What case fans should I buy ?

blabla21 · August 13, 2017

I'm looking to buy some fans to put in my case to better increase an airflow, however I have never bought any aftermarket fans before so I've no idea which ones to take so I'd appreciate some suggestions.

My case is:
Fractal Design Define R5
(http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r5-black)

Thanks in forward.

ShadyBeings · August 13, 2017

These Noctuas got a ton of praise when they dropped:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608026

Though you can always order more of the ones that Fractal Design puts in that case as they're relatively great fans too. As fans are already cheap don't try to go even cheaper as you might end up with a Boeing sitting by your desk

Glennieboyyy007 · August 13, 2017

be quiet silent wings 3 are always a nice option. very quiet and they move a lot of air

note: in the middle left you can choose from many variaties of the silent wings to fit more to your build

loculus · August 13, 2017

6 minutes ago, ShadyBeings said:

These Noctuas got a ton of praise when they dropped:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608026

Though you can always order more of the ones that Fractal Design puts in that case as they're relatively great fans too. As fans are already cheap don't try to go even cheaper as you might end up with a Boeing sitting by your desk

12 cm fans on 12/14 cm fan mounts? The NF-F12 isn't that good (and the acoustic profile is not very good for a premium-priced product). Even more especially if you mean to replace even the back fan where you don't want a more pressure-optimized model. If going with Noctua for an all-rounder given the case, I think NF-P14 (NF-P14s or NF-P14r redux) is probably better. The NF-A14 cools a little better but sounds worse.

Also, there's a question of what is inside the system, the CPU and GPU cooler designs, etc. How many fans? Emphasis on temps for overclocking or best noise profile? Does budget matter? What kind of fan control? (via mobo or fan controller or what?)

Without any further information I would just say to get a new fan for the back (sticking with FD, I guess the Venturi HF 14 cm) and then use both GP-14 in the front. That's not usually the actual best config for cooling but strikes a reasonable balance with respect to noise and then keeping positive air pressure or close to neutral (depends on how fast you run the back fan relative to the front two).