Does cranking the fan to 100 percent fan speed reduce its lifespan?

[GanstaKingofSA]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if having a fan go up to 100 fan speed will reduce its lifespan. I was considering OC my R7 1700 to 3.8 GHz by following a video from Kyle.

[Merp83]

Just now, GanstaKingofSA said:

Hi,

 

I was wondering if having a fan go up to 100 fan speed will reduce its lifespan. I was considering OC my R7 1700 to 3.8 GHz by following a video from Kyle.

Yes of course it will reduce its life span - the bearing spins more. Many coolers - not a stock cooler ofc - let you replace the fans and they are not too expensive. However, I never recommend fully ramping up the fan - do not exceed 95 imo

[GanstaKingofSA]

5 minutes ago, Merp83 said:

Yes of course it will reduce its life span - the bearing spins more. Many coolers - not a stock cooler ofc - let you replace the fans and they are not too expensive. However, I never recommend fully ramping up the fan - do not exceed 95 imo

So min is 90% Fan speed?

[LogicalDrm]

7 minutes ago, Merp83 said:

Yes of course it will reduce its life span - the bearing spins more. Many coolers - not a stock cooler ofc - let you replace the fans and they are not too expensive. However, I never recommend fully ramping up the fan - do not exceed 95 imo

 

Lol... no. Fans are rated to spin 100% speed all the time. Thats the lifetime expectation number you will see on spec sheet. Overvolting would reduce lifespan, same way as undervolting would increase lifespan.

 

2 minutes ago, GanstaKingofSA said:

So min is 90% Fan speed?

Min? You can run it way you like. You can't overvolt fan speeds from software, nor in firmware or BIOS. That would require external power source or some DIY.

[mariushm]

The ATX standard requires fans to tolerate voltages of up to 12v + 10% , or 13.2v

 

Fans should NOT be damaged or degrade over time if the voltage goes up to 13.2v, though it's unlikely you'd get them to spin significantly faster with voltage higher than 12v  (don't think it as "overclocking" fans).

Of course, just because the standard says so, doesn't mean some fan manufacturer won't ignore that rule in the standard and make their fans cheaper and more sensitive to higher than 12v voltages, especially when power supplies these days are fairly accurate with their output voltages.

 

Fans are designed to function at 100% rpm for all their life. Making them run at 100% won't damage them, but keep in mind that some fans will be quite noisy at such high rpm. 

In fact, it's more likely for fans to suffer if they don't spin at high enough speeds... some bearing types of fans have mechanisms inside that rely on the axle spinning at enough speed that some grooves or channels on the axle would wick ( or pull up in other words)  oil from a special compartment and spread it all over the axle, lubricating it and the whole mechanism reducing the heat and wear and tear. 

At lower speeds, this suction / wicking / pull force of the fan axle may be much lower and therefore the fan would not lubricate as best as possible and this could reduce the fan's life.

What I'm trying to say is ... don't keep fans (especially sleeve bearing type fans) at 20-30% of their maximum rpm throughout their use... or at least make them spin at higher than 50% every once in a while.

 

 

 

[LogicalDrm]

23 hours ago, GanstaKingofSA said:

So min is 90% Fan speed?

After thinking bit more. 3pin fans can spin 30-100% of rpm no issues. Any lower than 30% will cause them to have trouble starting. PWM fans can run practically 0-100% of rpm. Though low point or starting rpm is usually around 15-25%.