Fractal Design R5 fan setup

[kobazik]

Hi,

 

I'm trying to get the best air flow vs low noise configuration for my Fractal Design R5 case. Currently I have two Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 140mm fans (one as front intake and the other as rear exhaust). CPU cooler is Corsair H100i v2 with radiator mounted at the top. I swapped two Corsair SP120s fans (too noisy) with two Noctua NF-F12s . Noctuas are much quieter but I can still hear pump the pump. 

 

I'm planning do the following to reduce noise and provide better positive air pressure inside the case:

 

- remove HDD caddies 

- replace Corsair H100i v2 with Noctua NH-DH15

 

I will be running my 6700k and EVGA 1080 GTX slightly overclocked so good airflow will help.

 

That leaves me with two spare Noctua NF-F12s that were used for H100i radiator which brings some questions:

 

Scenario 1:

 

- buy an extra 120mm Noctua NF-F12 and use three of them as front intake

- install spare 140mm Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 as bottom intake near PSU (will bring some fresh air to the GPU)

- keep stock 140mm Fractal Design Dynamic GP14 as rear exhaust

 

Scenario 2:

- install two 120mm Noctua NF-F12s as bottom intake near PSU

- buy two 140mm Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-2000 and use them as front intake

- buy 140mm Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-2000 and use it rear exhaust

 

Scenario 3:

- replace everything with 140mm Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-2000 (least cost effective option)

 

Scenario 4?

 

I've spent some time researching online and most people are suggesting Noctua NF-A14 for intake/exhaust fans while others are little bit against them because the way air flow is directed they need to run a higher speed (more noise) to be able the air to penetrate whole case.

 

I'm little bit confused in 120mm vs 140mm and 2 vs 3 case fans. I want to avoid having top vents open as the noise come out of them and R5 should really silent case anyway.

 

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

My current setup is here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LykPxY

 

Thanks

 

Dom

[maremp]

As far as fan setup goes, the default one is just fine. If you have extra fans, add them as front intake if you want positive AP. With air cooler, you you don't even need extra fans, buying another won't provide much improvement, especially if you want to reduce the noise. 

[Quinnbeast]

Don't be tempted to try and find some sort ideal setup until you actually know that a certain aspect of the cooling vs system noise is insufficient. In other words -

1 hour ago, kobazik said:

- remove HDD caddies 

- replace Corsair H100i v2 with Noctua NH-DH15

 

These are changes that are practical and have good reasoning. The first because it's free improvement of airflow through the case, and the second because it should improve noise levels. But, until you know that the cooling is insufficient with the updates mentioned above, you might just be throwing money at the problem in the name of theory-crafting.

 

Two front intakes and one rear/back exhaust controlled via Asus Fan Xpert could work well enough for you, and will give you A) the ability to run the system @ 450 RPM for light work (mine is inaudible), and B) the option to crank all fans up to 800/1000 for gaming. My own experience with the R4 (should be very similar) is that the side / top / base fan slots are more prone to turbulence/resonant noise than the front/back slots. If you really want a balance between quietness and good cooling, starting simple and adding/testing as required makes for a pragmatic approach.

 

edit - I use 2 x Phantek 140mm F140TS + 1 x stock Fractal fan for the case slots and an old Noctua U12P cooler. I've played around with other fans slots quite extensively, but the trade-off of extra noise has never been worth the modest (negligible with my setup*) temp improvement for me.

 

* i5 3570K (stock speeds) + GTX780.

[Bcat00]

I own a nf f12 too and that fan is completely useless as a chassis fan. The amount of air it draws is rediculously low.