Seems that case fans are not needed if you're not gaming ??

[worstalentscout]

i don't play games at all.........so the stock cpu fan is going at 1140-1180rpm with the cpu at 34-40 degrees.............so today, i disconnected the intake fan and even when running a anti-virus scan.........cpu fan rpm and cpu temperature is almost the same..........perhaps i should disconnect the exhaust fan too and save some money on electricity ?

[NorKris]

dont rly need fans if u only  browse  youtube, facebook and news on ur pc  

[bezza...]

6 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

i don't play games at all.........so the stock cpu fan is going at 1140-1180rpm with the cpu at 34-40 degrees.............so today, i disconnected the intake fan and even when running a anti-virus scan.........cpu fan rpm and cpu temperature is almost the same..........perhaps i should disconnect the exhaust fan too and save some money on electricity ?

fans barly use any electrisity and after long periods of time the internal temperatue in your case could heat up and your cpu fan might have to work harder. i would keep them connected

[Alex Atkin UK]

14 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

i don't play games at all.........so the stock cpu fan is going at 1140-1180rpm with the cpu at 34-40 degrees.............so today, i disconnected the intake fan and even when running a anti-virus scan.........cpu fan rpm and cpu temperature is almost the same..........perhaps i should disconnect the exhaust fan too and save some money on electricity ?

Disconnecting two fans will save maybe a couple of watts, that could be offset by the CPU fan running faster and nothing compared to the price of replacing that CPU fan because it failed sooner due to working harder.

You're also forgetting there are more parts to cool in a PC than the CPU.  Without case fans the SSD, VRMs, various parts will run hotter.  Likely still within spec, but you never know as those parts typically will run to their limits before either slowing down, turning off your PC entirely or if you're really unlucky blowing up.

[worstalentscout]

6 minutes ago, Tomberry said:

fans barly use any electrisity and after long periods of time the internal temperatue in your case could heat up and your cpu fan might have to work harder. i would keep them connected

 

many thanks indeed...............i always thought the fans use the most power because of the moving blades............so perhaps i just keep the exhaust fan connected.......the intake fan would pull in all the dust anyway.........

[Blqckqut]

14 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

 

many thanks indeed...............i always thought the fans use the most power because of the moving blades............so perhaps i just keep the exhaust fan connected.......the intake fan would pull in all the dust anyway.........

the intake makes sure the cool air gets in ur pc, u should have a mesh filter in front of your fans that blocks the dust, u just need to clean that once in a while

[Needfuldoer]

43 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

perhaps i should disconnect the exhaust fan too and save some money on electricity ?

Case fans draw so little power, you'll never notice the difference on your bill.

 

Besides, you want at least one case fan available to run, so the case has a steady flow of fresh air through it. That will keep the power supply and CPU heatsink cooler.

[worstalentscout]

44 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Disconnecting two fans will save maybe a couple of watts, that could be offset by the CPU fan running faster and nothing compared to the price of replacing that CPU fan because it failed sooner due to working harder.

You're also forgetting there are more parts to cool in a PC than the CPU.  Without case fans the SSD, VRMs, various parts will run hotter.  Likely still within spec, but you never know as those parts typically will run to their limits before either slowing down, turning off your PC entirely or if you're really unlucky blowing up.

 

you're right........ i thought they won't heat up since i don't play games and my pc is low power........

 

26 minutes ago, Blqckout said:

the intake makes sure the cool air gets in ur pc, u should have a mesh filter in front of your fans that blocks the dust, u just need to clean that once in a while

 

i actually use 3 mesh filters over the intake fan............but still there's dust build-up !

 

10 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Case fans draw so little power, you'll never notice the difference on your bill.

 

Besides, you want at least one case fan available to run, so the case has a steady flow of fresh air through it. That will keep the power supply and CPU heatsink cooler.

 

may i know if the cpu fan is blowing at the heatsink or the other direction ?............my cooling is rather different - intake fan is from the top......

[Blue4130]

49 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

 

many thanks indeed...............i always thought the fans use the most power because of the moving blades............so perhaps i just keep the exhaust fan connected.......the intake fan would pull in all the dust anyway.........

Even if you remove the intake fan, dust will still get in. The exhause fan need to get air from somwhere, it will just be working harder to pull the air in itself rather than having the intake fan to help it.

[mariushm]

The basic idea is that warm air is lighter than cold air, so it naturally rises to the top of the case and comes out through the top ventilation holes and the back side. 

Fans are supposed to be there to speed up this natural process, you have some fans in the front or the bottom of the case which bring in cold(er) air from the bottom / front of the case, and as it's heated up by the video card and cpu it rises up towards the top of the case. 

Some of it will naturally go out the back, but it's possible to have a pocket of warm air form on top of the case, or around the CPU cooler, increasing the ambient temperature there and therefore reducing the cooler efficiency. 

The fan on the CPU cooler will push air through the fins and towards the back ejecting some of this warm air, so even without a fan on the back of the case, you still get some air movement. 

 

So of course, if you're not doing something heavy like gaming, the video card won't produce as much heat, the cpu won't produce as much heat, but the fan on the cpu cooler will still move some air around and the system will stay at reasonable temperatures. 

The case fans are never supposed to be critical for the operation of the system, they're there to improve cooling performance, and the system should work without them if needed. 

 

They're just used because with them and the accelerated air movement through the case, the regular fans (on the video card, on the cpu cooler) don't have to spin much faster to move more air, and your system will be more silent overall. 

 

Dust will come in regardless of fans or not, as I said warm air rises so you'll always have some air flow, air movement throughout the case, and the video card and cpu cooler fans will move air around causing dust to be carried through the case.

[Blqckqut]

12 minutes ago, worstalentscout said:

 

you're right........ i thought they won't heat up since i don't play games and my pc is low power........

 

 

i actually use 3 mesh filters over the intake fan............but still there's dust build-up !

 

 

may i know if the cpu fan is blowing at the heatsink or the other direction ?............my cooling is rather different - intake fan is from the top......

just because you hae mesh filters doesnt mean the dont wont be picked up, mesh filters are there to stop the dust from getting into your pc, if you dont clean the mesh, the dust will get in your pc

[Selle]

Did some rough calculations, running two case fans costs about 1USD pr mouth if the computer is on 24/7

 

Leave your case fans plugged in 

[thrasher_565]

not the anti-virus scan!

 

 

[freeagent]

If you plan your system out wisely, you can get away with running semi passive on some modern hardware.

 

For instance, my system right now can be run semi passively if I put my cpu to stock settings, it’ll run warmer than normal, but still ok. My X3D, same story.. can run semi passively no fans on the cooler, no problem with a competitive tune.

[thrasher_565]

i could probably run my 6600k with d15 passive probably. but at 800 rpm i cant hear it any way. about 35c and max 44c

[freeagent]

1 hour ago, thrasher_565 said:

i could probably run my 6600k with d15 passive probably. but at 800 rpm i cant hear it any way. about 35c and max 44c

Any big cooler that is excellent can do it. I have done it with a few. 

 

Especially at stock clocks. The real challenge is trying to squeeze a little OC from it.. at that point I just the fans back on lol..

[thrasher_565]

6 minutes ago, freeagent said:

Any big cooler that is excellent can do it. I have done it with a few. 

 

Especially at stock clocks. The real challenge is trying to squeeze a little OC from it.. at that point I just the fans back on lol..

well the d15 is not the best... so there room for it to be cooler thow i dont no if there better with fans or with out... not that people test that...

oh and could just better thermal past too... then mx2

Edited February 2, 2023 by thrasher_565

[Alex Atkin UK]

48 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

well the d15 is not the best... so there room for it to be cooler thow i dont no if there better with fans or with out... not that people test that...

oh and could just better thermal past too... then mx2

Thermal paste is rarely worth fussing over, other than replacing really bad stock paste, or unless you can to Liquid Metal which has more risks than rewards IMO.

[freeagent]

50 minutes ago, thrasher_565 said:

well the d15 is not the best... so there room for it to be cooler thow i dont no if there better with fans or with out... not that people test that...

oh and could just better thermal past too... then mx2

I haven't used a D15, but had a D14.. I get what you are saying.

[Ralfi]

Instead of turning off fans, adjust your fan curves & run them at lower RPM for idle/burst CPU usage.

 

Think all mine run at 600-700RPM until temps reach 60°. Nice & quiet

[worstalentscout]

On 2/2/2023 at 5:57 PM, Blue4130 said:

Even if you remove the intake fan, dust will still get in. The exhause fan need to get air from somwhere, it will just be working harder to pull the air in itself rather than having the intake fan to help it.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 6:02 PM, mariushm said:

The basic idea is that warm air is lighter than cold air, so it naturally rises to the top of the case and comes out through the top ventilation holes and the back side. 

Fans are supposed to be there to speed up this natural process, you have some fans in the front or the bottom of the case which bring in cold(er) air from the bottom / front of the case, and as it's heated up by the video card and cpu it rises up towards the top of the case. 

Some of it will naturally go out the back, but it's possible to have a pocket of warm air form on top of the case, or around the CPU cooler, increasing the ambient temperature there and therefore reducing the cooler efficiency. 

The fan on the CPU cooler will push air through the fins and towards the back ejecting some of this warm air, so even without a fan on the back of the case, you still get some air movement. 

 

So of course, if you're not doing something heavy like gaming, the video card won't produce as much heat, the cpu won't produce as much heat, but the fan on the cpu cooler will still move some air around and the system will stay at reasonable temperatures. 

The case fans are never supposed to be critical for the operation of the system, they're there to improve cooling performance, and the system should work without them if needed. 

 

They're just used because with them and the accelerated air movement through the case, the regular fans (on the video card, on the cpu cooler) don't have to spin much faster to move more air, and your system will be more silent overall. 

 

Dust will come in regardless of fans or not, as I said warm air rises so you'll always have some air flow, air movement throughout the case, and the video card and cpu cooler fans will move air around causing dust to be carried through the case.

 

On 2/2/2023 at 6:07 PM, Blqckout said:

just because you hae mesh filters doesnt mean the dont wont be picked up, mesh filters are there to stop the dust from getting into your pc, if you dont clean the mesh, the dust will get in your pc

 

On 2/3/2023 at 3:43 AM, Ralfi said:

Instead of turning off fans, adjust your fan curves & run them at lower RPM for idle/burst CPU usage.

 

Think all mine run at 600-700RPM until temps reach 60°. Nice & quiet

 

many thanks indeed to all the above answers............

 

 

On 2/2/2023 at 10:59 PM, Selle said:

Did some rough calculations, running two case fans costs about 1USD pr mouth if the computer is on 24/7

 

Leave your case fans plugged in 

 

my country has one of the highest electricity rates in the world................but i'm actually more concerned with the dust...........