Cool it Off: Finding The Right Computer Case Fans
Ensuring your computer receives sufficient cooling with case fans is not impossible, but it can be challenging. You can decide to shove as many fans as you wish into the case, but that is far from the ideal. There should be reason and rhyme to the setup otherwise it becomes inefficient.
What is a case fan?
A computer case fan is a component that draws cold air into the computer case from outside and expels warm air from the inside or moves air across a heatsink to cool a specific part.
What is a computer cooling fan?
Every computer has a cooling fan inside a case. Computer cooling fans are designed to prevent your CPU from overheating. Cooling fans bring cold air into your computer and either draw hot air out of the machine or as part of a heat sink. A heat sink is a particular item designed to pull heat away from a specific computer component.
What is a heat sink and how does it work?
You will not find all computer cooling fans attached to a heat sink. But a heat sink is a device thermally bonded to a computer component just like CPU. The fan moves air across the heat sink, allowing it to absorb heat from the CPU. All the heat is then blown out through an exhaust vent. You can buy a CPU cooling fan with or without a heat sink.
What factors should do you consider when choosing a cooling fan?
Choosing a computer fan depends on whether you want to replace the case cooling fan or the CPU cooling fan or both.
- CPU cooling fan- It is located directly over the CPU. The CPU is the primary source of computer processing, which tends to generate the most heat. You should connect it to the heat sink, which is designed to draw heat away from CPU.
- Hard drive fan- It prevents the hard drive from overheating.
- Size- Note that fans are sold in different sizes. You will need to know the size you need. Sizes range between 40 mm and 120 mm. To get the right size, make sure you measure your existing cooling fan.
- Voltage- The higher the voltage, the more the cooling power you need and the better the protection of your computer components.
- Coiling fan noise- All fans make some noise because of the moving parts. Usually the sound is not a problem, but if you are sensitive to noise or using many fans, you can check the datasheets of fans and compare their noise level
- Fan connectors- There are four-pin and three-pin. You should use the four-pin on the fan cable purely for PWM control. You do not need it for the fan to run. You can plug a four-pin fan connector onto the three-pin motherboard fan header, therefore leaving the fourth pin not connected to anything at all.
What is CFM?
The cubic feet per minute is a measure of air volume the fan blower moves. It is advisable to choose a fan with a CFM rating that is appropriate for the size of your room to ensure adequate ventilation.
What is RPM?
The revolution per minute (RPM) is a measure of the frequency of rotation. It measures the number of rotations around a fixed axis in one minute. It is a measure of rotational speed of a mechanical component.