When looking at Logan's build video, I noticed he has three total fans, the two case fans that came with the Define R4(Silent Series R2 I believe) and then the one air cooler fan. Now my question... is this all the fans one really needs for a similar build?
I do realize it will vary on a case by case basis(pun intended), but in my system I'm running pretty much the same thing(same Define R4, same 780ti, 3 drives, RM Series PSU, etc) but a H100i instead of the cooler he is using. To be honest I wouldn't mind getting rid of a few fans if possible.
As far as the actual fans, he has the one Noctua fan and the two Fractal Design case fans. I have two SP120 Quiet fans on the radiator(top mounted, exhaust) and four of the Fractal Design case fans(two front as intake, one bottom as intake, one rear as exhaust). Could I, in theory, pull out two of the case fans and be fine still?
I wouldn't take any off of the radiator obviously, but you could always get rid of the rear exhaust fan. I'd say you could get rid of the bottom intake as well, but in this case I would say keep it just to promote positive pressure inside your case to help keep the temperatures cool and the dust out.
The more fans you have, the quicker you are going to be able to dissipate heat. The best way to be able to tell if a fan really makes a difference is to unplug it and run some temperature monitoring software while putting the system under some intense load. Just see how each fan affects the temperature of the components.
The general rule of thumb is you always want more intake fans than exhaust, so at the very least you're going to want two intake and one exhaust...and I guess by "general rule of thumb," I'd say this is more my rule. The hotter your components run or more components you have in your build, the more fans you are going to want.
I personally really want to get a new case, because my HAF-X just does not promote positive pressure at all. The dust build-up is awful, and I'm sure temps could be better....although that might also have more to do with the overclocking.
Thanks for the info. I'll start doing some tests, although all I really have right now is software to test heat. Can I inquire as to what setup you have as far as fan placements and such?
Well I have a HAF-X right now that I'm looking to replace, because I have some negative pressure going on which is causing quite a lot more dust buildup than I originally thought it would. I have a 230mm (or maybe it's a 200mm; I can't remember) intake fan in the front, a 200mm intake on the side panel, a 120mm rear exhaust, and an H100 in push/pull....so basically another two more 120mm fans exhausting out the top.
I'm really wanting to get an NZXT Switch 810 to replace it, so I can get 2x 120mm intakes in the front, 2 more 120mm intakes in the bottom, and a water cooling kit with a 360mm radiator with 3x 120mm fans exhausting out the top. I might flip around the 120mm or 140mm rear exhaust and make it an intake too.