Hey all,
I own a Fractal Design Define R5 and I have done very little to improve it just yet. Just a disclaimer, I would prefer to use air cooling and keep the upper moduvents installed for as much silence as possible.
I currently plan to purchase a Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU cooler, but what about the extra 140mm fan slot? The case currently has the two stock Dynamic GP14 140mm fans plugged into the built-in fan controller using the default configuration. My current motherboard only has one additional PWM fan header aside from the CPU fan header.
My current plan is to move both GP14 fans into the front intake and purchase another fan to replace the rear exhaust. Right now I have a Phanteks PH-F140HP sitting in my cart, but I really don't know if there's any significant difference between the HP/MP/SP/XP. Right now I have the HP selected because it's only $15 and it would match the CPU cooler.
What do you think of my CPU cooler and third fan selections? Would you recommend I change anything?
Thanks!
Here are a few 140mm fans I was considering aside from the Phanteks PH-F140HP: PCPP Case Fan Comparison
SPCR rated the PH-F140HP very highly, but their 140mm Fan Roundup is dated and doesn't include the newer Fractal Design Venturi or Noctua redux options.
There's a lot of love for the Noctua NH-D15, but the Phanteks PH-F140PE seems to be pretty competitive. My Define R5 is a windowed case, so I'm not sure I could bear to look at those brown fans day after day. Everything else inside this case is either red, black, or white. Even so, I wanted to give Noctua a fair shake, which is why I wanted to at least consider their new black/gray redux fans.
Thanks rand0mpcstuffs.
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I use a Cryorig r1 ultimate, might want to take a loot at that. They're kinda hard to find right now though. Also, the fans that come with the case are garbage, get rid of those and get some good static pressure optimized fans for the front of your case. Back or exhaust go with an airflow optimized. I'm currently using gentle typhoons in the front, and they run almost as quiet and much cooler than any of my noctuas did. out of all the combos I've had in this case, the current setup is my favorite.
nh-d14 and noctuas - quiet, but not very cool
nh-d14 and ultra kaze - not quiet, very cool
Cryorig and ultra kaze - very cool, very loud
Cryorig, gentle typhoons in front, ultra kaze in back - very nice balance of silence to cooling, much quieter than everything but all noctua but it preforms waaay better than the noctua. plan to switch the ultra kaze out for a GT soon.
If you're set on 140mm fans, look at noctua, phanteks, akasa, corsair, and maybe noiseblocker. My vote is for static pressure optimized at lower rpm, so either gentle typhoon or corsair SP low noise series. For cpu cooler look at the nh-d15 or the cryorig, or otherwise sacrifice 2-4 degrees with the phanteks. Honestly, 4 degrees isn't that much and for looks can be worth it in my opinion.
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This is exactly what I was looking for, so I thank you for the detailed response, The_Drugs. I'll look for a high airflow fan for my rear exhaust and will replace the two GP14 fans with static pressure optimized fans.
If you're also using the Define R5, can you tell me if you're using the built-in fan controller, are you plugging your fans directly into the motherboard, or are you using an aftermarket fan controller?
Phanteks PH-TC14PE3 CPU cooler
2x Phanteks PH-F140SP (front intake)
1x Phanteks PH-F140HP (rear exhaust)
How's this setup? Not trying to be a Phanteks fanboy, I just like the look paired with the SPCR reviews and price.
OP- Thanks for starting this thread as I was going to get to this question myself too. I will be following along closely as I myself also have a Define R5 sitting here waiting to be built.
sorry, got busy with work the last few days. I'm using the fan headers on my motherboard as well as the integrated fan controller. However, my current set up is extremely different from the typical intake, exhaust config, so don't read too much into that. Depending on the tools available with your motherboard I would recommend just using it. However, if there are no tools for controlling speed, your best bet would be an aftermarket controller, but the integrated will work just fine. As for the heatsink, it'll be just fine, as for the fans I really don't know. They should be fine, and honestly the difference between phanteks SP fans and corsair SP or whoever is probably pretty small.
@Evil_MOBO what kind of cooling situation are you looking at? If you want advice or whatever I'm happy to throw some your way
After getting a better look at it I decided to return it and opted to buy a Corsair 780T. However, I do appreciate the offer @The_Drugs