of tea even though i run a water loop.

sometime though i heard some side fans can help your gpu temps but as crazy says dont expect more than a few c here and there...