Hi, since it'll soon be getting warmer again I finally decided to buy some more fans for my case and a fan for my cpu but I have no fucking idea what to look out for.
My cpu is an AMD Phenom II 960T and I just want a fan that is stronger than the default one but preferably doesn't cost more than 30€. I don't plan to overclock.
I'm also looking for 2 120mm case fans and while I'm not looking for brands I just want to know what "specs" these should have.
Thanks in advance.
Noctua NF-F12 PWMs are the best. A bit pricy, but they pump out some more air and have around 20dB levels without the silence modifications, which is their Low Noise Adapter.
It's 93.4 cm/h at 1500RPM and 22.4dB. With the Low Noise Adapter it's 74.3cm/h at 1200RPM and 18.6dB, but since it's PWM you can adjust the speeds yourself.
The Noctua fans are nice, but I will personally never use them because I hate the aesthetics. I'll list some other fans that I really like.
Case fans:
Gelid Solutions FN-FW12BPL-18: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426024
Cougar CF-V12HP: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835553002
Xigmatek XAF-F1255: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233101
Heat sink/radiator fans:
Corsair SP120 Performance: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181026
Twin Pack: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181027
Those are all of my favorites. You could always get some Scythe Gentle Typhoons for some heat sink/radiator fans, but those are really hard to find. If you don't want to spend a ton of money on case fans, you could always go for some Cooler Master Sickle Flows as well, but just keep in mind that they have a tendency to rattle.
Cooler Master Sickleflow:
Red - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103091
Blue - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103060
Green - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103090
BitFenix Spectre Pros are nice case fans as well if you can find them.
Thank you for all the different fans so far but I really don't need them to have LEDs and the Noctua one is a bit pricy especially since I live in europe and can't get them for less than 20€.
I'm also still looking for a cpu fan.
A CPU heatsink? I recommend, if you want air cooling, either a Hyper 212 Evo (if you are on a budget), or a Phanteks PH-TC14PE if you have more dough to spend (I have one and it keeps my i7-3770k @ 4.6gHz at 30 degrees C idle). If you want a pre-fab water-cooler, which costs more than the Phanteks, I would recommend waiting a month or so until the Swiftech H220 comes out. It allows you to expand to multiple radiators, waterblocks (if you wanted to cool you graphics card, for example), and has a pump that is 6x as strong as the H100i. It costs $139.99 USD, so it is the most expensive of the bunch, but whenever you decide to upgrade you other hardware, you can reuse the cooler to keep whatever you get nice and cold.
As for fans, I am in love with the Corsair AF 140mm fans and the Corsair SP 120mm fans. Both are fantastic, moving insane amounts of air very quietly (I can barely hear them with my case door off.) They are a bit cheaper than the Noctua and look far better, in my opinion.
Cheers,
Brennan Riddell
The Hyper 212 Evo looks good but the case fan I want to install is directly opposite to the cpu and I'm afraid that it won't fit.
I have a gladiator 600 case.
The 212 evo should fit just fine. It's not a huge cooler. It's more tall than anything else. I would recommend going with the Cooler Master V6 GT if you can fit it in your case though. It's only $10 more than the 212 evo after rebate, and it ranks up there as one of the best coolers on the market. It's only a few degrees warmer than the Noctua NH-D14.