So there's two parts to this post since I figure they're closely related.
I'd like someone to explain what fan grills are for. Especially for a custom PC. have no idea what there are for, which side (internal/external) of the chassis they are mounted on, or the practically of them is.
Second Part:
I like them, aesthetically. I think they look cool, and come with the Corsair Air 540, which IMO, looks badass with the silver and black versions, which my brother has. I have a mid-tower case from an in house company that used to be sold at TigerDirect before they closed their stores down. It's an Ultra brand case, model specifically is the Etorque X1, or something like that. I never kept the box, and it was $40. Would a fan grill be useful for this case for my rear exhuast?
They're for protecting extremities and objects that are near the fan for whatever reason. They don't really serve a core purpose to the fan itself.
So, really just for looking good and holding them still?
The frame holds the fans still relative to the case, not the grill.
As far as looking good, that's entirely subjective.
When, since it's subjective, I'll say, to me, they look good aside a fan. But only on the back. Sides and top... I don't think so.
Other than that, if the frame does, why do some others online say it keeps the noise down, like the vibrations from the fan?
Well, your fan's frame should have rubber tubes in the screw holes. Most decent fans have these. They isolate the vibration of the fan from the screw (whilst still keeping the fan secure) and therefore from the case.
Some (usually higher end) fans go without screws and have rubber/hard plastic anti-vibration mounting hardware.
I am however unaware of the grill being capable of isolating or reducing the vibration. The engineering part of my mind would be fascinated by any valid explanation of that.
Ah, I see. This is kind of what I was getting to. Or meant in the description. Or whatever you call it, I'm new to forums. (I once called a post of mine a forum. I'm still ahamed. Nonetheless, irrelevant)
My Cooler Master 120mm JetFlo fans (Blue LED version) come with rubber on the corners and fans. Also, a Fractal Design fan of mine has rubber plugs you can use instead of screws. Theoretically, these both should really reduce the (notably) loud noise the fans make? I'd still get a grill for aesthetics but that's it.
Yes, both of those are intended to reduce the noise from vibration. You will still have motor noise, particularly at higher RPMs. This is why fan curves and so forth are important, keeping the noise (and wear and tear) down when the fan doesn't need to be spinning at full power.
Is it good to keep the fan curve low even at high temps? The flow is useless past 50% in my set up, and it just gets louder... Hmm, maybe I'll make a post about this issue instead. Might be a bigger problem than what a fan grill cna do for me. Thanks!
That really depends on a slew of different details. The new post is a good idea, and np, of course.
I'll get on it next week. Away from the system, have to settle on the other one from my last post, old POS. Not much I have to do other than verify my settings for others to see. If you'd like to, I also have another post I was going to make tonight. It's really out there, though.