Directed Airflow 140mm/120mm?

[Jmjam]

What 140mm or 120mm fans are great for directed airflow and also fairly quiet?

I plan on using it on the bottom of my FD Arc Midi R2 for pushing more air to the graphics card. I would be running it most of the time at 7V and take them to 12V when I mine.

[Skyfire]

Silverstone AP121.

[Dim]

There are a slew of options here, these are just some basic recommendations. In general, floor fans (bottom-mounted fans) aren't used very often as graphics cards can generally take care of themselves. However, since you asked...

 

120mm if you care about looks: Corsair AF120

120mm if you don't: Noctua NF-S12A

 

140mm if you care about looks: Corsair AF140

140mm if you don't: Noctua NF-A14

 

These are just examples of my preferred ones; by no means are they the only option, but they're definitely top-notch.

Also note that these are designed (for the most part) for airflow and not pressure, so that the whole case has great temperatures and not just the graphics card. If you want to single out the graphics cards, look at pressure-optimised fans such as NF-F12s or SP120s/140s, as well as SIlverstone AP121s.

[Jmjam]

There are a slew of options here, these are just some basic recommendations. In general, floor fans (bottom-mounted fans) aren't used very often as graphics cards can generally take care of themselves. However, since you asked...

 

120mm if you care about looks: Corsair AF120

120mm if you don't: Noctua NF-S12A

 

140mm if you care about looks: Corsair AF140

140mm if you don't: Noctua NF-A14

 

These are just examples of my preferred ones; by no means are they the only option, but they're definitely top-notch.

Also note that these are designed (for the most part) for airflow and not pressure, so that the whole case has great temperatures and not just the graphics card. If you want to single out the graphics cards, look at pressure-optimised fans such as NF-F12s or SP120s/140s, as well as SIlverstone AP121s.

 

Thank you for the recommendations. Are the AF140's loud or somewhat quiet? I would be running it mostly at 7V but once I mine I would take it to 12v (just updated the op about this). Looks aren't too much of a bother since the bottom fan would be hidden. I have been looking at Silverstone AP121's since they show a pretty good demonstration of the airflow. 

Maybe I should wait and get the black noctuas :P

[Kayn]

Thank you for the recommendations. Are the AF140's loud or somewhat quiet? I would be running it mostly at 7V but once I mine I would take it to 12v (just updated the op about this). Looks aren't too much of a bother since the bottom fan would be hidden. I have been looking at Silverstone AP121's since they show a pretty good demonstration of the airflow. 

Maybe I should wait and get the black noctuas :P

 

the silverstone AP121 or the AP123 would work because they are optimized for restricted spaces (IE bottom fan intake). Also the black noctua fans would be for industry uses and I doubt they are quiet because they are probably all performance.

[Dim]

Thank you for the recommendations. Are the AF140's loud or somewhat quiet? I would be running it mostly at 7V but once I mine I would take it to 12v (just updated the op about this). Looks aren't too much of a bother since the bottom fan would be hidden. I have been looking at Silverstone AP121's since they show a pretty good demonstration of the airflow. 

Maybe I should wait and get the black noctuas :P

 

You can get quiet edition AF140s so I wouldn't worry much about that. Silverstone AP121s are excellent fans, although you could also look at their 140mm air penetrators. A situation where AF140s would be more appropriate is if your bottom mounted fan is too far to the right of the case and the airflow is too direct to fully encapsulate the graphics card. Because the airlfow of AP121s is fairly focused (though not so much as NF-F12s), the floor fan needs to be situated underneath the graphics card in some capacity. You can see the AP121 flow

. Normal air will be less dense than the smoke used, so it may be a little more focused.

 

For a more specific understanding, if you're using a graphics card that is short (or stunted in terms of the PCB), AP121s may not give the best performance possible. If you're using a graphics card like the GTX 780 or HD 7970, or a similar long graphics card, AP121s are your best bet in my opinion. For something like a passively cooled GT 610, you would be wanting airflow rather than direct focused air penetration. 

[Jmjam]

Yeah I have a Gigabyte 7950 Windforce 3x and the 3rd fan on it is right above the bottom intake.

AP123 seem good as it is made to reduce noise on filtered/mesh intakes. I would prefer a 140mm though.  

[airdeano]

tbh, there isn't one fan to fit that category.

 

you have a span of 5-6" from the front panel and about

the same from the floor. most case fans have a discharge range of

2-3" with any "pressure" and having a spray pattern is as disastrous.

 

hence mounting the fans closer to the device for "direct-flow" as used

by nzxt and corsair by mounting fans on the HDD cages. not only is

the front panel fans flow weak, it is almost non-existent. so a booster

fan is need to promote the extension of flow in the case.

 

that's why the cfm rating is important to "fill" the void, but being quiet

doing the task isn't easy.

 

airdeano

[Zeal]

Here's the smoke test for Noctua NF-F12s vs Silverstone AP121s, credits to Lauren at TastyPC.tv

 

NF-F12's airflow

 

AP121's airflow

 

For half the price when compared to Noctuas, the Silverstone AP121s actually have a more focused airflow than the NF-F12s. They also have an integrated fan grill on one side and look better with their UV blue blades and black frame.

[Jmjam]

Here's the smoke test for Noctua NF-F12s vs Silverstone AP121s, credits to Lauren at TastyPC.tv

 

NF-F12's airflow

 

AP121's airflow

 

For half the price when compared to Noctuas, the Silverstone AP121s actually have a more focused airflow than the NF-F12s. They also have an integrated fan grill on one side and look better with their UV blue blades and black frame.

Cool thanks for linking those pics. So I a would assume ap123's are similar if not better than ap121's. I noticed that the front intake is perfectly aligned with the graphics card in my case. Would I get good gpu temps if I make the front fan have more directed airflow to the graphics card? Or should I just make the bottom fan? Both?